After many weeks of speculation and consistently shifting mock drafts, it's finally draft day. Here is my final mock (as well as some other notes/predictions) for this sure to be unpredictable draft.
1.Kansas City Chiefs: Eric Fisher, tackle (Central Michigan)
2.Jacksonville Jaguars: Dion Jordan, defensive end/outside linebacker (Oregon)
3.Oakland Raiders: Sharrif Floyd, defensive tackle (Florida)
4.Philadelphia Eagles: Luke Jockel, tackle (Texas A&M)
5.Detroit Lions: Ezkiel "Ziggy" Anzah, defensive end/outside linebacker (BYU)
6.Cleveland Browns: Dee Milliner, cornerback (Alabama)
7.Arizona Cardinals: Lane Johnson, tackle (Oklahoma)
8.Buffalo Bills: Geno Smith, quarterback (West Virginia)
9.New York Jets: Barkevious Mingo, defensive end/outside linebacker (LSU)
10.Tennessee Titans: Jonathan Cooper, guard/center (North Carolina)
11.San Diego Chargers: Chance Warmack, guard (Alabama)
12.Miami Dolphins: D.J Fluker, tackle (Alabama)
13.New York Jets: Tavon Austin, wide receiver (West Virginia)
14.Carolina Panthers: Sheldon Richardson, defensive tackle (Missouri)
15.New Orleans Saints: Star Lotulelei, defensive tackle/end (Utah)
16.St. Louis Rams: Kenny Vaccaro, safety (Texas)
17.Pittsburgh Steelers: Jarvis Jones, outside linebacker (Georgia)
18.Dallas Cowboys: Sylvester Williams, defensive tackle (North Carolina)
19.New York Giants: Bjoern Werner, defensive end (Florida State)
20.Chicago Bears: Arthur Brown, inside/outside linebacker (Kansas State)
21.Cincinnati Bengals: Alec Ogletree, inside linebacker (Georgia)
22.St. Louis Rams: DeAndre Hopkins, wide receiver (Clemson)
23.Minnesota Vikings: Manti Te'o, inside linebacker (Notre Dame)
24.Indianapolis Colts: Xavier Rhodes, cornerback (Florida State)
25.Minnesota Vikings: Justin Hunter, wide receiver (Tennessee)
26.Green Bay Packers: Jonathan Cyprien, safety (Florida International)
27.Houston Texans: Cordarrelle Patterson, wide receiver (Tennessee)
28.Denver Broncos: Datone Jones, defensive end/tackle (UCLA)
29.New England Patriots: Jamar Taylor, cornerback (Boise State)
30.Atlanta Falcons: Desmond Trufant, cornerback (Washington)
31.San Fransisco 49ers: Margus Hunt, defensive end (SMU)
32.Baltimore Ravens: Matt Elam, safety (Florida)
5 Hardest Players to Pinpoint in the 1st Round
1.Star Lotulelei
Highest pick he could go: 3rd (Raiders)/4th (Eagles)
Lowest pick he could go: 26th (Packers)
2.Xavier Rhodes
Highest pick he could go: 11th (Chargers)
Lowest pick he could go: 30th (Falcons)
3.Bjoern Werner
Highest pick he could go: 10th (Titans)
Lowest pick he could go: Somewhere in the 2nd round
4.Cordarrelle Patterson
Highest pick he could go: 14th (Panthers)
Lowest pick he could go: 29th (Patriots) or maybe first few picks of 2nd round
5.Alec Ogletree
Highest pick he could go: 12th (Dolphins)
Lowest pick he could: 32nd (Ravens)
5 Hardest Teams to Pinpoint in the 1st round:
1.Jacksonville Jaguars:
Everything is wrong in Jacksonville except their wide receivers and arguably running back (Maurice Jones-Drew is coming off a major foot injury and they could use a quality second option but that clearly doesn't need to be addressed this high in the draft.) They could go anywhere on defense or take the top tackle prospect (Eric Fisher/Luke Jockel) that the Chiefs don't select with the first pick. Whoever Jacksonville takes with the 2nd overall pick, they need to come in help this anemic franchise immediately.
Possible choices: Dion Jordan, Luke Jockel, Eric Fisher, Ezkiel Anzah, Dee Milliner, Barkevious Mingo
2.New Orleans Saints
It's clear the Saints are going to go defense with this pick, but when you have the defense that allowed most yards in NFL history last season, you could go anywhere on the defense with the 15th pick. This draft has a lot of depth on the defensive side of the ball and the Saints clearly need help across the board on defense, which makes this pick really difficult to predict.
Possible choices: Star Lotulelei, Jarvis Jones, Sheldon Richardson, Barkevious Mingo, Kenny Vaccaro, Sylvester Williams, Xavier Rhodes, Bjoern Werner
3.Baltimore Ravens
The Super Bowl champs had a lot of key losses in the offseason and having the last pick in the 1st round gives them a lot of interesting options to pursue. Chances are they are going wide receiver, safety, or inside linebacker with the pick, but there are ton of players at those positions that are in play with that pick.
Possible choices: Matt Elam, Kevin Minter, Eric Reid, Arthur Brown, Keenan Allen, Robert Woods, Alec Ogletree, Justin Hunter, Manti Te'o
4.New York Giants
Pass-rusher, inside linebacker or offensive lineman? The Giants have quite a few options at each of their position needs at the 19th overall pick.
Possible choices: Bjoern Werner, Alec Ogletree, Menelik Watson, Justin Pugh, Datone Jones, Margus Hunt, Cornelius "Tank" Carradine, Arthur Brown, Manti Te'o, D.J Fluker
5.Carolina Panthers
The Panthers are a young team on the rise and they have a chance to get that next key piece with the 14th overall pick. The Panthers could use improvement at a lot of positions on both sides of the balls giving them a lot of flexibility with that pick.
Possible choices: Sheldon Richardson, Kenny Vaccaro, Star Lotulelei, Xavier Rhodes, Tavon Austin, Cordarrelle Patterson, Desmond Trufant
Most ridiculous mock draft pick I've seen on another site: Cordarrelle Patterson (26th to the Packers, walterfootball.com)
Even with the loss of Greg Jennings, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the Packers do not have any sort of need at the wide receiver position in the 1st round. Jennings missed most of the season last year and Randall Cobb, James Jones and Jordy Nelson were still incredibly productive and Aaron Rodgers is one of those special quarterbacks who can work with any receiver he is given. Green Bay has a lot more pressing issues to address such as safety, offensive line, running back, and getting another edge-rusher to help out Clay Matthews, they sure as hell don't need a wideout in the 1st round with the amount of talent and depth they have at the position already on their roster.
Honorable Mention: Xavier Rhodes to the Bears (20th Overall, NFL.com), Tyler Eifert to the Browns (6th overall, Yahoo!), Geno Smith to the Eagles (4th overall, Drafttek)
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