kerouac9
Klowned by Keim
The rules, as always:
1) No Trades. Trades are unpredictable, so I don't predict them.
2) I use the CBSSportsline prospect rankings to determine who might be available when the Cards pick in the later rounds.
3) I don't predict the last three rounds because I don't know where the Cards will be picking at that point. I'd expect that the Cards will look at prospects at RB, OL, and DL. I may update this thread with rounds 4-6 after the draft order is set later this week.
1. Houston Texans – Jadeveon Clowney, DE, South Carolina. Critics will disagree on whether Clowney is the defensive version of Andrew Luck—a once-in-a-generation talent—but no one can disagree that Clowney is the most talented player in this draft, and fully deserving of the #1 overall pick.
2. St. Louis Rams – Jake Matthews, OT, Texas A&M. This mock doesn’t predict trades, so I’m not predicting one. St. Louis is likely going to trade out of this spot, but there’s nothing much I can do about this. If the Rams are forced to stay here, they’ll likely take the sure production they’ll get from Matthews over the projection that they could be getting with Greg Robinson.
3. Jacksonville Jaguars – Blake Bortles, QB, Central Florida. Jacksonville doesn’t have a ton of answers for its QB position, but they just took a top offensive tackle, and they can continue to put Chad Henne in the line of fire until they’re able to acquire some weapons.
4. Cleveland Browns – Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Louisville. Yes, he had a terrible pro day. But what’s left on the board right now are OT, WR, and OLB—positions that the Browns already have an embarrassment of riches. Bridgewater is the most pro-ready prospect available, and he’ll make Kyle Shanahan remember the value of players like Jake Plummer and Matt Schaub.
5. Oakland Raiders – Greg Robinson, OT, Auburn. Robinson might have the highest upside of all the OT prospects in the last two drafts. Young, big, and quick, Oakland will probably still find a way to screw up this prospect.
6. Atlanta Falcons – Taylor Lewan, OT, Michigan. If the draft breaks out like this, Atlanta might find no shortage of suitors for the right to draft Sammy Watkins or Khalil Mack. Without a trade partner, the Falcons take Lewan, who will be able to help protect Matt Ryan from four position on the Falcons offensive line.
7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Sammy Watkins, WR, Clemson. Quietly, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have positioned themselves to be competitive in the NFC South in 2014. Watkins will provide another playmaker to an already-dangerous mix of talent.
8. Minnesota Vikings – Khalil Mack, DE, Buffalo. Minnesota has lost ton of defensive playmakers in free agency. Mack will provide them with a nice complement to Everson Griffin, although they could be interested in trading back a little to pick up a cornerback.
9. Buffalo Bills – Mike Evans, WR, Texas A&M. Buffalo has been trapped in the basement of a very competitive AFC East for some time. They’ve got a nice defense; Evans will give a deep threat and talent on the outside for the four or five games a year in Buffalo when it’s possible to pass the ball.
10. Detroit Lions – Darqueze Dennard, CB, Michigan State. The Lions stay close to home and bring in a kid who immediately upgrades their talent-poor secondary and allows the offense to get back on the field.
11. Tennessee Titans – Anthony Barr, OLB, UCLA. Tennessee is switching to a 3-4 defense under new defensive coordinator Ray Horton. It’s possible that Whisenhunt will love QB Johnny Manziel, but Barr provides the kind of talent and flexibility to the defensive scheme that’s good value.
12. New York Giants – Eric Ebron, TE, North Carolina. The Giants should draft Zack Martin here, but they don’t because they don’t like drafting OL in the first round—particularly this high. Instead, they get a modern pass-first TE to provide another weapon for Eli Manning, who has seen some important defections through free agency.
13. St. Louis Rams – Hasean Clinton-Dix, FS, Alabama. Another possible landing spot for Martin, but in this scenario, the Rams already drafted Jake Matthews. Clinton-Dix provides the kind of talent in the back-seven of the St. Louis defense that teams like San Francisco and Seattle already possess and have been a foundation for those successful franchises.
14. Chicago Bears – Aaron Donald, DT/DE, Pittsburgh. The Bears lost 2013 Franchise tackle Henry Melton in free agency. Donald may not be able to provide much support to their awful run defense right away, but will be able to be a disruptive presence if he can play the run on the way to the quarterback.
15. Pittsburgh Steelers – Justin Gilbert, CB, Oklahoma State. Gilbert would be a great addition to an aging Steelers secondary.
16. Dallas Cowboys – Johnny Manziel, QB, Texas A&M. Hoots and hollers from the TV and the crowd at Radio City as Jerry Jones makes a completely mystifying decision.
17. Baltimore Ravens – Zack Martin, OT, Notre Dame. Martin slides to Ozzie Newsome, who plugs him into the hole created by Michael Oher, and could be the long-term solution at left tackle.
18. New York Jets – Marquise Lee, WR, Southern California. The Jets have a bridge to the future in Michael Vick, but they still lack a ton of offensive weapons.
19. Miami Dolphins – Xavier Su’a-Filo, OG, UCLA. Su’a-Filo comes from a program with an NFL-caliber head coach, and hopefully will quickly be able to become a leader and contributor to an offensive line that may be the entire team’s weak link.
20. Arizona Cardinals – Kony Ealy, DE, Missouri. Odell Beckham, Jr. (WR, LSU), C.J. Mosley (ILB, Alabama), and Louis Nix were on the board also, but Ealy provides the best combination of value and talent for the Cards in the first round. Ealy possesses rare size and athleticism and will be able to quickly contribute in a rotational role.
52. Troy Niklas, TE, Notre Dame. The Cards pass on prospects Kareem Martin (DE, North Carolina) and Antonio Richardson (OT, Tennessee) for a blocking TE with a ton of potential in the passing game in Niklas.
84. Stanley Jean-Baptiste, CB, Nebraska. Jean-Baptiste will enter a crowded depth chart in 2014 training camp, but will provide excellent length and long-term potential as Jerraud Powers and Antonio Cromartie are scheduled for free agency in 2015.
1) No Trades. Trades are unpredictable, so I don't predict them.
2) I use the CBSSportsline prospect rankings to determine who might be available when the Cards pick in the later rounds.
3) I don't predict the last three rounds because I don't know where the Cards will be picking at that point. I'd expect that the Cards will look at prospects at RB, OL, and DL. I may update this thread with rounds 4-6 after the draft order is set later this week.
1. Houston Texans – Jadeveon Clowney, DE, South Carolina. Critics will disagree on whether Clowney is the defensive version of Andrew Luck—a once-in-a-generation talent—but no one can disagree that Clowney is the most talented player in this draft, and fully deserving of the #1 overall pick.
2. St. Louis Rams – Jake Matthews, OT, Texas A&M. This mock doesn’t predict trades, so I’m not predicting one. St. Louis is likely going to trade out of this spot, but there’s nothing much I can do about this. If the Rams are forced to stay here, they’ll likely take the sure production they’ll get from Matthews over the projection that they could be getting with Greg Robinson.
3. Jacksonville Jaguars – Blake Bortles, QB, Central Florida. Jacksonville doesn’t have a ton of answers for its QB position, but they just took a top offensive tackle, and they can continue to put Chad Henne in the line of fire until they’re able to acquire some weapons.
4. Cleveland Browns – Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Louisville. Yes, he had a terrible pro day. But what’s left on the board right now are OT, WR, and OLB—positions that the Browns already have an embarrassment of riches. Bridgewater is the most pro-ready prospect available, and he’ll make Kyle Shanahan remember the value of players like Jake Plummer and Matt Schaub.
5. Oakland Raiders – Greg Robinson, OT, Auburn. Robinson might have the highest upside of all the OT prospects in the last two drafts. Young, big, and quick, Oakland will probably still find a way to screw up this prospect.
6. Atlanta Falcons – Taylor Lewan, OT, Michigan. If the draft breaks out like this, Atlanta might find no shortage of suitors for the right to draft Sammy Watkins or Khalil Mack. Without a trade partner, the Falcons take Lewan, who will be able to help protect Matt Ryan from four position on the Falcons offensive line.
7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Sammy Watkins, WR, Clemson. Quietly, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have positioned themselves to be competitive in the NFC South in 2014. Watkins will provide another playmaker to an already-dangerous mix of talent.
8. Minnesota Vikings – Khalil Mack, DE, Buffalo. Minnesota has lost ton of defensive playmakers in free agency. Mack will provide them with a nice complement to Everson Griffin, although they could be interested in trading back a little to pick up a cornerback.
9. Buffalo Bills – Mike Evans, WR, Texas A&M. Buffalo has been trapped in the basement of a very competitive AFC East for some time. They’ve got a nice defense; Evans will give a deep threat and talent on the outside for the four or five games a year in Buffalo when it’s possible to pass the ball.
10. Detroit Lions – Darqueze Dennard, CB, Michigan State. The Lions stay close to home and bring in a kid who immediately upgrades their talent-poor secondary and allows the offense to get back on the field.
11. Tennessee Titans – Anthony Barr, OLB, UCLA. Tennessee is switching to a 3-4 defense under new defensive coordinator Ray Horton. It’s possible that Whisenhunt will love QB Johnny Manziel, but Barr provides the kind of talent and flexibility to the defensive scheme that’s good value.
12. New York Giants – Eric Ebron, TE, North Carolina. The Giants should draft Zack Martin here, but they don’t because they don’t like drafting OL in the first round—particularly this high. Instead, they get a modern pass-first TE to provide another weapon for Eli Manning, who has seen some important defections through free agency.
13. St. Louis Rams – Hasean Clinton-Dix, FS, Alabama. Another possible landing spot for Martin, but in this scenario, the Rams already drafted Jake Matthews. Clinton-Dix provides the kind of talent in the back-seven of the St. Louis defense that teams like San Francisco and Seattle already possess and have been a foundation for those successful franchises.
14. Chicago Bears – Aaron Donald, DT/DE, Pittsburgh. The Bears lost 2013 Franchise tackle Henry Melton in free agency. Donald may not be able to provide much support to their awful run defense right away, but will be able to be a disruptive presence if he can play the run on the way to the quarterback.
15. Pittsburgh Steelers – Justin Gilbert, CB, Oklahoma State. Gilbert would be a great addition to an aging Steelers secondary.
16. Dallas Cowboys – Johnny Manziel, QB, Texas A&M. Hoots and hollers from the TV and the crowd at Radio City as Jerry Jones makes a completely mystifying decision.
17. Baltimore Ravens – Zack Martin, OT, Notre Dame. Martin slides to Ozzie Newsome, who plugs him into the hole created by Michael Oher, and could be the long-term solution at left tackle.
18. New York Jets – Marquise Lee, WR, Southern California. The Jets have a bridge to the future in Michael Vick, but they still lack a ton of offensive weapons.
19. Miami Dolphins – Xavier Su’a-Filo, OG, UCLA. Su’a-Filo comes from a program with an NFL-caliber head coach, and hopefully will quickly be able to become a leader and contributor to an offensive line that may be the entire team’s weak link.
20. Arizona Cardinals – Kony Ealy, DE, Missouri. Odell Beckham, Jr. (WR, LSU), C.J. Mosley (ILB, Alabama), and Louis Nix were on the board also, but Ealy provides the best combination of value and talent for the Cards in the first round. Ealy possesses rare size and athleticism and will be able to quickly contribute in a rotational role.
52. Troy Niklas, TE, Notre Dame. The Cards pass on prospects Kareem Martin (DE, North Carolina) and Antonio Richardson (OT, Tennessee) for a blocking TE with a ton of potential in the passing game in Niklas.
84. Stanley Jean-Baptiste, CB, Nebraska. Jean-Baptiste will enter a crowded depth chart in 2014 training camp, but will provide excellent length and long-term potential as Jerraud Powers and Antonio Cromartie are scheduled for free agency in 2015.
