Here it is my yearly attempt at a seven round mock draft. It’s a lot of fun but certainly it consumes a lot of time as several factors are taken into consideration with each and every pick. Factors such as team needs, depth of a certain position in the draft, strength of a franchise structure (to take a player who may have a red flag when it comes to character), past draft selections (they might have someone waiting in the wings to replace a player), and connections to various schools or coaches such examples include Chan Gailey and Georgia Tech, Pete Carroll and USC, Bill Belichek and Pat Hill, Bill Parcells and Al Groh. While I don’t predict trades in any mocks I am expecting some if not all of the moves listed below to happen which will in turn change the landscape of the order and team needs.
1. Jason Campbell to be traded to possibly the Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars, or Carolina Panthers.
2. Flozell Adams to sign with either the Washington Redskins, Chicago Bears, Buffalo Bills or Seattle Seahawks
3. Marshawn Lynch to be moved possible to the San Diego Chargers, Seattle Seahawks or Baltimore Ravens.
4. T.O. to land somewhere before the draft (maybe the Chicago Bears or Carolina Panthers)
Make sure to check out the radio show this week as we'll have former Miami Dolphins and Notre Dame center, Tim Ruddy, Jacques McClendon OG Tennessee and Aaron Morgan OLB from Louisiana-Monroe
Round 1
1 (1) St. Louis: Sam Bradford QB Oklahoma…The Rams can’t pass on Matt Ryan, Mark Sanchez and Sam Bradford in three straight years can they? Bradford has to be the pick here nothing else makes sense.
1 (2) Detroit: Ndamukong SuhDTNebraska…Just imagine plugging Suh in on the same line with Kyle Vanden Bosch and Corey Williams. Detroit’s defense will be immensely improved this season.
1 (3) Tampa Bay: Gerald McCoyDTOklahoma…besides the Rams no team was happier to see Bradford’s Pro Day then the Buccaneers as they knew McCoy or Suh would land in their lap. They will run the card to the podium to get McCoy into the fold.
1 (4) Washington: Russell OkungOTOklahoma State….this former Oklahoma State Cowboy is about to become a Redskin. Fills a huge hold and makes the move of adding McNabb look even better.
1 (5) Kansas City: Bryan BulagaOTIowa…. It is well documented the friendship between Iowa HC, Kirk Ferentz and KC GM Scott Pioli, so this is a safe pick and instant starter for Kansas City.
1 (6) Seattle: Eric Berry FS Tennessee…Getting the playmaker and leader for his defense will be Pete Carroll’s first step in his plan to rebuild the Seahawks.
1 (7) Cleveland: Joe Haden CB Florida…The Browns can add Haden with newly acquired Sheldon Brown and see a significant improvement in their pass defense this season.
1 (8) Oakland: Bruce Campbell Maryland….While film studying and experience dictate there are other offensive tackles ahead of Campbell, remember this is the Raiders we are speaking about and they put more weight into Pro Days and combine then all the other teams combined. Campbell was a combine freak who hopefully can turn the dial up a few notches and warrant such a high selection.
1 (9) Buffalo: C.J. Spiller RB Clemson…..Should the first round fall like this I can see the Bills jumping at adding Spiller to the fold (heard Chan loves him) and then shipping Marshawn Lynch out of town to maybe San Diego or Seattle for a day three (which used to be day two) draft pick.
1 (10) Jacksonville: Taylor Mays FS USC….While some fans and media might want Tim Tebow with this selection that would be a colossal error (not that the Jaguars are above that) instead Del Rio grabs a fellow Trojan to patrol the middle of the field and be his enforcer.
1 (11) Denver (from Chicago): Rolando McClain ILB Alabama…Some think the recent trading of Brandon Marshall means welcome Dez Bryant to Denver but that’s six of one, half a dozen of another. Grabbing McClain fills a need with a much safer selection than taking the controversial Bryant.
1 (12) Miami: Sergio Kindle OLB Texas. Need to replace Joey Porter and Kindle provides that and potentially more. Player with great motor and a high ceiling.
1 (13) San Francisco: Trent Williams OT Oklahoma…significant upgrade is needed on the line and the athletic Williams gives the 49’ers that quick footed linemen who will help all phases of the offense.
1 (14) Seattle (from Denver): Derrick Morgan DE Georgia Tech…..with the retirement of Patrick Kearney this makes getting Morgan that much more vital as they’ll need to upgrade and address the pass rush.
1 (15) N.Y. Giants: Jason Pierre-Paul DE South Florida…The G-Men are looking to retool the defense and are starting with the defensive line. Pierre-Paul provides a great start as they look to re-establish the Super Bowl caliber defense.
1 (16) Tennessee: Everson Griffen DE USC…… With Vanden Bosch in Detroit the Titans biggest need is defensive end and Griffen has been impressive in workouts and is poised to make an instant impact for the team that grabs him in round one.
1 (17) San Francisco (from Carolina): Kyle Wilson CB Boise State…top two priorities going into round one were to protect the QB done with the drafting of Williams and now getting a shut down quality corner is done by grabbing the ever improving Kyle Wilson. Great start for the 49’ers.
1 (18) Pittsburgh: Mike Iupati OG Boise State….The Steelers (or at least the Rooneys) want to get back to smash mouth Steelers football but they realize they need the big boys upfront to accomplish that and Iupati is a Steelers kind of guy who should start early and keep the spot for twelve years.
1 (19) Atlanta: Maurkice Pouncey C Florida….After addressing the top need of the team when they added Dunta Robinson this off-season they can turn to add an anchor for their offensive line in Pouncey. Often mentioned when I asked SEC defensive linemen who was the best player you faced in college the answer usually was “Maurkice Pouncey”.
1 (20) Houston: Kareem Jackson CB Alabama….Priority one is to replace the void created by the loss of Robinson to Atlanta and getting a guy like Jackson, who has played for Nick Saban’s defense the past few years, is a great start and should allow them not to nearly miss a beat.
1 (21) Cincinnati: Jermaine Gresham TE Oklahoma…Most glaring need for the offense was the lack of a threat at the tight end position. Rumor has it they offered this pick during the season to Dallas for Martellus Bennett. Regardless, now they get to add the talented and fully healthy Gresham.
1 (22) New England: Dez Bryant WR Oklahoma State….The Patriots have several holes to fill on the defense but grabbing Bryant this late as the eventual replacement to Randy Moss is a no-brainer. The chances of a Bryant meltdown reduces significantly adding him to a team with the structure in place as the Patriots.
1 (23) Green Bay: Devin McCourty CB Rutgers. Two biggest area of needs are offensive line and adding youth to the corners. With all of the top tier offensive line gone by this point the Packers look at McCourty who has the makings of a very talented player and should contribute almost immediately.
1 (24) Philadelphia: Brandon Graham OLB Michigan…The face of the franchise has changed in Philadelphia with the trade of McNabb to Washington but the fact they need to significantly upgrade the defense has not changed. Graham stood out at the Senior Bowl and seemed almost unstoppable against top senior class talent. Brandon will be a welcome addition as Philly looks to establish themselves again at a top defense.
1 (25) Baltimore: Dan Williams DT Tennessee….They’ve addressed the offense this off-season so far but now need to continue to add talent to the already impressive defense. Tight end might have been a nice selection here but no one still on the board rates nearly as high as big Dan Williams.
1 (26) Arizona: Carlos Dunlap DEFlorida…No team is in a bigger transition this off-season than the Cards who are going from the Warner years to uncertainty. As they look to retool several position the first spot on the list is filling the void of Bertrand Berry and grabbing Dunlap this late will certainly help with that plan.
1 (27) Dallas: Earl Thomas FS Texas…Jerry wanted to go into the draft with no obvious glaring needs but switched gears once he cut Ken Hamlin and Flozell Adams making pretty obvious what the Cowboys two biggest needs are going into the draft. Thomas is higher rate on my board than any of the remaining offensive tackles so taking a Texas player for the Cowboys makes sense over grabbing Anthony Davis.
1 (28) San Diego: Ryan Matthews RB Fresno State…Sproles needs help and unless they make the trade for Marshawn Lynch like I think this is their best move.
1 (29) NY Jets: Brian Price DT UCLA…Big clog up the middle that is needed for Ryan’s defense to fully succeed. Price is a steal at this point of the draft and should push for a starting spot in camp.
1 (30) Minnesota: Chris Cook DB Virginia…..If I were more daring I would say Jimmy Clausen but I’m not sure Minnesota can take that risk and have a player sit and learn for the future as their future is now and Chris Cook is the player who can fill a lot of holes depending what direction they want to use him. Playing for Al Groh you know he’s fundamentally sound and with his size will be a great addition.
1 (31) Indianapolis: Jerry Hughes OLB/DE TCU…The Colts need another pass rusher on the roster as they’ve relied too long on Dwight Freeney and it might have cost them a ring. Hughes has moved up on several teams’ board and is the perfect player for the Colts to add this late in round one.
1 (32) New Orleans: Sean Weatherspoon OLB Missouri..Payton’s crew had one of the most impressive offenses in the past several years but still have some glaring needs on defense and with the first being upgrading the linebackers and Weatherspoon will become an instant starter and contender for defensive rookie of the year.
With Pete Caroll on board, the Seattle Seahawks will be changing from the Mike Holmgren/Jim Mora/ Tim Ruskell regime to Pete Caroll and John Schneider. The Seahawks had a good run, but poor drafts and bad free agency spending has doomed the team to two consecutive bad seasons. While Ruskell tried to make the right decisions on the positions the Seahawks needed, he failed miserably in finding the right men to play those positions. Now its up to Pete and John to build the franchise.
The good news, is that Seattle needs help in all positions other than LB and TE, so the new brain trust can go in multiple directions. They are not forced to select certain positions to help this team. Seattle also has the 6th and 14th selections in round one, a high second round choice, and picks in rounds 4-7. Good spots to rebuild this team.
In all the mock drafts I read, I think it is funny to guess where a team is picking. Since I am only commenting on Seattle, more information will be available once free agency starts and guys start being released For example, if Patrick Kearney is released and the team doesn't sign Aaron Kapman or another defensive end, you could assume the team will draft a DE in round one with one of their picks or use the high second round pick. I will have to see what happens before I can put my best guess on who gets drafted. I truly believe Seattle will not keep both picks. I can really see them trading the 14th pick for a lower round one pick and another second or receiving a third round pick which they don't have. They may also trade the 6th pick for any deals for Brandon Marshall or Jonathon Stewart. In the meantime, this is what I think.
The new regime will want a quarterback to run this team. Matt Hasselback has been good, but age, injuries, poor offensive line and running game has hurt his production. Since he is under contract for one more year, I believe the team will keep him to bridge the gap for the new quarterback. If Bradfors falls to 6, I can see Pete selecting his new quarterback. I can also see Claussen getting selecting since Pete tried to recruit Jimmy to play at USC. Both of these quarterbacks have red flags for being selected this high, so Pete may skip over these two and try to sign a free agent quarterback or possible trading for John David Booty, until Pete is sold on a new franchise quarterback for the next year. I also believe Seattle will skip on RB for round one (CJ Spiller) for either Best (CAL), Blount(Oregon) or Mcknight(USC) with later picks.
Here is what I think Seattle will pick in Round One.
6th Suh, Mccoy,Berry, Oktung, Bradford if available. In that order, anyone one of those guys will fit this team. If not Morgan (DE GT) or Bulaga (OT IOWA)
14th Pick Bulaga, Davis (OT Rutgers) Dez Bryant (WR OSU) or Taylor Mays (USC S)
There are many issues, the team can go in different directions. The entire draft will go heavy offensive, from linemen to playmakers. So where I may guess some defensive players in round one, Seattle will be using later picks for those offensive positions.
