Last Updated 3/5/13. Follow me @FSportsSchiel on twitter for more updates.
I don’t mock trades, as impossible as it is to mock a draft, it’s just ridiculous to try to predict trades.
Kansas City Chiefs–Luke Joeckel OT Texas A&M. The Chiefs recently just traded for Alex Smith so we can scratch off Geno Smith at this point. The Chiefs also gave the franchise tag to LT Branden Albert but reports are that he is on the trade block. He could be moved to Guard or Eric Winston could be cut. Joeckel is almost universally rated the best player in this draft.
Jacksonville Jaguars–Sharrif Floyd DT Florida. The Jaguars have never been able to apply pressure to the quarterback even after investing a ton of money and time into the defensive line over the years. Floyd would solve all of that.
Oakland Raiders–Geno Smith QB West Virginia. Reports surfaced after the combine that the Raiders are very high on Geno Smith. While some might view this as a bit of a reach (myself included), we all know how important Quarterbacks are. Carson Palmer could possibly cut if the Raiders take Geno, which would open up some cap space.
Philadelphia Eagles–Eric Fisher OT Central Michigan. Demetress Bell has been a bust of a signing and there’s no telling how effective Jason Peters will be coming off of two separate tears of the same Achilles in the same offseason. One of the most bizarre and unfortunate incidents I’ve seen. I think Eric Fisher is a little over-hyped at this point. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a terrific prospect, but I don’t see him in Luke Joeckel’s class.
Detroit Lions–Ezekiel Ansah DE BYU. Ansah has absolutely flown up draft boards after dominating the combine and being impressive at the Senior Bowl. The Lions are losing Cliff Avrill to free agency and won’t bring Kyle Vanden Bosch back.
Cleveland Browns–Dion Jordan OLB Oregon. The Browns are another team, rumored to be interested in Geno Smith. Since he’s gone they need to get the best pass rusher on the board. Jordan would give the Browns the dominant pass rusher they have desperately needed for years. He also can drop back and cover, another plus in a 3-4.
Arizona Cardinals–Lane Johnson OT Oklahoma. Although Bobby Massie improved as the season went on I don’t think he’s better than either Johnson or Levi Brown. Brown meanwhile, missed the season due to injury but has always been viewed as a better fit at RT than LT. Johnson could solidify an O-line that was a turnstile last year. Whoever the QB is in Arizona in 2013, needs to stay upright.
Buffalo Bills–Matt Barkley QB USC. There is always one QB who gets picked higher than he should, this year won’t be any different. Barkley will see a late rise because he didn’t participate in the Senior Bowl or the combine. Meanwhile, the Bills have been talking about cutting Ryan Fitzpatrick.
New York Jets–Cordarrelle Patterson WR Tennessee. “I guarantee no one will have him this high but once NFL scouts get heavy into film work and the combine commences, Patterson will emerge as the top WR prospect. He’s 6-3 205lbs, fast, and is possibly the best route runner in this class. He’s currently rated as a late first/ early second prospect but as I said, I expect him to climb the boards.” I wrote that on December 1st, it happened a little faster than even I anticipated. The Jets have no talent at receiver and I think they give Sanchez another year to figure it out. If that’s the case they need to get him some playmakers.
Tennessee Titans–Johnathan Cooper OG/C North Carolina. The Titans interior offensive line is atrocious. Cooper has passed Chance Warmack on most boards due to some scouts thinking he’s not very football smart. I think half of the problems Chris Johnson has had the last two years were because of poor guard play. Cooper can also play a little Center giving him some useful versatility.
San Diego Chargers–Dee Milliner CB Alabama. Quentin Jammer and Antoine Cason were just atrocious last year. They ranked 107th and 108th respectively, out of 113 corners by ProFootballFocus.com. Milliner is a great value pick here as he could go as high as number one by some reports. However, if either of the Tackles are waiting here, they take them instead.
Miami Dolphins–Desmond Trufant CB Washington. Trufant stood out at the Senior Bowl and looked great at the combine. He’s one of the fastest risers of any player this year. The Dolphins won’t get a shot at either of the tackles because of the Chargers drafting in front of them. I wouldn’t be surprised if they take Cordarelle Patterson if he slides to here.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers–Xavier Rhodes CB Florida State. The Bucs traded Aqib Talib in the middle of the season and are likely to cut Eric Wright after his suspension nullified any guaranteed money left on his contract. The Bucs will need some help in the secondary. All Buccaneers fans should be doing cartwheels right now.
Carolina Panthers–Star Lotulelei DT Utah. The Panthers have struggled against the run since Kris Jenkins left in 2007. Honestly, this makes so much sense that it probably won’t happen. Lotulelei has dropped because of a heart condition that was discovered at the combine that forced him to be unable to participate. There haven’t been a lot of follow up news on the condition so if it turns out he is going to be fine he should climb up again.
New Orleans Saints–Jarvis Jones DE/OLB. Jarvis Jones was once a candidate to go in the top-5. He’s slipped for two reasons, the spinal condition that everyone has known about (which I’m actually not that concerned about) and the bigger one, he’s just not that athletic. He’s still a top-15 prospect who could go higher if teams aren’t that concerned with his medicals.
St. Louis Rams–Chance Warmack OG Alabama. Sam Bradford needs to stop being crushed all the time. Warmack is the best offensive lineman available, it’s about that simple.
Pittsburgh Steelers–Kenny Vaccaro S Texas. The Steelers have come out and said they want some youth at the Safety position. Troy Polamalu can’t stay healthy and turns 32 this year while Ryan Clark turns 34 this year and could be released as the Steelers have a bad cap situation.
Dallas Cowboys–D.J. Fluker OT Alabama. Seriously, the Cowboys need to take the best available lineman with every pick this year. Tony Romo is just running for his life. Fluker projects as a right tackle in the NFL which is fine since the Cowboys have Tyron Smith at LT.
New York Giants–Sheldon Richardson DT Missouri. The Giants haven’t gotten much out of the defensive tackle position for awhile now and free agent spending hasn’t helped as they hoped.
Chicago Bears–Arthur Brown ILB Kansas State. Brian Urlacher is a free agent and I could see the new regime there letting him go. Brown is the older brother of Eagles RB Bryce Brown. Brown is the perfect fit in the Bears famous Cover 2 defense that by all accounts, are keeping in place.
Cincinnati Bengals–Bjoern Werner DE Florida State. I don’t think that defensive end is all that big of a need on the surface but looking deeper into the stats I found some pretty revealing things. Michael Johnson, who has just been franchised, is a stout run defender, but gave the Bengals almost nothing in terms of pass rush. Robert Geathers, well, he sucks. Enter Werner, who was at one point in time a surefire top five pick who is dropping because he didn’t have a great combine. Steal of the draft right here.
St. Louis Rams (from Washington)–Tavon Austin WR West Virginia. Mike Wallace, Dwayne Bowe, and Greg Jennings are going to set the pay scale pretty high for Danny Amendola and I’m not sure the Rams are going to match it for a player who is always in and out of the lineup. Austin can do all the things that Amendola does, just faster and better.
Minnesota Vikings–Keenan Allen WR Cal. Not only is Percy Harvin their only credible wide receiver, he might not even be back with the team next year. Unless they decide to go in a different direction from Christian Ponder, finding legitimate targets for him will be a priority. Allen is still recovering from a knee injury suffered last season at Cal but should be OK to participate in his pro day. Another steal here.
Indianapolis Colts–Menelik Watson OT Florida State. Watson has some buzz coming off a strong Senior Bowl week and combine. I’m still a bit lukewarm on him but the Colts can’t have Andrew Luck getting hit as much as he did in 2012.
Seattle Seahawks–Barkevious Mingo DE LSU. Chris Clemons got hurt in the playoffs and there is no telling as of now what his availability is going to be for 2013. Bruce Irvin is a 3rd down pass rushing specialist for the moment. Mingo is a terrific value pick here but slips because of questions about his intensity and love of the game.
Green Bay Packers–Eddie Lacy RB Alabama. The Packers really need a running game to take some pressure off of the O-line (as far as pass blocking) and the rest of the offense. DuJuan Harris was decent at the end of the season but he’s not the talent Lacy is. I personally like Lacy more than Trent Richardson but I’m in the minority there.
Houston Texans–Kevin Minter ILB LSU. Brian Cushing is coming off a torn ACL while their other starter at ILB, Bradie James, is a free agent. The Texans need to add some speed at linebacker. I’d love to put a wide receiver here, especially after DeVier Posey’s injury in the playoffs likely means he misses most, if not all of the 2013 season. Alas, the Texans just don’t value WR2′s in their system that much.
Denver Broncos–Kawaan Short DT Purdue. The Broncos got absolutely no pass rush from the interior line last year (and not much else from anywhere besides Von Miller). Short is a solid pass rusher from the DT position.
New England Patriots–Justin Hunter WR Tennessee. It’s painfully obvious that the Patriots just can’t stretch the field. Is it a stretch to call Brandon Lloyd a possession receiver? He probably won’t be back anyways. Regardless of whether Wes Welker is back or not the Patriots need to find a big speedy receiver that can play on the outside. Hunter has the most upside of any receiver in this draft save for Patterson. I won’t be shocked a bit if Welker and Lloyd are both gone next year and the Patriots rebuild the position through the draft.
Atlanta Falcons–Tank Carradine DE Florida State. Carradine is a top 15 pick if he didn’t tear his ACL back in November. Fortunately, his rehab is ahead of schedule so his stock is quickly rising again. I’m not sure he is here come April. The Falcons cut Ray Edwards mid-season and John Abraham after the season so they need some help at DE.
San Francisco 49ers–Jonathan Cyprien S FIU. Donte Whitner was pretty bad last year and it showed in the Super Bowl. Cyprien is a physical player who has a high motor and can play either Safety spot in the NFL.
Baltimore Ravens–DaMontre Moore DE/OLB Texas A&M. Typical Ozzie Newsome draft pick. Moore has fallen more than any prospect in this draft, more than Manti Te’O, more than Matt Barkley, more than Johnathan Banks. He had a poor combine showing and there are questions about just how good he is. He’s almost a sleeper at this point. Meanwhile, the Ravens are losing Paul Kruger, it’s a fact at this point.
Click here for the second round
Congrats on not swallowing the Allen Park Kool-Aid and seeing the Lions regressing to their usual sub-mediocre selves in 2012.
The only mild criticism is not showing them regressing to their usual standing of between picks one and ten.
dude no one can see your picks due to the busy background and color of type
A small percentage of people complain about this but I’ve tested it on IE, Chrome, my PS3, iPhone, and Amazon’s silk. Not sure why you can’t see it.
As a Bucs fan, let me say a very good & informed analysis of team needs! RT could be the direction they go; I think the new staff will soon find out that Trueblood is a liability.But my money is on DT.
don’t see the Patriots taking a linebacker with the 1st pick..look for them to take either a safety or corner providing there is no def. tackle worth taking to learn from Wilfork…
The first to picks are just awful I don’t care how you justify it. Idont quit your day job pal!
waiting for another mock draft……enjoyed your first mock, now lets get going