Sunday, April 21, 2013

2013 Mock Draft


1. Kansas City: Eric Fisher, OT, Central Michigan - Andy Reid loves linemen, and especially loves offensive linemen and since they let Eric Winston go, this just make sense.


2. Jacksonville Jaguars: Luke Joeckel, OT, Texas A&M - The Jags have not been impressed with Blaine Gabbert, but they will give him one more chance, and sum protection.


3. Oakland Raiders: Star Lotulelei, DT, Utah - The Raiders lose 3 starters on the D-Line over the off season so they secure a need here.


4. Philadelphia Eagles: Dion Jordan, OLB, Oregon - The Eagles signed Connor Barwin to play rush OLB in there new 3-4 scheme, but haven't got someone to play opposite of him.


5. Detroit Lions: Ezekiel Ansah, DE, BYU - The Lions let Cliff Avril and Kyle Vanden Bosch two elite pass rushers in the off season so they look to get one back in the draft.



6. Miami Dolphins (via trade from Cleveland) Lane Johnson, OT, Oklahoma - After Jake Long's 2 season decline the Dolphins let him walk in the off season so they trade up to get his replacement.


7. Arizona Cardinals: Chance Warmack, OG, Alabama - The Cardinals like their tackles even if everyone else doesn't, so they grab the Alabama standout to try and solidify their O-Line.


8. Buffalo Bills: Tavon Austin, WR, West Virginia - The Bills aren't to sure about Geno Smith, so instead they give newly acquired Kevin Kolb a new weapon.



9. New York Jets: Barkevious Mingo - The Jets traded Revis to the Bucs, but they think that Kyle Wilson can step in and play the #2 QB role so they get a pass rusher.


10. Tennessee Titans: Kenny Vaccaro, S, Texas - The Titans have shown a lot of interest in the Texas safety, so they draft him and pair him with Michael Griffin, another longhorn.


11. San Diego Chargers: Sharrif Floyd, DT, Florida - The Chargers need a pass rusher after losing Shaun Phillips to free agency.



12. Cleveland Browns (via trade from Miami) Dee Milliner, CB, Alabama - Cleveland traded down to take a CB and still gets the best CB on most people board.


13. New York Jets (via trade for Darrelle Revis from Bucs) Jonathan Cooper, OG, North Carolina - Mark Sanchez might not be the best QB in the NFL but no one can be successful when you get hit as much as him.


14. Carolina Panthers: Sheldon Richardson, DT, Missouri - The Panthers D-Line didn't do that well last year so they get a guy that can rush the passer and stop the run, and it helps that Steve Smith told the front office to draft him.


15. New Orleans Saints: Xavier Rhodes, CB, Florida State - Saints want a linebacker that can play in the 3-4 but Mingo is off the board and they are nervous with Jarvis Jones injury (even though he was cleared), so they get their new #1 CB


16. St. Louis Rams: Alec Ogeltree, ILB, Georgia - Rams do not have anyone in  their linebacker corps besides James Laurinaitis.


17. Pittsburgh Steelers: Jarvis Jones, OLB, Georgia - They lost a mainstay in their defense this year James Harrison after he didn't want to sign a reduced contract, so they look for another rush OLB to put in their 3-4 defense.


18. Dallas Cowboys: DJ Fluker, OT/OG, Alabama - The Cowboys interior line has been atrocious for a couple years now so they finally try and solve that problem at 18.


19. New York Giants: DJ Hayden, CB, Houston - The Giants O-Line has been deteriorating for a couple years now, but with all the best O Lineman off the board they sure up the other corner spot since T2 is coming off another knee injury.


20. Green Bay Packers (via trade from Chicago) Matt Elam, S, Florida - After letting Charles Woodson walk in the off season they trade up in front of the Bengals in order to draft the Florida play maker.

21. Cincinnati Bengals: Eric Reid, S, LSU - The Packers moved up to snatch Matt Elam from the Bengals so instead they get the 2nd best safety on the board.



22. St. Louis Rams: Cordarrelle Patterson, WR, Tennessee - The Rams lost Sam Bradford's only weapon so they get him a new weapon at 22.



23. Minnesota Vikings: Sylvester Williams, DT, North Carolina - Kevin Williams is getting up there in age so they draft a guy that can both play opposite of him and be his replacement.



24. Indianapolis Colts: Bjoern Werner, DE, Florida State - Colts are looking for a pass rusher, and snatch Werner up after he falls all the way to 24.


25. Minnesota Vikings: Justin Hunter, WR, Tennessee - With the pick they got from Seattle for Percy Harvin they get his replacement, and get Christian Ponder a new weapon.


26. Chicago Bears (via trade from Green Bay) Tyler Eifert, TE, Notre Dame - Bears have no other significant weapons for Jay Cutler besides Brandon Marshall, so they get  themselves a big receiving TE.


27. Houston Texans: DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Clemson - The top two WR's are off the board, and Keenan Allen tested positive for drugs, so the Texans get the Clemson play maker.


28. Denver Broncos: Datone Jones, DE, UCLA - After losing Elvis Dumervil in faxgate, they get a DE that can rush they get his replacement.


29. New England Patriots: Desmond Trufant, CB, Washington - The Patriots have no one at CB besides Aqib Talib simple as that.



30. Atlanta Falcons: Jamar Taylor, CB, Boise State - Falcons didn't resign Dunta Robinson or Brent Grimes in the off season, so they get the corner fron Boise to put on the other side of Asante.



31. San Fransico 49ers: Jonathan Cyprien, S, FIU - The 49ers loss there starting safety this year, and weren't able to get Ed Reed in free agency.


32. Baltimore Ravens: Arthur Brown, OLB, Kansas State - The Ravens lost a slew of linebackers over the off season, and the best ILB's are off the board already, and at the combine Harbaugh didn't look to impressed with Manti, so they get a OLB instead.

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Could Geno Smith have another Brady Quinn like wait?



Geno Smith is an interesting prospect to say the least, according to analyst and insiders everywhere Geno Smith is the consensus #1 quarterback in the draft. That's not saying much because this is a particularly weak QB draft. Geno has good footwork and a very strong arm; on occasion he misses open receivers, struggles throwing the ball in tight windows, and has problems when he\is first option isn't there. He also has not fared well when playing in cold weather. These are not qualities you want to see when handing over the keys to your franchise to a QB. For these reasons sum NFL coaches and owners don't see him as the starting QB of their franchise for years to come. Some don't even see him as the best QB in the draft (myself included) they think Matt Barkley, the USC standout is. This is a similar scenario to what happened to Brady Quinn, he was the consensus #1 QB coming out of Notre Dame,  was an all-american, and was rumored to possibly be a top 5 pick. When Quinn's name wasn't called by Oakland and Cleveland, team after team that needed a QB passed him up. Quinn didn't hear his name called until pick 22 when the Browns who passed on him at #3 moved back into the first round to select him. If it wasn't for that he might have fallen out of the first round. This is a problem Geno could face if he doesn't go in the top 9 picks. If you look at it all the teams have a QB already that is just as good or better than Smith. KC just got Alex Smith, and Chase Daniels so he isn't going there. Jacksonville could be a fit, but they just recently drafted Blaine Gabbert, and have many more pressing needs. Oakland recently acquired Matt Flynn in a trade with Seattle. Philadelphia is a possibility,  but they will either go for an offensive linemen, or to the defensive side of the ball. Detroit has Matt Stafford in place for the next decade. Cleveland is a possibility but they drafted Brandon Weeden in the 1st round last year so that is not happening. Arizona recently acquired Carson Palmer from the Raiders so they won't be looking for a QB, at least this year. The Bills could be a possibility but they also signed Kevin Kolb in the off season after he was released by the Cardinals. The last team that would even think about Geno is the Jets, and they won't think about that to long because they have so much money tied up in Mark Sanchez. So if that is the case could we not see a QB drafted in the 1st round? The last time a QB was't taken in the 1st round was 1996, so Thursday night we will see if we need to update that to 2013.