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Updated 4/16/10
33. St. Louis Rams- WR Arrelious Benn (Illinois)
Donnie Avery and Brandon Gibson are decent young receivers, but neither of them are really an elite #1 guy. Benn has #1 potential and more potential than any receiver left on the board, but he’s very raw.
34. Detroit Lions- CB Devin McCourty (Rutgers)
McCourty both is the best available, which the Lions love to take, and fills a huge need as the Lions really don’t have a lot of talent at the cornerback position. They coached him at the Senior Bowl so they should be very familiar with him.
35. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- WR Golden Tate (Notre Dame)
Head Coach Raheem Morris said the Buccaneers were going to try to build around 2nd year quarterback Josh Freeman this offseason and that would require getting him someone to throw to because, if Antonio Bryant leaves, they will have nothing at the wide receiver position and they have already basically said they will not offer him a longterm deal. Tate is the best available wide receiver, but he will never be a #1 option on a good playoff team. However, he can still be a solid #2 of the future and a very NFL ready wide receiver who could lead all rookies in receiving yards in his rookie year. That will help Josh Freeman out a lot.
36. Kansas City Chiefs- RLB Sergio Kindle (Texas)
The Chiefs more than doubled their sacks total from 2008 to 2009! That sounds impressive until you consider they only had 10 sacks in 2008. 22 in 2009 is hardly anything to brag about. Kindle has huge upside as a future #1 rush linebacker.
37. Philadelphia Eagles (via WAS)- S Nate Allen (South Florida)
Sean Jones failed in his first year in Philadelphia and won’t be back. Nate Allen is a smart, fundamentally sound player who is a steal at this point. He would be an immediate upgrade over Jones and could start week 1.
38. Cleveland Browns- QB Colt McCoy (Texas)
Of all the quarterbacks available, McCoy would not be my choice, but there’s a very good chance he would be Mike Holmgren’s choice. Holmgren reportedly loves McCoy and might considering moving up into the late 1st round to take him, if he felt it necessary. I don’t believe he would do that, but I do believe that Holmgren does like McCoy as a quarterback prospect.
39. Oakland Raiders- DT Geno Atkins (Georgia)
Geno Atkins ran a 4.75 at 6-1 293 at the Combine. That makes him the greatest defensive tackle of all time. See, isn’t drafting easy. I’ve had cornerback here in recent weeks, but that was only because I felt they would trade Nmandi Ashmouga (something about being too talented). That no longer looks like it’s going to happen so I think they’ll, sadly, be fine with Ashmouga, Stanford Routt, and Chris Johnson at cornerback next year.
40. San Diego Chargers (via SEA)- RB Ryan Matthews (Fresno State)
The idea with the Chargers moving up to 40 from 60 is to get a feature back like Matthews without having to pass on a nose tackle like Terrence Cody in the first. Done and done.
41. Buffalo Bills- NT Cam Thomas (North Carolina)
The Bills are going to want to get a nose tackle before all the top 2 tier guys are gone and the class really drops off like a cliff. They might not be able to take Linval Joseph with their 2nd pick in this round so they take Thomas here to be safe.
42. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (via CHI)- CB Brandon Ghee (Wake Forest)
They need a defensive end, but there isn’t really one here that fits. They also need cornerback help and Ghee is the best cornerback available He is another guy who raised his stock at the Senior Bowl. He’s very raw, but he got great potential and head coach Raheem Morris, a former defensive backs coach, would love the opportunity to try to bring the most of out Ghee. He’s not likely to be available in a few picks.
43. Denver Broncos (via MIA)- NT Linval Joseph (East Carolina)
Jamal Williams is a nice stopgap, but they need an upgrade at nose tackle for the future and Joseph has really good measurables and high upside. They were awful against the run last year and, with their short throw offense, they can’t afford to be bad against the run in the future. They’ll need to control the ball to win games.
44. New England Patriots (via JAC)- RB Jahvid Best (California)
As a Patriots fan, the Pats’ defense makes me cringe. They let Devery Henderson run straight down field for a touchdown without a guy within 10 yards of him against New Orleans and then missed 4 tackles as the Saints turned a loss on a screen play to a touchdown and they were only able to sack Brees once all game. Then Chad Henne came out and burned their defense again. However, Bill Belicheck will go value over need every time, especially with 3 picks in the 2ndround to work with. Best would help the Patriots become even more explosive on offensive by adding that explosive homerun hitting back that they lack right now. He would compliment Fred Taylor and Kevin Faulk well, both of whom are over 30.
45. Denver Broncos- C JD Walton (Baylor)
Casey Wiegmann doesn’t fit the scheme and could be upgraded. It’s not a very important need in terms of positional value, which means Josh McDaniels will address in it round 2. JD Walton is the top center prospect this year, an All-American, and fills one of their biggest needs. What a steal! Screw positional value!
46. New York Giants- DT LaMarr Houston (Texas)
The Giants are always one to look to upgrade their pass rush and their defensive line. They can’t be happy about the extremely low amount of sacks they generated from the defensive tackle position, or their low ranking against the run. Houston had 7 sacks last year, more than all Giants’ defensive tackles combine, and he is good against the run as well.
Trade:
New England Patriots:
Jacksonville’s 3rd rounder
2011 2nd rounder
Jacksonville Jaguars:
New England’s 2nd rounder
This almost makes too much sense. The Patriots trade out of one pick at least every year and getting a future 2nd and a 3rd for a 2nd rounder is a great value and the Jaguars need to draft Tim Tebow this year.
47. Jacksonville Jaguars (Via NE, TEN)- QB Tim Tebow (Florida)
Some people aren’t going to like this pick. To those people, I say this. First, at least I no longer have him going 10th and I have the Jaguars making a very necessary trade for a 2nd rounder to get Tebow, rather than risking their first on him. Second, recently, 1500 hundred people, from the city of Jacksonville, bought Tebow’s autograph from him for 160 dollars (so much for not having money) in a charity event the other day. If 1500 Jacksonvillians (is that a word?) will pay 160 dollars to get Tebow’s signature on a piece of paper, imagine how many will pay money to see him throw footballs for their team. Tebow is a borderline cult figure in Jacksonville and the cash scrapped Jaguars need to capitalize on that. Even if the Jaguars win 7-8 games a season for the next few years and don’t make the playoffs with Tebow, they’ll still make a ton of money and that is necessary for this team if they want to continue to exist. I also happen to believe in Tebow a lot more than most.
48. Carolina Panthers- WR Damian Williams (USC)
Part of Jake Delhomme’s problem last year was that he was forcing it deep to Steve Smith every play because they didn’t have any solid options after him on the depth chart. If they don’t want Matt Moore to do the same thing, they’ll need to get him a solid #2. That should be priority #1 this offseason.
49. San Francisco 49ers- RB Dexter McCluster (Mississippi)
I’ve had cornerback here in recent weeks. I was sure the Niners had to take a corner in the first two rounds, but the Niners are a team that likes to pick best available. This also happens to be an extremely deep cornerback class. They can get a future starter at the cornerback position in the 3rd round. They can’t get a playmaker like McCluster. McCluster helps on special teams, in the receiver corps as a slot guy, and out of the backfield as a 3rd down back and a change of pace back.
50. Kansas City Chiefs (via ATL)- TE Aaron Hernandez (Florida)
The Chiefs got this pick from Atlanta for Tony Gonzalez. They might want to consider using it on a replacement tight end, because Matt Cassel needs more guys to throw to. Scott Pioli could be partial to Hernandez over guys like Dennis Pitta and Rob Gronkowski because he reminds people of Ben Watson, who he worked with in New England.
51. Houston Texans- CB Patrick Robinson (Florida State)
The Texans had 14 interceptions all year last year and 4 of those came from their linebackers and 9 from their safeties, including 4 from Bernard Pollard (hey, maybe the Chiefs shouldn’t have cut him). That leaves only 1 interception by any of their cornerbacks. Robinson had 7 in his career at Oklahoma State and he had a very good game in the Senior Bowl.
52. Pittsburgh Steelers- WR Brandon LaFell (LSU)
Santonio Holmes was traded to the Jets this past week. The Steelers will probably be looking for a wide receiver to replace him fairly early. LaFell is a good value here and fits their offense well because of his run blocking ability.
53. New England Patriots- RLB Jason Worilds (Virginia Tech)
Bill Belicheck seems hesitant to draft a rush linebacker, which is weird because he’s never hesitant to do anything. It must be because of how few of the defensive ends switching to rush linebacker actually pan out. For more on that, click here. However, he can’t hesitate anymore, the Pats only managed 31 sacks all last year and their pass defense suffered because of it. Worilds is a safe bet here because he has experience playing standing up at outside linebacker at Virginia Tech, in addition to playing defensive end, so he is going to be comfortable in coverage and blitzing from an outside, standing position. Again, for more on why drafting rush linebackers with experience at outside linebacker is important, click the link above.
54. Cincinnati Bengals- TE Rob Gronkowski (Arizona)
The Bengals needed major help at wide receiver this offseason, but after signing Matt Jones and signing Antonio Bryant, I doubt they’ll target a wideout early, even though I don’t think Bryant will pan out as a #2 in Cincy. This leaves them with very few needs, but they have needed a tight end for years and if one like Gronkowski slips to them in the 2nd, I could see them pulling the trigger. They like run blocking tight ends and Gronkowski is a good, big blocker in addition to being a solid target over the middle.
55. Philadelphia Eagles- OLB Daryl Washington (TCU)
One linebacker won’t be enough. After cutting Will Witherspoon, the Eagles need a weakside linebacker badly. Washington has the speed Andy Reid looks for in a linebacker.
56. Green Bay Packers- CB Donovan Warren (Michigan)
Al Harris just turned 35 and missed a good portion of the season with injuries, which have been plaguing him for years. Tramon Williams was decent, but not great in relief of Harris. Even if he does pan out well longterm, Charles Woodson, despite winning defensive player of the year, is 33 and will turn 34 next October. He can’t play that well forever. The Packers, who always like to take best available, will take Warren, who would fit their scheme like a glove, because he will provide them some much needed cornerback depth.
57. Baltimore Ravens- CB Kareem Jackson (Alabama)
After Lardarius Webb got hurt, the Ravens had to start kick returner Chris Carr at cornerback. I think its safe to say they need some cornerback depth and Jackson provides good depth and upside at the position.
58. Arizona Cardinals- OT Roger Saffold (Indiana)
Both of the Cardinals starting tackles gave up 9 sacks last year. Kurt Warner played well through it, but Matt Leinart is nowhere near as mentally tough, so they’ll definitely need tackle help.
59. Dallas Cowboys- OT Jared Veldheer (Hillsdale)
Continuing to add some youth to one of the oldest offensive lines in the league, the Cowboys take the massive kid from a tiny school, Jared Veldheer. Veldheer is 6-8 315 and certainly fits what the Cowboys look for in terms of an offensive lineman. He was one of, if not the most dominant offensive tackle in Division I-AA over the last 4 years and didn’t miss a single start in his 4 years at Hillsdale. He’ll replace Flozell Adams well.
60. Seattle Seahawks (via SD)- RB Joe McKnight (USC)
Julius Jones is such a bad running back that every single Seahawks fan I have talked to is begging them to draft a replacement in the first two rounds. Pete Carroll and Joe McKnight worked well together at USC. Carroll probably wouldn’t mind giving him a try at the next level and he happens to be the best available running back.
61. New York Jets- 3-4 DE Alex Carrington (Arkansas State)
After trading for Santonio Holmes, the Jets really only need to upgrade their pass rush. They got a rush linebacker in the first, but they need a guy like Carrington to replace Kenyon Coleman as a pass rusher on the three man line. Carrington is both strong against the run like Coleman was, but he also brings a better pass rush.
62. Minnesota Vikings- S Morgan Burnett (Georgia Tech)
They have other need, but they never did replace Darren Sharper after he left last offseason and Burnett is a steal who falls here only as a result of this amazing safety class.
63. Indianapolis Colts- OT Jason Fox (Miami)
Charlie Johnson is a decent left tackle, but he’s also a free agent in 2011 so they may be looking for some depth at the position in this draft. Fox could also possibly flip over to the right side if they wanted him to.
64. New Orleans Saints- OLB Navarro Bowman (Penn State)
Scott Fujita just left as a free agent. He could have been upgraded anyway so that shouldn’t matter, but the Saints need to draft a replacement. Bowman would fit the scheme well. He’s a first round talent, but has a few character issues, but the Saints are in a position to take risks.
Go on to 3rd Round
Or check out what I think should happen
Or check out other mock drafts
Or make your own
Or read more of my thought on The NFL Draft
Or check out my NBA Mock Draft
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