The dog days of summer are upon us. To help pass the time, the staff at The Clemson Insider is picking sides.
\nAlong with publisher Robert MacRae, staff writers Will Vandervort, William Qualkinbush and Hale McGranahan are drafting players from the Clemson roster to fill out their own teams.
\nHere\u2019s how the first-round of the TCI Open Draft played out:
\nWilliam Qualkinbush:
\nFirst Round (1st overall) \u2014 Deshaun Watson, QB (6-2, 205)
\nI just don\u2019t think there\u2019s any way to choose another player here. The quarterback is the franchise, and this guy is as \u201cfranchise\u201d as it gets.
\nI don\u2019t care about injuries. I don\u2019t care about fragility. I don\u2019t care about over-hyping. I want a leader my entire team will follow, and I know Watson has those kinds of qualities.
\nThere are multiple ways to build a roster, and I think starting with the quarterback is the easiest way. I hate taking the easy road, but in this case, it\u2019s the only road that makes sense if you have a choice in the matter.
\nRobert MacRae:
\nFirst Round (2nd overall) \u2014 Artavis Scott, WR (5-10, 190)
\nI\u2019m not sure how in the world Qualk ended up with the first pick when this is my site. \u00a0I guess some money was exchanged somewhere.
\nWith Watson off the board this was an easy decision. \u00a0The offense will be loaded with playmakers, but Scott is one that is likely to have as many touches as anyone. \u00a0He is elevating his game at receiver to another level, which is scary considering the freshmen year he had. \u00a0We can expect to see him get touches on sweeps on in schemes as well. \u00a0Give Scott the ball in open space and we have seen he is dangerous.
\nScott will also play a bigger role in special teams this year. \u00a0We can expect to see him back for punts and kickoffs.
\nWith the second pick I will take the best overall playmaker on offense for the Tigers.
\nHale McGranahan
\nFirst Round (3rd overall) \u2014 Mackensie Alexander, CB (5-10, 190)
\nHeading into this thing, if I didn\u2019t get the first-overall pick, I was going to make my first-round selection a player from the defensive side of the ball.
\nThere were three obvious choices from that side of the ball, but I decided to build my defense around the guy who showed last year that he\u2019s more than capable of shutting down one side of the field for four quarters.
\nAlexander is the best cornerback that we\u2019ve seen at Clemson in quite some time. I remember Tajh Boyd telling a few reporters at Dabo\u2019s house one night that Alexander would have a Sammy Watkins-like impact during his freshman year. That, of course, was before anyone knew how seriously he was injured.
\nWhat also makes Alexander such an intriguing player to me is his tireless work ethic. The man is all about his business and that\u2019s who I want leading my defense.
\nBut I guess my next pick will have to be little more willing to talk to the media.
\nWill Vandervort
\nFirst round (4th overall) \u2014 Shaq Lawson, DE (6-3, 275)
\nLike Hale, I too like the defensive side of the ball. In 1969 my Steelers began building the greatest dynasty in professional football when they took Mean Joe Greene with the first pick in the NFL Draft that year.
\nThe Rooney Family\u2019s model, build a championship team with defense first and then you set things up with the offense later. Shaq Lawson might not be a Mean Joe Greene just yet, but he is pretty salty and I think he has the potential to be the ACC Defensive Player of the Year in 2015.
\nLast year, Lawson led all Clemson defensive ends with 44 tackles as a reserve. He was also second on the squad behind All-American Vic Beasley for tackles for loss with 11.5 and had 3.5 sacks as well.
\nWhat makes Lawson so good is his ability to rush the quarterback like Beasley, but also have power and size that makes him an even better runner stopper. Lawson reminds me a lot of former Tiger Da\u2019Quan Bowers, except Lawson, I believe, has more upside.<\/p>\n