So here it is, after literally minutes of hardcore research, my final and obviously 100% guaranteed to happen mock draft. The first 2 picks are really the only consensus picks this year, after that it's anyone's guess. There are a few trades and surprises in this mock, so sit back and enjoy.
#1: Indianapolis Colts
Andrew Luck – QB – Stanford
Blah blah blah next Peyton Manning blah blah blah
#2: Washington Redskins
Robert Griffin III – QB – Baylor
Blah blah blah really exciting blah blah blah
#3: Minnesota Vikings
TRADE!!!!
Miami Dolphins
(Miami send 2012 1st, 2 3rds + 2013 2nd)
Ryan Tannehill – QB – Texas A&M
The rumours
that Minnesota aren’t sold on Kalil seem to have traction even though I can’t
quite fathom it myself. With that Miami jump ahead of Cleveland to get “their
guy” Tannehill and hope beyond hope that he can bring them out of New
England’s, and Marino’s, shadow.
#4: Cleveland Browns
Trent Richardson – RB - Alabama
There are plenty of arguments to be made that running backs
shouldn’t be taken this high, and I’m firmly in that camp. However Cleveland
are in dire need of some sort of offensive spark and any kind of excitement
factor. Richardson will bring them a lot of that and ease the burden on whoever
wins the QB job.
#5: Tampa Bay
Buccaneers
TRADE!!!!
Chicago Bears
(Chicago send 1st, 2nd + 2013 1st)
Matt Kalil – OT – USC
Wow, big move from Chicago as new GM Phil Emery comes out
swinging to try and solidify the offensive line and protect the investment made
in Jay Cutler and possibly Matt Forte. Chicago will need to offer a hefty chunk
to convince Tampa to part ways with Kalil or Morris Claiborne, both of whom
would be huge upgrades for them.
#6: St. Louis Rams
Morris Claiborne – CB – LSU
St. Louis jump on the last elite prospect and suddenly have
an extremely promising CB tandem with Cortland Finnegan also arriving this off-season.
There are other pressing needs such as DT, OL and WR that need to be addressed,
but Claiborne is too good to pass up.
#7: Jacksonville
Jaguars
TRADE!!!!
Philadelphia Eagles
(Philadelphia send 1st, 2nd, 3rd;
receive 4th)
Fletcher Cox – DT – Mississippi St.
With the flexibility of having two second round picks the
Eagles decide to jump up and grab a guy who’ll help the entire front 7. Cox has
the ability to be an every down player and will help to protect a weak, and now
injury prone, group of linebackers.
#8: Minnesota Vikings
Justin Blackmon – WR – Oklahoma St.
If Minnesota aren’t sold on Kalil at 3 I really can’t see
them taking any other OL player here. As a result they get the best WR on the
board to help out Christian Ponder and free up Percy Harvin to be a flexible
thorn in everyone’s side.
#9: Carolina Panthers
Quinton Coples – DE – North Carolina
With Cox off the board the Panthers decide to take Coples to
provide another pass rush threat, who also has the size and ability to play
inside occasionally. Yes there are other needs, but nothing really fits here.
#10: Buffalo Bills
Luke Kuechly – ILB – Boston College
The Bills continue to solidify their defense with Kuechly
there to mop up the leftovers from their monstrous D-Line. Kuechly is an
instinctive and athletic player who can be their defensive QB for years to
come.
#11: Kansas City
Chiefs
David DeCastro – OG – Stanford
Welcome a new competitor to the “Best offensive line in
Football” title. After adding Eric Winston to play RT the Chiefs pick up
DeCastro to play guard and carve out huge running lanes for a healthy Jamaal
Charles. After all, the best way to beat Peyton Manning is to keep him off the
field.
#12: Seattle Seahawks
Melvin Ingram – DE/OLB – South Carolina
Seattle’s top 2 targets vanish just before them, and so they
go with the best player left on their board. Ingram is a slightly undersized,
but incredibly versatile player who will add some real bite to the defense and
help protect their young secondary.
#13: Arizona
Cardinals
Cordy Glenn – OT/OG – Georgia
The Cardinals offensive line isn’t in a good way and needs
upgrades almost everywhere. Many have their doubts about Glenn as a left
tackle, and I’m higher than most on his LT ability, but everyone agrees he’ll
make a good RT/G at this level. That flexibility, together with his size, will
be a big factor.
#14: Dallas Cowboys
Dontari Poe – DT – Memphis
Poe’s incredible Combine performance shot him up the boards,
but that hype has eased a bit. Poe is much more of a penetrating nose tackle
and will fit well with Rob Ryan’s aggressive defense. They’ll hope he can
become a young Jay Ratliff, who’s output has dipped recently.
#15: Jacksonville Jaguars
Riley Reiff – OT – Iowa
After moving back to gather some extra picks the Jags snap
up an offensive tackle to help out the skittish Blaine Gabbert. Gabbert needs
better protection if he’s to develop into an NFL Quarterback.
#16: New York Jets
Mark Barron – S – Alabama
As good as LaRon Landry is he’s an injury waiting to happen
at the moment, and with the Patriots tight ends looking like they could
dominate the league for many years to come the Jets pick up the best defense
against them. Barron has the skill set to compete physically and athletically
with Gronkowski, Hernandez and any pretty much anyone.
#17: Cincinnati
Bengals
Stephon Gilmore – CB – South Carolina
The Bengals could use David DeCastro a lot, but he’s long
gone and as such they snatch up a replacement for Jonathan Joseph and a player
who can form a very good tandem with Leon Hall.
#18: San Diego
Chargers
Courtney Upshaw – OLB – Alabama
The Chargers need some pass rushing help, especially now
that Peyton Manning is in the AFC West, and Norv Turner and AJ Smith very much
need to win now. Upshaw should provide a powerful edge presence and a real
threat with Shaun Phillips opposite.
#19: Tampa Bay
Buccaneers
Don’t’a Hightower – ILB – Alabama
After moving down to gather a nice haul of picks the Buccs
go and get the QB of their defense in the big thumper Hightower. This
acquisition allows Sophomore Mason Foster to move out to OLB and provides a
boost to their run defense. There will be some work needed in Hightower’s
coverage skills to keep him on the field on 3rd downs, but he’s a
good player who’ll fit in well.
#20: Tennessee Titans
Whitney Mercilus – DE – Illinois
Mercilus hasn’t gotten a lot of attention during the draft
process but he’s a very good player with a ton of upside. The Titans need a
pass rusher now that James Jones has gone. They could look to move back and
pick up and interior blocker to help bring the most out of Chris Johnson, or
even a wide receiver to make life a little better for the incoming Jake Locker.
#21: Cincinnati
Bengals
Michael Brockers – DT – LSU
This is purely a Best Player Available pick. With no guard
or safety worth a pick here, and having addressed corner with their previous
pick the Bengals go and get a player who, had he returned to LSU for 2012,
would probably be a 2013 top 10 pick. The Bengals have enough depth at DT to let
Brockers develop at his own pace and use him sparingly, this is a great pick
for the future.
#22: Cleveland Browns
Michael Floyd – WR – Notre Dame
Cleveland’s hunt for playmakers continue. The WR corps was
dreadful last year, with far too many dropped catches and not enough explosive
potential. Michael Floyd could well go higher, and probably will. But he’s
still on my board and the Browns grab exactly what they need.
#23: Detroit Lions
Dre Kirkpatrick – CB – Alabama
The Lions couldn’t stop a nose bleed last year and are in
need of secondary help. Kirkpatrick brings physicality along with his good
coverage skills, and despite a few red flag character concerns he could
flourish in Detroit, where the defense seem to want tough, physical players.
#24: Pittsburgh
Steelers
Jonathan Martin – OT – Stanford
Ben Roethlisberger can only survive for so long behind this
offensive line. If the Steelers management want him playing into his late 30’s
they need to start minimizing the hits he takes. Martin is the best OL prospect
left, and with Hightower off the board this seems like the most probable
direction they’ll go in.
#25: Denver Broncos
Janoris Jenkins – CB – North Alabama
Jenkins is a highly talented loose cannon. His character
issues could see him slide out of the 1st round all together. But
the Broncos have great veteran leadership in their secondary with Champ Bailey
who can act as a mentor figure for him.
#26: Houston Texans
Kendall Wright – WR - Baylor
Houston need another receiving threat across from Andre
Johnson, and Kendall Wright gives them a really explosive option. Want to roll
your deep coverage across to AJ? Fine, Wright will burn you. Adjust across to
him and leave Andre Johnson one on one? Really? This pick helps cement Houston
as the sexy pick for AFC winners.
#27: New England
Patriots
Shea McClellin – OLB – Boise St.
This is a pipe-dream. I long ago gave up hope that the Pats
would take a pass rusher this high. With Brady nearing the end of his
illustrious career it’s about time New England cashed in these picks for some
blue chip players rather than rolling them over to the next year.
#28: Green Bay
Packers
Nick Perry – OLB – USC
The Packers need to ease the pressure on Clay Matthews.
Grabbing Nick Perry will help to do that and draw some of the double teams off
of him.
#29: Baltimore Ravens
Peter Konz – C – Wisconsin
This pick hasn’t really changed throughout the process. It’s
not flashy, and probably won’t please many Ravens fans but it’s definitely a
necessary move. The Ravens are likely candidates to trade out of here as well.
#30: San Francisco
49ers
Kevin Zeitler – OG – Wisconsin
Back to back Wisconsin linemen here. The 9ers have a hole at
right guard that needs filling, especially if they want to make the most out of
Frank Gore and Brandon Jacobs this season.
#31: New England
Patriots
TRADE!!!!
Cleveland Browns
(Cleveland send 2nd and 4th)
Brandon Weeden – QB – Oklahoma St.
Well I was bound to do this really wasn’t I? New England
can’t help but trade out of one of their first rounders. They won’t get a
future 1st here however as Cleveland jump up just a few spots to
grab Weeden, who’ll probably win the starting job in camp from Colt McCoy.
#32: New York Giants
Coby Fleener – TE – Stanford
The 4th Stanford Cardinal taken in the 1st
round. After losing 2 TE’s to ACL injuries in the Super Bowl the Giants need
some help there, and Fleener would be an upgrade over anyone on their current
roster anyway.
#33: St. Louis Rams
Devon Still – DT – Penn St.
The Rams woeful run defense needs some help. Still will
provide a good upgrade in the middle and keep blockers off of Laurainitis.
#34: Indianapolis
Colts
Rueben Randle – WR – LSU
Andrew Luck needs someone other than Reggie Wayne to throw
to. Randle, despite poor QB play at college, showed enough to be a good
investment here.
#35: Minnesota
Vikings
Mike Adams – OT – Ohio St.
He has every physical tool teams look for in left tackles,
but his personality is a real issue. After getting suspended twice at Ohio St.
Adams, who’s commitment, intelligence and work ethic were already in question,
managed to be idiotic enough to fail the drugs test at the Combine. He could
easily fall out of the 2nd round, but having passed on Kalil and the
other top OT’s the Vikings need a body there. And maybe they think they can get
him back on track.
#36: Tampa Bay
Buccaneers
Jayron Hosley – CB – Virginia Tech
Tampa collected some extra picks, grabbed a defensive leader
in the 1st and now pick up that corner they need. I’ve got a lot of time for Hosley, he’s
incredibly athletic and has a great break on the ball, leading the nation with
9 interceptions in 2010.
#37: New England Patriots
Jerel Worthy – DT – Michigan St.
Patriots add more front 7 talent in Worthy. He’s got the big
body that the Patriots seem to love and causes disruption wherever he lines
up. Lining up next to Vince Wilfork will
provide a good platform both in run and pass D.
#38: Jacksonville
Jaguars
Alshon Jeffery – WR – South Carolina
Despite picking up several free agent wide receivers the
Jags still need talent out there. Jeffery is a big target with good ball
skills, although he lacks top end speed. He should prove to be a good receiver
for Gabbert and will keep the chains moving.
#39: St. Louis Rams
Jeff Allen – OT – Illinois
The Rams need to protect Bradford if they want to prevent
him becoming David Carr. Allen is great in pass protection and has a lot of
versatility, he could line up at either tackle or guard for the Rams and play
well. He doesn’t have the classic left tackle body which has lead to him being a
bit undervalued.
#40: Carolina Panthers
Josh Robinson – CB – Central Florida
Carolina’s pass defense was almost as bad as their run
defense in 2011. Robinson will provide an upgrade to their 2nd
corner as well as being a threat in the return game.
#41: Buffalo Bills
Harrison Smith – S – Notre Dame
And suddenly the Bills defense is looking really strong.
Adding Harrison Smith to the back end of their defense gives them a bit more
protection against the Patriots juggernaut and gives them a real chance to
compete for the division if all goes to plan.
#42: Minnesota
Vikings
Chandler Jones – DE – Syracuse
The Vikings need more talent in their front 7, and they need
someone to help take blockers away from Jared Allen. Chandler Jones has a good
chance to go much higher than this, but were he to be here it would be a nice
pick from the Vikes.
#43: Seattle Seahawks
LaVonte David – OLB – Nebraska
The Seahawks need some youth at linebacker after Aaron Curry
didn’t pan out. David is a slightly undersized but very aggressive player who
can make plays in both run and pass D.
#44: Kansas City
Chiefs
Andre Branch – OLB – Clemson
The Chiefs add pass rusher to try and make Peyton Manning’s
life in Denver as awkward as possible. Branch has been touted as going to the
Patriots in the 1st round because of his size and ability to play up
or with his hand down, but remember that a lot of former Patriots are now in
Kansas, including GM Scott Pioli and Head Coach Romeo Crennel.
#45: Dallas Cowboys
Alfonzo Dennard – CB – Nebraska
Brandon Carr will not fix all the problems in the Cowboy’s
secondary, they need to add another player and with Smith off the board Dennard
is the likely candidate. His recent arrest for punching a police officer during
a fight is worrying, but Jerry Jones has looked past character issues before.
#46: Jacksonville
Jaguars
Vinny Curry – DE – Marshall
The Jags have struggled for a long time to get after the
opposing quarterback, and so they reach a little here to pick up a DE to help
them out.
#47: New York Jets
Ronnell Lewis – OLB – Oklahoma
The Jets have to do a better job of getting non-blitz
pressure on the QB, especially with the mess their offense is likely to become.
#48: New England
Patriots
Brandon Boykin – CB – Georgia
Another premium pick on a cornerback from New England. Let’s
just hope this one works out for more than 1 year.
#49: San Diego
Chargers
Amini Silatolu – OG – Midwestern St.
The unfortunate retirement of Kris Dielman due to injury has
left a big hole at guard. Despite being a small school product Silatolu is a
very promising player and should be a day 1 starter.
#50: Tampa Bay
Buccaneers
David Wilson – RB – Virginia Tech
The Buccs need a compliment to LeGarrette Blount, who
struggles in pass protection and isn’t a threat to catch passes either. Wilson
has a great burst to be a change of pace to Blount as well as being a good
route runner out of the backfield.
#51: Philadelphia
Eagles
Zach Brown – OLB – North Carolina
Brown is a raw but athletic prospect with good compact
strength. There’s been some negative buzz about his commitment and work ethic,
but I like his upside and he’d provide a good upgrade next to new-comer DeMeco
Ryans.
#52: Tennessee Titans
Kelechi Osemele – OT/OG – Iowa St.
The Titans grab the blocker that they need. Osemele is
probably better suited to being a guard and will help to get the most out of
that big investment in Chris Johnson.
#53: Cincinnati Bengals
James Brown – OT/OG – Troy
The Bengals are old and bad at guard and need to improve if
they’re going to get production from BenJarvis Green-Ellis, who only got what
was blocked while at the Pats.
#54: Detroit Lions
Mychal Kendricks – LB – Cal
Another player for the Lions back 7. It’s no good having
such a good front 4 if no one behind them can cover or tackle, Kendricks can do
both.
#55: Atlanta Falcons
Mitchell Schwartz – OT/OG – Cal
Atlanta’s offensive line has started to get old and slow.
They need an infusion of youth to get the most out of Turner, Ryan and co.
#56: Pittsburgh
Steelers
Almeda Ta’amu – NT –
Washington
Casey Hampton, for all his long and good service, is now 35
and can’t have much left in the tank. The Steelers need to find his
replacements, and true NT’s don’t come around all that often.
#57: Denver Broncos
Doug Martin – RB – Boise St.
Martin is another who could go much higher than I have him
here. He’s a back who can do it all and will be a very useful player next to
Peyton Manning.
#58: Houston Texans
Jared Crick – DE – Nebraska
Crick is a 1st round talent, but after his
season-ending injury others have overtaken him. He’s a perfect build for a
5-tech DE and could come to dominate opposing offensive lines with JJ Watt for
a long time.
#59: Green Bay
Packers
Kendall Reyes – DT – Connecticut
Another front 7 upgrade for the Packers who need to improve
a D that, by yards allowed, was the worst in 2011.
#60: Baltimore Ravens
Mohamed Sanu – WR – Rutgers
The Ravens offense is in dire need of a WR who can get open
on a regular basis. Their offense was stale and predictable last season.
#61: San Francisco
49ers
Stephen Hill – WR – Georgia Tech
The 9ers had the worst WR corps in the league last year, and
despite adding Mario Manningham and Randy Moss already they could use some
youth.
#62: New England
Patriots
Zebrie Sanders – OT – Florida St.
The retirement of Matt Light leaves the Patriots a little
light at OT and so this pick makes a lot of sense.
#63: New York Giants
Bobby Massie – OT – Ole Miss
The Giants offensive line wasn’t the most secure last season
and is in need of a new tackle.
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