Just what we all need. Another mock draft. In 24-hours this will all be over. With no further delay…
1. Houston Texans – Jadeveon Clowney, DE South Carolina. After waiting for another team trade up while on the clock, Houston stays put to nab once in a generation player.
2. St Louis Rams – Sammy Watkins, WR Clemson. St Louis needs more help at corner, however they rarely go this high. Watkins wouldn’t put St Louis above the ubertalented Seahawks or 49ers, however he’d certainly do more than taking an offensive tackle and they’re stacked already on defensive line.
3. Jacksonville Jaguars – Greg Robinson, OT Auburn. GM David Caldwell takes best player on his board and is set at tackle for the next decade.
4. Cleveland Browns – Mike Evans, WR Texas A&M. I really want to put Johnny Manziel here, but Glazer said no and he’s never wrong. Khalil Mack also makes sense, but Browns have depth at linebacker. A duo of Josh Gordon and Evans could be leagues best sooner rather than later.
5. Oakland Raiders – Johnny Manziel, QB Texas A&M. Toughest guy in draft to peg. Looking at Raiders roster there’s not one guy who is face of franchise. Until now.
6. Atlanta Falcons – Khalil Mack, LB Buffalo. Word is Houston is considering Mack at 1. Atlanta stays put and ends up with the second best edge rusher in draft.
7. New York Jets (trade w/ Tampa Bay) – Odell Beckham Jr, WR LSU. Word is Jets want to trade up into top 10 for ODB (side note, great nickname) having former LSU special teams coach Thomas McGaughey on staff. He also provides major spark on offense to work with Geno Smith or Michael Vick.
8. Dallas Cowboys (trade w/ Minnesota) – Aaron Donald, DT Pittsburgh. If Uncle Jerry doesn’t get any sort of pass rush soon, he won’t see the playoffs with Romo under center again. New York Giants also other team that could move up for Donald.
9. Buffalo Bills – Taylor Lewan, OT Michigan. Bills have a decent young LT in Cordy Glenn, however EJ Manuel could use another youngster on the other side.
10. Detroit Lions – Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, S Alabama. Lions need help on backend of defense. Badly. A ballhawking safety that’s also good versus the run could be just what the doctor ordered.
11. Tennessee Titans – Anthony Barr, LB UCLA. Barr is sort the forgotten elite edge rusher in this class. So why not put him on a team that needs help there?
12. New York Giants – Calvin Pryor, S Louisville. Giants land safety after Will Hill pissed his career away.
13. Miami Dolphins (trade with St. Louis) – Zack Martin, OT Notre Dame. Rams stockpile more picks trading down. Miami gets to move forward from Incognito-Martin mess with high-character tackle that could start day one.
14. Chicago Bears – Kony Ealy, DE Missouri. Bears are widely expected to go defense with as many as 5 picks. Start early with versatile lineman that could also play inside on passing downs. Also learning from Jared Allen and Lamarr Houston is a real fine place to start.
15. Pittsburgh Steelers – Justin Gilbert, CB Oklahoma St. Steelers D is far from the leagues best these days. Physical corners provide a nice building block.
16. Minnesota Vikings (trade with Dallas) – Blake Bortles, QB Central Florida. Spielman smokescreens his way into adding a second day pick with Donald chatter and gets a QB with an extremely high ceiling that could learn under Norv Turner and with Matt Cassel until proven ready.
17. Baltimore Ravens – Eric Ebron, TE North Carolina. Another tough guy to peg and a team that tends to always take the best available player. 17 just feels like Ebron’s floor with Dennis Pitta coming back from an injury riddled season and Owen Daniels is getting a little old.
18. Tampa Bay (trade with New York Jets) – CJ Mosley, LB Alabama. Lovie Smith and Leslie Frazier are bringing their Tampa 2 defense to Tampa with linebackers playing a key part of the equation. Pairing Mosley with Lavonte David would work wonders.
19. St. Louis Rams (trade with Miami) – Bradley Roby, CB Ohio State. Roby has too much talent to not go in the first inspite of off-field issues. St. Louis also has Gregg Williams as their defensive coordinator. That is all.
20. Arizona Cardinals – Derek Carr, QB Arizona. Carr seems like a lock to go somewhere in the 20s, so why not get it done early? Sitting for a year under Carson Palmer with a coach that loves the deep ball having Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd on the roster could ensure a smooth transition when Carr is deemed ready.
21. Green Bay Packers – Ryan Shazier, LB Ohio State. Dom Capers has lost many nights of sleep failing to stop quick quarterbacks (I’m looking at you Colin Kaepernick). Paging a really fast linebacker…
22. Philadelphia Eagles – Kyle Fuller, CB Virginia Tech. Chip Kelly’s crew doesn’t have a glaring amount of needs, but one big one is cornerback really only having Brandon Boykin. Fuller has the height/weight/speed teams covet and Chip would sprint to podium if he’s still on board at this point.
23. Kansas City Chiefs – Brandin Cooks, WR Oregon State. Cooks just seems like an Andy Reid type of player after the success he had with DeSean Jackson. And unlike Jackson, he bring zero off-the-field question marks.
24. Cincinnati Bengals – Darqueze Dennard, CB Michigan St. Bengals are getting a little old at corner outside of Dre Kirkpatrick.
25. San Diego Chargers – Jason Verrett, CB TCU. Chargers had one of leagues worst pass defenses last year. The run on corners continues.
26. Cleveland Browns – Teddy Bridgewater, QB Louisville. The Browns finish day one as your winner landing the most pro ready QB in the draft.
27. New Orleans Saints – Marquise Lee, WR USC. The Saints may have the most talented roster outside of Seattle and San Francisco. That being said, their wide receivers could use a little youth.
28. Carolina Panthers – Cody Latimer, WR Indiana. Latimer may be the most complete wide receiver in this draft. And when names like Tavarres King and Jerricho Cothery are atop the depth chart there…
29. New England Patriots – Dominique Easley, DT Florida. I really want to move New England down as they always do, but am only going one round. The interior of their defensive line needs blue chippers and Easley is a top fifteen talent if healthy.
30. San Francisco 49ers – Allen Robinson, WR Penn State. Kaepernick wasn’t the same QB last year until Crabtree came back healthy. Robinson gives him another weapon.
31. Denver Broncos – Louis Nix, DT Notre Dame. Another candidate to trade up with Peyton’s window closing, but can’t peg a spot or area of much need. Terrace Knighton is in a contract year. Nix paired with Sly Williams would give interior parts of d-line life.
32. Seattle Seahawks – Joel Bitonio, OT Nevada. Super Bowl champs go back to basics landing a blue-collar offensive lineman. Worst case scenario Bitonio begins career as their swing tackle.
So there you have it. The worst mock of the entire season. Bash away folks.
Jon Merckle may be followed on Twitter @thevikingpig