Nick’s Picks: The Mock Draft Edition
This week I am skipping the usual routine of picking local games and will instead be giving you a spot-on mock draft for this weekend’s 79th annual National Football League Player Selection Meeting. (That’s the technical name for the NFL Draft. See, you learned something today.)
Let me just say a few things before I start this Stacey Page Online groundbreaking moment.
No, I do not claim to fully know what I am doing with this. I understand that probably 95-percent of my picks will be wrong because nobody seems to ever get close on these things.
I believe there will be four trades in the first round alone, but I am not going to mock any trades. I do not even want to attempt that madness.
This is a full mock for the first round only. After that I will be finishing out the rest of the rounds for the Bears and Colts.
Finally, if you are an NFL general manager or head coach that happened to stumble upon this list and found my suggestions to be the greatest single draft information you have ever received, I can be reached by phone, email or even Twitter (because it’s classy) and am available for any front office position.
Somebody call Gregory Peck because I am about to kill a mock draft! (Get it? Like, To Kill A Mockingbird? No? Okay.)
NFL DRAFT ROUND 1
Pick No. 1, Houston Texans: Jadeveon Clowney, Defensive End, South Carolina.
The Scoop: It is hard to screw up the first pick in a draft in a normal draft, but this year’s draft is so deep and has so much talent at the top that Houston cannot possibly screw this up. That being said, i still think Clowney is the clear-cut top pick in this class and the Texans should jump all over the chance to have him.
Pick No. 2, St. Louis Rams: Greg Robinson, Offensive Tackle, Auburn.
The Scoop: Robinson is a man’s man’s man’s man. He is a beast when it comes to run blocking and will be a huge help in improving an already solid offense in St. Louis.
Pick No. 3, Jacksonville Jaguars: Teddy Bridgewater, Quarterback, Louisville.
The Scoop: Jacksonville can go a lot of different directions here, but Bridgewater is a guy that will put fans in seats and give them a reason to stay. Head coach Gus Bradley has this team going in the right direction, Bridgewater is the guy to get the Jags their faster.
Pick No. 4, Cleveland Browns: Blake Bortles, Quarterback, Central Florida.
The Scoop: You are right, that does not say “Johnny Manziel.” Bortles fits in perfectly with how the AFC North plays. He is similar to Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger and Baltimore’s Joe Flacco in both style of play and size (6’4″, 230lbs.).
Pick No. 5, Oakland Raiders: Khalil Mack, Outside Linebacker, Buffalo.
The Scoop: This is going to be a very tough call for the Raiders. It’s either Mack or Sammy Watkins. Both fit the bill for need and want for the Raiders but Mack makes more sense given the offensive heavy division Oakland is in.
Pick No. 6, Atlanta Falcons: Jake Matthews, OT, Texas A&M.
The Scoop: This is a team a highly suspect will trade up to get either Mack or Clowney, but since I am not mocking any trades…Atlanta let star QB Matt Ryan get hit way too many times last season. If you want to win, protect the franchise gunslinger.
Pick No. 7, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Sammy Watkins, Wide Receiver, Clemson.
The Scoop: Nope, still no Johnny Football. New Bucs head coach Lovie Smith is definitely intrigued by Manziel, but the guy is a risk and one Smith does not want. Josh McCown is in place for now in Tampa and he will thrive with Watkins on the outside.
Pick No. 8, Minnesota Vikings: Justin Gilbert, Cornerback, Oklahoma State.
The Scoop: New Viking head coach Mike Zimmer only coaches one thing better than defensive units and that is defensive backs. Gilbert is a stellar talent out of OSU and will step in immediately to help the Vikings.
Pick No. 9, Buffalo Bills: Mike Evans, WR, Texas A&M.
The Scoop: Bills quarterback E.J. Manuel is poised to have a breakout sophomore campaign and Evans will be a big boost to that.
Pick No. 10, Detroit Lions: Kyle Fuller, CB, Virginia Tech.
The Scoop: I struggled a lot with this pick and it is probably the one I am least confident in. In short, the Lions need help on defense, primarily in the secondary. Fuller or Michigan State’s Darqueze Dennard make sense here.
Pick No. 11, Tennessee Titans: Taylor Lewan, OT, Michigan.
The Scoop: Tennessee might regret not grabbing Manziel here, even with Jake Locker still on the roster. Lewan is another solid tackle that will help his team out right away.
Pick No. 12, New York Giants: Anthony Barr, OLB/DE, UCLA.
The Scoop: Barr will do wonders for a declining Giant defense.
Pick No. 13, St. Louis Rams: HaHa Clinton-Dix, Safety, Alabama.
The Scoop: St. Louis cashes in on the draft’s top safety with its second first round selection.
Pick No. 14, Chicago Bears: Calvin Pryor, S, Louisville.
The Scoop: The Bears defense is aging and the safeties were terrible in 2013. Pryor solidifies a weak spot and is the face of the next generation of talented defensive units in Chicago.
Pick No. 15, Pittsburgh Steelers: C.J. Mosley, Alabama.
The Scoop: Mosley helps to restore an aging linebacker core in the physical AFC North.
Pick No. 16, Dallas Cowboys: Johnny Manziel, QB, Texas A&M.
The Scoop: I really thought this pick was super unpopular, but several draft gurus have picked this same thing, so I feel a little better about it. Reasoning? Jerry Jones will NOT pass on the hometown kid, no chance.
Pick No. 17, Baltimore Ravens: Eric Ebron, Tight End, North Carolina.
The Scoop: Very talented and athletic tight end gives Joe Flacco a weapon he desperately needs.
Pick No. 18, New York Jets: Kony Ealy, OLB/DE, Missouri.
The Scoop: The jets have a great chance here to pick up an offensive weapon to help strengthen an offense that was anemic in 2013. But, instead, head coach Rex Ryan jumps all over Ealy, a defensive gem.
Pick No. 19, Miami Dolphins: Zack Martin, OT, Notre Dame.
The Scoop: Miami needs help everywhere, but protecting signal caller Ryan Tannehill is a must.
Pick No. 20, Arizona Cardinals: Derek Carr, QB, Fresno State.
The Scoop: Brother of former Texans and Giants QB David Carr, Derek is the most NFL-ready QB on the board. Head coach and QB guru Bruce Arians will help his kid have an amazing rookie campaign.
Pick No. 21, Green Bay Packers: Austin Seferian-Jenkins, TE, Washington.
The Scoop: Green Bay needs a tight end for Aaron Rodgers to trust, this former Washington Huskie stud is a match up nightmare for defenses and should have a solid career in the league.
Pick No. 22, Philadelphia Eagles: Jason Verrett, CB, Texas Christian.
The Scoop: Chip Kelly can run the heck out of an offense, but his team needs serious help on defense.
Pick No. 23, Kansas City Chiefs: Odell Beckham Jr., WR, LSU.
The Scoop: Honestly, the Chiefs are so close to having an epic passing attack, they just lack a second go-to receiver. Say hello to Mr. Beckham.
Pick No. 24, Cincinnati Bengals: Darqueze Dennard, CB, Michigan State.
The Scoop: Bengals help out their secondary with a steal at No. 24.
Pick No. 25, San Diego Chargers: Aaron Donald, Defensive Tackle, Pittsburgh.
The Scoop: Okay, I would actually be surprised if Donald fell this far, but if he does San Diego will relish the pick. Donald is beast but his game might not have much room to grow.
Pick No. 26, Cleveland Browns: Carlos Hyde, Runningback, Ohio State.
The Scoop: Look, at some point in the first round some team will make a move that will make everybody question everything about the organization. If that team is not the Cleveland Browns then I will be shocked.
Pick No. 27, New Orleans Saints: Cyrus Kouandjio, OT, Alabama.
The Scoop: Again, teams need to protect their quarterbacks if they want to be successful. Drew Brees is pretty darn good but not getting any younger and the Saints want to have him around for as long as they can.
Pick No. 28, Carolina Panthers: Marqise Lee, WR, USC.
The Scoop: Cam Newton is starving for a fresh new receiver to come in and help pad his stats. Lee has injury problems but is the best athlete in the draft.
Pick No. 29, New England Patriots: Cody Latimer, WR, Indiana.
The Scoop: Bill Belichick and the Pats have done a ton to improve their defense this spring, now it is time to get Tom Brady some help. I almost guarantee this pick will happen because I love my IU guys and despise everything New England, so this is just bound to happen.
Pick No. 30, San Francisco 49ers: Dee Ford, DE, Auburn.
The Scoop: A fantastic defensive talent falls right into the hands of a team that might need it most due to recent off-field issues with star player Aldon Smith.
Pick No. 31, Denver Broncos: Kelvin Benjamin, WR, Florida State.
The Scoop: The Broncos are in “win now” mode for Peyton Manning and pick up a big, physical receiver here for their aging QB.
Pick No. 32, Seattle Seahawks: Xavier Su’a-Filo, Guard, UCLA.
The Scoop: Seattle wants to keep its offense physical and dominant with its run game, Su’a-Filo slides right into a starting role to help Seattle in its title defense.
CHICAGO’S REMAINING PICKS
Round 2: Will Sutton, DT, Arizona State.
The Scoop: Sutton is not the DT Chicago was hoping for, but he will help a weak Chicago defensive front either way.
Round 3: A.J. McCarron, QB, Alabama.
The Scoop: The Bears need an insurance policy for Jay Cutler, McCarron is a proven winner with a winning attitude and could potentially be trade bait in the future.
Round 4: Bashaud Breeland, CB, Clemson.
The Scoop: Chicago still needs to beef up its secondary and Breeland is a talented player that had drawn comparisons to current Bears CB, Charles Tillman.
Round 5: Cassius Marsh, DE, UCLA.
The Scoop: Raw talent, just another piece in rebuilding the defense.
Round 6 (first pick): Joe Don Duncan, TE, Dixie State.
The Scoop: Dante Rosario provided nothing as the No. 2 TE in 2013, Duncan has great hands and will add another threat to an already potent Chicago offensive attack.
Round 6 (second pick): Kirby Van Der Kamp, Punter, Iowa State.
The Scoop: The Bears need a punter almost worse than they need secondary help. Van Der Kamp is versatile (weird to say about a punter) and can be used for a fake-punt pass or run, if needed. He has a great leg and not much downside, definitely worth a pick in the sixth round.
INDIANAPOLIS’ REMAINING PICKS (Colts had no first round pick)
Round 2: Gabe Jackson, G, Mississippi State.
The Scoop: Indy needs a safety here, but if Deone Bucannon and Jimmie Ward are already gone (which I expect they will be) then GM Ryan Grigson needs to focus on the offensive line. Jackson is a bulldozer and will help the Colts run game tremendously. If Jackson is not available, then the Colts should seriously consider trading back to get more picks.
Round 3: Martavis Bryant, WR, Clemson.
The Scoop: Bryant is a tall, physical and athletic receiver that would give Andrew Luck an outstanding red zone target.
Round 5: Marqueston Huff, S, Wyoming.
The Scoop: The Colts safety situation is a concern, but not as bad as some may think. There are two guys on the roster now that would serve as fine starters for Indy, but the position still needs to be addressed. Huff would need some time to develop but would be a solid pick in the fifth.
Round 6: Zach Moore, DE/OLB, Concordia.
The Scoop: I actually saw another writer mock this pick and looked up more on Moore and loved what I saw. Grigson has met with him and seems to like him a lot. This would be a great pick for Indy.
Round 7: Ricardo Allen, CB, Purdue.
The Scoop: Allen was a solid player at Purdue and even played safety for the Boilers. His flexibility and knack for getting turnovers makes him a great steal in the seventh.