Dale Lolley: Three weeks out mock draft
Saturday, April 06, 2013
[B]Three weeks out mock draft[/B]
I completed my first mock draft of the year a couple of weeks ago - much to the consternation of some - and now that we're about three weeks out from this year's draft, it's time to throw some more stuff against the wall and see what sticks.
Understand that mock drafts are just that - mock. It's what could happen in certain scenarios once teams start picking. And often times, things change from week to week.
[B]Anyway, here we go:[/B]
1. Kansas City, Luke Joeckel, OT, Texas A&M - No reason to change from my original draft here.
2. Jacksonville, Sharrif Floyd, DT, Florida State - Jacksonville could go a lot of different ways with defenders.
3. Oakland, Ezekial Ensah, DE, BYU - The Raiders have been known to grab workout warriors in recent years. Ensah has a ton of potential.
4. Philadelphia, Geno Smith, QB, West Virginia - The Eagles seem the likely destination for Smith.
5. Detroit, Eric Fisher, OT, Central Michigan - With Jeff Backus done, the Lions have to protect their investment at QB.
6. Cleveland, Dee Milliner, CB, Alabama - The Browns would have two very good young corners.
7. Arizona, Lane Johnson, OT, Oklahoma - Any offensive line help is needed in Arizona.
8. Buffalo, Matt Barkley, QB, USC - So much for quarterbacks not being a priority in this draft. Kevin Kolb is not the long-term answer.
9. N.Y. Jets, Dion Jordan, OLB, Oregon - The Jets have been searching for pass rushers seemingly since Klecko and Gastineau retired.
10. Tennessee, Chance Warmack, G, Alabama - Warmack is more of a sure thing than some of the guys taken ahead of him. But he's also a guard.
11. San Diego, Jonathan Cooper, G, North Carolina - The Chargers line was a mess last season. Cooper can play guard or center.
12. Miami, Xavier Rhodes, CB, Florida State - The Dolphins have filled a lot of holes, but need to get better in the secondary.
13. Tampa Bay, Desmond Trufant, CB, Washington - Tampa Bay's secondary needs an influx of talent.
14. Carolina, Star Lotulelei, DT, Utah - The Panthers get some beef up front.
15. New Orleans, Jarvis Jones, LB, Georgia - Jones' neck issues are scaring some teams away, but his pass rushing ability can't be denied. The Saints are moving to a 3-4.
16. St. Louis, Tavon Austin, WR, West Virginia - To steal a Todd Grahamism, speed, speed, speed.
[B]17. Pittsburgh, Keenan Allen, WR, California - Something about Allen reminds me of when the Steelers selected Heath Miller in the draft. Miller was unable to work out for teams during the offseason due to a sports hernia and fell into Pittsburgh's lap. Allen was considered the top WR in this draft but has been unable to work out due to injuries - though he is scheduled to do so April 9. He has size and is polished.[/B]
18. Dallas, Kenny Vaccaro, S, Texas - It's no secret the Cowboys are looking for safety help. And no, Will Allen is not the answer.
19. N.Y. Giants, Bjoern Werner, DE, Florida State - The Giants love to college pass rushers.
20. Chicago, D.J. Fluker, OT, Alabama - The Bears need to do a better job of protecting the quarterback.
21. Cincinnati, Barkevious Mingo, LB/DE, LSU - Mingo is the type of lanky pass rusher who fits into what the Bengals are doing defensively.
22. St. Louis, Matt Elam, S, Florida - The Rams want to come out of their two first round picks with a WR and safety.
23. Minnesota, Sheldon Richardson, DT, Missouri - The Vikings were a premiere run-stopping team for many years but have slipped of late.
24. Indianapolis, Cordarelle Patterson, WR, Tennessee - Patterson has speed and size but is very raw.
25. Minnesota, Robert Woods, WR, USC - Woods is silky smooth and has good size.
26. Green Bay, Damontre Moore, OLB, Texas A&M - The Packers need somebody to provide a pass rush other than Clay Matthews.
27. Houston, DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Clemson - The Texans need a No. 2 option on the outside.
28. Denver, Jonathan Hankins, DT, Ohio State - The Broncos are in a win-now mode and Hankins should help their run defense right away.
29. New England, Datone Jones, DE, UCLA - Jones just seems like a Belichick-type of pick. Smart, effort guy.
30. Atlanta, Tyler Eifert, TE, Notre Dame - Atlanta needs to groom somebody to replace Tony Gonzalez.
31. San Francisco, Jonathan Cyprien, S, Florida International - The 49ers don't have a lot of needs, but safety could be considered one.
32. Baltimore, Kevin Minter, ILB, LSU - The Ravens need help at inside linebacker and get a thumper.
[URL]http://nflfromthesidelines.blogspot.com/2013/04/three-weeks-out-mock-draft.html[/URL]
