Fanspeak’s NFL mock draft simulator: Your ONLY site for trades, customized big boards

Want to make trades or create and draft with your own big board? You’ll only get that with Fanspeak’s On The Clock draft simulator!

Going with style over substance is rarely a good choice.

For example, say a team drafts a quarterback with a high first-round pick to be its new face of the franchise. Then it decides to pair the QB with shiny new toys: a receiver in the second round and a running back in the third round.

But the team fails to address its less-than-stellar offensive line.

The team then finds itself armed with another high first-round pick the following year, only this time it decides it needs a stud pass rusher and a cornerback with its first two picks. And it again fails to address its leaky offensive line.

Meanwhile, the new face of the franchise is getting beat up every time he takes a snap, so that wide receiver doesn’t catch as many passes. And the running back now routinely sees 8- and even 9-man fronts because opposing defenses know the team can’t pass the ball or protect its quarterback.

And don’t forget about those two rookie defenders. They’re now on the field far more than they should be because of the offense’s inability to generate points or sustain long drives. So the pass rusher and cornerback the team just drafted with its first two picks are now over-exposed and more prone to injury.

Before you know it, that team is back near the top of the draft for a third year. And a fourth.

All because it went with style over substance by ignoring its offensive line.

Mock draft simulators are no different.

As any draft purist will say, NFL mock draft simulators are only as good as their functionality.

And if you don’t have control over things like trades or the big board you’re using, then it can make for a cringe-worthy experience.

Example A: Bad NFL draft rankings

Here’s a little secret when it comes to NFL draft analysts: We all think everyone else is an idiot when it comes to player rankings.

That’s an exaggeration, of course, but there is a grain of truth to it. Even with advanced analytics and scores of available data, player rankings are extremely subjective.

That’s why Fanspeak gives users the ability to customize and draft with their own big boards or to use other analysts’ rankings. Otherwise, users may be stuck with a big board they don’t believe is accurate or up-to-date.

What if the big board you’re using contradicts what other analysts are saying? It’s not a big deal if it only happens with a few players. But more than a half-dozen? That’s when you start seeing players drafted in the seventh round who you believe should have been taken much higher, for example.

Two of the players who went undrafted last year underscore the point.

Miami defensive lineman Gerald Willis and Clemson offensive tackle Mitch Hyatt were seen as potential first-round picks for at least part of the 2018 season by many analysts and publications. However, both players went undrafted.

That surprised a lot of draft analysts.

But what about the experts who didn’t rank those players very high? If you had your choice, whose draft news and mock drafts are you more likely to follow – the analysts who were beating the drum for Willis and Hyatt all year, or the analysts who told everyone to tap the breaks?

The same goes for mock draft simulators. It makes for a frustrating experience when you have to draft with a big board you don’t believe in.

That’s not an issue with Fanspeak, though, as On The Clock is the only simulator that gives premium subscribers multiple big board options and the ability to customize, then draft with, their own big board.

Example B: No trades? No thanks

A combined 78 trades were made during the 2018 and 2019 drafts, including a record 40 last year.

Let that percolate for a minute.

From the Herschel Walker blockbuster to last year’s Pittsburgh-Denver move, trades have long been a part of the NFL draft.

But what if trades weren’t allowed?

Detroit, for example, has the No. 3 overall pick and is unlikely to draft a quarterback. The team is guaranteed to land a blue-chip prospect if it stays put.

But if Detroit decides to trade down so that it can acquire more draft picks, then the return should be significant – something the team might consider after finishing 3-12-1 and playing half of the season without injured QB Matthew Stafford. Plus, depending on how far the team trades down, Detroit could still wind up with a blue-chip prospect and pick up more draft picks.

Detroit, though, isn’t the only team that could move around in the first round. QB-starved teams could call Washington about its No. 2 pick. Miami has three first-round picks but isn’t 100 percent sure it’ll be able to land a top QB with its first pick, No. 5 overall. And the Los Angeles Charges say they are going with Tyrod Taylor at QB this season, but it wouldn’t take much for the team to move up from pick No. 6 overall if it wanted to draft one of the top signal-callers.

Imagine how angry those fan bases would be if the NFL said, “Sorry, we’re not letting anyone make trades this year.”

Trades are another reason why Fanspeak’s On The Clock draft simulator is the best. It’s the only simulator that generates its own trade proposals and allows users to propose and carry out their own trades if they don’t like the computer-generated offers.

Again, style over substance is that stud rookie QB who has to play with a terrible offensive line.

And style over substance is a NFL draft simulator that doesn’t offer its users key functionality, such as trades and the use of multiple big boards or the ability to create and draft with one.

Jake Rigdon (jake@sydwriting.com) covers the NFL draft for Fanspeak and the On The Clock, which is the only NFL draft simulator that allows you to customize and use your own big board while giving you control over trades.