FanPost

Reno's January Full First Round Mock

So, I decided I wanted to do a whole first round mock just so I could look back at these next year and laugh at how stupid I was. I'll be doing one at the end of every month leading up to the draft. This is just for entertainment purposes. Feel free to discuss though. Oh, and I'm not doing any trade predictions.

Team Selection Position School Reason
1 Houston Texans Teddy Bridgewater QB Louisville Bridgewater may not be the #1 overall prospect on everyone's boards, but with Bill O'Brien as the new Head Coach for the Texans, there is no way they don't take the #1 QB on the board. The QB position is too important in today's NFL and the Texans find their franchise QB for years to come.
2 St. Louis Rams (via WSH) Sammy Watkins WR Clemson Despite taking Tavon Austin last year with the #8 overall pick, the Rams could still use some help at WR. Sammy Watkins is the #1 WR in this draft and would provide some instant offense for the Rams. Trading down is also an option for them, with teams possibly looking to trade up for Clowney.
3 Jacksonville Jaguars Jadeveon Clowney DE South Carolina The Jaguars' defense last year was awful. They had tied for the least amount of sacks (31) last year, not to mention their best pass rusher was Jason Babin who is currently 33 years old. With this pick the Jags take the most hyped up DE prospect since Mario Williams, and he gives them an immediate impact as a pass rusher.
4 Cleveland Browns Johnny Manziel QB Texas A&M The Browns are undoubtedly sitting here looking to draft a QB. The hardest part is to determine what QB fits their system the best. Will they go with the pro-style QB Bortles or the athletic QB with a strong arm in Johnny Manziel? I think Manziel is the better fit and better all-around QB here.
5 Oakland Raiders Jake Matthews OT Texas A&M Jake Matthews may be the #1 overall talent on the board. The Raiders have too many needs and would be smart to just take the BPA at this point. The Raiders struggled at almost all areas on the offensive line, and also struggled to keep them healthy. Matthews is versatile and could help out at almost any position on the o-line if needed.
6 Atlanta Falcons Greg Robinson OT Auburn The Falcons' o-line gave up tied for the 2nd most (50) sacks last year and left Matt Ryan out to dry too often. Robinson isn't the most technically sound OT, but his athleticism and upside will give GM's reason to move him up pretty high on their draft board, similar to the Lane Johnson situation last year.
7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Khalil Mack OLB Buffalo Khalil Mack is the most complete defensive prospect in this class other than Clowney. The Bucs would use Mack similar to how the Broncos use Von Miller in their 4-3 defense. A tandem of both Lavonte David and Khalil Mack on the outside would be scary and hard to pass up.
8 Minnesota Vikings Blake Bortles QB UCF Sorry, but Christian Ponder is not the answer at QB. Bortles has the quintessential frame for a QB and would fit the Vikings' offense. He won't have too much pressure on his shoulders with AP behind him. This is probably a reach, but QB is a commodity and you see this happen every year.
9 Buffalo Bills Mike Evans WR Texas A&M The Bills could use another weapon for E.J. Manuel. Mike Evans would be the tall WR threat they've needed in the redzone for a while now. Don't be surprised to see Evans' stock rise after a good combine and a possible sub 4.5 40 time.
10 Detroit Lions Anthony Barr OLB UCLA GM's are going to be drooling over Barr after the combine. He is about as raw as they come and as athletic as they come. He may not have an immediate impact as a rookie, but his upside is unmatchable and he can be a star with the right coaching staff down the road. The Lions could use a pass rushing hybrid 4-3 OLB like Barr. They took a raw player in Ziggy Ansah last year with their 1st round pick and it worked out, so don't be surprised if they do it again.
11 Tennessee Titans Derek Carr QB Fresno State Jake Locker has shown some promise at QB for the Titans, but he hasn't been a reliable option and has been injured far too often. The Titans could look to try to improve their MLB position and take Mosley here, but I think they surprise us and create some competition at QB instead. Carr would fit their offense perfectly and Whisenhunt will have a new QB to develop.
12 New York Giants Marqise Lee WR USC With Hakeem Nicks likely to be gone, Eli needs all the help he can get coming off of an awful year. Ebron could also be an option here, but I believe #12 is a little too high for a TE. They can take a WR here and look to improve either OG or TE in the 2nd round.
13 St. Louis Rams Calvin Pryor FS Louisville The Rams need a lot of help in their secondary, whether it's at CB or safety. Dennard may be the BPA on defense, but the Rams should be looking for a playmaker on defense here. I view Pryor as the #1 safety in this draft right above Clinton-Dix. He doesn't hesitate to tackle and delivers nasty hits.
14 Chicago Bears Kony Ealy DE Missouri Kony Ealy is like Ziggy Ansah without the elite speed. He's extremely athletic with a lot of upside. The Bears' defense was awful last year and needs a ton of help in the trenches. Ealy can help provide some pass rush and can move around the line if they need him to.
15 Pittsburgh Steelers Louis Nix III NT Notre Dame This one is simple. The Steelers don't really have a good NT right now. McLendon is okay, but he is built more like a DE. Louis Nix is the best NT prospect in this draft and can lock down the position from day 1 in camp.
16 Baltimore Ravens Kelvin Benjamin WR Florida State Joe Flacco and the Ravens offense are coming off of a bad year offensively and are extremely thin at WR. I expect Benjamin to have a solid combine and to raise his draft stock quite a bit. He would add to the already talented young core they have with Torrey Smith and Marlon Brown in place.
17 Dallas Cowboys Aaron Donald DT Pittsburgh If Donald wasn't so undersized he might be one of the top picks in the draft. Whoever he falls to is automatically getting a steal. He is an unstoppable force in the trenches and showed that he can compete with the best by having arguably the most impressive performance at this years Senior Bowl.
18 New York Jets Eric Ebron TE UNC Geno Smith had a miserable rookie year, in part because he's just not that great, but also because the Jets don't really have that much talent around Geno. Smith could use a stud TE to dump the ball off to when under pressure and Ebron is the best option out there.
19 Miami Dolphins Taylor Lewan OT Michigan The Dolphins fill a need here at LT and also get the BPA in Taylor Lewan. Lewan should be able to win the starting LT position outright, and has the perfect frame to play the position as well as a ton of upside.
20 Arizona Cardinals Darqueze Dennard CB Michigan State The Cardinals take the BPA in Darqueze Dennard here. Dennard isn't exactly filling a need, but he won't have any pressure on him to start right away and can get groomed into a #2 CB for the Cardinals in the future. Jerraud Powers will take a seat once Dennard lives up to his expectations.
21 Green Bay Packers C.J. Mosley ILB Alabama C.J. Mosley is a beast and is extremely athletic and instinctful. If he falls this far to the Packers they should be ecstatic to have him. The rich get richer.
22 Philadelphia Eagles HaHa Clinton-Dix FS Alabama Many believe HHCD is the #1 safety in this draft. I have him behind Pryor, but he is still a great talent. The Eagles could use a lot of help in their secondary. Nate Allen and Patrick Chung haven't been very good options back there for them, so adding a playmaking safety in HHCD would make a lot of sense for them.
23 Kansas City Chiefs Jace Amaro TE Texas Tech A WR or TE would be the best option for the Chiefs here. Alex Smith doesn't have a whole lot of weapons around him in the passing game. I like Amaro as the 2nd best TE prospect here. He just needs to work on his blocking and gain some added muscle.
24 Cincinnati Bengals Justin Gilbert CB Oklahoma State Pacman Jones has been great at CB for the Bengals, but he's not getting any younger. On the other side, Newman dealt with injuries towards the end of the year and Kirkpatrick didn't look ready to step in. Gilbert is a playmaking CB that can also handle duties as a returner if they need him to. The Bengals add some good depth at CB here.
25 San Diego Chargers Zach Martin OT/OG Notre Dame Martin would be the perfect pick here for the Chargers. The Chargers had plenty of trouble with their interior line, and didn't really have anyone step up at RT either. Martin can play either T or G for them and could step in and immediately help the Chargers' high powered offense.
26 Cleveland Browns (via IND) Odell Beckham Jr. WR LSU The Browns already took their franchise QB with the 4th overall pick, now they're getting the best WR available to them with their next 1st round pick. Beckham isn't tall, but he was a big deep threat for LSU catching the ball an average of 13+ yards past the line of scrimmage.
27 New Orleans Saints Jeremiah Attaochu OLB/DE Georgia Tech Attaochu fills a need as a pass rushing specialist in Rob Ryan's 3-4 defense. He might just be the best pass rushing 3-4 OLB outside of Khalil Mack. He's explosive off the snap and brings a lot of intensity, which I'm sure Rob Ryan would love.
28 Carolina Panthers Brandin Cooks WR Oregon State Much like Tavon Austin last year, I expect Cooks to have a solid combine and improve his draft stock and shoot up to the mid-late first round. In this scenario, the Panthers have him at #28 and improve a position that they've needed help at for a while now. Steve Smith is getting old and could retire within the next few years, and they really don't have anyone else that can step up for them right now. Cam is going to need a guy that can get open, and right now no one has been able to do that for him. Cooks will be that guy.
29 New England Patriots Austin Seferian-Jenkins TE Washington The Patriots are definitely going to address their need at TE in this draft. Whether they will trade up in the 1st round to ensure they get the guy the want, sit at #29 and take whoever is available, or wait until the later rounds to address it remains to be seen. Seferian-Jenkins has some character concerns which they may be trying to avoid this time around. But he would fit their system regardless and he has great size and decent speed.
30 San Francisco 49ers Kyle Fuller CB Virginia Tech The 49ers have a need at CB and can afford to wait until Fuller gets healthy because he will be worth it. I view Dennard and Fuller as the top 2 pure pass coverage CB's. This will prove to be a great pick by the 49ers when Fuller is 100% and gets the development he needs to become a starting CB for them down the line.
31 Denver Broncos Dee Ford DE Auburn The Broncos could use some help opposite Robert Ayers at DE and Dee Ford happens to be the best player available here. Ford caught everyones attention during Senior Bowl week and could not be stopped off the edge during practices and during the Senior Bowl game. Don't be surprised to see Ford have a good combine and increase his stock even more.
32 Seattle Seahawks Xavier Su'a Filo OG UCLA Su'a Filo is the first pure OG to go in this years draft. He is the most pro-ready and will fill a big need at guard for the Seahawks, who shuffled around their interior line quite a bit this year.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pride Of Detroit or its writers.