Mock Draft

Hi Guys! New Poster/Long time reader. 18 years old and a Giant fan for all 18!! Long time lurker so I'm going to leave this top 10 mock then hold off on posting for awhile so I can see wait and see how things work around here a little better.

1) Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The Bucs struck gold with last year’s first rd pick Mike Evans. For all the fanfare over OBJ and the season he had you wonder what kind of numbers Evans could have put up with an actual quarterback. The Bucs are in good positon to draft and nurture a quarterback. For a team picking 1st overall they have an excellent combination at WR and have a young developing tight end. Jameis Winston has some immaturity issues but Lovie Smith is the perfect guy to guide him through the early stages of his career. With high picks in rounds 2 and 3 the Bucs will have a chance to have a franchise altering draft.

The Pick: Jameis Winston QB

2) Tennessee Titans : Conventional wisdom has the Titans taking Leonard Williams in most mocks. Williams it the best defensive talent in the draft and maybe the cleanest prospect overall. However, football is a business. I happened to be at a Titans game earlier last season and this is a franchise that is in need of a spark. Leonard Williams won’t sell tickets and he won’t bring energy to their fan base. While I agree that making decisions this way isn’t necessarily the best thing for your football team I just can’t see Titan ownership passing on a potential franchise QB. In today’s NFL with rookie wages a failed pick at QB isn’t the setback it once was. The rookie scale has made it much easier to hit the reset button. Ideally the Titans can move back to #4 or 5 and take Mariotta there but I am not mocking trades.

The Pick: Marcus Mariotta

3) Jacksonville Jaguars: The Jaguars number 1 priority is developing Blake Bortles. They overpaid for Julius Thomas but they needed to come out of free agency with an established pass catcher to add to 2nd year WR Marquis Lee. Amari Cooper and Kevin White are the consensus top two WR in the draft and with them on the board it’s going to be tempting to add a premiere playmaker. This is a deep draft at WR and with a high pick in rd 2 the Jaguars can look to move up or draft a playmaker there. Leonard Williams will prove to be too much value for Jacksonville.
The Pick: Leonard Williams

4) Oakland Raiders: The Raiders are coming off a strong draft but were much quieter in free agency than I had anticipated. I expected them to come out of free agency with one of Julius Thomas, Demarco Murray or Jeremy Maclin. Kudos to them for showing some restraint. Most analysts and scouts were encouraged by the play of Derek Carr. Without looking it up I didn’t know who their top WR was last year. This is a great opportunity for them to match need and value. I’m a huge Kevin White fan but Cooper is too polished and too ready to contribute.

The Pick: Amari Cooper

5) Washington Redskins: The Skins could go in so many different directions here. Pass Rusher, WR, QB (if Marcus is there) or even OL. Pass rushers vault to the top of drafts because they’re hard to find. Vic Beasley and Dante Fowler are the two top pass rushers and I think Beasley fits their system a little bit better.

The Pick: Vic Beasley

6) New York Jets: The Jets had a great offseason. They overpaid to resign David Harris and probably overpaid for Cromartie and Skyrine but bringing Revis back not only reenergized their fan base but also turned their biggest defensive weakness into strength. Along with Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson the Jets will have strong line and secondary play. They could go a lot of directions with this pick. They could draft a WR, pass rushers or look at their offensive line. They don’t have a true dominant edge rusher. Randy Gregory failing his drug test probably knocks him out of this pick.

The Pick: Dontae Fowler

7) Chicago Bears: This is going to be a defensive pick after hiring John Fox. Kevin White will be an intriguing option here but I think the bears will feel comfortable enough waiting to rounds 2 or 3 to add another WR. Danny Shelton and Randy Gregory are the two best defensive prospects left.

The Pick: Danny Shelton

8) Atlanta Falcons: The Falcons could look to their offensive line here and had he not torn his ACL I wouldn’t rule out Todd Gurley. Their biggest issue has been their pass rush. Bud Dupree, Shane Ray, Randy Gregory are all on the board. He may have smoked a blunt but Gregory is the best prospect of the three.

The Pick: Randy Gregory

9) New York Giants: The big debate here will be value vs BPA vs matching both. Many would argue Kevin White is the best player on the board. Others will tell you they must take whomever they feel is the best OL in the draft. This is a deep draft at WR and I don’t think the Giants will pull a trigger on a WR unless Cooper is on the board. There is almost no chance of that happening. The Giants have invested in the OL in the last few years and with 4/5 starting spots filled I don’t think they reach for an OL in rd 1. That would lead most to believe that pass rusher would be the pick here. I don’t see the value in Dupree or Shane Ray here. An underrated discussion about the giants has been their depth at CB. After DRC and Prince who do they have? Prince is also a free agent and with the money being thrown at corners he’s going to be in line for a 10 million dollar pay day. Eli and JPP have unresolved issues with their long term contracts. Can the Giants afford to pay Prince his market value? Probably not. This pick is one for now and the future.

The Pick: Trae Waynes

10) St. Louis Rams: St. Louis needs offensive line help but Kevin White is too good to pass up for a team that has struggled to find a #1 WR since the Holt/Bruce Days.
The Pick : Kevin White