Wewantsapp Mock Draft -- 1/24/2009 1) Vontae Davis / CB / Illinois 6-0 200 - 4.39 / 40 time. The best value at the 17th pick -- shores up the secondary. 3 solid years of playing experience - started since freshman year. Great size + speed. Dwight Lowery capably fills the nickel & dime packages along w/some safety work. 2) Hakeen Nicks / WR / North Carolina 6-1 210 - 4.51 / 40 time. I wasn?t in love w/the idea of WR in Rd 2, but my gut tells me Coles won?t go 100% next year since his $$ is guaranteed. I also wasn?t in love w/Nick?s lack of speed, but this will force us to utilize speed w/guys like Clowney & Stuckey. This might be a little bit of cart before the horse as we do not know who our QB could be. But whoever it is, I would prefer to try & supply him w/plenty of weapons. 3) Trevor Canfield / G / Cincinnati (N.O. Saints-Jonathan Vilma Trade). 6-4 311 - 5.10 / 40 time A draft pick to manage the CAP. Brandon Moore is due a $5 million dollar roster bonus. I can only think of 1 reason his contract was set up that way - to give consideration to releasing him. Especially if we need the $$ and based on our CAP, we do. This kid has size & a nasty streak in him. And w/Alan Faneca on the team, it?s a perfect time to bring a young player in to learn. 4) Chip Vaughn SS Wake Forest 6-1 218 - 4.50 / 40 time I like Emanuel Cook better, but he?ll be gone by our 2nd round pick, & not in love w/a a guy who has so much baggage. Vaughn himself is a sure tackler & plays great vs. the run. 2 full playing seasons at Wake Forest. His 2007 season was better than his 2008, but he had better support on D this past season. Another 4th round find for the JETS. 5) Worrell Williams / ILB / California 6-1 249 - 4.68 / 40 time. Shores up our run defense some more. IMO, we should keep Eric Barton on a short term contract extension. Granted our LBs suck in pass coverage, but Rex Ryan will fix that problem w/the personnel we already have. 6) Pannel Egboh / DT / Stanford 6-6 280 - 4.82 / 40 time. Would be a good fit at DE in the 3-4. Has frame to put on about 20 lbs & still keep his speed. 24 consecutive starts at Stanford. 7) Dan Gronkowski / TE / Maryland 6-6 255 - 4.80 / 40 time Known as a good blocking TE --- I really don?t see one on our current roster.
I don't love Nicks either, and I'm not sure Williams is the kind of linebacker we need. Gronkowski is a great blocker, but I doubt he'll be drafted because his pass catching skills are severely limited. I think this would be a very solid draft, but not an impact one. Other than Davis, I don't see a potential star player in the mock.
Everyone always says WR's take time to transition anyway. So, we can assume that - generally speaking - any WR we draft will need to develop anyway. If Coles is still here, Cotchery cemented as the #2, Stuckey emerging, Smith as depth, and Clowney as potential, Nicks will be able to adjust to the NFL without any pressure. Clearly, he has the measurements to be be a #1 WR, so this would be good a situation for him.
I'd rather have Kenny Britt & Darrius Heyward-Bey too at our 2nd round pick, but I just do not see them being available. I'd also rather have Tyson Jackson DE from LSU at that 2nd round pick. Another 3-4 DE prospect I see rising up charts is Jaron Gilbert from Dwight Lowery's alma mater San Jose State. Listed as a DT at 6-5 280, he would fit perfect at DE in the 3-4. Through 11 games this year, he had 47 tackles, 21.5 TACKLES FOR LOSS & nine sacks. There's a good chance he'll get picked in the 3rd round.
