With the 35th pick of Pride of Detroit's 2011 NFL Mock Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals select Washington quarterback Jake Locker. SmittyJ is serving as the Bengals' general manager, and his reasoning for the pick is below.
I actually like Locker better than Newton and Gabbert and really didn't think he would be there in the second round. I have to believe he would be the BPA on Cincy's board, and with the future of Palmer unknown, Locker in the second is a steal. Cincy got the one of the top DTs in this draft with the No. 4 overall pick, and then Cincy was able to turn around and grab, once again, one of the top QBs in the draft in the second round.
I like Locker in the west coast offense. The only knock on Locker is his accuracy, which he improved drastically at the combine and his pro day. Locker will allow the fans to quickly forget Palmer and embrace him as the new face of this franchise. He already has the weapons on offense in Ochocinco, Shipley and Gresham. They need an interior lineman, but I like what Scott and Leonard bring in the run game. Also, a change of pace back will need to be addressed somewhere in the draft.
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Check out the 2011 Pride of Detroit Community Mock Draft tracker for a look at all of the picks.