Rick Gosselin's Final Mock Draft

at that point I trade up

Fairley at #13? Ponder to Washington at #10? Amakamara (sp?) to Seattle at #25? He's done good work in the past, but this seems way off.

I can't see that happening. He is very smart, from BC and has all the tools. He just seems like a Giant player.

better than most with their strong BC ties. If they like Solders upside in pass pro at the ultra critical LT spot I could see this.

teams ALWAYS gamble on the upside QB in the first rd since it is by far the biggest impact position. This could make sense

The solder bandwagon is still less full than the sinorice moss short bus. Plenty of room to jump aboard.

see linkage.

Gosselin has more inside info than most.
Ponder rising - ( New Window )

is not realistic? He and Nawrocki come closest to nailing it every year.

seems like the craziest one to me. But the Vikes are one of the more complete teams without a QB in the NFL. If they like this guys upside teams will always gamble on a QB in the first if it's a need.

But I find it hard to believe that only one OT will be off the board by the time the Giants get to pick.

25 is the biggest shock to me.

was talking about his short arms as a big negative. Don't know if it drops him that far but Goss has connections.

would be awesome if true

I can't see us passing on Prince. Way too much value there.

Gosselin states teams with QB needs in this draft will have no problem taking a QB 15 picks too early instead of 1 pick too late...could be a fun evening watching this unfold if Gosselin is spot on...

If the first round shakes out like this I would be ecstatic, aside from the fact that the Giants take Solder... not a fan of him. If Prince and Castonzo are both on the board we don't pass on both of them. Hell, Robert Quinn is still on the board at #19 and it would not surprise me if they went DE with a ton of value.

should be some serious drama!!!

two guys I hope are gone by our pick: Ingram and Liuget....do not want these guys at all with Liuget being the bigger bust potential . I think Ingram will be good but there are greater needs at more critical positions and value at RB later where Reese has cleaned up. of course if we draft em we'll root like heck for 'em.

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falls out of the first round. Wow.

do you watch college football? how much have you watched Prince? you are not qualified to speak on draft matters. Just sayin' ;)

I think teams like WAS, TEN, MIN may slide back a bit (if possible), but I don't see QBs like Ponder, Dalton and Locker sliding to RD2...

Give me quinn, watts, prince or bowers! Nate would be a throw your remote with those 4 available! Need 4 rushers! Tuck, JPP, osi and the new guy here! Kiwi will be gone!

Ponder at #10? Rams taking a RB? Just a few.

select Liuget? Isn't he a pure 3-tech. DT? San Diego plays a 3-4 defence. Are they projecing him to play the 5-tech.?

there are 3 or 4 head scratchers. There's no reason to believe this year will be any different. Especially with so much uncertainty in the league.

Liuget isn't the type to play in a 3-4. Odd choice.

Rams taking a RB when Spags loves Jackson, and they have a few backups who aren't bad, either. They can and WILL take a RB I'm sure, but not early.

I would be livid if they passed on Castanzo, Smith, and Prince for Solder.

wouldn't mind Solder at all, but I think it would be incredibly hard to pass up on Amukamara if he fell to us. I don't see him getting near our pick though.

I could live with that.

This mock is nuts, but Gosselin is the men. Hope Skins go for Ponder at 10.

think this will probably be Gosselin's most inaccurate mock in years. I think the lockout is isolating all of his agent and player sources from information on who the draft decision-makers are leaning towards.

I've also noticed the usual beat reporters being more indecisive than ever, which is probably due to the same reason.

Why would you be livid? I would think you would be pleased knowing that they didn't select Solder as a consolation prize because none of the players you liked were available, but instead chose him because they felt he was better than them.

It reminds me of the 1999 draft. I wanted either Aaron Gibson or LJ Shelton. And both of them were still available when the Giants selected Luke Petitgout, so I didn't feel so bad because I knew they prefered him to Gibson or Shelton. And history has proven they were right about that one.

A worse situation is like what happened in 2007 when the Giants selected Aaron Ross because the two CB's they coveted most were already gone.

If they feel Ingram is worth the value at #14... Steven Jackson has a ton of wear and could desperately use a true complimentary RB...

First, for anyone that's saying "not realistic," Gosselin is consistently among the best at predicting the draft...

Second, I don't see how we pass on Quinn, Amukamara, and Carimi if they're on the board.

Liuget fits at both 3- and 5-technique...

Boylhart hates him.

Agree 100% on teh "not realistic" comments... Sorta reminds me of how every year as early as Jan/Feb a handful of BBI draft experts declare "no chance in hell <insert player name> lasts to pick #XX"... And come late April the player falls right past the selection...

to take a huge bust risk in Nate Solder? I know some are high on Solder, but if he cannot play LT I am not sure he has a spot in the NFL. He is not stout enough as a run blocker to play RT and is too long with terrible knee bend so would get his arse handed to him at OG

Lining him up next to Ndamukong Suh would a nightmare for teams in the NFC Central... You would have to think CHI would be on the phone "tout de suite" about trading up for Mike Pouncey...

especially if it's not Castonzo.

Would be thrilled.

if Fairley actually fell that far, I'd hope the Giants would consider moving up to get him. Dude's a wrecking ball in the middle.

I haven't heard a bad thing about him, everyone seems to love the kid.

and with that said, even Gosselin will not be able to efficiently predict this draft. There are too many variables, with not prior FA moves, and the rumors have it that there is going to be a slew of trades in the 1st round. I take Gosselin's 2011 final mock draft with a grain of salt like other mock drafts this year.

was trying to move down to acquire more picks.

also said he heard one scout say don't be surprised if the Giants take Solder over the BC tackle.

only if they feel he could develop into a Pro Bowl LT.

If they believe his ceiling is lower than that, I suspect they would take one of the more reliable run blockers, if they went o-line.

In the scenario presented, with Watts and Prince available, I do not think they would go o-line.

The only drawback on him has been the injuries... And by all reports (Senior Bowl, Combine, Pro Day), he's looked excellent since having his elbow cleaned out at the end of the season... Plus, the kid has an awful lot to like in terms of intangibles...

aside from perhaps Tyron. He hasn't filled out his frame yet so he will have initial power issues, but this kid lead all OTs in the 20 yard shuttle and was quicker than many TEs! All at 6'8". He's got the arm length, work ethic and most importantly, the feet to excel at OLT.

it seems most all the top tackles project well as pro's however not so much at LT. If they feel Solder has much more upside at LT, THE MOST PREMIUM POSITION ON THE LINE, then I am all for it. Solder sounds like he can be better than Joe Staley in SF when he reaches full potential. If the Giants agree with that he is a very good pick at 19.

But if Reese/Ross had a VERY strong conviction about Nick Fairley, I can't say that I would be too upset about it...

this guy could be the one. If we pick him, hope he is a quick developer under Flaherty

but I want Pouncey or a DT

IF the character stuff checks out. DE is a premium position but if you can land the rare DT that can give you double digit sack totals , he is even a greater impact than the DE.

Destroy the middle ,right up the gut with our DEs on the edges and a Qb will be in danger no matter where he goes.

Eff me, that's B-O-L-D

but if Quinn's there at 19...

trade up for Fairley if he fell to 13. Fairley and Suh together for the Lions? Wowzas

One year wonder with a bad body and poor workouts. Should not be a top 10 pick imo.

potential if not more. Fairley a touch below that. THat could be the most fiercesome DT duo in a looong time

He would be the only guy that I would be happy to see them move up for (assuming Peterson and Dareus don't make it out of Top 5)... He's not on the level of Suh, but you just don't see many DTs dominate games the way Fairley did last season...

and if you compare Fairley's numbers last year to Suhs, they are pretty close. Measurable wise too, though Suh is a touch taller and heavier

He dominated at the JUCO level and took a year to adjust to the jump in competition... Pretty understandable... And last year, he was DOMINANT in the toughest conference in college football... 21.0 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks... His performances against LSU and Oregon (National Championship) were exceptional...

The bigger concern with Fairley would be that he takes some plays off... If a team feels like they can get that turned around, he has an incredible upside...

And there is almost always a high risk of busting on a DT...

the big question on him definitely isn't talent, it's character and drive.

I agree.

Ingram out of round 1? I think we can see that too.

SD will not make that pick. Liuget will be the guy for the Giants at 19.

It's not going to be Corey. He has bust written all over him at the NFL level.

What's missing?

and his height is just OK. He just doesn't translate. I think interior lineman would lock him up on this level.

Plays with leverage, quickness and power.

His short shuttle was excellent. He almost beat RB Ingram. 4.62 to 4.68.

The last few OT's the Giants picked in Beatty and the East Carolina kid have stunk I wouldn't be surprised if they take Solder at all. I also won't be surprised when he's a bust as well.

...

I hate how we evaluate OL. I really really do. Looking at who we've nabbed on the OL, Solder fits the bill to a T. I get it, we have a passing offense, we have a franchise QB, we like to spread it out but GDammit I want a big bad hand punching motherfucker on the OL. We have ONE, I want more and I want more now.

Bingo. A lean 6'8" tackle had better have some serious power and explosion in his initial punch, or else he's going to be a speed bump.

If we didn't take Iupati, it ain't happening. Not that I have a bitch with JPP, who looks excellent...but Iupati was my guy last year.

Castonzo wasn't the pick.

had alot less polished than Pouncey. He was very raw in pass protection and had less flexibility inside. Our line would be nasty with Mike inside.

Iupati was a rare guard prospect coming out. Just a monster.

quotes post draft last year about Iupati from Reese about how he wasn't a serious candidate because he didn't represent value as a Guard.

I've Googled and looked to find it, but can't. Maybe I'm completely misrembering it, though I don't think so.

Quinn, Amukamara, Bowers, Fairley...wow

the one I was surprised about was JJ Watt. You can never tell what team is going to see value in a falling prospect (we did) but Watt was the quintessential 3-4 DE and the best of them almost always goes pretty high.

Nails 8 out of Top 9 picks
Locker and Ponder going in the top 12,
Fairley sliding to DET at #13
Quinn sliding out of top 10
Solder going ahead of Castonzo
Amukamara sliding to #19
Bowers falling completely out of RD1

Per usual, all those "unrealistic" comments look very silly this morning...

Nails 8 out of Top 9 picks
Not to trivialize Rick but outside of Locker none of the picks that he nailed were exactly surprises. Cowboys had been linked to Tyron Smith, Cleveland needed a WR badly for McCoy, and the top 5 I think everybody got the right players though maybe not the teams. Miller/Dareus could have been swapped just as Green/Peterson could have been

Locker and Ponder going in the top 12
Have to give Gosselin his props here as both guys were rising but I did not think that they would go as high as they did. I thought there would be a run on 3-4 DE's before a team like San Diego picked and you would see teams trying to trade up to jump Seattle and others

Fairley sliding to DET at #13
In the Top 10 the only realistic spot for Fairley was Tennessee and with them going Locker he fell

Quinn sliding out of top 10
Another case of a player with limited spots in the Top 10. Cleveland was a possibility at 6 or Washington at 10 but Cleveland also needed a WR (or they could trade as they did) and Washington received an offer they couldn't pass up for the 10th pick

Solder going ahead of Castonzo
While I think this was a bold prediction, I think it will backfire on New England

Amukamara sliding to #19
Thank god for this

Bowers falling completely out of RD1
When your knee is bone on bone you are going to drop, end of story

was completely unrealistic. He slid all the way to 12!

With the benefit of hindsight, I understand full well why the draft broke down the way that it did... But Gosselin was the only who called it that way... If you want to say Top 9 was pretty easy, that's fine...

But no one had both Locker and Ponder in the Top 12; no one had Fairley falling to #13; no one had Amukamara falling past HOU and DET; very few had Quinn falling as far as he did and as easy as it is to talk about Bowers knee in retrospect, very few suggested that he would fall past Tampa at #20 let alone out of RD1 altogether...

My point was just that Gosselin went out on a limb with several of his predictions (scroll up just to see how "off his dial" many throught he was) and he had oustanding success... Really hard to argue it any other way...

one BBIer (Vin Cuccs?) reported that in the day or two prior to the draft he heard two different draft experts had Prince slipping into the 20's. Maybe they were copycatting Gosselin, and this isn't to take away from Gosseln. Just saying.