April 4th First Round Mock

[SenorGato]

1. Indianapolis - Andrew Luck

No sh*t.

2. Washington - Robert Griffen

No sh*t.

3. Minnesota - Matt Kalil

No sh*t.

4. Cleveland - Ryan Tanehill

Browns take the dive with the likeable Tanehill. Has all the tools. I'm starting to think I like him more than Matt Ryan as a prospect.

5. Tampa Bay - Trent Richardson

Bucs have everything set up for Freeman.

6. St. Louis - Michael Floyd

Toolsiest WR in the draft with the height and the weight and the 40 and the vertical and the glyven and the glaven.

7. Jacksonville - Quinton Coples

This is a tough pick.

8. Miami - Mo Clairborne

Miami gets a steal.

9. Carolina - Justin Blackmon

Can the Panthers offense be the breakout offense of 2012?

10. Buffalo - Dontari Poe

Anderson - Poe - Dareus - Wiliams on passing downs. Front 7 really shaping up.

11. Kansas City - Stephen Gilmore

Loss of Carr leaves a hole in a pretty talented defense.

12. Seattle - Luke Kuechly

13. Arizona - Melvin Ingram

14. Dallas - Fletcher Cox

Safety situation sucks, but the DL isn't what it was either. A very legit spot for DeCastro, but the offense didn't do so bad last year

.

15. Philadelphia - Jerel Worthy

Their LBs suck? Their DTs sucks.

16. New York Jets - David DeCastro

Wow, f'n lucky the board fell this way. That would be sweet. Fits the offense, makes Slauson a RT candidate, and generally improves the OL depth. A pick for the new offensive coaches. Still sucks to pass on both Barron and Perry, two guys who could be huge in this D.

17. Cincinnati - Mark Barron

Ugh, they get a coup whether anyone here admits it or not.

18. San Diego - Nick Perry

Explosive pass rusher is underrated. Do not be surprised if he's the best pass rusher from this draft.

19. Chicago - Whitney Mercilus

Stay local for a bookend across from Peppers.

20. Tennessee - Michael Brockers

A very Titans-y pick, right? I like the fit here.

21. Cincinnati - Dre Kirkpatrick

Absolutely loaded secondary.

22. Cleveland - Cordy Glenn

Can slide in at LG, RG, or RT...holes at all three. Three really good OL on that line now with Thomas, Mack, and now Glenn.

23. Detroit - Riley Reiff

Lost their LT Backus, but I wrote Bobby Wagner in here originally. Their LBs suck.

24. Pittsburgh - Dont'a Hightower

Farrior replacement. Steelers type player, just like his teammate Upshaw.

25. Denver - Kendall Wright

Lost Bunkley, and really lack interior DL talent, but Thomas and Wright will make Manning a happy 96 million dollar QB.

26. Houston - Brandon Thompson

Their NT last year was Shaun Cody. Thompson is the best run stuffer in this draft. Underrated NT propsect, possibly because he is from Clemson.

27. New England - Kendall Reyes

Very athletic talent who can move aruond on the DL.

28. Green Bay - Peter Konz

Might go CB, but their OL could probably use another young talent. Konz is a steal here.

29. Baltimore - Amini Silatolu

Also could use some secondary talent, but loss of Grubbs hurts their OL. Really wanted Konz.

30. San Francisco - Josh Robinson

UCF CB is one of the most athletic CBs in this draft.

31. New England - Courtney Upshaw

Steal here, and now their D has two balls (Wilfork is the other).

32. New York Giants - Bobby Wagner

Their LBs suck. Blew up his pro day. Could have easily went with Mike Adams, who fits that team really well.

Personally, I'm doing this too soon so not sure how serial I take this. I kind of like it. I think the Jaguars suck to mock....the Packers...the 20's in general will see "reaches"....Upshaw could have went ot the Browns at 22 to give them a very stout/strong young DL (Sheard - Taylor - Rubin - Upshaw).

[SenorGato]

Personally, I'm a little irked at taking a G, no matter how good, over a pass rusher. Perry is extremely explosive and would do really well here as a Suggs type.

[CrazyCarl40]

Why would Jacksonville pass up Blackmon if he fell to them and can Slauson even play RT?

[will]

I have no problem with the Jets taking a relatively safe pick like DeCastro. Imagine the Jets with depth and versatility along the offensive line?

But I don't think they'd do it.

Great job. It's an unusual and well thought out mock.

[SenorGato]

Why would Jacksonville pass up Blackmon if he fell to them and can Slauson even play RT?

Their defense sucks, but true Blackmon really fits there. They like seniors, they like character, and they like production. Might actually fit better than Coples, sure.

Slauson played both T spots in college IIrc and has plenty of size for a transition.

Thanks will. Test run I think.

[JustInFudge]

Personally, I'm a little irked at taking a G, no matter how good, over a pass rusher. Perry is extremely explosive and would do really well here as a Suggs type.

You're irked at taking a Guard in your own mock? lol

I've said numerous times that I think taking a guard is a terrible idea especially in a deep OL draft but this dude is special. The more and more I think about the pick, I think I want him and the BAP pass rusher in the 2nd.

BTW - my boy Harrison Smith who you hate...Mayock loves! I want him in the 2nd.

The 2 scenarios I'd be really really happy with are....

DeCastro/BAP Pass Rusher/S maybe IIoka

BAP Pass Rusher/Smith/OL maybe Schwartz or Jame Brown

[Matt39]

Any time you get a player you can pencil in as a immediate starter aside from fullback, its a good thing.

[will]

Any time you get a player you can pencil in as a immediate starter aside from fullback, its a good thing.

In this case, the Jets might be upgrading two positions, if Slauson can be successfully shifted to RT.

[bitonti]

decastro is a natural RG. So this would be a Moore replacement?

[Jetscode1]

You're irked at taking a Guard in your own mock? lol

I've said numerous times that I think taking a guard is a terrible idea especially in a deep OL draft but this dude is special. The more and more I think about the pick, I think I want him and the BAP pass rusher in the 2nd.

BTW - my boy Harrison Smith who you hate...Mayock loves! I want him in the 2nd.

The 2 scenarios I'd be really really happy with are....

DeCastro/BAP Pass Rusher/S maybe IIoka

BAP Pass Rusher/Smith/OL maybe Schwartz or Jame Brown

Is Smith coming in for a visit?

[bitonti]

Is Smith coming in for a visit?

i love the idea of another white safety driving the jets fan base insane

he's actually a pretty good prospect this harrison smith but still i suspect the Jets punt on the position until late. alot of good sleepers at S and that seems to be what they do every year

[Jetscode1]

i love the idea of another white safety driving the jets fan base insane

he's actually a pretty good prospect this harrison smith but still i suspect the Jets punt on the position until late. alot of good sleepers at S and that seems to be what they do every year

From looking at the Jets pre-draft visitor list I suspect you're right...looks like a choice between:

Josh Norman

Trumaine Johnson

Trenton Richardson

Antonio Allen

[bitonti]

From looking at the Jets pre-draft visitor list I suspect you're right...looks like a choice between:

Josh Norman

Trumaine Johnson

Trenton Richardson

Antonio Allen

dont forget jeron mcmillian they love maine guys.

*****

Gato i really like your Gilmore to KC at 11 pick. it's out of the box but also makes sense. they signed routt, is that really enough??

[JustInFudge]

i love the idea of another white safety driving the jets fan base insane

he's actually a pretty good prospect this harrison smith but still i suspect the Jets punt on the position until late. alot of good sleepers at S and that seems to be what they do every year

Mayock was raving about him while covering ND's proday. Thinks he worthy of a 1st round selection.

[JustInFudge]

Is Smith coming in for a visit?

Dont know...he should be. The way Mayock described him, it sounded like Leonhard but 5x the athlete.

[SenorGato]

BTW - my boy Harrison Smith who you hate...Mayock loves! I want him in the 2nd.

Dont know...he should be. The way Mayock described him, it sounded like Leonhard but 5x the athlete.

No seriously, Harrison Smith sucks. Leonhard with 5x the athleticism is what...Eric Smith? In this case with Mayock I have to disagree...this draft just sucks with the safeties and with Barron hurt SOMEONE has to get some hype and be the ace of the draft process. Guy is a 3-4 rounder at best, IMO.

If anything, I like them bringing in the underrated Antonio Allen.

[Garb]

Are there any mocks out there that guess on trades? No way Pats stay with two picks in the first. No way the top ten do not try to jockey up and down.

[SenorGato]

Any time you get a player you can pencil in as a immediate starter aside from fullback, its a good thing.

Agreed with that, but feel that Barron and to a lesser extent Perry fit this.

I shouldn't say the pick irks me...If anything it bothers me because I think Arizona would be crazy to pass on DeCastro given how crap their OL is. That plus I might be a little too adamant about picking an impact D talent.

[SenorGato]

dont forget jeron mcmillian they love maine guys.

*****

Gato i really like your Gilmore to KC at 11 pick. it's out of the box but also makes sense. they signed routt, is that really enough??

I liked that particular pick too. One because Gilmore is underrated as **** (he's the equivalent of Revis in this class IMO - will start getting mocked higher and higher as it gets closer). Two because Stanford Routt isn't that good. Three because they play in the same division as Peyton Manning! Peyton Manning! That's just piling on with the Rivers out there and what IMO is a slept on passing attack by the Raiders (I still like Palmer).

I threw this up at NFLDC and Chiefs fans didn't seem to like it. I think they're mad.

[SenorGato]

Didn't even notice that Martin hits the Ravens...they'd gladly take him. Oher isnt' much of a LT and really neither is McKinnie at this point.

[JustInFudge]

No seriously, Harrison Smith sucks. Leonhard with 5x the athleticism is what...Eric Smith? In this case with Mayock I have to disagree...this draft just sucks with the safeties and with Barron hurt SOMEONE has to get some hype and be the ace of the draft process. Guy is a 3-4 rounder at best, IMO.

If anything, I like them bringing in the underrated Antonio Allen.

What is your beef with him? I only watched a couple of ND games this year and him and Floyd were the 2 players that I could remember looking like next level prospects.

[SenorGato]

What is your beef with him? I only watched a couple of ND games this year and him and Floyd were the 2 players that I could remember looking like next level prospects.

Stiff...waaaaay better with the ball in front of him...ND sucks (minor, Kyle Rudolph overcame it)...

He's got good qualities...he put up some solid workout numbers...he's a senior and a 4 year starter (for ND)....he's smart and understands coverages...but these are things I could have said about Eric Smith (3 and like 1/3 years starting, extremely smart and understands the coverages, put up workout numbers)...Believe me before the hype started I actually liked Smith as the safeties in this class go...back when he was a 4-7 rounder.

[JustInFudge]

Stiff...waaaaay better with the ball in front of him...ND sucks (minor, Kyle Rudolph overcame it)...

He's got good qualities...he put up some solid workout numbers...he's a senior and a 4 year starter (for ND)....he's smart and understands coverages...but these are things I could have said about Eric Smith (3 and like 1/3 years starting, extremely smart and understands the coverages, put up workout numbers)...Believe me before the hype started I actually liked Smith as the safeties in this class go...back when he was a 4-7 rounder.

Hmmm. He hasnt looked stiff when I've seen him. Pretty fluid guy.

Fair enough assessment though. Cant really argue. Definitely think its a weak S class but that typically doesnt swing the pendulum and force teams to take that position high. You just dont see teams reach on a S that often. Which is why if Mayock is saying this guy has1st round value, then I tend to think the kid can probably play and be really good at the next level.

[afosomf]

Stiff...waaaaay better with the ball in front of him...ND sucks (minor, Kyle Rudolph overcame it)...

He's got good qualities...he put up some solid workout numbers...he's a senior and a 4 year starter (for ND)....he's smart and understands coverages...but these are things I could have said about Eric Smith (3 and like 1/3 years starting, extremely smart and understands the coverages, put up workout numbers)...Believe me before the hype started I actually liked Smith as the safeties in this class go...back when he was a 4-7 rounder.

No way Upshaw goes at 31 to Pats 1) he hates them 2) he is going in top 20

I hope Jets take Decastro make it happen

[SenorGato]

Hmmm. He hasnt looked stiff when I've seen him. Pretty fluid guy.

Fair enough assessment though. Cant really argue. Definitely think its a weak S class but that typically doesnt swing the pendulum and force teams to take that position high. You just dont see teams reach on a S that often. Which is why if Mayock is saying this guy has1st round value, then I tend to think the kid can probably play and be really good at the next level.

Meh he's a better mover than he was given credit for before....back when he was underrated....but first or second? Mucho lawlz @ that team.

He'll have a career in the NFL...the safety talent in this league is too garbage for him not to....but I think we're talking someone closer to E. Smith than anything else.

I don't get why you seem to like just about every safety but the one guy who is actually worth drafting. There's safeties that are interesting late....Thomas from Syracuse...Jackson from Ole Miss...the tall safety from Arkansas....Smith before January....probably one or two others...but realistically they all suck.

[SenorGato]

No way Upshaw goes at 31 to Pats 1) he hates them 2) he is going in top 20

I hope Jets take Decastro make it happen

I don't think Upshaw has a say in who picks him.

[JustInFudge]

Meh he's a better mover than he was given credit for before....back when he was underrated....but first or second? Mucho lawlz @ that team.

He'll have a career in the NFL...the safety talent in this league is too garbage for him not to....but I think we're talking someone closer to E. Smith than anything else.

I don't get why you seem to like just about every safety but the one guy who is actually worth drafting. There's safeties that are interesting late....Thomas from Syracuse...Jackson from Ole Miss...the tall safety from Arkansas....Smith before January....probably one or two others...but realistically they all suck.

I like Barron. Just not at 16th overall. IMO he's not worthy of that selection. In general, I dont think a safety is unless its Eric Berry type talent which Barron is far far far from.

At the end of the day, if the Jets did take Barron at 16, I'd be happy with it even though I think there is much better value to be had. Put it this way, if for some reason he slipped to us in the 2nd and we got a solid pass rusher or DeCastro in the first I'd be ecstatic.

[T0mShane]

I'd laugh my balls off if Tannenbaum takes the one cheap, late round draft pick that actually contributes to the team and replaces him with another expensive first rounder.

Balls. Off.

[afosomf]

I don't think Upshaw has a say in who picks him.

Sure he does

[SenorGato]

I like Barron. Just not at 16th overall. IMO he's not worthy of that selection. In general, I dont think a safety is unless its Eric Berry type talent which Barron is far far far from.

At the end of the day, if the Jets did take Barron at 16, I'd be happy with it even though I think there is much better value to be had. Put it this way, if for some reason he slipped to us in the 2nd and we got a solid pass rusher or DeCastro in the first I'd be ecstatic.

Eric Berry is a top 6 pick in pretty much any draft he enters. That's a ridiculous standard to hold a whole position to, IMO. Then you miss out on your Reeds and Polamalus for no reason but poor scouting...and as a prospect Barron stacks with Polamalu, which I've said all offseason. Both those guys were drafted when the league wasnt so blatantly biased towards passing too....

There's no chance he slips to 2...if anything he's rising and might not even make it to 16. Dallas and Philly will be looking...and if you check out the Bills' roster he's a greeeat fit over there. Literally no chance in hell hes there at 2. Then we're stuck with more of the same old amongst safety talent....Yaaaay.

[SenorGato]

I'd laugh my balls off if Tannenbaum takes the one cheap, late round draft pick that actually contributes to the team and replaces him with another expensive first rounder.

Balls. Off.

Another reason I'm leery of the pick...though next year Moore is probably out and Slauson is at least an RFA so it's not completely ridiculous.

Plus, rookie cap booooooiiiiiieeee

[SenorGato]

Sure he does

He is kind of a badass.

[JustInFudge]

Eric Berry is a top 6 pick in pretty much any draft he enters. That's a ridiculous standard to hold a whole position to, IMO. Then you miss out on your Reeds and Polamalus for no reason but poor scouting...and as a prospect Barron stacks with Polamalu, which I've said all offseason. Both those guys were drafted when the league wasnt so blatantly biased towards passing too....

There's no chance he slips to 2...if anything he's rising and might not even make it to 16. Dallas and Philly will be looking...and if you check out the Bills' roster he's a greeeat fit over there. Literally no chance in hell hes there at 2. Then we're stuck with more of the same old amongst safety talent....Yaaaay.

Yeah, I know he wont be there...I'm just sayin.

Dont think he's an Ed Reed or Troy P type prospect. Just disagree with ya there. Again, I wouldnt be upset with that pick at all. He's a good player, but I dont think he's the 16th best player in the draft. I almost want someone to take him before us so we dont have the decision. Its logical from a fit perspective, but I'm not sure it is from a best player available perspective.

Even with the uncertainty of Landry, the Jets gave themselves the flexibility to not have to draft a safety early.

What will be interesting is if Ingram, Upshaw, Barron, Glenn, Decastro are all off the board...which I can see happening...then what? Floyd?

[SenorGato]

Floyd will be gone too.

As far as Barron and Troy P....id be less adamant about it if numbers lied or there werent very similar questions about Polamalu's ability to be the INT collecting monster a FS is dreamed up to be.

Stephen Hill would be my guess. Only because he's visited.

[BurnleyJet]

Honestly I like DeCastro, but if he's the pick I'm pissed. Jets need to trade back and pick up an extra third.