2014 NFL Mock Draft (1st RD)

[WolverineFan]

This is assuming Brent Hundley goes back for his 4th year.

*Denotes non-Seniors

1 Jacksonville Jaguars QB – Teddy Bridgewater, Louisville*
- No brainer pick. Jags need a franchise QB. Bridgewater is the top guy.

2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB – Marcus Mariotta, Oregon*
- I could also see the Bucs taking Clowney here, but I think Schiano gets fired and the new coach brings in his own QB.

3 New York Giants OT – Jake Matthews, Texas A&M
- Giants have a lot of needs, but protecting Eli is a major one. He’s been under constant duress this year.

4 Minnesota Vikings DE – Jadeveon Clowney, South Carolina*
- Vikings have needs everywhere, including QB. With the top 2 QB’s off the board I think they go BPA and grab a QB in round 2.

5 Houston Texans OLB – Anthony Barr, UCLA
- We could go a thousand directions with this one. You could take Lewan, Nix, Clinton-Dix, or a QB. I think we should take Barr, who is the BPA and an absolute beast pass rusher. Something we desperately need.

6 St. Louis Rams (from WAS) OT – Taylor Lewan, Michigan
- Rams could go a couple ways, but with one of the top OT’s still available I don’t know how you pass.

7 Oakland Raiders WR – Mike Evans, Texas A&M*
- Raiders really need to add options at WR because their young QB has nobody to throw to. Evans is a huge target who excels with a mobile QB.

8 Atlanta Falcons OT – Cyrus Kouandjio, Alabama*
- Falcons really need to address the defense, but Ryan has been getting killed this year and with the last of the top OT’s still available you have to take him.

9 Pittsburgh Steelers DT – Louis Nix, Notre Dame
- Steelers defense is getting older and older and they need to get younger to get back to the stalwart defenses they fielded years ago. Nix will be that beast in the middle who shuts everything down.

10 St. Louis Rams S – Haha Clinton-Dix, Alabama*
- After a great 2012, the Rams defense has been awful this year. Part of the reason is Safety play. HCD is the best S in the draft this year and would be a deadly combo with T.J. McDonald.

11 Cleveland Browns QB – Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M*
- It’s no secret the Browns need a QB. Brian Hoyer looked great in his few games, but he’s not a long-term solution. It’s also no secret that new Cleveland GM, Michael Lombardi, absolutely loves Manziel.

12 Buffalo Bills OLB – Kyle Van Noy, BYU
- The Bills really need to address their pass rush. Outside of Mario Williams, nobody can get to the QB. Van Noy is a freak athlete who lives around the ball.

13 Philadelphia Eagles CB – Loucheiz Purifoy, Florida*
- Philly has a ton of needs, but none bigger than defense. Building a starting defense through free agency just isn’t the way to do it. Purifoy would immediately upgrade a disappointing secondary.

14 Tennessee Titans ILB – C.J. Mosley, Alabama
- The Titans defense is much improved, but adding a talent like Mosley in the middle could take them to the next level. I also thought about a CB here.

15 Arizona Cardinals QB – Tajh Boyd, Clemson
- Arizona has other needs, but they need to do something here. Carson Palmer looks worse every time out. Boyd would be under constant duress from a porous front, but with weapons like Fitzgerald, Floyd, Roberts, and Ellington I think he could make it work.

16 Baltimore Ravens WR – Marquise Lee, USC*
- The Ravens need weapons on offense. Torrey Smith has looked fantastic, but Ray Rice has been overwhelmed. He can’t carry the offense by himself anymore. A Lee/Smith combo would be tough to matchup against.

17 Miami Dolphins OT – Antonio Richardson, Tennessee*
- Miami didn’t like the price Jake Long was asking for this offseason, so they let him walk. And now they’re paying the price with one of the worst OL’s in the league. As Tannehill continues to develop, the Dolphins must address this issue and help the poor guy out.

18 Carolina Panthers WR – Sammy Watkins, Clemson*
- I think Carolina’s dream scenario is Clinton-Dix because they really need to address the Safety position. With him off the board, it’s time to give Cam Newton some help. Steve Smith is not getting any younger and Watkins can add some serious speed to this offense.

19 Chicago Bears DE – Stephon Tuitt, Notre Dame*
- The Bears have plenty of needs, but they need to address the pass rush. The defense has struggled this year with injuries, but the core of their defense is getting old. They need to find an eventual replacement for Julius Peppers.

20 New York Jets TE – Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Washington*
- The Jets could also address the LB group here, but I think they get a weapon for their young QB. With the top WR’s off the board, they hit into the TE group and add a freak weapon.

21 Detroit Lions CB – Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, Oregon*
- The Lions defense has continually struggled in pass coverage. They need to stop drafting mid-round guys and finally get serious about the CB position.

22 San Diego Chargers CB – Marcus Roberson, Florida*
- I could see the Chargers taking a pass rusher here, but I think they go for a CB. Their starting CB’s are just not very good.

23 Dallas Cowboys DT – Ra’Shede Hageman, Minnesota
- Dallas really needs to address the DL and this time they need to pull the trigger instead of trading back. Hageman is an absolute freak and could go much higher than this after the combine.

24 Denver Broncos DE – Trent Murphy, Stanford*
- Denver could take an OL here, but they need to address the defense. Just because the offense can outscore just about anyone, doesn’t mean they need to every time out.

25 San Francisco 49ers OLB – Khalil Mack, Buffalo
- This is a team that has few holes and could go in a lot of directions. I thought about a WR, but I think they look for a solution to the Aldon Smith problem instead. Mack is not quite the freak Smith is, but he’s a more rounded player.

26 New England Patriots TE – Eric Ebron, North Carolina*
- This pick just makes too much sense. Ebron is a versatile matchup nightmare and NE loaded up on WR last year. I can definitely see them making TE a priority here.

27 Green Bay Packers OT – James Hurst, North Carolina
- The Packers really need to protect Aaron Rodgers better. This should be a no brainer.

28 Cincinnati Bengals OLB – Ryan Shazier, Ohio State*
- Cincy could go a few ways, but they are a BPA team. Shazier would add talent and speed to an already athletic defense.

29 Cleveland Browns (from IND) WR – Brandon Coleman, Rutgers*
- The Browns add a new weapon for their new QB. With an up and coming TE and some good young WR’s, Manziel could do some damage here.

30 New Orleans Saints CB – Aaron Colvin, Oklahoma
- The defense is much improved, but they still need CB’s. I could also see them address the pass rush.

31 Kansas City Chiefs ILB – A.J. Johnson, Tennessee*
- Not very many needs on this team, especially on defense. But I don’t really see any offensive weapons for KC here. I think they go BPA on defense.

32 Seattle Seahawks OG – Cyril Richardson, Baylor
- This team is absolutely stacked. The only problem area is talent up front and depth on defense. They can address all of that in this draft and become a contender for years.

 

[Texian]

For October this is very good, well thought out. I'm thinking more QBs than Hundley go back to school.

 

[Rey]

I've just started looking at the prospects and the player I want most right now is Louis nix. Haven't looked at Barr yet though. But in the first round I want players that do things that are hard to find elsewhere.

Not saying Barr isn't that, just saying I feel like nix is. I think what nix could bring to this team would be HUGE. Pun intended.

If you can look at him against Bama in the championship game last year. They ran away from him a bunch but he was man handling their OL. I feel he could be a wolfork type player that just makes it near impossible to run up the middle. But at the same time dude is a good pass rusher. At this point in time there is no way I'd pass him up. Dude has monster written all over him. Put him next to watt and draft a talented LB to play behind them and the defense instantly gets better.


But yeah. That's just my early thoughts.

 

[WolverineFan]

I've just started looking at the prospects and the player I want most right now is Louis nix. Haven't looked at Barr yet though. But in the first round I want players that do things that are hard to find elsewhere.

Not saying Barr isn't that, just saying I feel like nix is. I think what nix could bring to this team would be HUGE. Pun intended.

If you can look at him against Bama in the championship game last year. They ran away from him a bunch but he was man handling their OL. I feel he could be a wolfork type player that just makes it near impossible to run up the middle. But at the same time dude is a good pass rusher. At this point in time there is no way I'd pass him up. Dude has monster written all over him. Put him next to watt and draft a talented LB to play behind them and the defense instantly gets better.


But yeah. That's just my early thoughts.

I won't disagree with you about Nix. The only thing I'll say is that we have a real problem getting to the QB consistently and Nix doesn't really fix that. Nix is better than Mitchell at a lot of things, but pass rushing isn't one of them. For a NT, they can both get after the QB.

The only guys we have that get pressure consistently are Watt and Mercilus. We really need to address that.

 

[WolverineFan]

For October this is very good, well thought out. I'm thinking more QBs than Hundley go back to school.

These are the non-Senior QB's.

Bridgewater - He's pretty much a lock to go pro.

Hundley - Plenty of upside, but very raw. I think he stays for another year.

Mariota - I think Oregon plays for the national title and he goes pro.

Manziel - The chances of him leaving are not 100% anymore, but still very high.

Hogan - Don't really see him coming out. Needs another year.

Boyd, Morris, Murray, Mettenberger, Carr, McCarron, and Fales are all Seniors.

 

[Rey]

I won't disagree with you about Nix. The only thing I'll say is that we have a real problem getting to the QB consistently and Nix doesn't really fix that. Nix is better than Mitchell at a lot of things, but pass rushing isn't one of them. For a NT, they can both get after the QB.

The only guys we have that get pressure consistently are Watt and Mercilus. We really need to address that.

I'm going to disagree with that. I don't look at my NT for sacks. What I want is for you to push the pocket into the qb's lap. Mitchell doesn't do that. Nix does it all the time. With him collapsing the pocket and not allowing the qb to step up it will open everyone else up. Mitchel doesn't do that at all.

Seriously, if you can go to youtube and pull up his film against Bama in the ntl championship game. Look at how easily he's moving those linemen. Look at the burst off the ball. Look at how well he moves for a man that is almost 350 lbs.

I think he'd make our defense way better because against almost all one on one match ups he's unblockable. That'd help us in so many ways. Watt, the LB's...with him the whole front seven would benefit kind of like how Poe helps the chiefs. And to me he is maybe a little more impressive than Poe was when i watched them in college.

Seriously, watch some of his YouTube film of that Bama game (and others, but especially Bama). Dude just needs a little work and he could be a monster.

 

[WolverineFan]

I'm going to disagree with that. I don't look at my NT for sacks. What I want is for you to push the pocket into the qb's lap. Mitchell doesn't do that. Nix does it all the time. With him collapsing the pocket and not allowing the qb to step up it will open everyone else up. Mitchel doesn't do that at all.

Seriously, if you can go to youtube and pull up his film against Bama in the ntl championship game. Look at how easily he's moving those linemen. Look at the burst off the ball. Look at how well he moves for a man that is almost 350 lbs.

I think he'd make our defense way better because against almost all one on one match ups he's unblockable. That'd help us in so many ways. Watt, the LB's...with him the whole front seven would benefit kind of like how Poe helps the chiefs. And to me he is maybe a little more impressive than Poe was when i watched them in college.

Seriously, watch some of his YouTube film of that Bama game (and others, but especially Bama). Dude just needs a little work and he could be a monster.

I'm a Michigan fan. I've seen enough of Nix to last a lifetime. It's a relief to not have to play against him again. He's a great player and I would love to have him on the Texans. My only thing is I'm not sure if DT or OLB is the bigger concern. A freak pass rushing OLB is usually a much more premium position than a dominating NT. If Nix can fix these problems then I'm all for it. The problem I see is that even with him dominating the middle, we still only have 2 guys who can get to the QB.

BTW, he's a much better player than Poe on film (at least in college). Isn't going to have the same measureables, but I don't really think that's an issue. He was the only guy on that ND defense that didn't get abused by Bama in the title game.

 

[Texian]

These are the non-Senior QB's.

Bridgewater - He's pretty much a lock to go pro.

Hundley - Plenty of upside, but very raw. I think he stays for another year.

Mariota - I think Oregon plays for the national title and he goes pro.

Manziel - The chances of him leaving are not 100% anymore, but still very high.

Hogan - Don't really see him coming out. Needs another year.

Boyd, Morris, Murray, Mettenberger, Carr, McCarron, and Fales are all Seniors.

My thinking is maybe Bridgewater and Manziel come out but I could see where both would return. Conventional Wisdom for college QB to have a chance at early success in the NFL they should have 30 college starts under their belt. That's why I think so many return. I did a mock earlier today, had the Texans picking 7-12 and taking C J Mosley and McCarron in RD 3. Bryce Petty from Baylor is another Jr that is putting up some big numbers. Right now flying below the radar.