Jump to content

Slow content day? Here's a mock draft I did!


T0mShane

Recommended Posts

2014 NFL Mock Draft

1. Houston Texans: Jadeveon Clowney, DE, South Carolina

The pressure to draft Texas darling Johnny Manziel might be intense, but no more intense than it was in 2006 when Vince Young was on the board. The Texans made the right call then, drafting Mario Williams instead, and they’ll repeat history here. Clowney’s 2013 season was a disaster on the field and off, but there is no amount of DUI infractions that can’t be forgiven with one really good shirtless 40 time in front of an NFL scout. Ultimately, it will come down to GM Rick Smith (and owner Bob McNair) coming to the conclusion that Clowney is simply a better player than either Manziel or Teddy Bridgewater.

2. St. Louis Rams: Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Louisville

The Rams insist that they’re happy with Sam Bradford, and that they’re committed to Sam Bradford, and that Sam Bradford’s relative improvement in 2013 was enough reason to stick with him into the future. But Jeff Fisher knows all too well from his Titans/Steve McNair days how hard it is to maintain a program when your QB is always in the trainer’s room. Bridgewater is the best pure passer in this draft, and he’ll give the Rams some short-term insurance if/when Bradford goes down, and some long-term flexibility when Bradford’s contract becomes tradeable (or cuttable) at the end of the year.

3. (Trade w/Jaguars) Minnesota Vikings: Johnny Manziel, QB, Texas A&M

The Vikings are a boring team looking to get a stadium funded and built for the 2016 season, so they’ll happily jump ahead of the Browns to pick up the most electric (if riskiest) player in the draft. Manziel is already a superstar, and he’ll combine with Adrian Peterson and the emerging Cordarelle Patterson to give the franchise some much-needed juice. Whether or not Manziel’s game translates to the NFL remains to be seen, but he’ll keep the Vikings relevant until the paint dries in their new arena.

4. Cleveland Browns: Blake Bortles, QB, UCF

Mike Lombardi, who is supposedly hot for Manziel, settles for the next best QB on his list. Bortles has size, a plus arm, and mobility, and he’ll have Josh Gordon and Jordan Cameron waiting for him when he gets to Ohio, which might take the edge off getting exiled to Cleveland. (Spoiler: it won’t.)

5. Oakland Raiders: Sammy Watkins, WR, Clemson

Head Coach Dennis Allen is on the shortest of leashes in Oakland and he needs a QB desperately. Unfortunately for him, the Raiders will be better served waiting for the 2015 draft when they can have their pick of Jameis Winston, Marcus Mariota, or Brett Hundley. Until then, GM Reggie McKenzie drafts the dynamic Watkins, who will be a nice present for next year’s new Raider quarterback, new Head Coach and new General Manager.

6. Atlanta Falcons: Jake Matthews, OT, Texas A&M

Matt Ryan was sacked nine times by the Panthers in the finale of the Falcons’ disastrous 2013 season. That was bad. The Falcons need to rebound in a big way in 2014, and it starts with keeping Matt Ryan from getting smacked around.

7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Darqueze Dennard, CB, Michigan State

Fun Fact: when Darrelle Revis takes the field for the Pro Bowl, he’ll have been paid more for this past season than any two of his Pro Bowl cornerback position-mates combined. Cutting Revis lets Tampa Bay off the hook for his non-guaranteed $16 million dollar salary in 2014, and it also drops the compensation they owe the Jets from a third round pick to a fourth rounder. Is that enough of an incentive to risk having egg on their face for sending the Jets a 2013 first round pick for the right to rent Revis for one year? The guess here is that whoever takes over at GM will look to recoup some resources by cutting Revis and blame the whole thing on the fired Mark Dominik, who spends the rest of his shift at Applebee’s fuming over the betrayal.

8. Jacksonville Jaguars: Anthony Barr, OLB, UCLA

What do you get the franchise that has nothing? The Jaguars finished tied (w/Chicago) for last in the league in sacks with 31. Barr is an athletic freak with a ton of raw talent who will likely be a great value for another franchise to pick up after four years of playing in Jacksonymity™.

9. Buffalo Bills: Greg Robinson, OT, Auburn

EJ Manuel spent his rookie year getting beaten half to death, and anyone who’s ever attempted to receive medical attention in Buffalo, NY knows just how perilous that can be. Robinson can pair with Cordy Glenn to give Buffalo a great pair of bookends on the OL, which makes Head Coach (and former OL guru) Doug Marrone’s life easier.

10. Detroit Lions: Eric Ebron, TE, UNC

Brandon Pettigrew has been a disappointment, his role in the Lions’ offense has been greatly diminished, and he’s entering free agency this offseason. As great as Calvin Johnson is, he needs another receiver to take up some of the slack, particularly in the middle of the field. Ebron is drawing early comparisons to Vernon Davis, and he has the speed and ability to draw some of the safety help away from Megatron’s domain.

11. Tennessee Titans: Derek Carr, QB, Fresno State

New Head Coach Ken Whisenhunt got burned when the Cardinals drafted Matt Leinart, so, naturally, his new employer greets him by drafting another Cali-breh QB who can’t handle pressure. The Titans aren’t going to pick up the option on Washington-breh Jake Locker, so QB is an absolute need. On the plus side, Matt Leinart is still available and will work for bitcoins.

12. New York Giants: Mike Evans, WR, Texas A&M

Evans made a career out of using his size and strength to reel in Johnny Manziel passes off of broken plays. Coincidentally, every play Eli Manning runs ends up looking like a broken play, so Evans will feel right at home replacing the departed free-agent malingerer Hakeem Nicks.

13. (Trade w/ St Louis) New York Jets: Marqise Lee, WR, USC

St. Louis GM Les Snead is not averse to trading his draft picks, and Jets’ GM John Idzik knows that the only way he’s convincing any wide receiver to come play with Geno Smith is through systematized conscription. Knowing that a talent like Lee probably doesn’t fall all the way to pick #18, the Jets trade up to draft a dynamic offensive player, surprising HC Rex Ryan, whom Idzik will trick into going on a beer run only minutes before.

14. Chicago Bears: Louis Nix, DT, Notre Dame

The Bear finished tied for last in the league in sacks (31), and last in the league in average YPC against (5.3). That is bad. Nix is a monster in the Vince Wilfork mould who can step in and help plug some of the leaks on defense.

15. Pittsburgh Steelers: Taylor Lewan, OT, Michigan

“Keep Ben Roethlisberger Healthy” is second on the Steelers’ list of organizational priorities, right after “Keep Ben Roethlisberger From Getting Todd Haley Alone In A Bathroom Stall.”

16. Dallas Cowboys: Aaron Donald, DT, Pittsburgh

Aaron Donald is a highly decorated and talented defensive tackle from the University of Pittsburgh whom most draft analysts project will go in the second or third round but how many oil empires did those losers build from scratch, huh?

17. Baltimore Ravens: Khalil Mack, OLB, Buffalo

Ozzie Newsome, who had a long, illustrious NFL career as a player, has a gift for knowing exactly when to feed washed-up former-cornerstone players to the pigs. Terrell Suggs is getting close to that point, and he has a giant cap number next season. Mack is exactly the type of player that the Ravens need to hide the fact that there’s a reason Joe Flacco couldn’t beat out Tyler Palko at Pitt.

18. St. Louis Rams: Justin Gilbert, CB, Oklahoma State

Crazy stat: the Rams finished third in the league in sacks, but they gave up the most passing yards per attempt against in the league (8.1). While Robert Quinn and Chris Long are getting to the QB at a decent rate, the defensive backs are getting shredded behind them. Gilbert is enigmatic, but talented, and should combine with Janoris Jenkins to ensure that the Rams pass rush pays even more dividends.

19. Miami Dolphins: David Yankey, OG, Stanford

Yankey gets picked by the Dolphins after Dawn Aponte forces him to sign a contract stating that he’ll never acknowledge that Jon Martin has, or has ever had, a sister.

20. Arizona Cardinals: Jace Amaro, TE, Texas Tech

The Cardinals, and Carson Palmer, jump for joy when Amaro falls in their lap. Similar to the Megatron-Ebron scenario above, Amaro will help keep defenses from paying too much attention to Larry Fitzgerald.

21. Green Bay Packers: Hasean Clinton-Dix, FS, Alabama

Green Bay’s secondary was shredded to the tune of giving up 7.8 YPA (T-23rd) and 95.9 QB Rating Against (25th). Clinton-Dix has the range and aggressiveness to help protect whatever leads Aaron Rodgers hands them.

22. Philadelphia Eagles: DeAnthony Thomas, RB/WR/KR, Oregon

I’m predicting that Thomas puts up a few sub-4.3 40’s and rockets up draft boards because of his speed and versatility. Chip Kelly adds his ex-Oregon star to an offensive mix that includes DeSean Jackson and Shady McCoy and dares every NFC East opponent to come out in their base defense.

23. Kansas City Chiefs: CJ Mosley, ILB, Alabama

The Chiefs dominated (at times) on defense, and looked unstoppable (at times) on offense. Mosley isn’t the biggest ILB, but he’s quick, nasty, and tough, and could be the type of leader the Chiefs could have used on the field when the defense was melting down against Andrew Luck.

24. (Trade w/Bengals) Houston Texans: Zach Mettenberger, QB, LSU

You don’t hire Bill O’Brien and not give him a tall, pasty, strong-armed pocket passer to develop. While Mettenberger may be a project at this point, he showed the ability to learn to make NFL throws while playing for LSU Offensive Coordinator Cam Cameron. The Bengals, probably a year away from pulling the plug on Andy Dalton, bail out of this spot in exchange for future draft picks.

25. San Diego Chargers: Ra’Shede Hageman, DT, Minnesota

The Chargers will have nightmares about the Broncos running the ball up the gut at will during their most recent playoff loss and draft Hageman, who is drawing comparisons to the Jets’ Sheldon Richardson.

26. Cleveland Browns: Timmy Jernigan, DT, FSU

Still furious over getting beaten to Manziel by the Vikings, Mike Lombardi sends this pick up to the podium on the back of a hand-drawn doodle of Jim Brown beheading Zygi Wilf.

27. New Orleans Saints: Cyrus Kouandjio, OT, Alabama

The Saints have trouble winning on the road because they’re too reliant on their passing game, so they seek an equalizer by adding a physical specimen to their OL to help the running game and take some pressure off of Brees.

28. New England Patriots: Allen Robinson, WR, Penn State

It’s time for Bill Belichick to stop screwing around with Tom Brady’s emotions and give him the big, reliable receiver he’s lacked since Randy Moss was banished during the 2010 season. Robinson played for Bill O’Brien, so he’ll have some familiarity with the Patriots’ concepts and terminology, and he’s been consistently productive at PSU. This pick makes so much sense that there’s almost no chance Belichick goes for it.

29. San Francisco 49ers: Kony Ealy, DE, Missouri

Ealy is a project with outstanding size and talent whose profile is similar to current Niner (and former Missouri star) Aldon Smith.

30. Carolina Panthers: Brandin Cooks, WR, Oregon State

Steve Smith is 34 and has been nicked up, and Brandon LaFell isn’t scaring anybody. If the Panthers expect Cam Newton to take the next step in his development, they need to surround him with more weapons on offense.

31. Denver Broncos: Jordan Matthews, WR, Vanderbilt

Eric Decker will be a free agent at the end of the season, and some team is likely to overpay for him based on his production with Manning. Replacing him with a similarly sized, similarly heady player makes sense at this spot.

32. Seattle Seahawks: Cyril Richardson, OG, Baylor

The Seahawks are going to pound the ball, so they draft even more beef up front to keep Beast Mode beast-moding.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 71
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Well done,I like the creativity. As much as I want 1 of the top 3 receivers to fall it is more likely that we will have to trade up to grab one instead of someone falling into our laps. What do you think it would take to trade up with St.Louis?

Using the old Jimmy Johnson chart, a third and change.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Been saying for a while that a trade up by the Jets is a strong possibility. They have too many picks to make the team, and have an absolute dire need at WR. If they see the same separation between the top three WRs and the rest, I think they'll make a move.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On a side note I can't see the giants not taking an o-lineman in round 1.

Thought about it, but Justin Pugh is moving to left tackle, Will Beatty is kicking inside to guard, and Chris Snee will be back. I didn't think drafting RT or C at that spot was worth it unless Greg Robinson drops.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

http://turnonthejets.com/2014/01/2014-nfl-draft-mock-draft-winter-edition/#more-19927

This mock has us taking Amaro.... with Evans #26, Lee #29 and Matthews @ #30

If the board fell this way, what a break for the Jets. We could trade out and still get great value @ WR or take Amaro.

Good job on the mock, Tom. Could easily see some of these scenarios playing out.

Go Jets!

I hope this mock plays out, though!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

http://turnonthejets.com/2014/01/2014-nfl-draft-mock-draft-winter-edition/#more-19927

This mock has us taking Amaro.... with Evans #26, Lee #29 and Matthews @ #30

If the board fell this way, what a break for the Jets. We could trade out and still get great value @ WR or take Amaro.

Good job on the mock, Tom. Could easily see some of these scenarios playing out.

Go Jets!

I hope this mock plays out, though!!

That's a beautiful mock. Very well done.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


×
×
  • Create New...