Mock Drafts
Patrick Peterson needs to keep his head up. He could be a top five pick.
It’s way too early to start talking about the 2011 NFL Draft, right? I mean, the draft order is based on names I drew out of a hat, half the players in the first round are projected underclassmen declarations (the other half is apparently made up of UNC defenders), and the glee is still wet on Todd McShay’s face after watching Jimmy Clausen drop like a particularly heavy rock.
I’m doing it anyway…
1.) BUF — Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford
Luck’s my number one passer heading into the draft offseason. He’s got some work to do, for sure, but when has that ever stopped me from ranking a QB highly? Buffalo needs a franchise passer.
2.) CHI — AJ Green, WR, Georgia
If Chicago finishes this poorly, the unemployment rate in the Windy City should slightly spike. They’ve still got Cutler; maybe they’ll finally get him a true No. 1 receiver.
3.) TB — Greg Romeus, DE, Pitt
The Bucs went defensive tackle-crazy in 2010, but they still need a serious edge rusher.
4.) JAX — Patrick Peterson, CB, LSU
Yeah, Jake Locker makes sense, but they seem intent on force feeding David Garrard to the AFC South. Peterson is the best corner prospect in a long time.
5.) WAS — Jake Locker, QB, Washington
If the Skins are picking here, it’s safe to say McNabb floundered behind an awful line. Locker seems like a Shanahan guy.
6.) CAR — Gabe Carimi, OT, Wisconsin
The Panthers should finish better than this, but if they’re down here, it could only mean that one of their OTs either moved to Fiji or completely broke down. Basically, I don’t see the top OT falling out of the top six.
7.) DEN — Adrian Clayborn, DE, Iowa
Even if Denver slips this hard, I think McDaniels bought an extra year with the Tebow pick. He’ll need a better D-line though, and Clayborn is a classic McDaniels pick.
8.) CLE — Von Miller, OLB, Texas A&M
Could very well be Robert Quinn here, but the Browns need a better outside rush and Miller is fast and extremely productive.
9.) SEA — Robert Quinn, DE, UNC
The Seahawks look to have some pieces in place under the new regime, but Carroll needs to find an impact player on the D-line.
10.) STL — Marvin Austin, DT, UNC
Like Seattle, the Rams lack a difference-maker up front. Austin is inconsistent, but definitely active and full of potential.
11.) NE (from OAK) — Allen Bailey, DE, Miami
The Patriots plugged a leak with some Bazooka with the Damione Lewis signing, but this Miami DE will be a long-time starter at a position of need.
12.) KC — Julio Jones, WR, Alabama
Todd Haley went on and on about his receivers dropping balls. They need a Boldin to Dwayne Bowe’s “Fitzgerald.”
13.) DET — Matt Reynolds, OT, BYU
Maybe Jeff Backus is good for one more year, but if the Lions don’t protect Matt Stafford soon, he’ll end up drinking mimosas at Sunday brunch with Joey Harrington.
14.) TEN — Prince Amukamara, CB, Nebraska
The Titans ignored a big-time need spot at corner by waiting til the fourth round to grab one, but Amukamara could make up for that decision.
15.) MIA — Mark Ingram, RB, Alabama
The Dolphins’ running backs are getting old and pretty injury-prone. Ingram will be the best back in this class if he leaves early.
16.) NYG — Greg Jones, ILB, Michigan State
Phillip Dillard could surprise and take over for Antonio Pierce right away, but Jones is a special talent with excellent instincts.
17.) PHI — Travis Lewis, OLB, Oklahoma
Ernie Sims will be a solid fit on the weakside, and Ricky Sapp will play some SAM as well as some DE, but I can’t see Andy Reid passing on an OLB like Lewis.
18.) NE — Evan Royster, RB, Penn State
Rush linebacker is a possibility, as is receiver or O line, but the Pats really need a reliable ground game, and Royster is a nice fit here.
19.) ARI — Nate Solder, OT, Colorado
The Cardinals would probably pass out if an athletic freak like Solder fell to them. They need protection up front, and Solder is 6-09 with 4.9 speed.
20.) NYJ — Akeem Ayers, OLB, UCLA
Ayers is a guy that I really like. I think he’s got a good chance to be a real surprise prospect at 3-4 OLB, with great size, speed, and playmaking ability against the pass.
21.) NO — Deunta Williams, S, UNC
The Saints may not even bring Darren Sharper back this year, let alone next season. Williams could go a lot higher than this.
22.) HOU — Ras-I Dowling, CB, Virginia
Still questions in the secondary for a team that is trying to beat Peyton Manning. Dowling could play corner or safety.
23.) CIN — Michael Floyd, WR, Notre Dame
The Bengals may not know it yet, but they’ll need a receiver big-time next year. Antonio Bryant and Matt Jones… really?
24.) IND — Bruce Carter, OLB, UNC
The Colts could use an upgrade at SAM backer, and Carter is a speedy guy who fits their scheme.
25.) DAL — Lee Ziemba, OT, Auburn
The Cowboys are going to find out soon enough that there’s no one playing LT for them. Ziemba fits everything Jerry Jones wants in a tackle.
26.) ATL — Kyle Rudolph, TE, Notre Dame
The Falcons need to keep the weaponry deep around Matt Ryan. Tony G may not be around much longer, and getting him a great protege here would make a lot of sense.
27.) SF — Ryan Mallett, QB, Arkansas
I realize I’m the only one with Mallett falling this far right now, but he’s got serious maturity issues. Still, Singletary has shown an affinity for those types of guys.
28.) PIT — DeAndre McDaniel, S, Clemson
The Steelers might go with a QB here, but for now they’ll look to find a replacement for Troy Polamalu. They can’t afford to let this defense fall apart with another injury.
29.) SD — Marcell Dareus, DE, Alabama
The Chargers got a steal with Cam Thomas, but they need more help up front, and Dareus is as athletic as they get at 5-tech.
30.) MIN — Terrelle Pryor, QB, Ohio State
The Vikes have to find a quarterback before the 2011 decision. Pryor may not come out early, but if he does you know Brad Childress will be watching. From a dark corner.
31.) BAL — Quan Sturdivant, ILB, UNC
No, I don’t think it’s likely that five North Carolina defenders will go in the first, but there’s a chance. Sturdivant could be the eventual replacement for Ray Lewis, who might not be back for the 2011 season.
32.) GB — Aaron Williams, CB, Texas
The Packers need youth at corner. Badly. But hey, according to the hat I drew the order out of, they won the Super Bowl. Nice.
{ 38 comments… read them below or add one }
Um cushing runs a 4.5 not a 4.7 buddy
KEVIN MAWAE DID NOT PLAY FOR THE STEELERS!
I like your mock draft, only one problem though. I’m a huge Miami fan and in the first 2 rounds you have them taking a LB. One they have about 5 OLB on there roster already and two the have a huge hole at CB. Don’t seem them going without a CB within the first 2 rounds the draft.
peyton manning and percy harvin!!!!!!! MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN….
“Um cushing runs a 4.5 not a 4.7 buddy”
Um, not at the combine he didn’t buddy
1. I get that Al Davis loves speed but he’s not spending the pick on heyward bey. He might try to move back into the first round to get bey using his second round pick and possibily third rounder or future second but not the seventh. Offensive Tackle is where they go at pick 7 imo unless crabtree falls. Word of advice, don’t listen to walter football.
2. Andre Smith has fallen but not out of the top 10. Either Oakland, Jacksonville, or San Francisco will pick him if the first 6 picks unfold that way.
3. As a Falcons fan, I’d be okay with Jerry but it’s hardly the perfect fit you make it out to be. He is an UT not a NT so we would still have to pick another DT. I think he could be great in a rotation and him and jonathan babineaux would be nice on passing downs but he would not be the solution.
Lions picks aren’t too bad. I don’t want to see a QB but I realize it’s a strong likelihood. I like you giving us Raji we really need a guy like him anchoring our D. However, reefers or not I can’t see him dropping that far.
WHy don’t you do something smart and do some of your own research and figure out Davis likes DEs in the first and the last time he selected a receiver in the 1st was Tim Brown in the 80’s! I like DE M. Johnson, A. Maybin or LB Rey M. And then 6′6 224 lbs. Ramses Barden ran a low 4.5 40 yard dash and NCAA record 20 straight TD catches.Get him in the second or third even round is shooting up draft boards. But not yours I guess. And finally S Chip Vaughn in the third seems about FREAKISHLY ATHLETIC enough.
uhhh raji doesnt have a drug problem. that report was a rumor, and was never back be the nfl, and then later recanted.
I think that I stated that pretty clearly, but I’ve gone ahead and reworded it so that there is absolutely no discrepancy. He DID NOT fail the test.
The problem with your argument about Sanchez is I don’t think he’s a franchise QB. If there is one, I think Stafford’s the closest thing to it. So, begs the question, will Singletary view Sanchez as BPA at #10. My best guess is he won’t. Nobody knows if Shaun Hill can lead them to the playoffs…but I’d offer this…he almost did last year even though he became the starter about half way through the season. Sure, his passes sometimes flutter, but they usually find their mark. For whatever reason, the offense responds to his leadership. Instead, I look for Singletary to draft a player he feels can make an impact now. So, if Raji’s still on the board, he’d be the pick…or it could be one of the top pass rushers, or maybe one of the top CB’s. OT’s also a possibility…although the need’s not as urgent as it was before they signed Marvel Smith.
bears will take jay cutler in the first round — book it!
I like your explanations. Don’t worry about some of the trolls bashing you on here, they don’t dare try a mock because they don’t know a damn thing. It’s easier for them to just ridicule someone else. You provide a solid reasoning behind each pick. While I don’t agree with everything, it’s clear you took the time to think about each pick. Nice job. Check mine out at http://www.tfechtnfldraft.blogspot.com.
The Falcons will not draft a TE Germaine Gresham in the first round next year. Tony Gonzalez has 3 years left on his contract and has already stated that he past his current deal. The Falcons have bigger issues at CB and offensive line.
Um… I dont like you Saints pick. If you know the Saints then you know that J’Vil only wants to play MLB. THATS IT. He does not want to play the outside. People need to stop thinking he will be ok with playing the outside. Just cause he played it for the Man-dumbass and the Jets (worst stats) doesnt mean he wants to now. If spikes dont play outside then we dont draft him
Horrible Falcons pick. why would we take a UT? we have Jerry for NT, and Bahbineaux at UT. we need an OLB. that’s the biggest and most pressing need right now.
Tom, CB isn’t a need. and OL? where is the problem there? the 2nd best run O? or the 17 sacks allowed total?
ATL needs:
OLB
C
DE possibly, ut not a tweener like Marsh.
so you think the lions have been pressing Backus for the last 8 years to maybe trade out of the 2 overall pick in the 2010 draft.. your dumb dude.. do some dam research you don’t even have there quotes right… OG is the problem watch a game… all so how can you not hit DL in 1st 3 rounds?? by far are biggest need… we sucked against the run and couldn’t get pressure on the QB
Patrick Kerney is slow as molasses and can’t sack the QB anymore. It’s not like losing him is a big deal.
I believe we can get pass rushers in the 2nd round but I’d love CJ Spiller and Eric Berry.
i’m a 9ers fan and a de fan with a de coach !! at 13 t. cody because he looks like and plays like w.perry, 17 olb. s. kindle is the pass rusher we’ve been dreaming about lawson will be a back up to brooks !! 2nd round if colt m. is still there its a no brainer !! or gerhart because he has heart and plays like fb mike a. from t.bay coach loves a kid that will hit u right in the mouth! or we go offense line with 13 and 17 ot and og and frank takes us to happy town!
“Backus that ass up.”
That line alone made the mock worth reading. As a Browns fan, I’d rather see them take Haden over McCoy. The idea of investing another couple of years training a guy for a new position isn’t too appealing. I hate this 3-4 defense. Every linebacker you have train in a new position. I don’t see why this f’n team can’t just DRAFT a linebacker if they want one. Sorry for the rant!
Your draft order is wrong.
Jets draft 29th not 25th which means you have at least 2 teams drafting at the wrong spot.
Try this one on for size. Steelers trade down with T.B. for their 10# pick in round 2 and #3 pick in round 4. Then take your boy Kyle Wilson at a better value in round 2. With the second pick in round 2 take Maurkice Pouncey. With him we get a possible upgrade at guard in lieu of Trai Essex and certainly Kraig Urbik who did not help himself last year and a future replacement for Justin Hartwig at center.
Brandon Graham was not blocked by Mike Iupati……they were on the same team……! Maybe he beat Ciron Black and Selvish Capers like a drum,,,,,,,,but Iupati was on his side of the field.
as a jets fan, and a guy who watched Dez Bryant tear up the big 12 in his sophomore year, i’ve tried not to let myself fantasize about a guy who’s obviously the best receiver in the draft dropping to the bottom of the first round.
the fact that your draft is plausible AND has the jets snatching Dez without trading up — well, it hurts me, because i know in my bones that it ain’t gonna happen. thanks for the false hope, anyhow.
as a Cards fanatic, must tell you that you way under rate coach whiz’s eye for talent, he wouldn’t draft a slow, uncoordinated, left tackle like ducasse, who is destined to be a swinging gate in the nfl, when athletic, talented guys who can tackle and get to the qb are still on the board, such as weatherspoon or jerry hughes per your mock, guys who would fill our biggest need on defense, whiz wouldn’t draft this stiff in the 7th round!
The lions should go Suh round 1, then trade the 34th overall pick to the Ravens for jared gaither. Who is better than any tackle they could get in round 2 or even round 1 perhaps.
the giatns are going to pick up a inside linebacker not a saftey we just picked up a saftey
Their defense runs two deep safeties, Mark. That’s what they’re going to. Plus, Mays could help out at WILL LB if he doesn’t work out at safety.
I like how you “Draft Guys” just regurgitate what another one says. Do you even know how many sacks Backus gave up in 2009? 3! All year 3 sacks. If any of you experts ever watched game tape you would see that a lack of production that gets you in predictable situations and blitzes up that middle account for a great majority of the sacks. Watch a game once in a while.
nice mock. i can’t ever see andy reid drafting a linebacker in round 1. the eagles philosophy has always been that they can find a good linebacker in round 2 or 3.
Joe (I don’t speak for Hunter but I am an avid ‘anti-backus as a starting LT for a team with a 72M dollar QB’ kind of guy),
Not sure where you got the 3 stat. If you check out stats from the Washington Post or Pro Football Focus (both are about as good as you could ever get). He actually had somewhere between 8-9 depending on the two sources, and he actually has averaged 11.5 over the last four seasons. With that said though taking a LT will allow Backus to move inside (or over to RT and Gosder inside depending on which is better) which will help to seal those middle line blitzes. And lack of production might be a piece of sacks, but I’m pretty sure more than half of the 3 sacks a game last year on the team were due to the garbage in the trenches.
Mike,
Backus isn’t moving inside, this is old rhetoric and it just isn’t going to happen. Someone started this rumor prior to training camp for this past season and when asked by a reporter if he would move inside he said if asked he would. When Schwartz was asked if he was going to move him inside he said no, end of story. The 3 sacks were reported by the Detroit Free Press and confirmed by the Lions staff. That’s not to say that not more than 3 sacks came from the left side but in a blitz situation Backus can’t be expected to block both the End and Linebacker or safety coming on the blitz. As I hope you know the secondary rusher(i.e. blitzing player) becomes the responsibility of the back staying in or the TE when he is lined up on the left side and doesn’t get attributed to Backus. I have all the game tape to back up my opinion. Are they over paying for Backus? Of course they are but this is because of the horrible Millen drafts and they were afraid of losing him and starting over from scratch. My point is this Backus talk is like a snowball rolling downhill, just gathering speed. Backus had the best year of his career and all you hear from people not close to the situation is he is moving inside and that is just not true.
P.s. thanks for visiting my site.
Hopefully Andrew Luck can crack the top 20 in QB rating this year. I’ll take Ryan Mallett over Luck, especially if Buffalo has the first pick. Mallett has the strongest arm by far and he would need it to cut through the winds in Buffalo but who knows they may be playing in Toronto soon anyway so arm strength won’t be as big as of factor. Stanford produces a star every 20 years or so, so maybe it’s time. It is always a bonus when the father played at the NFL level.
Joe, I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about.
Why would the Saints draft a Safety in the 1st in 2011? Yeah, they’ll probably get rid of Sharper next year, but Jenkins taking his place. Harper is the other starter and his replacement is Chip Vaughn who was impressing the coaches before he went on IR. The Saints will need a sub behind Jenkins, but they’re probably not drafting him in the 1st.
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