This is the first ever Soon In Sports mock draft. Since we pride ourselves on innovative and analysis and only use our own evaluations, some picks may seem far fetched. Don't freak out. If you need any validation of our methods, simply look at our positional rankings. We received flack for having some guys (Cordarelle Patterson and Sharrif Floyd) ranked so highly. It seems like now the consensus is finally seeing what we saw months ago. Likewise, expect many of our "far fetched" picks to come to fruition come draft day. We are never different for the sake of being different, just different because we think we are right. Thanks for reading. Enjoy! With that, the Chiefs are now on the clock.
1. Kansas City Chiefs- Luke Joeckel OT Texas A&M- With Alex Smith now locked in at QB, this selection became a lot easier. Joeckel is a safe pick here and will provide the weak-armed Smith time to be a game manager.
2. Jacksonville Jaguars- Ezekiel Ansah DE/OLB BYU- New coach Gus Bradley (all aboard the Gus Bus!) is bringing his awesome defensive schemes with him from Seattle. Ansah is a freak of nature who will be able to rush the passer from a stance or standing up.
3. Oakland Raiders- Geno Smith QB West Virginia- Reports are out that the Raiders like Smith. Although Terelle Pryor looked surprisingly decent in his brief tryout last year, he is not starting material. Geno has all the tools and the speed the Raiders have at WR is actually similar to what Smith had around him at West Virginia.
4. Philadelphia Eagles- DeMarcus Milliner CB Alabama- With Nnamdi looking like a cap casualty and DRC looking like he is also on his way out of Philly, the Eagles are staring a top 5 CB pick right in the face not long after being hailed as the league's top secondary. Oops...
5. Detroit Lions- Bjoern Werner DE Florida State- The Lions defense is a corner and a strong edge rusher away from being elite. They have a solid line already with Fairley, Suh, and Avril, but need another threat from the other edge. They would prefer Milliner to Werner, but Werner is certainly not a terrible consolation prize.
6. Cleveland Browns- Dion Jordan DE/OLB Oregon- Jordan has been repeatedly linked to the Browns and for good reason. He is a great fit for the team and especially in a division with many good TEs. He is a unique player who can humiliate an OT on one play and stay stride for stride with a slot receiver on the next.
7. Arizona Cardinals- Eric Fisher OT Central Michigan- Its been a while since (Insert any direction) Michigan produced a top level player, so it is really goes to show how much of a stand out Fisher was. He dominated his bowl game, the Senior Bowl, and then the Combine to really rocket his draft stock in the past few months.
8. Buffalo Bills- Tyler Bray QB Tennessee- The Bills GM either is the best bluffer in the world, or just made a huge strategic mistake.He announced that he is not only eyeing a QB early, but also willing to "reach" on one. Bray made the best throws at the combine, and impressed teams with his lack of a poor attitude for once. Bray has all the tools to be a strong NFL QB and this is not a huge reach talent wise.
9. New York Jets- Cordarrelle Patterson WR Tennessee- He was a one and done at Tennessee, and certainly showed how much of a freak athlete his is. He was utilized all over the field and has the ability to maybe even make Sanchez look decent.
10. Tennessee Titans- Chance Warmack OG Alabama- The Titans are constantly linked to CB X or CB Y, but honestly between Verner and McCourty they are alright there. Where they really need help is in the interior of their O-Line. They pick up the best guard in years here.
11. San Diego Chargers- Lane Johnson OT Oklahoma- Even more than Eric Fisher, Johnson has skyrocketed up the ranks of the offensive linemen. San Diego has had trouble keeping Rivers on his feet, although maybe that's a good thing since he can't (we don't think at least) throw picks when he is on the ground.
12. Miami Dolphins- Sharrif Floyd DT Florida- Miami gets a huge steal here with the local guy. He fills an urgent need, and although he may be a bit undersized for the scheme his talent is undeniable.
13. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Logan Ryan CB Rutgers- Schiano is re-united with possibly the best man coverage corner available this year. Schiano has shown an affinity for taking in his old Rutgers players and Ryan fits need and value here.
14. Carolina Panthers- Sheldon Richardson DT Missouri- The Panthers are in desperate need of a rush DT and Richardson is probably a close second only to Floyd in that category. Richardson is great at penetrating and should help Kuechly bust up plays for years to come.
15. New Orleans Saints- Damontre Moore OLB Texas A&M- The Saints are switching to a 3-4 scheme this year and have a huge need for pass rushers. Moore is thought by some as a top-5 pick but I don't see it. I questioned his strength way before his pathetic combine and now many else are seeing my old concerns. Either way, he still can provide value and a good scheme fit here for the Saints.
16. St. Louis Rams- Jonathan Cyprien S Florida International- The more film I get on this guy, the higher I want to place him. The Rams have huge holes in their defensive backfield and here value meets need for the Rams.
17. Pittsburgh Steelers- Alec Ogletree ILB Georgia- DUI aside, Ogletree is a perfect fit for the Steelers. Their LB corps, although decorated, is aging fast. He is athletic like James Harrison, and the converted safety should be a stud in the future.
18. Cowboys- Johnathan Cooper OG North Carolina- The Cowboys have struggled to protect the consistently anticlutch Tony Romo for years. Like Rivers, it may actually be better for Romo to be on the ground, but for the sake of this mock lets pretend the Cowboys try to shore up their line. Cooper is a solid guard prospect.
19. New York Giants- Jarvis Jones OLB Georgia- Typical Giants selection. They are picking late, and end up with a top talent. A Jones without health concerns is the number one player on our board. The Giants are willing to take a chance and possibly end up with a Von Miller type player.
20. Chicago Bears- Menelik Watson OT Florida State- The Bears need OL help in the worst way. Heck, the owner even cited awful OLine play as the reason for Lovie Smith's firing. Watson is a bit raw but has all the physical tools to succeed in the league.
21. Cincinnati Bengals- Barkevious Mingo OLB Louisiana State- The Bengals have lots of free agents in their LB corps and Mingo is a good fit for any team running a 3-4. Coupled with Vontaze, the Bengals can have a solid group of young LBs to lead them to many more first round playoff exits in the future.
22. St. Louis Rams- DJ Fluker OT Alabama- The Rams want OL help and Fluker is a prototype RT specimen. While he looked bad in positional drills at the Combine, his physique alone may get him drafted in the first. The Rams may be the team to take the risk, especially after missing out on many potential targets just ahead of them.
23. Minnesota Vikings- Quinton Patton WR Louisiana Tech- If the Vikings ever want Ponder to succeed, they need to give him some talent to work with. Step one is to keep Harvin, step two is to tear Peterson's ACL every offseason, and step three is to take another solid wideout like Patton.
24. Indianapolis Colts- Desmond Trufant CB Washington- Vontae Davis is a great CB. Its a shame the rest of the Colt CBs are trash. Trufant is a good corner who has really blown up recently. HE ran well at the Combine and showed well at the Senior Bowl as well.
25. Seattle Seahawks- Datone Jones DE UCLA- The Seahawks have made adding a pass rusher a very public priority. Jones has reportedly met with them both at the Senior Bowl and the Combine. The match is natural, as long as USC man Pete Carrol can stomach having a UCLA Bruin on his team.
26. Green Bay Packers- Gio Bernard RB North Carolina- Many suggest Lacy as the man for the Pack should they decide to go with a RB. Recent history suggests that the Packers are more built for shifty type backs than power runners though. Think of recent solid Packer backs (Starks, Grant) and then think of a failure (Jackson). The (moderate) successes were shifty like Bernard is.
27- Houston Texans- Arthur Brown ILB Kansas State- Brown, an athletic yet possibly undersized backer would perfectly complement the physical Brian Cushing.
28- Denver Broncos- Star Lutulelei DT Utah- We have never been too high on Star here, and the word of the medical condition certainly didn't help his cause. He is undoubtedly talented though, and the Broncos need a DT in the worst way. Here (excuse the following) they are able to wish upon the falling Star.
29- New England Patriots- Tavon Austin WR West Virginia- With word of an impending Welker departure, Austin is an easy selection here. He is similar to Wes: explosive, short, and reliable. More importantly, he is substantially cheaper. Brady will maximize his talents.
30. Atlanta Falcons- Margus Hunt DE SMU- The Estonian shotput thrower guy (not so sure what they are called) is a freak. He ran in the 4.6s at the combine but drew mixed reviews because of how lanky he was. To me, the skinny stature is a positive. Imagine how much better he will be with a few more years of football specific training. Hunt is going to be a star. Take it to the bank.
31. San Francisco 49ers- Kenny Vaccaro S Texas- While there are rumors of a possible deal that would bring Revis Island close to a similar island jail, Alcatraz, that would be a misguided move. The problems in San Fran were more on the safeties than the corners. Vaccaro is an athletic yet physical safety who probably will go earlier than this.
32. Baltimore Ravens- Khaseem Greene ILB Rutgers- Ray Lewis will be riding off to the Deer Antler ranch with a ring on his huge Ray Lewis hand. Khaseem Greene, while not as huge and scary, has a similar, unteachable ability to simply attack the ball carrier and diagnose plays quickly. In a 3-4, he is able to play in the middle since size is not as huge of an issue. Did we mention how big Lewis is? Man is huge, its almost killer!
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