New England Patriots – Mock Draft 6.0
Lots of movement at the top
With the 2015 NFL Draft just a little more than a week away, there has been a lot of movement at the top of the draft. Some players are shooting up draft boards as a result of particularly prolific performances at school’s Pro Days. In my opinion here, the tape doesn’t always play that out. Once again this was a pretty balanced mock with five picks on the defensive side and four on the offensive side of the ball.
There is a fascinating tool to use for doing a mock draft made possible by the guys over at Fanspeak.com that we touted last year and is even more fun to use in 2015.
In their “On the Clock” simulator, you are the GM for any NFL team. You can choose how many rounds you’d like to draft for (1-7), and pick one of nine different big boards to choose from.
All of the big boards differ and the site has a random selection process that picks for the other 31 teams based upon the best player available and team needs that are constantly updated until it is your time to pick.
Here is our previous mock from last week - Mock Draft 5.0:
For this opening mock draft, I used the big board of NDT Scouting
Here is our Patriots Mock Draft 6.0:
Round 1, Pick #32 – Kevin Johnson, CB Wake Forest:
Johnson is a tall, athletic corner back with 41 career starts for the Demon Deacons. He’s a tad on the lean side at 6’0, 175, but he has the agility and ball skills to be a solid starting corner in the NFL.
Johnson is adept at playing both press and off-man coverage and is a natural athlete that can turn and run with receivers in man and has good closing speed when the ball is in the air. He can be overaggressive downfield and drew some flags and isn’t a fierce tackler but is willing to be physical in run support.
Round 2, Pick #64 – A.J. Cann, G South Carolina:
Cann is a four-year starter at guard for the Gamecocks and was extremely durable missing only one game in his time at Columbia.
Cann has good size at 6’3, 311 and is a big, powerful force, a road-grader in the running game. He was a first team, All-SEC in 2014 and is arguably the best pass blocking guard in the draft.
Reliable, coachable and has a great attitude, Cann was named a permanent captain by his teammates. He’ll come in and start from Day 1. With the movement of Cameron Fleming to guard this off-season, the Patriots may be set at the position now.
Round 3, Pick #96 – Kenny Bell, WR Nebraska:
Bell is a bit thin at 6’1, 185 but is deceptively tough and besides being the all-time leading receiver in Nebraska history in receptions (181), and receiving yards (2689), he’s a very good blocker.
Bell has very good speed and excellent agility, being able to turn and accelerate quickly. Has that extra gear when the ball is in the air. Has good recognition and is adept at breaking off routes and working underneath in zone coverage.
Bell has a high football IQ and has very good special teams value in returning kicks as well as the coverage units.
*Round 3, Pick #97 – Taiwan Jones, ILB Michigan State: **Compensatory Pick
With so many guys being a tad undersized at the linebacker position, Jones is a big guy at 6’3, 260 who is a thumper in the run game similar to Brandon Spikes.
Jones plays downhill with quick inside moves and hits a ton. He’s a football junkie and studies his playbook and the opponent hard…a Belichick type favorite. He had a very productive final season with 60 tackles, including 12 tackles for loss, four sacks, two passes defensed, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries.
Jones can be overaggressive at times and may struggle in coverage a bit with more athletic tight ends but played safety before moving to ILB and should be a solid addition to the defense.
Round 4, Pick #101 – Grady Jarrett, DT Clemson:
Jarrett is a slightly undersized defensive tackle at 6’0, 304 and built like a fire plug but was arguably the glue for the Clemson defense. Played in 48 games with 37 starts,
Jarrett has the quickness to penetrate and disrupt plays in the backfield and plays with a very low pad level which gives him very good leverage. While very strong, his size allows him to be double-teamed, however as a rotational one-gap guy in passing situations, he should be able to shoot the gaps and bring some pressure.
Highly motivated, non-stop player, works out and practices hard. Comes from a football background, his father Jesse Tuggle was a linebacker for the Falcons.
Round 4, Pick #131 – Jeremy Langford, RB Michigan State:
Langford is a big back, 6’0, 211 who runs low to the ground and has good vision and balance in the running game. He finished his college career with 10-straight 100-yard games for the Spartans.
He may be an underrated pass catcher out of the backfield as we pointed out in his draft profile.
Round 6, Pick #177– Markus Golden, DE Missouri:
Still on the board in Round 6, Golden is an intriguing pass rusher that plays with a relentless motor. Has a quick counter move to the inside to defeat blockers and is very good at deflecting passes at the line of scrimmage.
Doesn’t have the length that teams covet in edge rushers and while not thought to have enough speed to beat tackles on the edge, he turned heads at his Pro-Day with a 4.67 time in the 40 which may change a few minds.
Round 7, Pick #219 – Bo Wallace, QB Ole Miss:
The Patriots frequently add QBs late in the draft and as UDFAs and Wallace is a guy that could play his way on to the practice squad in 2015.
Good size at 6’4, 217, Wallace has good mobility with the arm strength to throw the ball downfield. He can put the ball in tight windows but has had some questionable decision making as well as sloppy mechanics.
He is fearless in the pocket and will hold onto the ball to make plays but has been a little slow to diagnose the defense.
*Round 7, Pick #253 – Deiontrez Mount, OLB Louisville:
Mount has the length (6’5), and speed (4.71), teams are looking for in edge rushers at the NFL level. Mount has versatility and has lined up as a DE and as an OLB for the Cardinals.
Light at 245, Mount will have to beef up some and get stronger but has shown the ability to set the edge as well as drop into coverage a bit. He has a good initial burst and is able to beat blockers to the edge.
Mount would project to be primarily a sub-package edge rusher as either a DE or as an OLB.
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