6th Annual NFL Mock Draft presented by Bumtheory.com
NFL Mock Draft 1. Houston Texans- Jadevon Clowney DE/ South Carolina The most talented player in the draft. However major question marks on how much he loves the game? In a draft this deep it's hard to use the 1st pick on someone like that. If he works out an absolute hall of famer if not people will be questioning this pick for years to come. 2. St. Louis Rams- Kahil Mack DE/ Buffalo While Clowney has superior talent, it's not by much. Mack is the safer of the two as Mack is a great leader and also a tremendous athlete. By adding him here the Rams bolster what is looking to become a great defense. 3. Jacksonville Jaguars- Sammy Watkins WR/ Clemson Make no mistakes about it Sammy Watkins is the best player in this draft. While people rave about Clowney's talent Watkins isn't far behind and this kid has no question marks. Watkins brings it every game and every play. An explosive athlete with great hands he can score from anywhere on the field. Think a bigger and maybe even fast Percy Harvin. 4. Cleveland Browns- Johnny Manizel QB/ Texas A&M All of a sudden the Cleveland Browns have got a lot more exciting with this pick. Johnny "Football" will bring excitement on and off the field. While people view him as the ultimate boom or bust prospect, I believe the kid will deliver. By no means is he conventional, but he simply has the "it factor". This pick will turn around this franchise. 5. Oakland Raiders- Greg Robinson LT/ Auburn In this scenario the Raiders will get to pick whoever is the top offensive lineman on their board. Robison had steadily climbed the draft boards ever since the national championship game. In any other draft he very likely would have been he number 1 overall pick and he looks to be a cornerstone left tackle. 6. Atlanta Falcons- Jake Matthews LT/ Texas A&M Just a year ago it seemed like the Falcons would be playing for a Super Bowl, then last season happened. They simply need to get tougher up front and Matthews will help with that. The Falcons have been linked to trading up, but if they stay here and land Matthews they will be very happy. Matthews is another cornerstone left tackle that should be immediate plug and play. 7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Mike Evans WR/ Texas A&M Mike Evans embodies what is the new type of NFL WR. If this was the mid 90s Evans would have been a mid round pick that might have never saw the field. Scouts would have criticized his poor route running and said at this level he couldn't get open. Fast forward to now and this is what the scouts are now looking for. A big target with great leaping ability and speed, Evans knows how go go up and just get the ball . With more spread offenses Evans will be put in space with one on one match ups and simply win them. Evans can be the WR version of Jimmy Graham. 8. Minnesota Vikings- Aaron Donald DT/ Pittsburgh Donald has been a steady riser all offseason and has exploded up the boards recently. He is a DT that loves to get up the field and cause chaos in the backfield. While I am intrigued by Donald as a prospect I think Donald needs to get stronger to be able to deal with the big NFL offensive lines. With a draft this deep I think picking Donald here is not a great value pick. 9. Buffalo Bills- Odell Beckham Jr WR/ LSU Beckham has gotten far less publicity than both Evans and Watkins but, make no mistake Beckham is an elite WR prospect. Great speed and elite route running ability and great production against the best competition in the SEC. Beckham will add instant production to an improving Bills offense. This would be a great pick by the Bills. 10. Detroit Lions- Justin Gilbert CB/Oklahoma St I know all the talk is how the Lions want to trade up for Watkins, but in this scenario they stay put and draft a major need. The Lions secondary has been awful and Gilbert will bring much needed athleticism. However, I think taking Gilbert will be the wrong CB to take. While Gilbert has great measureables I question his cover skills and ability to come up and make tackles. Dennard would be the corner to take here. 11. Tennessee Titans- Anthony Barr LB/UCLA This is where the draft to truly gets interesting. I believe many of these prospects would usually be top 10 locks in any other draft. This is where we might see many trade ups and trade downs. Barr who once was considered a lock to be in the top 5 slides here to the 11th pick. The titans are moving to a 3-4 defense and Barr will be a great player to build around. 12. New York Giants- Zack Martin LT/Notre Dame The Giants must rebuild their offensive line. If Martin is available here the Giants will jump all over him. Martin has been a late riser on the draft process but is a rock solid prospect with not many holes to his game. This would be a good pick to start to rebuild what became one of the worst offensive lines in the game last year. 13. St. Louis Rams- Blake Bortles QB/ Central Florida I'm not sure if this will be the Rams picking Bortles here or someone trading up for him, but I believe this is where we see Bortles come off the board. All the QBs have been in a race to see who goes in the 1st round, I think enough teams like Bortles that he will land in the upper half. As a prospect I am not sold on Bortles, he does show some above average skills, however I prefer Bridgewater as a total package over Bortles. 14. Chicago Bears- Darqueze Dennard CB/Michigan St The Bears must sure up their defense to be a contender next season. With Cutler back and leading the offense the Bears should put up plenty of points, however the problem was defense last year. Dennard is my favorite corner in the draft this year as he can man up on just about anybody. Dennard is also a great tackler and should make an instant impact in this league. 15. Pittsburgh Steelers- Ryan Shaizer LB/ Ohio St Shaizer is a true 3 down linebacker that can fly around the field. He is a tackling machine that can be a starter from day one. He is fast and should play well in coverage. Shaizer is one of the most NFL ready defenders in this class, however he might be at his potential soon. In a normal draft might be a top 10 player, but this is a great value spot for him. 16. Dallas Cowboys- CJ Mosley LB/Alabama Mosely comes from an Alabama defense that just simply produces NFL players every year. Mosley was a leader on defense the past 2 seasons helping lead them to a national championship in 2013. Mosley is a hard working player that can play all 3 downs. This kid will not be out worked and will develop into a leader. This would be a great pick for the Cowboys who are looking for leaders on defense. 17. Baltimore Ravens- Eric Ebron TE/ North Carolina Eric Ebron is what all teams are looking for at the TE position. A big time target with great speed and great hands. Ebron is an average blocker that should improve. Needs to go to a team with great leadership. Has tremendous ability, with only major downfall being some character concerns. 18. New York Jets- Kyle Fuller CB/Virginia Tech Rex Ryan has been looking for a corner all offseason and he finally lands one here in the 1st round. Fuller is more of a zone corner than man but has sneaky fast speed. A good enough tackler with great instincts this should be a solid pick for the Jets. While Dennard is a better prospect I believe Fuller is better than the higher ranked Gilbert. 19. Miami Dolphins- Taylor Lewan LT/Michigan This is the Dolphina dream scenario. In this case they don't have to trade up and yet still land a top 4 tackle. The Dolphins must rebuild there offensive line after the Martin-Incognito mess from last season. Lewan is an athletic tackle that should be very good in pass protection. Also will thrive in a speed offense. Lewan weakness is sometimes lacks nastiness and might struggle if the Dolphins ask him to be a pure power player. 20. Arizona Cardinals- Derek Carr QB/ Fresno St In a shocker the Cardinals pass on Teddy Bridgewater to select Carr. Carr is who the younger brother of former #1 overall pick David Carr has a great arm and has put up some great production. They say he fits the Cardinals scheme well, but I just don't get why Bridgewater had slide behind Bortles and now Carr. I think Carr can be an NFL starter, but Bridgewater will be a star. 21. Green Bay Packers- Calvin Pryor S/ Louisville The Packers take the first Safety off the board late in the 1st round. Pryor is a big physical player that loves to come up and make contact. He will add instant intensity to any defense he is on and brings a love of the game on the field. He is not the most discipline defender is pass coverage and can give up big yards on cutback. Pryor however can bring an edge to an improving Packers defense. 22. Philadelphia Eagles- Bradin Cooks WR/ Oregon St Chip Kelly goes back to the state of Oregon to add a receiver, however this one is a former Beaver not Duck. Cooks is a quick WR that has great burst and great ability to get open. Has a knack for finding open space and is a great leader on and off the field. Fits the Chip Kelly system well and should succeed right away. His weakness is his size as he might struggle vs good man press corners. 23. Kansas City Chiefs- Marquise Lee WR/ Southern Cal Lee is a gifted WR that has the speed and route running ability to run any route. If the Chiefs select him here he will be a great #2 WR to Bowe and help open up the offense even more. Lee's biggest downfall is his durability issues and question marks on ability to go over the middle of an NFL defense. 24. Cincinnati Bengals- HaHa Clinton-Dix S/ Alabama Most likely a starter from day one, Clinton-Dix comes prepared into the NFL. Playing in an NFL type defense under Nick Saban Dix was a leader in the secondary. A cover safety that has the ability to come up and tackle. Only major worry with him is size, needs to add bulk or risks getting injured or simply being run over by bigger NFL WR/RBs. 25. San Diego Chargers- Jason Verrett CB/ TCU The Chargers secondary last year was terrible at times. Other than Eric Weddle they were very limited talent wise back there. Verrett would be an immediate upgrade in the secondary. More of a slot/nickel corner, Verrett has top line speed that will be able to stay with most if not all slot receivers. Verrett comes up well to tackle however his small size might make him a poor tackler at the NFL level. Overall Verrett should be a good playmaker in the Chargers secondary. 26. Cleveland Browns- Jordan Matthews WR/ Vanderbilt Matthews was as productive as they come at WR in college football. He was a stud WR in the best conference in the country for the last 2 seasons. Most project Matthews as a mid to late 2nd round pick, but I have the Browns taking him here and pair him up with Josh Gordon. Matthews has great hands and is a great route. Not the most explosive athlete and may never be a true #1 receiver, but will be productive. 27. New Orleans Saints- Cody Latimer WR/ Indiana Latimer is my 7th (yes 7) WR off the board in the 1st round. This speaks to just how deep this position is this year. Latimer is a big physical WR that should be able to get plenty of yards after the catch. Also excels at blocking which should help the Saints as they look to improve on the ground. Not the greatest route runner, however has ability to go up and get the ball. 28. Carolina Panthers- Morgan Moses LT/ Virginia Everyone here would be looking for the Panthers to draft a WR, however with 7 already off the board and still major holes on the line they go with Moses out of Virginia. Moses is a step below the elite LT prospects but still has a ton of size and ability to pass block well. Not a great run blocker, however with good coaching Moses should really start to blossom at the next level. High upside, but as the ability to be a bust as well. 29. New England Patriots- Dee Ford DE/ Auburn One word sums up Dee Ford; hustle. When Ford is on the field he is non stop. Fast and explosive Ford knows how to get to the QB. Watching him play live you would think he is a top 5 pick. Gets off the ball great and with great coaching can truly be a special player. He is smaller and may never be elite vs the run but in todays NFL he can be a difference maker in the pass happy league. Ford is a great leader and someone the Patriots can add to an already elite defense. 30. San Francisco 49ers- Kony Ealy DE/ Missouri Ealy projects as a DE in a 4-3 or OLB in a 3-4. He is an elite pass rusher and could help them fill the role of Aldon Smith if Smith is suspended by the NFL. Not great against the run , but it's not due to effort or ability more due to his size. Needs to hit the weight room and bulk up. Ealy I think if coached right can turn into a pro bowl DE/OLB. A possible steal this late in the 1st round. 31. Denver Broncos- Louis Nix III NT/ Notre Dame Nix is a mammoth DT that forces teams to double team him. After having a dominant 2013 season that helped lead Notre Dame to the national championship game, Nix was mostly injured last year. Nix when healthy is a great NT that helps free up linebackers. Only downfalls for Nix is durability issues and needs to improve power to take on double teams at the NFL level. 32. Seattle Seahawks- Allen Robinson WR/ Penn St The Seahawks will be looking to add to there receiving corps after losing Golden Tate to Detriot. Robinson is a big target that can develop into a great red zone threat. Robinson was very productive in college and will develop into a solid #2 option at the NFL level. Incredibly in this mock Robinson is the 8th WR off the board and while the 8th WR is usually a fringe prospect Robinson I believe is still elite at his position. Top 15 players in draft 1. Sammy Watkins 2. Johnny Manizel 3. Kahil Mack 4. Greg Robinson 5. Teddy Bridgewater 6. Darqueeze Dennard 7. Jadeveon Clowney 8. Mike Evans 9. Odell Beckham Jr 10. Jake Matthews 11. Eric Ebron 12. Anthony Barr 13. Dee Ford 14. Lamarcus Joyner 15. Bradin Cooks
