| A two round mock mostly for my own amusement with proposed trades, many likely unfounded rumors taken into account and a ridiculous number of QBs going in the first round. Comments will be minimal, other options not included except for the Steelers. Final player value boards will be posted on Monday/Tuesday next week before the draft. Final serious mock (as far as that goes) will be posted next Wednesday, the day before the draft begins. Proposed TradesSan Francisco 49ers trade 1 (7) to Tennessee Titans for 1 (15), 2 (45) Cleveland Browns trade 1 (8) to New Orleans Saints for 1 (12), 3 (78) Indianapolis Colts trade 1 (18) to Cincinnati Bengals for 1 (24), 3 (87) Indianapolis Colts trade 1 (24) to Carolina Panthers for 1 (30), 3 (93) Pittsburgh Steelers trade 1 (25) to Denver Broncosfor 1 (31), 3 (94) Round 11. Los Angeles Rams (from Tennessee) QB Jared Goff - California Traded a kings ransom including the 15th pick, a pair of second rounders, a third rounder plus 2017 first and third round picks to the Titans for this selection along with fourth and sixth round picks this year. Rumblings when the trade was first made suggested Wentz was the target, now the general consensus is that the more immediately ready Goff will be the pick.
2. Philadelphia Eagles (from Cleveland) QB Carson Wentz - North Dakota St Traded the 8th pick, a third rounder, a fourth rounder plus 2017 first and 2018 second round picks to the Browns for this selection along with a 2017 fourth round pick. Doug Pederson has been drooling over Wentz since being hired as head coach. Sam Bradford and Chase Daniel were always only mediocre stopgap solutions at best.
3. San Diego Chargers CB/S Jalen Ramsey - Florida St Ramsey was a 41 game starter despite coming out early, the first true freshman to start at corner in Tallahassee since Deion Sanders. He is an instinctive ball hawk that has also played safety and excelled on coverage units. His versatility should allow him to replace either free agents Eric Weddle or Patrick Robinson in the short term, aging Brandon Flowers as a franchise corner in the long term.
4. Dallas Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott - Ohio St Jerry Jones makes a big splash adding an offensive play maker to help take pressure off Tony Romo. Bosa would make more short term sense due to the suspension of Randy Gregory, expected suspension of DeMarcus Lawrence. Drafting for the short term not always the smartest decision.
5. Jacksonville Jaguars DE Joey Bosa - Ohio St Defensive line goes from a major weakness to an incredible strength with the additions of Bosa, Malik Jackson and last year's injured first rounder Dante Fowler.
6. Baltimore Ravens OT Ronnie Stanley - Notre Dame Could Stanley really come off the board before Tunsil? Too much time between the end of the regular season and the draft can cause over analysis, at least among the so called experts. Tunsil missed games in each of his college seasons due to nagging injuries and suspension. Problems caused by Eugene Monroe's inability to stay on the field reportedly make durability more of a concern.
7. Tennessee Titans (proposed from San Francisco) OT Laremy Tunsil - Mississippi Move back up eight spots at the relatively reasonable cost of their third pick in the second round to select the player most had them taking before trading away the first pick.
8. New Orleans Saints (proposed from Miami through Cleveland/Philadelphia) DT/DE DeForest Buckner - Oregon Can't resist moving up to take the near consensus top remaining defender (assuming Jack's knee is an issue). Buckner's ability to play all along the line in multiple defensive fronts a definite plus.
9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers CB William Jackson III - Houston Jackson's length and speed have led to speculation that he could be the second corner selected after Ramsey.
10. New York Giants OLB Darron Lee - Ohio St GM Jerry Reese revamped the defensive line and secondary in free agent. Linebacking corps still lacks speed, talent. Is Reese willing to address the position this highly? In the past he has treated linebackers as afterthoughts.
11. Chicago Bears OT Jack Conklin - Michigan St Former walk-on Conklin showed surprising athleticism in the pre-draft process leading many to believe he can stick on the left side at the next level.
12. Cleveland Browns (proposed from NO) QB Paxton Lynch - Memphis After their original trade down coach Hue Jackson implied that neither Goff nor Wentz was at the top of their draft board at QB. A projected second trade down while remaining above the 49ers and Jets puts Lynch in play.
13. Miami Dolphins (from Philadelphia) CB Vernon Hargreaves - Florida Fill a position of need with a player generally expected to be gone when the pick is made. Can they get this lucky?
14. Oakland Raiders DE Shaq Lawson - Clemson Like the previous pick a nice combination of value, need. GM Reggie McKenzie has done an admirable job of rebuilding after facing early criticism.
15. San Francisco 49ers (proposed from LA through Tennessee) I/OLB Myles Jack - UCLA Leaked reports about Jack's knee being an issue at the combine medical recheck are being vehemently denied by him and his representatives. What if they are true? After trading down for an extra second rounder this would be a gamble worth taking in any case. Jack wasn't originally expected to be available for their original pick at seven. He provides versatility in their scheme projecting inside or outside.
16. Detroit Lions DT Sheldon Rankins - Louisville Described at Senior Bowl practices by CBS Sports' Rob Rang as the proverbial bowling ball of butcher knives.
17. Atlanta Falcons DT/DE Jarran Reed - Alabama Scheme fit either as 1-technique or strong side end. Steadier with higher floor, albeit also possibly with lower ceiling than more mercurial former teammate Robinson.
18. Cincinnati Bengals (proposed from Indianapolis) WR Laquon Treadwell - Mississippi Jump ahead of the Bills, Texans and Vikings to secure the top receiver in the draft. Stock of all the receivers in this class is declining. Despite a lack of straight line speed Treadwell has the size and athleticism to win contested balls.
19. Buffalo Bills OLB Leonard Floyd - Georgia Desperately needed presence on the edge, Rex Ryan especially likes the selection since Floyd seems to be a perfect fit for his old team the Jets picking next.
20. New York Jets OLB Emmanuel Ogbah - Oklahoma St Raw project will need to learn to play standing up. Ogbah showed more speed, explosiveness in post draft process than some expected.
21. Washington Redskins ILB Reggie Ragland - Alabama Steady presence for the middle of the defense already bolstered by the addition of Josh Norman.
22. Houston Texans NT/DE A'Shawn Robinson - Alabama Stout run defender, raw pass rusher with the physical attributes to improve. Has experience lining up everywhere in an odd man line.
23. Minnesota Vikings CB Eli Apple - Ohio St Combination of size, length and athleticism has to make Mike Zimmer smile.
24. Carolina Panthers (proposed from Cincinnati through Indianapolis) CB Mackensie Alexander - Clemson Move ahead of the Steelers, Chiefs for the last first round corner. Decision to drop franchise tag on Josh Norman, allow him to walk was a major surprise.
25. Denver Broncos (proposed from Pittsburgh) QB Connor Cook - Michigan St Too nervous to sit at the bottom of the round and hope Cook falls. Cook has experience, physical skills to succeed. Questions about makeup, locker room presence need to be answered. Still having nine selections including compensatory third rounder makes dealing the extra pick to move up more palatable.
26. Seattle Seahawks OT Taylor Decker - Ohio St Poor offensive line play has cost them dearly the last two seasons.
27. Green Bay Packers NT/DE Vernon Butler - Louisiana Tech Can't go wrong taking the best available defensive front seven player remaining on the board.
28. Kansas City Chiefs C Ryan Kelly - USC Plug and play immediate starter allowing Mitch Morse to move to guard.
-- New England Patriots Forfeited, penalty for deflate-gate.
29. Arizona Cardinals QB Christian Hackenberg - Penn St Bruce Arians gets a project to groom behind aged Carson Palmer. Hackenberg has all the physical tools, looked like a possible first overall pick after his freshman season before Bill O'Brien went to Houston.
30. Indianapolis Colts (proposed from Carolina) RB Derrick Henry - Alabama Will GM Ryan Grigson again ignore the defense, offensive line in the first round? Definitely if the past is any indication. Probably giving him too much credit with pair of trades down to nab Henry.
31. Pittsburgh Steelers (proposed from Denver) S Keanu Neal - Florida Manage to move down with the top five corners off the board at 25. Early entrant Neal's stock has been on the rise. Considered at the beginning of the process as mostly an in the box physical presence, he did start at both free and strong safety in Gainesville. Displayed surprising agility, explosiveness in the post season despite a lack of blazing straight line speed. Technique in coverage and as a tackler need work, nothing that can't be taught.
Round 232. Cleveland Browns - WR Corey Coleman - Baylor 33. Tennessee Titans - NT Andrew Billings - Baylor 34. Dallas Cowboys - QB Dak Prescott - Mississippi St 35. San Diego Chargers - OT Jason Spriggs - Indiana 36. Baltimore Ravens - OLB/DE Kevin Dodd - Clemson 37. San Francisco 49ers - WR Will Fuller - Notre Dame 38. Jacksonville Jaguars - G/C Cody Whitehair - Kansas St 39. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - DT Kenny Clark - UCLA 40. New York Giants - WR Josh Doctson - TCU 41. Chicago Bears - DE Jonathon Bullard - Florida 42. Miami Dolphins - DE Noah Spence - Eastern Kentucky 43. Tennessee Titans (from Philadelphia/LA) - OLB Kamalei Correia - Boise St 44. Oakland Raiders - S Karl Joseph - West Virginia 45. San Francisco 49ers (proposed from LA/Tennessee) - DE/DT Chris Jones - Miss St 46. Detroit Lions - S Vonn Bell - Ohio St 47. New Orleans Saints - OLB Su'a Cravens - USC 48. Indianapolis Colts - G/T Germain Ifedi - Texas A&M 49. Buffalo Bills - WR Mike Thomas - Ohio St 50. Atlanta Falcons - TE Hunter Henry - Arkansas 51. New York Jets - OG Josh Garnett - Stanford 52. Houston Texans - WR Tyler Boyd - Pitt 53. Washington Redskins - S TJ Green - Clemson 54. Minnesota Vikings - WR Sterling Shepard - Oklahoma 55. Cincinnati Bengals - DT Robert Nkemdiche - Mississippi 56. Seattle Seahawks - DT Austin Johnson - Penn St 57. Green Bay Packers - OLB Shilique Calhoun - Michigan St 58. Pittsburgh Steelers CB Kendall Fuller - Virginia Tech Fuller's stock appears to be in steep decline. He still has not been able to workout because of a torn meniscus suffered in September. His combine medical recheck apparently did not go particularly well. Fuller certainly has NFL bloodlines with three brothers having been drafted into the NFL, the most recent Kyle in the 2014 first round.
59. Kansas City Chiefs - S Darian Thompson - Boise St 60. New England Patriots - OT La'Raven Clark - Texas Tech 61. New England Patriots (from Arizona) - CB/S Sean Davis - Maryland 62. Carolina Panthers - OT Shon Coleman - Auburn 63. Denver Broncos - I/OLB Deion Jones - LSU |