Uncle Heatster 2-round mock draft

[dryheat44]

Reviewing, I think there will probably be more trades, especially in the 2nd round, and it seems that QBs and OTs should probably be going higher. Oh well.

1 Kansas City - Luke Joekel OT Texas A&M - I don't really understand why some mockers are giving them Fisher. Yes, Fisher has upside. Give me the guy who dominated week in, week out in the SEC.

2 PROJECTED TRADE Jacksonville flips this pick to the Raiders for the #3 pick and a later exchange of picks irrelevant to a two-round mock draft. The Raiders, mindful of the possibility of teams like Arizona and Buffalo leapfrogging them, move up a spot to get Geno Smith QB West Virginia

3 Jacksonville (from Oakland) - Eric Fisher OT Central Michigan

4 Philadelphia - Dion Jordan DE Oregon - It would be surprising if Chip Kelly didn't add some players he is familiar to the locker room. Plus, Jordan's upside is through the roof as a moveable chesspiece.

5 Detroit - Dee Milliner CB Alabama - Schwartz's heart would probably prefer adding a **** rusher like Ansah here, but his head knows how bad his secondary is.

6 PROJECTED TRADE Cleveland trades this pick to the Dolphins for the #12 pick and a later exchange of picks irrelevant to a two-round mock draft. The Dolphins, having watched Jake Long leave, trade up to draft Lane Johnson OT Oklahoma

7 Arizona - Matt Barkley QB Southern California - Bruce Arians may genuinely like Drew Stanton as a starter, but even he knows that it's not a long-term solution.

8 Buffalo - Sharrif Floyd DT Florida - Nassib seems to be the consensus here, but I'm going to go on the assumption that Buffalo makes a move at quarterback before the draft (Carson Palmer, perhaps?) and fills a defensive need instead. If the Bills QB depth chart still reads T Jackson, A Corp, B Smith come the draft, I think they'll be forced to go QB here.

9 NY Jets - Ezekiel Ansah DE Brigham Young - Most think Ansah will be gone by now. And there's a good chance he will. I don't think there's any way he drops past Rex Ryan, though.

10 Tennessee - Star Lotulelei DT Utah - It seems he and his doctors are comfortable with his heart, and Tennessee gets a star on D.

11 San Diego - Cordarrelle Patterson WR Tennessee - I think Philip Rivers is done. However, the new regime in San Diego seems committed to getting better around him and see if that doesn't resurrect him. They've done a good -- no, a great job improving the offensive line in the offseason, now they need to improve the skill positions. Malcom Floyd is a good player, but not anybody's idea of a #1 wide out. Robert Meachem seems to be a bad fit, if not exposed as a bad player. Patterson gives them what they need.

12 Cleveland (from Miami) - Bjoern Werner DE Florida St

13 PROJECTED TRADE Tampa Bay trades this pick to the Steelers for the 17th pick and a later exchange of picks irrelevant to a two-round mock draft. The Steelers, whether or not Emmanuel Sanders is playing for them, need a WR to start on Week 1. As long as his medicals check out, there nothing not to like about Keenan Allen WR California to fill that need. The Steelers can make a modest trade-up, as the next three teams might be considering a WR.

14 Carolina - Sheldon Richardson DT Missouri

15 New Orleans - Barkevious Mingo DE LSU - Mingo is my pick for the bust of the first round. I don't think he's very good, and if his name were more common, he probably wouldn't be so highly regarded. Barkevious Jones would be a third rounder.

16 St. Louis - Tavon Austin WR West Virginia - Could do what Danny Amendola used to do for them. On the off-chance that management feels that the group of Austin Pettis, Chris Givens, and Brian Quick can be improved upon.

17 Tampa Bay (from Pittsburgh) - Tyler Eifert TE Notre Dame - The Bucs are able to trade down and get their target at a more appropriate slot.

18 Dallas - Kenny Vaccaro S Texas - This is shaping up to be the no-brainer of the first round.

19 NY Giants - Xavier Rhodes CB Florida St

20 Chicago - Chance Warmack G Alabama - The O-line rebuild continues in Chitown.

21 Cincinnati - DJ Fluker OT Alabama - This pick will obviously change if their incumbent right tackle from Alabama returns.

22 PROJECTED TRADE St. Louis trades this pick to Tampa Bay for the #43 pick and a later exchange of picks irrelevant to a two-round mock draft. The Buccaneers need a corner pretty badly, and they know the quality will drop off very soon. They take Desmond Trufant CB Washington.

23 Minnesota - The Vikings tab Johnathan Banks CB Mississippi St to replace Antonio Winfield. See explanation above.

24 Indianapolis - Jesse Williams DT Alabama - The Colts continue to evolve to a 3-4, and tab Williams as their solution in the middle.

25 Minnesota - Jonathan Cooper G North Carolina

26 Green Bay - Jarvis Jones LB Georgia

27 Houston - Robert Woods WR Southern California - Maybe I can now stop feeling sorry for Andre Johnson.

28 Denver - Tank Carradine DE Florida St - Cornellius should be able to give them some of what they lost when Elvis left the building.

29 PROJECTED TRADE (shocker) - New England trades this pick to Buffalo for the #41 pick, a fourth rounder, and a 2014 2nd. Buffalo grabs Ryan Nassib QB Syracuse. Buffalo's gamble pays off, as they trade up ahead of the other QB-needy teams coming at the top of the 2nd, knowing that BB would be open to a trade, given his lack of picks this year.

30 Atlanta - Sam Montgomery DE LSU

31 San Francisco - David Amerson CB North Carolina St - Don't think that Jim Harbaugh hasn't noticed what Seattle is doing up North.

32 Baltimore - Alec Ogletree LB Georgia. I'm sorry, but if anybody is expecting Manti Te'o to replace Ray Lewis, it's not happening. Ever.

2nd Round

33 Jacksonville - Sylvester Williams DT North Carolina

34 San Francico - Kawann Short DT Purdue

35 Philadelphia - Jamar Taylor CB Boise St

36 Detroit - Datone Jones DE UCLA

37 Cincinnati - Damontre Moore DE Texas A&M

38 Arizona - EJ Manuel QB Florida St - In this division, it seems one needs a dual-threat QB. Manuel could be the steal of the draft.

39 NY Jets - Mike Glennon QB North Carolina St

40 Tennessee Manelik Watson OT Florida St

41 New England (from Buffalo) Markus Wheaton WR Oregon St I like Wheaton here over a cornerback or defensive linemen. However, I'd certainly entertain the thought of a Sanders Commings, DJ Hayden, Robert Alford, Leon Mcfadden or Margus Hunt

42 Miami - Eddie Lacy RB Alabama

43 St. Louis (from Tampa Bay) - Jonathan Cyprien S Florida International - To compete with Seattle and San Francisco, St. Louis is going to need to improve the middle of their defense. This is a great pick for them if Cyprien is available.

44 Carolina - Justin Hunter WR Tennessee

45 San Diego - Justin Pugh OL Syracuse

46 St. Louis - DeAndre Hopkins WR Clemson - St. Louis can stand a WR double-dip, especially as Hopkins could be the BPA right now.

47 Dallas - Jordan Poyer CB Oregon St

48 Pittsburgh - Corey Lemonier LB Auburn - He seems to be one of those off-the-shelf Pittsburgh linebackers that **** Lebeau finds semi-annually.

49 NY Giants - Kevin Minter LB LSU

50 Chicago - Manti Te'o LB Notre Dame

51 Washington - Manti Te'o's girlfriend GF Parts Unknown I kid, I kid. Brandon Jenkins LB Florida St

52 Minnesota - Johnathan Hankins DT Ohio St

53 Cincinnati - Andre Ellington RB Clemson - Makes sense to pair with Green-Ellis, and ultimately become the lead dog.

54 Miami - Eric Reid S LSU

55 Green Bay - Brennan Williams OT North Carolina

56 Seattle - Arthur Brown LB Kansas St

57 Houston - Landry Jones QB Oklahoma

58 Denver - Tyler Bray QB Tennessee

59 PROJECTED TRADE (shocker) - New England trades this pick to the Ravens for #62 and a late pick. The Ravens leapfrog the Falcons, as both have lost their starting centers this offseason. The pick is Barrett Jones C Alabama.

60 Atlanta - Hugh Thornton G Illinois - Which makes Atlanta's play to shift Peter Konz to center and draft Thornton to step in at guard.

61 San Francisco - Vance McDonald TE Rice - Nicely replaces Delanie Walker on the roster.

62 New England (from Baltimore) - Leon McFadden CB San Diego St - There may be more highly-rated corners available, but I don't know if any of them are a better fit than McFadden. Other considerations are Hunt, John Jenkins, and I think Belichick could be eyeing the Honey Badger right about now.

 

[everlong]

Good job and well thought out. I like some players more than you and vice versa but overall solid. I do think if Jones slid to 29 they would draft him and move back to more 3-4.

 

[manxman2601]

You've picked two of my major binkies so I obviously love this mock. Good job all round.

 

[EwanSellars]

nice job i like picking up a second rounder next year too and i love wheaton and mcfadden so nice job

 

[Metaphors]

First off, excellent stuff as usual. My thoughts...

7 Arizona - Matt Barkley QB Southern California - Bruce Arians may genuinely like Drew Stanton as a starter, but even he knows that it's not a long-term solution.

Totally reasonable but I think teams aren't going to bite on Barkley or the other QBs this early. There just isn't enough separating the top of this draft class to overspend.

22 PROJECTED TRADE St. Louis trades this pick to Tampa Bay for the #43 pick and a later exchange of picks irrelevant to a two-round mock draft. The Buccaneers need a corner pretty badly, and they know the quality will drop off very soon. They take Desmond Trufant CB Washington.

This is not a deep draft class so I'm not sure you will see that many trade-downs where the cost is just a late round 2013 pick. Also, the Rams need quality as well as quantity. With Cooper still on the board, I'm not sure the Rams would pass on him teaming with Jake Long to give their big money QB the best chance to succeed.

29 PROJECTED TRADE (shocker) - New England trades this pick to Buffalo for the #41 pick, a fourth rounder, and a 2014 2nd. Buffalo grabs Ryan Nassib QB Syracuse. Buffalo's gamble pays off, as they trade up ahead of the other QB-needy teams coming at the top of the 2nd, knowing that BB would be open to a trade, given his lack of picks this year.

This type of trade seems much more likely and this should be a prime spot for the QB run. If the draft falls this way, I can see the Pats wanting to drop down.

38 Arizona - EJ Manuel QB Florida St - In this division, it seems one needs a dual-threat QB. Manuel could be the steal of the draft.

Makes sense...just not after getting Barkley in 1st round.

41 New England (from Buffalo) Markus Wheaton WR Oregon St I like Wheaton here over a cornerback or defensive linemen.

Agree on WR being the choice if things fall this way, but better options available. I can understand passing on Hunter as having too many red flags, but Hopkins (particularly at this point in the draft) should be the call. Wheaton has smaller hands and looks to be a body-catcher at heart. Hopkins has snatch-n-secure hands, runs superior routes and has enough speed to challenge all areas of the field.

42 Miami - Eddie Lacy RB Alabama
54 Miami - Eric Reid S LSU

The Fins should hire you to run their draft room. I particularly like what you've selected for them.

62 New England (from Baltimore) - Leon McFadden CB San Diego St - There may be more highly-rated corners available, but I don't know if any of them are a better fit than McFadden. Other considerations are Hunt, John Jenkins, and I think Belichick could be eyeing the Honey Badger right about now.

Your strategy for the Pats seems pretty sound. Got a WR at a good spot and now are sitting in a good spot for CB (Alford, Wreh-Wilson, Slay, Ryan, Cummings). A variety of types and skill sets to choose from. Kind of ambivalent about McFadden. I like Alford as having the best skill set of the CBs remaining and Ryan as having a very high upside with good coaching to go along with his instincts. Regardless, lots of potentially solid choices so good timing.

 

[dryheat44]

Thanks for the comments everyone. I don't know how I screwed up the Arizona QB selections -- I'll have to review my notes later...except they were on the back of a sensitive document that is now shredded. I'll definitely clean it up for next time.

 

[DocHoliday]

I just can't shake the hunch that Bill is looking for someone opposite Jones. A freak like Hunt would just be perfect.

 

[manxman2601]

I just can't shake the hunch that Bill is looking for someone opposite Jones. A freak like Hunt would just be perfect.

I have the same hunch - although I'm currently leaning towards double dipping at WR with first two picks.

 

[dryheat44]

And sure enough, it looks like the Raiders are in the process of acquiring Flynn, so there goes that.

 

[VJCPatriot]

I like the Pats selections that you've made, Wheaton/McFadden, as well as garnering an extra 4th this year and another 2nd for the future. That would be a good trade for the Patriots.

I think that would do a lot to address the WR/secondary depth needs. I am pretty worried about our passrush still though. If the Pats don't get a veteran passrusher, who are they going to put opposite Jones to keep defenses honest? If Jones is our only real threat, it will be easy for teams to just double up protection on his side and shut him down.

PS I pray that Ansah does not make it to the Jets. He would make Brady's life miserable for the remainder of his career. He would be like the second coming of Shaun Ellis or Abraham for the Jets and I don't want to see that happening.

 

[everlong]

32 Baltimore - Alec Ogletree LB Georgia. I'm sorry, but if anybody is expecting Manti Te'o to replace Ray Lewis, it's not happening. Ever.
50 Chicago - Manti Te'o LB Notre Dame

Same could be said for Brian Urlacher. Honestly I don't see how anybody who saw the national championship game could think he's going to be successful in the NFL never mind all the other crap surrounding him. Path to the draft was showing his highlights and literally every single one he went untouched. 4 sacks in a row the offense line didn't account for him and he got sacks. Seriously I could get those sacks. The run game was the same. When he was free great but if he had to take on even a TE never mind a guard forget about it. What the Alabama line did to him was unreal and that's what he'll be facing every week in the NFL.

So I agree with you. Honestly as a Patriots inside LB I don't think he's draftable.

 

[Patriot Missile]

I like McFadden but at 59 I'm not so sure. If a pass rushing specialist like Alex Okafor is there at 59 {who probably wont be} I'd take a shot.

His pro day was not so good but his pass rushing production was right up there with anyone in this entire draft. No one got to the QB faster and no coverage sacks. Wonder what his 10 yard split is?

A Statistical Breakdown of the Top Pass Rushers (Pt. 1, Sacks) | Second Round Stats

Second Round Stats | Analyzing the NFL Draft Through Statistics and Film Study

 

[State]

Great, great job, Uncle. Though I've got to tell you the following: if Janoris Jones LB Georgia is still available at 17 for the Steelers I think they take him, no question. They ain't trading down if he's there.

I also like DE Datone Jones from UCLA to go higher than what you've got him. Good player in late in the first, a bit of an upgrade from last year's Andre Branch from Clemson who went early in the second.

I still think the Pats are thinking DE as another weapon that could be used behind Ninkovich. So that tall guy--and remember BB is enamored of guys who are able to knock down passes like the Giants have done to Brady--from SMU, Margus Hunt. The fellow with a track background from Lithuania who is 6'8" and very mobile and highly intelligent. Have you seen the video of him being interviewed by NFL.com correspondents at the Combine? Highly intelligent.

He can asked to do a lot of stuff which will increase the scheme flexibility. And in a passing league we need more edge players who can get to the QB, create confusion, or knock down passes.

Besides never adequately replacing Randy Moss, have we come up with a Vrabel replacement? Yes, in Ninkovich, but he's physically not in the same league at 6'2" as Vrabel was. And last year's rookie Jake Bequette never showed us anything.

Second round, we have got to think big or tall corner. I like NC State's Dave Amerson or, if he's still there (which I doubt) another physical, press-type guy in Boise State's Jamar Taylor.

And I think we can go WR at the third with La Tech's Patton or Tennessee's Justin Hunter. It's the only weakness in Brady's stellar game: going deep. Either one of these guys, esp. Hunter, could add the dynamic element to the passing game.

 

[JackBauer]

Nice work. Trading up for Smith would be a LOLJacksonville type of move.

I really think we need a pass rusher more than a corner, though. We still need to get better at DT/DE.

 

[patfanken]

Nice job Uncle. But I have a hard time believing that there will be 3 first round QB's. I really hope there are because it will mean a better quality pickfor the Pats. Though I can see a lot of action happening at the bottom of the round.

1. That was a reasonable trade. The Pats get good value without giving up any quality in the pick.

2. No to Marcus Wheaton - First off he's a WR - 2nd he's a small quick WR and we already have that in DA. and could have it again with Edelman or Sanders. I see him as a potential Deion Branch 2.0 - Nice player, but just not with your first pick in the draft and so many potential alternatives in lower rounds.

3. Margus Hunt - My latest binky - If there is any chance that we can grab this physical freak at the end of the first round or the top of the 2nd, I will be past thrilled. State stated the case perfectly. Fast,smart, tall, and athletic, he gives the Pats the kind of athlete that they don't ordinarily get where they pick. Not without some risk AND a little older to start out with (25) But if he didn't have some flaws,they wouldn't even sniff him.

4. I like the 2nd pick being a CB - however, unless the player is "special" (and you aren't getting "special" players at 62), I don't want me any more midget CB's, whose weaknesses include having problems with big physical receivers.

I want to see CB's who's profiles include comments like "good size", "long arms", "physical" "good jam"....and the all important "fluid hips"

We currently have 5 picks. We could very well end up with 4 to start the day. I'm OK with that if in the end we wind up with 2 eventual starters with those first 2 picks. Your scenario would be ideal. Because while we can deal with ONE year of small draft numbers, adding that extra 2nd is a good thing.

 

[JackBauer]

2. No to Marcus Wheaton - First off he's a WR

I'm confused. Isn't that our position of greatest need?

 

[belichick010405]

It all depends on whether or not the Pats sign any other free agents at that position.....Additionally, the wide receiver depth in this years' draft is particularly deep through the first 3 rounds. They could wait until the 3rd round and get someone like Ryan Swope and they would be ok as long as they sign another free agent, which they are probably going to do soon.

I'm confused. Isn't that our position of greatest need?

 

[VrabelJr]

I'm really surprised to see everyone saying St Louis has such a WR need. Did everyone forget they drafted Brian Quick and Chris Givens (who had a great Rookie year) last year and signed Jared Cook at TE? I know they lost Gibson and Amendola but I wouldn't count on the Rams going WR until the later rounds.

Great pick up of Wheaton btw. McFadden is an interesting prospect as well. I live in SD and get to see SDSU's football failures first hand. It's always surprising when they turn out a good prospect.

 

[dryheat44]

It all depends on whether or not the Pats sign any other free agents at that position.....Additionally, the wide receiver depth in this years' draft is particularly deep through the first 3 rounds. They could wait until the 3rd round and get someone like Ryan Swope and they would be ok as long as they sign another free agent, which they are probably going to do soon.

I really don't think Wheaton or Swope are comparable. At all.

That aside though, yes, I can easily see a guy like Hunt taken by BB, and then see what's left of the CBs and WRs later.

 

[JackBauer]

It all depends on whether or not the Pats sign any other free agents at that position.....Additionally, the wide receiver depth in this years' draft is particularly deep through the first 3 rounds. They could wait until the 3rd round and get someone like Ryan Swope and they would be ok as long as they sign another free agent, which they are probably going to do soon.

I see a more compelling argument in the inverse. Because there are so many high-quality receiving prospects in this year's draft, and given our glaring need to acquire an elite specimen this is precisely the year we should be aiming high. Especially in light of the fact that there's almost nothing out there in FA.