Mock Draft #1

It’s April and that can only mean one thing… flowers… oh wait, I mean, the NFL Draft! Here’s one of my attempts at a MOCK draft. Let me know what you think!

1. Colts                           — Andrew Luck, QB  — No Manning? No problem. An obvious pick for a team with no QB worth mentioning.
2. Redskins                    —  Robert Griffin III, QB — The trade has already been consummated and there is only one position that you should ever give up as many picks as Washington did and that’s for a QB. Griffin is the first piece in a new era in Washington.
3. Vikings                       —   Matt Kalil, OT — The talent is too great and this would help solidify a young offensive line. They don’t necessarily need offensive line help a ton though and Claiborne or Blackmon could be their pick too.
4. Browns                       —   Trent Richardson, RB — The Browns running game was anemic last year and only scored 4 touchdowns on the ground… total. Richardson is a talent and would help the franchise out greatly. Browns could reach and get Tannehill here or they could pick Claiborne.
5. Tampa                        —   Morris Claiborne, CB — Aqib Talib is on the block and either Tampa is really satisfied with their CB play or they plan on drafting Claiborne if he falls to them. Tampa could also pick Kalil if he falls or Blackmon.
6. Rams                           —   Justin Blackmon, WR — The Rams have alot of young, basically unproven talent at WR (despite the Steve Smith signing). Blackmon helps a bruised and battered Bradford return to his rookie form.
7. Chiefs via Jaguars        —  Ryan Tannehill, QB — The Chiefs trade up to get what they hope is a franchise signal caller. Cassel is still  there, but Tannehill will fight for the starting job. If he doesn’t win, then he sits for a year until Cassel’s contract is up or they decide to cut him. The Eagles have been mentioned as a possible trade partner, but I think they would have to give up too much to move from 15.
8. Dolphins                    —  Michael Floyd, WR — The Dolphins traded away Brandon Marshall over the offseason and now have no one at WR besides possession receiver Davone Bess. Floyd gives them another target and a name to throw to.
9. Panthers                    —  Quinton Coples, DE  — The temptation is too great here. Hardy and Johnson are good ends, but having another guy in the DE rotation who can stop the run would be a good idea for them. Also, Coples could shift inside to tackle on obvious passing downs.
10. Bills                             —  Riley Reiff, OT — The Bills offensive line is not good. They let a young, ascending tackle depart in free agency and have no one to take his place. Reiff is the easy pick here and starts immediately.
11. Jaguars via Chiefs        —  Fletcher Cox, DT — The guy we’ve all been talking about somehow makes it to the #11 spot. Cox offers schematic versatility and pass rush from the inside. With Knighton recovering from his eye injury and D’Anthony Smith still unproven, Cox is a good bet to be the selection. The Eagles are apparently enamored with Cox and could potentially propose a trade to trade down again for the Jags. If they did, I’d assume they’d take it. If they were to pick at #15, I think that Whitney Mercilus, DE would be a good pick.
12. Seahawks                   —  Luke Kuechly, LB — The Seahawks need a linebacker. They’ve got young guys across the board and could stand to land a very good talent in Kuechly. Other picks could be another DE, potentially Ingram or Perry.
13. Cardinals                   —  Cordy Glenn, G/T — Kolb has been beaten up in Arizona and the running game could always use more beef up front. Glenn makes sense and can play pretty much anywhere on the line.
14. Cowboys                     —  Dontari Poe, NT — Planet theory. It’s also very hard to find true nose tackles. Other picks could be Melvin Ingram, David DeCastro, Michael Brockers or Mark Barron. However, I think picking a big man wins out.
15. Eagles                         —  Michael Brockers, DT — He adds depth and decent pass rush from the interior. With the rest of the defensive line they should remain very, very good. The Eagles could potentially contact the Jaguars to trade up and select Fletcher Cox, who they apparently love.
16. Jets                              —  Melvin Ingram, OLB/DE — The Jets don’t have to trade up for their man. He falls right into their lap and gives them a pass rushing OLB that should really help.
17. Bengals                      —   Mark Barron, S — Mays and Nelson at safety. Enough said. 
18. Chargers                   —   David DeCastro, OG — The talent of DeCastro is too much to pass on at this point and the Chargers can’t resist. They have problems on the offensive line and could plug DeCastro in immediately as a starter. 
19. Bears                          —  Stephon Gilmore, CB — A good cover corner in a division with Aaron Rodgers and Matt Stafford is a good thing. The Bears need help back there and don’t hesitate to take Gilmore. 
20. Titans                         —  Dre Kirkpatrick, CB — The Titans could use some coverage guys. They aren’t scared off by Kirkpatrick’s recent (dropped) run-in with the law. 
21. Bengals                      —  Kendal Wright, WR — The Bengals no longer have Jerome Simpson or Andre Caldwell, their third and fourth leading receivers, so they pick Wright and get their speedy, shift guy to pair with AJ Green. With Wright, they have a very solid young duo at WR. The rest of the Bengals receivers are young and unproven.
22. Browns                      —  Jonathan Martin, OT — The Browns look to beef up their offensive line by drafting the next best tackle on the board. Richardson cheers from the green room. 
23. Lions                          —  Janoris Jenkins, CB — Their secondary needs alot of help. Improving the coverage allows that young, fierce defensive line more time to get at opposing quarterbacks. 
24. Steelers                     —  Dont’a Hightower, ILB — Just makes too much sense for the Steelers.
25. Broncos                     —  Jerel Worthy, DT — The Broncos lost some meat in the interior of their defensive line over the offseason. They look to beef up their defensive line, allowing Dumervil and Miller to make more plays in the backfield. 
26. Texans                       —   Stephen Hill, WR — Just the thought of two big, fast WRs in the AFCS scares me. Hill gives the Texans two guys who can blow the lid off of a defense, even if Hill is a bit raw. Hill will most likely face single coverage and with that size and speed should take full advantage of it. 
27. Patriots                     —  Courtney Upshaw, OLB — The AFC Champions land a great pick from the unforeseen slide of Upshaw. Upshaw immediately helps the  get more pressure on the QB. He will be ready to start from day 1. 
28. Packers                     —  Nick Perry, OLB — The Packers could use some help getting to the QB. Perry fills that role immediately. 
29. Ravens                      —  Peter Konz, C — The Ravens need help along the offensive line and Konz sets them up for the future and should be able to play any of the interior positions. 
30. 49ers                         — Kevin Zeitler, OG — The 49ers have found themselves with a vacant OG position and need to fill it. Zeitler is a good prospect who could start immediately. 
31. Patriots                    —  Kendall Reyes, DL — Reyes offers schematic versatility along the ever changing Patriots front 7. 
32. Giants                       — Mike Adams, OT — The Giants have two unprovens at OT and Manning is the man to protect in New York. The Giants select Adams and hope he lives up to the potential. 

– Jason Love