Well, it’s that time of year again….nope, not the Masters….nope, not baseball season….this could take a while so I’ll just say it, IT’S TIME FOR JAMES AND TRAVIS’ NFL MOCK DRAFTS!! Before we got started on this year’s versions I reviewed our mock drafts from last year and realized one important thing, we got just about as many right as every other “draft expert”. We were so successful last year that I am literally waiting by the phone for ESPN to call us, I’ll let y’all know if they do. With Kiper and McShay they release about 37 mock drafts a year and they all have different titles but since we don’t get paid like those guys or have the time to create 37 mock drafts, I am going to just call my Mock Draft, Mock Draft Pi or Mock Draft 3.14159 because it makes it sound all intellectual and what not. With a mock draft name that creative, I know ESPN has to be dialing my phone by now but just in case they’re not I’ll go ahead and start my mock draft and just wait for that phone call:
1 Los Angeles – Carson Wentz, QB, North Dakota St. Alright, I have to admit that we put a lot of work, scratch that, some effort into these mock drafts only to have the Rams come in and mess them up by trading for the number one pick four hours later. I decided since I had a few minutes this morning to at least edit my mock draft somewhat, even though Travis and I are definitely not fans of the Rams today. The Rams gave up a lot to move up to number one and when you do that you have to think the player you're drafting is a franchise changing player, and for the Rams sake they better be right on this one. Wentz is the pick and the Rams have their franchise quarterback of the future. 2 Cleveland – Jalen Ramsey, CB, Florida St You know we all have that friend that when you’re at a party or event you are just waiting for them to do something stupid, well when it comes to the NFL Draft that has become the Cleveland Browns. I remember when I was a kid that team used to be the Raiders but over the last five years it has become the Browns, the same team that has drafted a quarterback in the first round probably more times than any team in draft history. I don’t think anyone is fooled by the signing of RGIII, it was a nice try to hide their draft intentions but the Browns want to draft Wentz, they just can’t help themselves. I decided to leave what I originally wrote for the Browns pick because I don't think there is anyone more surprised or thrown off kilter by the Rams trading up to number one that the Browns. The good thing for the Browns though is the Rams may have saved them from themselves and now they can draft the best player available since they truthfully are more than just a quarterback away. I think that Ramsey would be a safe pick here or if they wanted to get some hometown love they could draft Bosa. I think that Ramsey should be the pick but I will be disappointed if the Browns don’t do something to make this pick interesting to watch, like drafting Goff instead. I just hope they wait until closer to draft day so they don't mess my mock draft up again. I know that Travis and I will both be waiting by our phones to text Jed about it if they do. 3 San Diego – Laremy Tunsil, OT, Ole Miss Who benefited the most from the Rams trading up to number one? The Chargers of course!! If you watched the Chargers play last year you’ll understand why this is a no-brainer. San Diego’s offensive line was battered with injuries last year but the addition of Tunsil will improve this line immensely. The best offensive lineman in the draft is heading to the place that needs him the most. 4 Dallas – Joey Bosa, DE, Ohio St The Cowboys have been looking for a pass rusher the last few years and they actually luck up that the person a lot of people consider the best player in this draft falls to them and plays the position that they have been desperately trying to fill. The addition of Bosa helps improve a defense that will pair with what can be a pretty impressive offense, especially if Romo comes back fully healthy. I know Travis, being a Redskins fan, is already prepared for Alfred Morris to run for 2,000 yards this season since he has now signed with the Cowboys. 5 Jacksonville – Myles Jack, OLB, UCLA The Jaguars offense actually looked pretty good last year behind Blake Bortles but their defense at times let them down. With Dante Fowler coming back next season and Myles Jack being added to their linebacker corps, the Jaguars are adding two Top 5 draft picks to their front seven on defense and should help improve their defense and allow them to catch up with their improving offense. 6 Baltimore – Reggie Ragland, ILB, Alabama I know this pick is different than a lot of other mocks but I think it’s an Ozzie Newsome type pick. Ragland is a physical inside linebacker who can stuff the running game and he was an all-everything linebacker at Alabama. When I think of the successful Ravens teams over the years, it was always centered on a strong run stopping linebacker named Ray Lewis, I think Ragland can be very similar. I may be wrong here but I think the Ravens may surprise everyone and make this their pick. 7 San Francisco – Jared Goff, QB, Cal The Chip Kelly Show has packed up and moved back to the West Coast. It was an interesting experiment in Philadelphia but one the ownership seemed to tire of very quickly. Luckily for Kelly he will be given time in San Francisco to prove his system can work in the NFL. While they keep trying to act like they really want Kapernick back in the bay area, I feel like by draft day he’ll be humming a John Denver song in Colorado. With that being the case, I don’t think Blaine Gabbert is the long term solution and Kelly gets his quarterback of the future here with Goff, a California quarterback for a California team. 8 Philadelphia from Miami – Ezekiel Elliot, RB, Ohio St You remember that time when Chip Kelly spent all that money on a running back he never used? It seems like so long ago but maybe because last season seemed like it lasted three years for the Eagles and their fans. I think with Pederson taking over as head coach he will have his offense looking very similar to the one that was in Kansas City the last few years and that one was led by a great running back. The Eagles will get their version of Jamal Charles here with Elliot and hope he produces the way Charles has with the Chiefs. 9 Tampa Bay – DeForest Buckner, DE, Oregon The Buccaneers seem to always be looking for quality defensive players every offseason. Sometimes the ones they get work out and sometimes they don’t. I think when they look at the board and see Bucker is still there it will be too good of a deal for them to pass up. 10 New York Giants – Ronnie Stanley, OT, Notre Dame The Giants have a new head coach but they still are the Giants. They have always liked to build around strong players on the offensive and defensive lines and unless that has changed this will be their pick. With Eli getting older I think that protecting him in the pocket is going to become key and Stanley is the best lineman still on the board. 11 Chicago – Vernon Hargraves, CB, Florida As a Panthers fan I know one thing about John Fox, he takes pride in his team’s defense playing well. With this pick you could choose just about any defensive player but I believe the chance to draft a lockdown corner to go opposite Kyle Fuller on the other side is too good of a deal for the Bears to pass up. I could also see them making a play for Treadwell here but I think they already have a Treadwell type player in Alshon Jeffery. 12 New Orleans – Shaq Lawson, DE, Clemson The Saints have been looking to improve their defense over the last few years as it always seems to be their downfall. They drafted themselves a pretty good middle linebacker from Clemson last year in Stephone Anthony and I believe they might dip into the Clemson waters again and find their pass rusher of the future in Lawson. As a Panthers fan I would like to see them let Lawson fall to #30 but I don’t believe I’ll be that lucky this year. 13 Miami from Philadelphia – Darron Lee, LB, Ohio St I imagine about right now that with the way the Dolphins have been scouring free agency for running backs, they are absolutely sick thinking they traded picks with the Eagles and the Eagles then took Elliot. With the signings the last two offseasons of Suh and Mario Williams, the Dolphins have made their front line pretty solid, now they work to sure up the rest of their front seven with one of the best linebackers in this draft. Lee should be able to help the Dolphins run game defense especially with the quality push that will be coming from the Dolphins front four. 14 Oakland – Jack Conklin, OT, Michigan St The Raiders are picking in the middle of the NFL Draft, my inner child is not used to this type of success from the Raiders. In all honesty though, the Raiders have been steadily improving the last few years and have found a really good quarterback in Derek Carr and a true number one wide receiver option in Amari Cooper. Now, it’s time to find someone to protect Carr’s blindside and the perfect player falls right into their laps with Conklin. No matter what your view of the Big 10 is, one thing is for sure and that is they produce good offensive lineman. The Raiders will make this pick simple and draft the player they need. 15 Denver (Projected Trade with the Titans) – Paxton Lynch, QB, Memphis The Titans have proven that they are willing to trade and I figured why not have them trade again. I think that with the trade the Rams made people will start getting nervous and all hell will break lose on draft day, if not before then. If the Broncos can't make a deal for Kapernick they are going to be desperate to have a young quarterback in waiting and I think they make this trade especially if Lynch is still on the board at 15. He was a very impressive player at Memphis and put up some big time numbers, now the only question is, can he do it in the NFL? 16 Detroit – Laquon Treadwell, WR, Ole Miss With the retirement of Calvin Johnson the Lions have to look for another outstanding receiver to pair with Golden Tate. I think that the Lions have to look at this as a lucky break that Treadwell has fallen this far down in the draft and pounce on this bit of good luck, something they have seemed to lack over the last few years. Treadwell is not Calvin Johnson but he could help to take away some of the sting of losing such a dominant wide receiver. 17 Atlanta – Kevin Dodd, DE, Clemson The Falcons are a lot like many of the other teams in this draft that are looking for a pass rusher especially in a division that has to face Cam Newton, Drew Brees, and Jameis Winston twice a year. After drafting Vic Beasley from Clemson last year I think the Falcons draft goes through Tigertown again, this time drafting Dodd to play opposite of Beasley in pass rushing situations next year. They once were on the number one rated college defense together and I think Coach Quinn and the Falcons hope that they bring that same success to the NFL next year. 18 Indianapolis – Taylor Decker, OT, Ohio St If you watched Indianapolis play last season, their offensive line play was not very good. The team signed a lot of veteran players last year to make a run at the title but that plan was a failure especially with Luck getting hurt. The left side of their line seems to be a little bit more stable than the right side, so I believe the Colts draft Decker to help add a physical presence to the right side of their line and to help protect Luck because they don’t want to see him keep taking hits like he took last year. 19 Buffalo - Jaylon Smith, LB, Notre Dame Jaylon Smith is a player that a lot of people believe had he not gotten hurt could possibly be a Top 10 if not a Top 5 draft pick. The Bills are coached by the Ryan brothers and if we know anything about the Ryan family, they usually coach pretty good defenses. Smith is a player that could be a difference maker and defensive coaches love players like that, especially when they play on their side of the ball. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Buffalo possibly take a chance on drafting Connor Cook here but I think they draft defense over offense this time around. 20 New York Jets – Andrew Billings, DT, Baylor The Jets seem to be pretty set at defensive tackle, so why not just add another one? With Billings coming in at 6’1” and 310 lbs, it’s hard for the Jets not to take him even with their surplus of defensive tackles. I believe that after making this pick the Jets may use some of that depth to either move back into the first round or to add more picks throughout the draft, either way you can never have too many run stopping defensive tackles, just ask the Panthers five years ago. 21 Washington – Sheldon Rankins, DT, Louisville With a draft this deep at defensive tackle it’s not going to surprise me to see a run on defensive tackles towards the end of the first round. The Redskins over the last few years learned how important not trading all your first round picks away is and they are going to take advantage of the ones they have now by drafting a guy that can help their pass rush from day one. In last year’s draft they upgraded on the offensive line and this year they do the same on the defensive side of the ball. I do know that no matter what this pick will be, Travis will not be happy because there will be someone else he would of rather had still available, I will look forward to his text messages on draft day. 22 Houston – Corey Coleman, WR, Baylor Now that Houston has found their franchise quarterback with Brock Osweiler, it is time to start putting some more weapons around him. With DeAndre Hopkins secured in as the number one wide receiver it is time to get him some help on the other side and Coleman is just that. After an impressive college career at Baylor, Coleman won’t be traveling far and will be looking to take advantage when defenses try to double up on Hopkins next season. 23 Minnesota – Josh Doctson, WR, TCU The Vikings will look to add even more weapons for Teddy Bridgewater as he continues to show the talent and quarterback play to explain to the rest of the NFL why the Vikings chose to move back up into the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft to make sure they got him. With Doctson they get a quality wide receiver that will be able to complement with Diggs and force people not to focus on Adrian Peterson. 24 Cincinnati – Will Fuller, WR, Notre Dame The Bengals lost a lot of their wide receiver depth during this offseason and they have to start to add back to that depth with this pick. Fuller was a standout player at Notre Dame and with his 4.3 speed will require enough attention to hopefully free up AJ Green on the other side. He may not be the only wide receiver that the Bengals take in this draft but he will definitely be the one they will be counting on next season. 25 Pittsburgh – Hunter Henry, TE, Arkansas The Steelers lost Heath Miller, a staple of their success over the years, this offseason to retirement. They have added Ladarius Green to try and take his spot but I believe that with Henry sitting here they won’t be able to pass up a player that may remind many of a younger Heath Miller. Henry at Arkansas would often line up at tight end or in the slot as a wide receiver and with the success of Rob Gronkowski, Jimmy Graham and Greg Olsen, the tight end position is becoming very valuable again, something that I don’t think will be lost on the Steelers. 26 Seattle – Ryan Kelly, C, Alabama When watching the Seahawks play last year you could tell that they were struggling on the offensive line. While everyone talked last year about what the Saints lost with Jimmy Graham being gone I think the Seahawks may have lost more with Max Unger being gone. The value of a quality starting center is never really understood until you don’t have one, I think Seattle will look to fix that problem and draft the best one in this draft from a university that tends to produce pretty good offensive lineman. 27 Green Bay – Noah Spence, DE, Eastern Kentucky With Julius Peppers getting older it is going to be important for the Packers to start grooming his replacement and that’s what they’ll be hoping to get with Spence. Spence is considered to be one of the better pass rushers in this draft but off the field issues have frightened teams away from picking him. I think that this late in the first round though the Packers can take a chance on a player with off the field issues because for them he could turn out to the diamond in the rough. It seems the Packers have had success before drafting a player late in the first round that everyone else passed up on, I can’t seem to remember his name…..Aaron something. 28 Kansas City – Eli Apple, CB, Ohio St The Chiefs could use some help in the secondary and with this pick they get just that. They have to feel pretty good about this pick as it helps bolster their secondary and they get a player that some projections had as a Top 15 player in this draft. 29 Arizona –Robert Nkemdiche, DT, Ole Miss The Cardinals have been known to take players with “character issues” and turn them into outstanding players and fix whatever those issues people claim that they have are. With Nkemdiche the Cardinals get a player that had it not been for that incident in Atlanta may have been a Top 15 pick but the Cardinals will be happy that he drops this far as Coach Arians will get another strong player for his already strong defense. 30 Carolina – Mackenzie Alexander, CB, Clemson The Panthers have to be feeling like they are getting a steal if Alexander slips all the way to them at #30. While the Panthers are still negotiating with Josh Norman on a long-term deal it will be nice to know that they have a player that could possibly take his place if that deal never materializes. If it does materialize the Panthers will have to feel good about its secondary having guys like Norman, Alexander, Bene Benwikere, Kurt Coleman, and Tre Boston. Alexander adds to the Panthers another shutdown corner to an already stellar defense, as he was able to shutdown the number one receiver from opposing teams that Clemson played last season. 31 Tennessee (Projected Trade with Denver) – A'Shawn Robinson, DT, Alabama If this mock draft works out like I have it, the Titans will have moved from the top to the very bottom of the NFL Draft but will have accumulated more draft picks than I think they are actually allowed to use. With this pick I think the Titans get a chance to strengthen their defense by adding a defensive tackle that many ranked as high as the Top 15 in overall players in this draft. Now, with Robinson solidifying their defensive line, the Titans can use their stockpile of picks to address their secondary needs and hopefully find some more offensive lineman to help protect Mariotta and pave the way for Demarco Murray. Well there you have it, James’ 2016 NFL Mock Draft Pi (adjusted for the Rams trade). I already know as I post this I am going to miss quite a few of these especially because at some point Roger Goodell is going to say the phrase that messes up all mock drafts, “We have a trade” (I’m looking at you Cleveland). We don’t do these mock drafts to look smart but mostly just to have something to debate. Also, in case you were wondering, ESPN has still not called my phone yet, there must be some bad cell reception in Bristol, Connecticut today or something. Oh well, I hope that you enjoyed reading this mock draft and, if any of you have Jed’s number, that you are ready to text him like we are when Cleveland makes this draft entertaining.
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JamesBoiling Springs native, lover of sports and food. 15x SC Press Association Award Winner. I do some sports writing and radio every now and then. Archives
April 2020
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