4.18.2011

Welcome to The Mock

The Draft is just 10 days away. There are still a lot of questions to be answered between now and then. Please send me any questions that you may have and I will answer them in my fan-favorite Annual Draft Mailbag post. But for now, let's get to the new Mock Draft:

1. Carolina – Cam Newton, QB, Auburn
Let's get Da Schwam's take on this pick: "Cam 'Wayne' Newton says 'danke schon' to the Panthers for taking him first overall. What a long strange trip it's been for Cam. Normally I would say that's the way the cookie crumbles, but Cam 'Fig' Newton isn't a cookie, he's fruit and cake."

2. Denver – Marcell Dareus, DT, Alabama
A good pick for the shitty Broncos.

3. Buffalo – Von Miller, OLB, Texas A&M
I think the Bills will make the right choice and go with the impact defender. He would be an upgrade over any of the current pass rushers on their roster. They can take Miller here and then look for a QB at the start of Round 2.



4. Cincinnati – A.J. Green, WR, Georgia

5. Arizona – Blaine Gabbert, QB, Missouri
Still not sure about this one and a lot of people who cover the team think they'll go in a different direction. My guess is that even the people who are paid to cover the Cardinals don't pay too much attention to the team or watch many of their games, so I’m going to keep him here for now and hope he sucks.

6. Cleveland – Patrick Peterson, CB, LSU
Pair him with last year's pick Joe Haden and the Browns will have two first-round CBs in their secondary.

7. San Francisco – Robert Quinn, DE, UNC
It will be interesting to see where he ends up going. He missed all of last year after associating with an agent (or something like that). He did himself a lot of favors by showing up at the Combine with gigantic diamond earrings.

8. Tennessee – Nick Fairley, DT, Auburn
Some people are very concerned about his work ethic and the fact that he only had one good year. I still think he’s got enough talent to warrant a high pick.

9. Dallas – Aldon Smith, DE/OLB, Missouri

10. Washington – Julio Jones, WR, Alabama

11. Houston – JJ Watt, DE, Wisconsin

12. Minnesota – Tyron Smith, OT, USC
Not too many people were talking about Smith being a first round pick when the draft process started. Now, a lot of people have him as the #1 OT. This guy's stock is rising faster than Taj in Van Wilder 2.

13. Detroit – Prince Amakamura, CB, Nebraska

14. St. Louis – Corey Liuget, DT, Illinois

15. Miami – Cameron Jordan, DE, Cal
I honestly don't care about the Dolphins. I don't like watching their games, I don't listen when they talk about them on the draft shows and I don't know more than two guys on their team not named Chad. There aren't any Chads in this year's draft with a first round grade, so they have to go with Cameron Jordan and pair him with Cameron Wake.

16. Jacksonville – Ryan Kerrigan, DE, Purdue
The token white DE with a non-stop burner.

17. New England – Muhammad Wilkerson, DE/DT, Temple

18. San Diego – Akeem Ayers, OLB, UCLA
How many seasons will he play before changing his name to Hakeem Ayers? And then how many after before he starts going by Hakeem Hayers?

19. New York Giants – Anthony Castonzo, OT, BC
A nice Italiano for New York. Now he won't be too far away from his mamma mia's googots and gabba goul.

20. Tampa Bay – Justin Houston, DE, Georgia
I’ve heard that they have him rated pretty high on their board. I’m not sure he’s worth this pick.

21. Kansas City – Phil Taylor, NT, Baylor
This guy is pretty fat. The Chiefs love to reach just to get guys that fit their personnel. Taylor's actually pretty good, but probably should be picked toward the bottom of the round.

22. Indianapolis – Gabe Carimi, OT, Wisconsin

23. Philadelphia – Derek Sherrod, OT, Miss St
Not sure if this guy actually exists. I've just heard of him. I don't remember seeing him at the Combine or Senior Bowl. I'm pretty sure Mayock, Kiper and McShay make a bet each year and make up one player and see how high they can get his stock.

24. New Orleans – Da’Quan Bowers, DE, Clemson
Huge injury concerns with this guy. At one point he was discussed as a potential #1 pick, but now it sounds like some teams have dropped him out of the first round. If he’s able to get healthy and get back to his old form then it will be a great value pick for the Saints.

25. Seattle – Mike Pouncey, G/C, Florida
Still the pick if he’s here. It seems more and more likely that he will be gone by this point. If he is, I think the Hawks should look at someone like Jimmy Smith (CB, Colorado). Possibly Corey Liuget if he falls this far. It will be interesting to see if they look at any of the QBs available like Locker or Mallett. If Bowers is still on the board it might be worth the risk. Peter King has said that Schneider is very eager to trade out of this spot. I'd like the trade down option.

26. Baltimore – Cameron Heyward, DE/DT, Ohio St.
This guy is the son of the late Ironhead Heyward.

27. Atlanta – Kyle Rudolph, TE, Notre Dame

28. New England – Mark Ingram, RB, Alabama
My guess would be that either this pick or the 33rd pick will be traded to a team targeting one of the QBs (Locker, Mallett, Ponder or Dalton).

29. Chicago – Nate Solder, OT, Colorado
How fitting that he goes to Chicago and gets to play his home games at Solder Field.

30. New York Jets – Brooks Reed, DE/OLB, Arizona
He improved his stock at the combine where he reportedly had the nicest feet of any of the prospects.

31. Pittsburgh – Jimmy Smith, CB, Colorado

32. Green Bay – Adrian Clayborn, DE, Iowa
I don't know what it is about this guy, but he just seems really boring to me. I just wouldn't like having him on a team I was rooting for. He also has some sort of nerve condition that effects his right arm.

So that's the first round. I didn't project any trades, but there are always a few. If the Bills, Vikings and Redskins all pass on QB in the first, I think you'll see one of them try and trade back into the later part of the round or the first pick in the 2nd to grab Locker, Mallett, Ponder or Dalton depending on how they have them rated.

2 comments:

Mr. F said...

Great work as always DGP.

One question... you really think a team like Cleveland can afford to spend two first rounders in a row onthe same position? Plent areas of need.

Pete said...

The Browns could definitely look to other positions. I think that Patrick Peterson is too good of a player to pass up just because they used a pick on the same position last year. If AJ Green is there I think they'd probably go with him. If they like Julio Jones they may go with him as well. Some think Jones is a better fit for West Coast offenses, so so teams could have him higher on their boards than Green.