GH's Mock-o-Mania: Part 1- Round 1

I’ve been working on this for about a week, and I think I’ve overhauled it three or four times since I started. I do trades in my mock because they’ll happen in real life, and there’s no reason not to go all out with it. I like where it went, and I feel it has a good balance of reasonable and confusing picks, while still addressing the overall value of things.

In a separate thread is the full Jets mock, I split them off because I figured it’d be easier to get opinions on both that way.



1. Indianapolis Colts – Andrew Luck, QB Stanford
- Thought about the whole RG3 to Indy thing, but that’s not going to happen. Luck is elite, and is probably the only prospect I’ve ever seen that could replace a quarterback the level of Peyton Manning and not having the entire fanbase in tears for the foreseeable future.

2. Washington Redskins (stl) – Robert Griffin III, QB Baylor
- Made the trade to get him, the kid is going to be a star provided no one screws him up. I like how he’ll fit in with the Redskins because they need a marketable QB to take on three of the NFL’s most talked about. Personal guarantee, he sells more jerseys than Luck.

TRADE: Minnesota trades #3 overall to the Buccaneers for #5 overall, their 3rd and 5th round picks in 2012, and their 2nd round pick in 2013.

3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (min) – Trent Richardson, RB Alabama
- Schiano wouldn’t know what to do with himself if he didn’t : 1. Have a running back to run into the ground and 2. Made a ridiculous, potentially stupid decision. Richardson is a monster though, and he’ll get plenty of carries right off the bat (Blount is awful).

4. Cleveland Browns – Ryan Tannehill, QB Texas A&M
- If it were my call, he wouldn’t be the pick here, but the Browns never expected the Bucs to move up and snag Richardson. A feverish debate in the war room ends when they realize the WR depth outweighs Blackmon’s elite status.

5. Minnesota Vikings (tb) – Matt Kalil, OT USC
- No brainer for them, deal down and still get Kalil at a better pick, worst case they get Reiff who isn’t much worse. They think about Blackmon, but figure that they can get a good WR in Rd 2 to grow with Ponder.

6. Saint Louis Rams (was) – Justin Blackmon, WR OK State
- They were tempted to move up with rumors that a few other teams were eyeing Blackmon’s fall, but they stand pat and get the guy they would have taken #2 overall. Blackmon is the guy that Bradford would want.

TRADE: Jacksonville trades #7 overall to the Bills for #10 overall, a 3rd round pick, and a late 4th (from BAL).

7. Buffalo Bills (jax) – Riley Reiff, OT Iowa
- Demetress Bell is gone, and wasn’t able to stay healthy anyway, so they make a move to get a top tackle prospect. Worth the picks to steal him from Miami, and provide the offense with another solid player for the future.

8. Miami Dolphins – Melvin Ingram, DE South Carolina
- Ingram is a versatile player that would probably be better off as a linebacker, but the Dolphins are desperate to get a player that can actually do something opposite Cam Wake. They wanted Reiff bad, so they get a player to challenge him for years to come.

9. Carolina Panthers – Morris Claiborne, CB LSU
- The Panthers look left… they look right… they slowly walk to the podium and select the top cornerback in the draft. There’s a few other players they’d look at, but the Panthers haven’t had any luck with CBs since taking Chris Gamble.

10. Jacksonville Jaguars – Quinton Coples, DE North Carolina
- They never expected him to be here at 10, but they’ll certainly take it. The plan was to drop and take a receiver, but the value is too good to pass up for a team that just needs football players.

11. Kansas City Chiefs – Dave Decastro, OG Stanford
- They need help on the line, especially if Charles is going to get back to form. Romeo Crennel knows the value of a powerful guard.

12. Seattle Seahawks – Luke Kuechly, LB Boston College
- Carroll would be looking for a leader for that defense, and this kid can step in immediately as one. The Aaron Curry miss was a bad one, but Kuechly shouldn’t find any difficulties becoming a stud LB.

13. Arizona Cardinals – Michael Floyd, WR Notre Dame
- This offense is at it’s best with two functional wide receivers, and they don’t have them. The tackle position is a need, but they aren’t in dire need, and feel they can get a good one in round 2.

14. Dallas Cowboys – Dontari Poe, DT Memphis
- With Rob Ryan’s scheme Jay Ratliff is out of position on the nose. Phil Taylor showed how valuable even the most raw huge, athletic nose tackles can be.

TRADE: The Cincinnati Bengals trade #17 overall to the Philadelphia Eagles for #17, a 4th and a 5th rounder.

15. Cincinnati Bengals (phi) – Courtney Upshaw, DE Alabama
- Nerves about Upshaw’s availability and a few extra picks give them a chance to make a move to get above the Jets to make the pick. Reports are they really want Upshaw, which would make sense because he can be a steady force to match with big potential passrushers like Johnson and Dunlap.

16. New York Jets – Cordy Glenn, OT Georgia
- Joke is on Cinci, Cordy is the player the Jets wanted all along. Huge frame, great feet, and the ability to play either inside or out makes him the perfect fit. If Ducasse isn’t a waste, then hello next year’s starting RG, if he is then he’ll be a stud tackle. Love this kid.

 

17. Philadelphia Eagles (oak via cin) – Michael Brockers, DT LSU
- The Eagles don’t need a DT right now, but the line as a whole is getting old. With Brockers they can still run that wide 9, but now have a pressure threat inside. They were willing to risk Brockers because I get they have he and Fletcher Cox very close in value.

18. San Diego Chargers – Mike Adams, OT Ohio State
- The reason Adams is the pick is that he can slot on that right side a lot better than Jonathan Martin. Gaither looks like he’s getting it over at LT, but the rest of the line is nothing to be excited about (esp. with Diehlman retire and Hardwick injured).

TRADE: The Houston Texans trade #26 overall, their 3rd rounder to the Bears for #19.

19. Houston Texans – Kendall Wright, WR Baylor
- The Texans know that Wright will go within the next few picks and they see him as a final piece to an impressive offensive unit. Andre Johnson will greatly benefit from a talented deep threat like Wright.

TRADE: The Tennessee Titans trade #20 overall to the Green Bay Packers for #28, a 3rd and a 5th rounder.

20. Green Bay Packers – Nick Perry, LB USC
- The Packers have a lot of picks at their disposal thanks to two extra 4th round comps, they grew tired of waiting to see if their guy lasted until #28. Nick Perry is a dangerous man to line up across from Clay Matthews, and is a natural fit.

21. Cincinnati Bengals – Mark Barron, S Alabama
- The Bengals went back and forth between two Alabama defensive backs, but thought that Barron would fill a much more immediate need. Chris Crocker is bad, and with Reggie Nelson returning they needed a safety that can play up and support the front seven.

22. Cleveland Browns (atl) – Dre Kirkpatrick, CB Alabama
- They hit a home run with Joe Haden who is a top 5 CB already, but opposite him is a massive need. The players they have as options aren’t close to NFL starting caliber, and Kirkpatrick is great value this late.

23. Detroit Lions – Jonathan Martin, OT Stanford
- Everyone mocks an OT to Detroit every year, but maybe this is when they actually get someone to take over for Jeff Backus. Martin can start right away, but will likely be apart of a 3 way battle with he, Backus, and Gosder Cherilus to see who takes the two starting spots.

24. Pittsburgh Steelers – Dont’a Hightower, LB Alabama
- Timmons is a stud, but Farrior is gone, Harrison is almost done, and the team doesn’t seem to have a ton of confidence in Jason Worilds. They need linebackers to groom with the two Pro Bowlers they have, and Hightower could conceivably slot into either spot if necessary.

25. Denver Broncos – Fletcher Cox, DT Mississippi State
- The Broncos have great edge rushers, but can do little when it comes to pushing the pocket. Cox is a great athlete in the middle, and should be able to get quick pressure, forcing plays to the outside where Miller and Dumervil wreak havoc.

26. Chicago Bears (hou) – Coby Fleener, TE Stanford
- The Bears screwed up trading out Greg Olsen, but that was just a lasting legacy of Martz’s erroneous tenure there. They added Marshall, now they get a TE to complete a very dangerous (suddenly) set of skill players.

TRADE: The New England Patriots trade #27 overall to the Minnesota Vikings for #35, a 5th round pick, and a swap of 3rd rounders.

27. Minnesota Vikings (no via ne) – Stephen Hill, WR Georgia Tech
- The Vikings opted for Matt Kalil in the top part of the round and added some picks, so they don’t feel so bad about making a move to grab a receiver for the future. Say what you want about Christian Ponder, but getting a franchise tackle and a potential big time wideout will be a great way to bring him along.

28. Tennessee Titans (bal) – Peter Konz, OC Wisconsin
- The Titans knew who they wanted, made a trade down, and were still able to take an instant starter in Konz. Suring up the line for Jake Locker needs to be a priority to make him as comfortable as possible.

29. Baltimore Ravens – Stephon Gilmore, DB South Carolina
- The Ravens are going to need a player to replace Ed Reed soon, and finding someone like that is going to be even tougher than getting another ILB to replace Ray Lewis. Gilmore is a ballhawk, and should be a natural fit at safety once he learns the position.

30. San Francisco 49ers – Jerel Worthy, DT Michigan State
- The 49ers have a monster in Justin Smith and a steady player opposite in Ray McDonald, but Smith will be 33 this season. Worthy is the huge, aggressive type that can step in for him when he can’t dominate quite the way he had before, and is a much better fit for 43 looks than McDonald inside.

31. New England Patriots – Shea McClellin, DE Boise State
- The Pats need a player that fits that hybrid role with the variety of defenses that they run, and Shea Mac is that guy. Some people might have other players rated a bit higher, but no one has the LB skills that he does. He’s like the annoying/overachieving players they always have, except really good.

32. New York Giants – Lamar Miller, RB Miami
- The Giants took a Hurricane at #32 after their last title, and repeat that method here. They have Ahmad Bradhaw who is a habitual overachiever, but he’s never really 100% and they don’t have a true home run threat on the offense. Miller may be a tougher runner than the departed Brandon Jacobs, and should be a great option to open up the offense.

 

Hello Greg Schiano era.

 

The trades are just for fun. Some of that would go down, so why not have them all in there. Incarcerated Bob style buckshot approach.

TB- They added Eric Wright to play CB (he's not bad), good line help, and firepower at receiver. That's great and all, but the NFL is a 2 back league and I'm not sure that the Bucs have one. Inconsistent play from Blount screwed the team in the past, and is their far and away biggest need. Factor in Schiano's history and a back needs to be the centerpiece of the offense. Claiborne is a really good player, but Richardson is special.

Jax- A lot of teams will be turned off by Coples effort, but if there was a team stupid enough to not care, it's the Jags. They've ignored Alualu's total lack of value and Blaine Gabbert's terrible fear of pressure in the past, I'm guessing that Gene Smith won't care about this either.

Cle- 3 picks in the top 37 means that the Browns can decide how their needs best fit the overall value available. If they think that Tannehil is legit, then it would be stupid to pass on him for Blackmon. That's the way the QB position is valued, especially when the WR class is this deep. WR/CB can be addressed with great value at 21 and 37, no need to double dip on top ten corners or grab a WR top 4 in the best receiver class in some time. Not smart drafting.

NYJ- Cordy Glenn can absolutely step in at RT from year one. This is a 50 game starter at the collegiate level, including 18 at tackle. He has great athleticism, is a powerful blocker, and I'd say is more ready to play RT week one than anyone outside of Kalil or Reiff. He today is Ducasse's best potential three years from now.