* Ye Olde 2013 Mock Draft Thread!! *

[mayoclinic]

Originally Posted by ctpatsfan77

Devil's advocate: enough talent that BB might regret not moving picks forward as he normally does? [Or if he tried but couldn't find a partner, regret not being able to?]

I don't think BB is going to linger over what might have been. He obviously felt Jones and Hightower were worth trading up for, and though it's obviously very early so far it looks like both were good moves. BB is the ultimate value shopper. If he didn't like the values he would have traded back or out, even at a discount.

There could be 2+ rounds of quality prospects in 2013, much as there was in 2010. I'd obviously love to have a bunch of picks stockpiled. But I'm sure BB will manage to maneuver, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him make a couple of moves between now and the draft.

[jsull87]

Originally Posted by ctpatsfan77

Devil's advocate: enough talent that BB might regret not moving picks forward as he normally does? [Or if he tried but couldn't find a partner, regret not being able to?]

i guess only time will tell. But i think that regret or lack there of will be predicated on the performance of Jones and Hightower as we used our extra trade stock to trade up instead of down for those 2.

[mayoclinic]

Originally Posted by Off The Grid

Utterly fantastic, Brother Mayo!!

By far the best one I've seen, this year, and your finest Mock YET!!

Thanks. As we've discussed, the main purpose of "mocks" this early is to beat the bushes about guys of potential interest. And, given a key event today, I have to update my mock sooner than expected with one little addition:

Time for a another bump, just to kick the tires on this thread. Once gain, it's obviously just throwing darts at this stage of the game. I'm also assuming the Pats pick at 32 in each round.

1. Dion Jordan, DE/LB/"DB", Oregon. 6'6" 245#.



Hybrid Beast! The "Preying Mantis" is a rare animal, a 6'6" guy with great explosion and quickness off the edge who is unreal in space. He came to Oregon as a WR, converted to TE, and then to DE. He is so agile in space that the Ducks sometimes use him to play press CB and to cover slot receivers. He spends most of his time playing out of a 2 point stance, even when he is on the line. Jordan is not stout enough to be a full time edge setter, but he has good core strength for his size. The Pats could move him around, including playing DB in "big nickel" packages. With his length, speed and agility, Jordan could be a unique weapon in a defense which already has playmakers like Chandler Jones and Dont'a Hightower.

2. Jesse Williams, DT, Alabama. 6'4" 330#.



Beast! Star Lotulelei and Johnathan Hankins will likely be out of reach in 2013, but there is still plenty of depth and talent at the DT position. Williams could be a steal, and may have as much upside as either of those guys. An Australian transplant and JUCO transfer by way of Arizona, Wiliams played 3-4 DE for the Tide in 2011 but is taking over at NT for Josh Chapman in 2012. A former rugby player, Williams has tremendous strength and terrific movement skills for his size. He is a weight room fanatic with incredible core strength, who recently benched 600 lbs (Dontari Poe, who led the 2012 Combine at the bench press, had a best of 500 lbs. at Memphis), and very little body fat. Best quote: "I stopped looking for the monster under the bed when I realized the monster was me." Williams has enough agility and athleticism to play outside in the 3-4 and probably play 4-3 LDE as well, and enough strength and size to play 3-4 NT, 4-3 NT and 4-3 DT. Getting Williams might require a trade up in the 2nd round.

3. Mark Jackson, OT/OG, Glenville St. 6'5" 328#.



Sleeper! Rated the #7 center in the country by Rivals coming out of high school and signed by Illinois, Jackson subsequently transferred to a small school and has been flying under the rader. A big kid with excellent footwork for his size, Jackson has positional versatility at tackle, guard and center. He's still a bit under the rader, but with a strong season he'll probably be a top 100 pick, and could even sneak into the 2nd round. I could see him becoming a Brian Waters kind of player at guard.

4a. David Bass, DE, Missouri Western St.. 6'5" 280#.



Super Sleeper! Mackenzie Pantoja has recently profiled Bass, who has an intriguing combination of size, length, long arms, verticity, instincts and processing speed. Pantoja writes: "I have never before scouted a player who is tremendous at so many different things needed to stop the pass" and "I’m not sure if I could design a player better suited to cover the NFL’s new breed of 'super tight ends' (Gronk, Graham, etc.)". A 280# LDE who can drop back into coverage from a 3-point stance and cover a TE or a slot WR in addition to rushing the passer, clogging the passing lanes and setting the edge would be a tremendous weapon - so much so that Bass got me to pass on Margus Hunt in the 1st round in favor of Dion Jordan. A DE group of Fanene/Bass/Bequette at LDE and Chandler Jones/Bequette/Cunningham at RDE would have terrific depth and versatility.

***Trade: the Pats trade something or other to pick up an extra 4th round pick. I'm not sure what they would give up at this juncture, but BB can certainly somehow manufacture an extra day 3 pick.

4b. Tyrann Mathieu, DB. 5'9" 175#.



Fallen Stud! The Honey Badger becomes the 2013 version of Aaron Hernandez/Alfonzo Dennard, a day 1 or 2 pick who slips to day 3 because of off field issues and gets snatched up by BB. Mathieu is undersized and doesn't have elite man coverage skills. But he is a heat seeking missile and ball hawk par extraordinaire who can be moved all around the secondary to create disruption. He's a big risk without a true position and multiple off field issues leading to his dismissal from LSU, but as a day 3 pick the upside is too great to ignore. The combination of the Honey Bader with the "Preying Mantis" Dion Jordan would add tremendous playmaking ability and versatility to the defense.

5. Brandon Moore, DT, Texas. 6'5" 335#.



Super Sleeper Beast! Moore was recruited by Nick Saban to Alabama, and left the team for disciplinary reasons before transferring to Texas to be reunited with his old line coach. A huge kid with terrific athleticism, Moore has reportedly been dominant in Spring practices. With VInce Wilfork turning 32 in 2013 and Myron Pryor and Ron Brace UDFAs after this year and Kyle Love a RFA, a second interior lineman would be a nice addition. A front 6 of Wilfork, Jesse Williams, Jonathan Fanene, Love, Deaderick and Brandon Moore would be a very strong group. I'm guessing that a deep DT class and his past disciplinary issues could push Moore down a bit.

I'd still like to add another offensive lineman and a WR, but will wait until it's clearler exactl what picks the Pats have.

[Merril Hoge's Tie Knot]

Now thats a draft, Mayo!

Moore seems a little unlikely though, being cut by Saban and all.

I'd like to fit a TE in there if Ballard isn't healthy, and I'm assuming he won't be.

Great draft.

[ZoisKing]

Dion Jordan getting some early love. Probably the first time I'll be tuning in to some Ducks games.

[mayoclinic]

Originally Posted by Merril Hoge's Tie Knot

I'd like to fit a TE in there if Ballard isn't healthy, and I'm assuming he won't be.

I love TEs. Can't get enough of them. I had a TE in all of my early drafts until the Pats stole Jake Ballard. Michael Williams of Alabama (6'6" 270#) and Levine Toilolo of Stanford (6'8" 265#) were my favorites. When we picked up Ballard I dropped the TE for now, until it's clearer whether he can recover or not.

Regardless, my #1 binky for 2014 is Austin Seferian-Jenkins of Washington. He's a sophomore this year, so he won't be eligible until 2014. He's a 6'6" 258# kid who also plays power forward on the UW basketball team, and who has a combination of size, physicality and movement skills that makes him essentially Gronk II. I'd do whatever it took to trade up and get him and have a "double Gronk" offense.

[mayoclinic]

Originally Posted by Merril Hoge's Tie Knot

Moore seems a little unlikely though, being cut by Saban and all.

I'm not so sure. BB will obviously be able to get the inside scoop on why he was cut. Just because he was kicked off the team doesn't make him a bad kid, or not worh a day 3 flier. The LSU athletic director was adamant in discussing Tyrann Mathieu that Mathieu is "not a bad kid". Moore played on 2 national championship teams for Alabama, played alongside guys like Marcell Dareus and Jesse Williams, and is not playing for another major program at Texas. If he can stay clean and show the ability that got him recruited by Saban in the first place, I'm sure BB would at least take a serious look.

[Snake Eyes]

Originally Posted by mayoclinic

I love TEs. Can't get enough of them. I had a TE in all of my early drafts until the Pats stole Jake Ballard. Michael Williams of Alabama (6'6" 270#) and Levine Toilolo of Stanford (6'8" 265#) were my favorites. When we picked up Ballard I dropped the TE for now, until it's clearer whether he can recover or not.

Regardless, my #1 binky for 2014 is Austin Seferian-Jenkins of Washington. He's a sophomore this year, so he won't be eligible until 2014. He's a 6'6" 258# kid who also plays power forward on the UW basketball team, and who has a combination of size, physicality and movement skills that makes him essentially Gronk II. I'd do whatever it took to trade up and get him and have a "double Gronk" offense.

Mayo, you truly are a beautiful man! Would carrying Gronk, Williams, Ahern, and Jenkins all on the roster squeeze us much in other areas?

[mayoclinic]

Originally Posted by Snake Eyes

Mayo, you truly are a beautiful man! Would carrying Gronk, Williams, Ahern, and Jenkins all on the roster squeeze us much in other areas?

Hopefully Ballard, too. Green Bay carried 5 TEs in 2011.

With Hoyer presumably and Welker potentially gone after this year (shudder) the Pats could end up carrying:

2 QBs
4 RBs
5 WRs
4 TEs
9 OLs

That's 24 players on offense, which would leave one spot for a 5th TE, 6th WR, 5th RB or 3rd QB.

[manxman2601]

What the heck, it's time to feed my mock draft obsession (gone cold turkey for too long.


I'm having real trouble with our first rounder as things stand. Bjoern Werner, Dion Jordan, Margus Hunt and Jesse Williams are all possibilities but I can't quite commit to them as first round picks just yet - they all have something missing (or aren't an ideal need) that means I can't justify them as a first rounder just yet. So....

Round One:

Tyler Eifert, TE, Notre Dame



With Welker very possibly leaving at the end of the season, I can see Hernandez moving in to his slot position. With uncertainty over whether Ballard can produce following his injury and Brady struggling more and more with the long ball, getting him another intermediate weapon seems like a reasonable strategy. We haven't had many consensus first round caliber TE's come out since Gresham/Gronk but Eifert has that accolade. However, with the strength in pass rushers, OT's and QB's in this draft, it's not unreasonable that Eifert could slip in to the lower reaches of the first round.

Gronk-Eifert-Lloyd-Hernandez-Gaffney. Not a bad receiving corps for Brady's final years.

Round 2:

Dallas Thomas, OT/OG, Tennessee



Nice write up on him here:

Thomas is a bit under the media’s radar as of right now, but don’t expect the NFL to miss his talent. Simply put, he’s good. Thomas isn’t a road grader – he’s not going to put people into the stands like Michael Oher in The Blind Side. However, Thomas does do the technical things really well and he should make a serviceable starter in the NFL. With his skillset, I’d expect Thomas to be gain popularity around draft time as he resembles the type of prospect that could make an immediate impact. He’s expected to move to guard this season, though he has the ability to play at either guard or tackle at the next level. He should make a valuable swing guy.

Gets to the second level well - I see him as an OG for us.

Round Three

Alec Ogletree, LB, Georgia




He's my first major binky. If he declares and is still available at this point, I think he'd be a steal. I think there's more talent there than Lavonte David. He can hit, he's very fast and athletic, takes good angles as a LB but can cover deep downfield too. I know LB is a position of strength for us but we don't have very much behind Hightower-Spikes-Mayo. Ogletree would be an ideal passing down compliment to them with the ability to take every down reps too.

Ogletree is my first binky of the year. Please watch the below video to see some of what I see in him. In particular, watch the play at 4:58. Ogletree is #9. you see him on the left side of the Georgia defense at the start of the play. Then look to see who chases down Linthicum down the opposite sideline. That's the speed I'm talking about.

Alec Ogletree vs MSU /Kentucky - YouTube

Round Four:

I'm going to cheat a bit in round four with two more juniors, one of which is a compensatory pick. These are two guys I really like and think might be good fits.

James Hurst, OT, UNC



Only seen good things written about him with speculation he's got first round potential. He's the OT pick to compliment Dallas Thomas as the interior line choice.

Strengths

At 6'7" and 310-pounds, the rising junior's size is his first asset. He's an imposing figure, and he has the athleticism to go with the size. Hurst walked onto campus and started for the Tar Heels as a freshman, earning Freshman All-American honors for his work at the tackle position.

In 2011, Hurst and the Tar Heels' running game as a whole took a giant step forward—even as the program was crumbling around them. Giovani Bernard became the first 1,000-yard running back for North Carolina since 1997's Jonathan Linton.

Hurst has great feet for a big man and he has the power behind his initial punch to knock defensive ends off balance and then get to the next level to punish linebackers.



Weaknesses

With the coaching change comes a new system, and that is going to be interesting for Hurst when it comes to adjustments. Instead of playing a pro-style attack, Hurst is going to be in a spread, albeit a power spread.

We'll have to watch how his weight changes, as the Tar Heels are pushing the tempo, not just in games but in practices as well.

If Hurst can keep his weight up above 300 and flourish in Larry Fedora's attack, he will be a big-time player in 2012.

Kyle Fuller, CB, Virginia Tech

Kyle Fuller, CB*- Fuller is yet another playmaker on this defense and while he isn’t quite as filled out as Exum he’s still pretty big for a corner. He’s listed at 6’0”, 188 pounds and I believe he has legit sub 4.5 speed. Plus, like James said, he plays even bigger than he is and loves to hit. That helped him gather 65 tackles, 10 TFL (10 tackles for loss for a corner is out of this world), 4.5 sacks, 7 pass break-ups and 2 interceptions as a sophomore. I’m expecting him to take an even bigger step forward as a junior, and with all the talent VT has in the front 7 there are going to be plenty of poor throws, decisions and opportunities for turnovers for this secondary and I expect Fuller to take advantage of them.

Have yet to watch him play but a CB that gets 4.5 sacks and 10 TFL gets my interest. I said in the other thread that Ron Brooks was heavily linked to the Pats last year. Fuller sounds like that type of defender.

Round 7

No DT yet. I don't see it as a major priority, particularly if Ron Brace lives up to his pre-season promise. But some help on the interior defensive line will be useful, particularly if it is someone that can potentially offer some upfield rush. So:

TJ Barnes, DT, Georgia Tech



How does a 6'7, 347 DT grab you. Hasn't put it together yet but according to NFL Draft Monsters, that might change:

TJ Barnes, DT- Barnes is a gargantuan defensive tackle who will play nose tackle in Georgia Tech’s 3-4 defense this season. He was highly touted coming out of high school and during his redshirt year he wreaked consistent havoc playing on the scout team, causing coaches to salivate at his potential. He hasn’t lived up to it yet, however, and this season is his last shot. He returns for his senior season with just 3 career starts and despite playing in 13 games last season he only registered 11 tackles, 0.5 TFL and 1 sack. His conditioning has been a problem the past three years, but this year the 6’7”, 347 pound nose tackle is supposed to be in significantly better shape coming into this season. He spent extra time doing cardio and other conditioning workouts to get in better shape. It appears to be working, as offensive guard Will Jackson has claimed that Barnes is much quicker and more explosive off the ball. He’s got all the size and strength you could ask for in a nose tackle, particularly in a 3-4 defense, and if he has improved his conditioning enough he could be a very disruptive force for Georgia Tech this season. The problem with evaluating him will be evaluating if the light turned on just in time to boost his draft stock and his pay check, or whether the light came on and he is ready to potentially dominate as he gets in better shape and improves his hand usage and technique even more. I tend to shy away from one year wonders, but first Barnes has to have that one-year wonder season before we can try to determine whether it was a flash in the pan or not. Here’s hoping he has a great year and proves to be a dominant force in the middle of the Yellow Jacket defense.

So there you have it. Not at all predictive, just an attempt to highlight some of the prospects that have grabbed my attention placed within the context of a genuine attempt to fit the criteria of a mock.