TE Orson Charles

I’m listing some players that I think depending on their Combine performances over the next few days will start to pick up more steam as potentially draft picks for the Falcons, as well as guys that could be in a position to rise up other teams’ draft boards in general.

RB Robert Turbin, Utah State
Like many underclassman, Turbin has generally gone under the radar so far. It is generally the Combine where some of these lesser known players can rise. While it doesn’t seem like the running back position is going to be a high priority for the Falcons this April, it would behoove them to start thinking about the future of this position. Turbin is an excellent physical specimen, with a short, squat, but think build similar to Michael Turner. He probably is not going to have a blazing 40 time, but if he can run in the low 4.5s, he’s a player that can start to solidify his status as a potential Top 50 pick.

WR Stephen Hill, Georgia Tech
The local product is trying to follow in the steps of Demaryius Thomas as one of the premier second tier wide receiver prospects. Hill has excellent size and athleticism at 6’4″, and like Thomas he’s more a long strider. That can bode very well when it comes to the 40-yard dash. Again, the Falcons probably won’t be looking to make a major move at the wide receiver position given they just drafted Julio Jones, but Hill has the potential to solidify his status as a second round pick with a strong workout.

TE Orson Charles, Georgia
Because Charles is a junior, he’s not going as much love. But Charles can do something similar to Ben Watson did several years ago, which is if he has a strong workout, he can start to rise up boards. Watson ultimately wound up being a late first round pick. Who the top tight end off the board is ripe for the taking, and strong combines helped Watson and Dustin Keller a few years later improve their draft stock greatly. While a strong Combine could probably mean Charles will be drafted before the Falcons are on the clock, his moving up the board could have several implications on which tight end might be in the Falcons range.

TE DeAngelo Peterson, LSU
Peterson is another good athletic SEC tight end, that was a bit underused in LSU’s offense this past year. If he has a good Combine workout, much of that lack of production can be forgiven in scout’s eyes. And while he’s more of a middle round pick at this point, he could start to rise and be in the mix in the second round range, where many suspect the Falcons could target a tight end.

TE Ladarius Green, UL-Lafayette
Green is another tight end that could start to see his stock rise with a good Combine. And coupled with these other players near the top of the class, could turn what was previously conceived as a mediocre draft class at this position into a strong one. Green is the physical specimen of the group, standing 6’6″ and playing more like an oversized receiver. If he can couple that size and athleticism with a good 40 time, he might be in the conversation as well for the Falcons top pick.

OT Bobby Massie, Ole Miss
Massie followed Michael Oher at Ole Miss and despite not receiving the same acclaim, is probably as good an athlete as his predecessor. Massie spent his entire career at right tackle, but certainly possesses the sort of athleticism that teams look for and want in their left tackles. A strong Combine workout that displays that athleticism could solidify him as one of the Top 5 tackles in this draft class.

DE Chandler Jones

OT Matt McCants, UAB
McCants played at the Senior Bowl, and did not use that opportunity to really solidify his draft stock going up against some of the top pass rushers on the South team. But he’ll get another chance at the Combine. As mentioned previously, teams fall in love with athletic tackles, and McCants has that potential with his size (6’6″) and long arms, he every bit looks the part of a top NFL left tackle. He’ll need a strong Combine, and he might start to move up to the late second round as a potential target for the Falcons.

DE Chandler Jones, Syracuse
There’s no doubt the Falcons need to upgrade their pass rush, and Jones is another underclassman that has gone a bit under the radar. While he’s already being projected to go in the second round range, a strong Combine workout where his size and athleticism will be on display could really cause his stock to rise, and he may be the favored target of Falcons draftniks when projecting which pass rusher hopefully is there for the team in Round Two.

OLB Terrell Manning, N.C. State
Another position that the Falcons aren’t really in the market for, but Manning definitely has a chance to improve his stock greatly. As an underclassman that surprisingly came out, he’s gone under the radar. But Manning has the sort of speed and athleticism that reminds you a lot of a younger version of Sean Weatherspoon before he polished his game completely during his final years at Missouri. If Manning can clock a strong 40 time, his stock should jump high.

OLB Jonathan Massaquoi, Troy
He might be a bit more on the Falcons radar because he’s a pass rusher that played end in college. But he’s being projected as a 3-4 linebacker because of his lack of ideal size. But if Massaquoi comes to Indianapolis and tips the scales around 260 and still is able to showcase his athleticism and speed, he might start to gain more traction as a defensive end. Troy has produced a number of good pass rushers over the years (e.g. Osi Umenyiora, Demarcus Ware), and Massaquoi intends to be the next in line.

ILB Mychael Kendricks, California
Drafting an inside linebacker is hopefully not in the cards for the Falcons given this team’s potential to re-sign Curtis Lofton. But if that were not to occur and the Falcons were looking for an eventual replacement, Kendricks might be a guy that comes on their radar. He’s not the biggest guy out there, being listed at around 5’11″ 240, but he’s got excellent straight-line speed and was an adept pass rusher in Cal’s 3-4 scheme. If he clocks a fast 40, he should see his stock rise.

Coby Fleener

It’s still pretty early in the draft process, and subsequently you’re not going to find a lot of two-round mock drafts out there yet on the internet. But as more come in the coming months, I’ll keep adding them. One of the downsides for the Falcons lacking a first round pick is that there aren’t going to be the constant number of internet mocks out there projecting their pick.

To see my latest take on who the Falcons might look for in the second round with their top pick, click here.

2.13 – Draft Season (Lomas): Chase Minnifield, CB, Virginia
2.10 – NFL Draft 101 (Doug Lancy): Coby Fleener, TE, Stanford
2.09 – NFL Draft Geek: Vinny Curry, DE, Marshall
2.09 – Walter Football (Charlie Campbell): Jake Bequette, DE, Arkansas
2.08 – Optimum Scouting: Coby Fleener, TE, Stanford
2.08 – NFL’s Future: Mitchell Schwartz, OT, California
2.08 – FF Toolbox (Matt Binstock): Nate Potter, OT, Boise State
2.08 – My NFL Draft: Coby Fleener, TE, Stanford
2.08 – Draft Tek: Coby Fleener, TE, Stanford
2.08 – Walter Football: Leonard Johnson, CB, Iowa State
2.07 – FF Toolbox (Ricky Dimon): Dwayne Allen, TE, Clemson
2.07 – Draft Ace: Lamar Miller, RB, Miami FL
2.07 – NFL Draft Blitz: Brandon Boykin, CB, Georgia
2.02 – Great Blue North Report: Cam Johnson, DE, Virginia
2.01 – Draft Season (Ultimate): Orson Charles, TE, Georgia
1.30 – Blogging Dirty: Mike Brewster, OC, Ohio State
1.30 – NFL Draft 101 (Jared Counterman): Orson Charles, TE, Georgia
1.29 – Sideline Scouting: Andrew Datko, OT, Florida State
1.29 – Draft Breakdown (Ryan Lownes): Coby Fleener, TE, Stanford
1.25 – Draft Season (Lupagus): Coby Fleener, TE, Stanford

Only a total of 14 mocks munched in the month of January. Stanford’s Coby Fleener was far and away the most popular pick, followed by Dwayne Allen. The pair combined to appear in half of the mocks, with 7 other players each making one appearance in a January mock. As usual, I’ll keep track of which are “unique” mocks, indicating a mock that was updated and had the Falcons taking a different player than that site’s previous projection. Since we just got started in January, and a relatively late start, all of them were unique.

January Mocks (14 total, 14 unique)
1. Coby Fleener, TE, Stanford (5 total, 5 unique)
2. Dwayne Allen, TE, Clemson (2 total, 2 unique)

As in the past, any mock that goes four straight updates without changing their projection will be removed from the rotation until they do update with a new unique mock.

This is my second mock draft, to follow up my last one. Before I took a look at the Top 46 picks, going all the way to the Falcons pick in Round 2. I will do the same here, but instead I’ll go all the way to the end of the second round. An asterisk (*) denotes an underclassman. Note that picks 8 and 9, along with 11 and 12 have yet to be determined due to a coin flip.

FIRST ROUND

1. Indianapolis Colts – QB Andrew Luck, Stanford*
While you’ll hear some discussion and debate on whether Griffin is the better prospect, the reality is going to come down to the fact that Luck still has him beat. People will talk up Griffin’s athleticism and arm strength, but forgotten is that Luck grades very well in both as well. People constantly compare Luck to Peyton Manning, but his playing style much more mirrors that of Aaron Rodgers in terms of his ability to move around the pocket and make plays with his legs when need be. At the end of the day, Luck is going to be the No. 1 pick.

TRADE!
2. Miami Dolphins (from St. Louis) – QB Robert Griffin III, Baylor*
Ultimately, I think somebody will swap picks with the Rams to move up to get Griffin. While Luck is better, Griffin is a very good prospect that I personally think is at this point a better prospect than Cam Newton was a year ago. Griffin still needs some polish, but he does have a lot of upside based off how much improvement you’ve seen him make over the last year and his collegiate career. I think the Dolphins among the Redskins, Browns, and Seahawks are probably the most likely to bite on Griffin because those other three teams have decent stopgaps already in place, but Miami does not. While the Dolphins will probably sniff around Matt Flynn, I think they’ll ultimately favor going with Griffin. Trade Terms: Rams get Miami’s 1st (#9), 2nd, 4th in 2012, and their 2nd in 2013.

3. Minnesota Vikings – OT Matt Kalil, Southern California*
It would not surprise me if Iowa’s Riley Reiff moves past Kalil on many boards. But at this point, I’ll go with Kalil here. The Vikings need a left tackle after dumping Bryant McKinnie, and Charlie Johnson was no less atrocious for the Vikings as he was for the Colts. If/when Steve Hutchinson moves on, they can slide Johnson into his more natural left guard spot, plug Kalil in at left tackle and they should be able have a solid left side.

4. Cleveland Browns – WR Justin Blackmon, Oklahoma State*
The Browns will be an interesting team to watch since they could easily jump into the Robert Griffin sweepstakes, but probably won’t be willing to offer the Rams quite as much as other teams since they won’t have to move up as high. They also have a decent young QB in Colt McCoy, so they probably could with two first round picks concentrate more on surrounding him with talent than starting fresh with a new QB. They need a No. 1 receiver, and while it might be smarter to try to find a veteran free agent, it’ll be hard to pass up on a good receiver like Blackmon here. Blackmon is not an elite WR prospect like A.J. Green or Julio Jones, but he’s a good one that should be a good fit in their version of the West Coast offense.

5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – CB Morris Claiborne, LSU*
Claiborne is not quite on par with former teammate Patrick Peterson as an NFL prospect, but he is not a far cry from him. Claiborne has excellent combination of size, speed, and his ball skills are second to none. New Bucs head coach Greg Schiano knows the value of a good cover corner, having coached the McCourty Bros. at Rutgers. The off-field issues of Aqib Talib, potential retirement of Ronde Barber, and the utter lack of solid depth at this position makes a player like Claiborne a smart pickup.

6. Washington Redskins – QB Ryan Tannehill, Texas A&M
The reason why there is not much buzz on Tannehill right now is because a foot injury kept him out of the Senior Bowl. But when all is said and done you can bet that Tannehill will be a Top 10 pick. His game combines arm strength and athleticism similar to Aaron Rodgers, and while he’s still young and raw, his upside is very good given how solid he’s been despite only playing a year and a half as Texas A&M’s starting QB. His presence will be one of the reasons why a team like Washington won’t go too crazy trying to move up to get Griffin.

7. Jacksonville Jaguars – OT Riley Reiff, Iowa*
New head coach Mike Mularkey is going to have to find a way to keep Blaine Gabbert upright, as the young quarterback’s pocket presence is some of the worst I’ve ever seen. Improving the protection is a key, and plugging in Reiff on the right side makes sense. Eben Britton has struggled due to injuries, and Reiff briefly played some right tackle as a sophomore where he went up against the likes of Derrick Morgan, and contained him. If the Jaguars want to continue to work MJD as their primary weapon on offense, they have to get better up front.

8. St. Louis Rams (coin flip/from Miami) – RB Trent Richardson, Alabama*
The Rams certainly are happy to move down, picking up some extra picks and plugging multiple holes. Moving down, they will likely target offensive line help, but also with Richardson sitting here, it’s too good to pass up. The team needs to find the heir apparent to Steven Jackson, and Richardson is the perfect fit. His combination of speed and power, along with his potential in the passing game make him the most complete running back prospect in the draft since Adrian Peterson.

9. Carolina Panthers (coin flip) – DT Michael Brockers, LSU*
Brockers is a high-upside guy who was only a sophomore at LSU, but showed good potential. The Panthers run defense was atrocious this past year and rookies Terrell McClain and Sione Fua did little to suggest they are going to be big-time pieces going forward. Brockers was a stand-out run stuffer at LSU, manhandling guards in the SEC. He also flashes potential as a pass rusher, although he’s raw there. But he has the sort of talent to be a force in the middle that the Panthers haven’t seen since the heyday of Kris Jenkins.

10. Buffalo Bills – DE Quinton Coples, North Carolina
The Bills need to solidify their defense and try to find ways to stop teams. Coples is a good prospect to try and help them do that. A big, athletic specimen that flashes the ability to be on par with guys like Julius Peppers and Mario Williams, that also hailed from his neck of the woods. Coples, alongside a healthy Kyle Williams and Marcell Dareus could give Buffalo one of the most formidable fronts in the entire league if he can be developed. He’s a boom/bust prospect, but there’s no doubt someone is going to gamble on his potential high in the draft.

Read more…

As has been the case in past years, we’ll be looking at which players have reportedly talked to the Atlanta Falcons during the week of practices for the Senior Bowl, a collegiate all-star game that will be played on Saturday, January 28, 2012.

Sources for this information, including the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Twitter.

• CB Brandon Boykin, Georgia
• TE Ladarius Green, Louisiana-Lafayette
• WR Brian Quick, Appalachian State

As more information becomes available, we’ll continue to update this list.

Andrew Luck

I spent my bye week trying to catch up on as much college football as I could to prep for this mock draft. It’s the first 46 picks, because at this point, the Falcons first pick will be the 46th overall due to their trading their top pick to Cleveland. So here is my mid-October projection of what next year’s draft could look like through the first round and a half.

1. Indianapolis Colts – QB Andrew Luck, Stanford*
Whether Peyton Manning returns healthy to the Colts next year or not, the Colts will be smart to grab Luck, a player that many consider the best QB prospect since Manning came out in 1998.

2. Miami Dolphins – QB Matt Barkley, USC*
Barkley is not in the same class as Luck, but he’s a pretty good QB prospect that can make up for the Dolphins previous mistake of passing on Matt Ryan.

3. Arizona Cardinals – OT Matt Kalil, USC*
The Cardinals need to solidify their offensive line, starting with their left tackle spot. Kalil is a quality prospect that should allow them to move Levi Brown back to his more natural right tackle spot, killing two birds with one stone.

4. St. Louis Rams – OT Riley Reiff, Iowa*
Jason Smith has struggled at right tackle, and Rodger Saffold has not held up at left tackle. They need to add a blocker that can help out and fix one of those issues.

5. Carolina Panthers – DE Quinton Coples, North Carolina*
Charles Johnson is a solid pass rusher, but they need to find someone to play opposite him. Coples is a premier talent, arguably one of the best since Julius Peppers to come out of Chapel Hill.

6. Jacksonville Jaguars – WR Justin Blackmon, Oklahoma State*
The Jaguars need a No. 1 target for Blaine Gabbert to throw to, and Blackmon has comparable skillset to Terrell Owens.

7. Minnesota Vikings – OT Jonathan Martin, Stanford*
The Vikings need a left tackle to replace Bryant McKinnie since Charlie Johnson was never going to cut it.

8. Seattle Seahawks – QB Ryan Tannehill, Texas A&M
Tannehill is low on experience, but high on potential and is the quality passer that Pete Carroll has been waiting for.

9. Denver Broncos – RB Trent Richardson, Alabama*
Richardson offers Adrian Peterson-like potential to stabilize the Broncos ground game while Tim Tebow is under center.

10. Washington Redskins – QB Landry Jones, Oklahoma*
Jones is not quite Sam Bradford, but a good QB prospect that Mike Shanahan can grow and develop in his version of the West Coast Offense.

Read more…

Here are the Falcons 2011 draft picks:

One of the positives for the draft’s three-day format is that it gives us time to reflect on the moves of the first round. This is the money round, where teams do the most to help, as well as potentially hurt their teams. It’s much too soon to know how this draft will turn out, but that’s not going to stop me.

Most teams think they’ve hit homeruns, but rarely do they really do. Half a dozen or so teams probably landed a guy that will make multiple Pro Bowls. Most teams will land good players that will be solid starters for them that will be productive, but not great. But some teams will be looking back at this draft five years from now and scratching their heads.

Here are the 5 best picks of Round 1:
Read more…

Jay Glazer of FOX Sports tweeted earlier today that the Falcons are looking to move up high in the first round of the draft tonight, if the right player is there. The Falcons are looking to move up into the Top 10 to get one of the explosive receivers: A.J. Green or Julio Jones, or possibly cornerback Patrick Peterson. It has been rumored for some time that the Falcons have been interested in moving up in the draft, but those rumors have picked up considerable steam in the past few days due to reports from SI’s Peter King, Glazer, and others.

Trade rumors have the Falcons talking with Arizona (No. 5) and Cleveland (No. 6) as potential trade partners. It is not known what the Falcons are planning to give up, but it seems likely that they will require dealing next year’s No. 1 pick to move up that high.

It’s the final update for the mocks and we had a bunch of different takes on the Falcons draft.

TE Kyle Rudolph

Just like last year, I’m trying to differentiate the updates by how many appear in total vs. unique mocks. Total mocks will be every mock munched, but unique mocks will only count those that are updated and they don’t pick the same player over and over. It gets annoying when you come across sites that update their mocks frequently but rarely make major changes to them, just picking the same players over and over again.

So far in total, there have been 626 mocks munched. Justin Houston and Kyle Rudolph were tied, but a late afternoon update has Rudolph pushing slightly ahead. Rudolph appeared in 81 total mocks, while Houston is in 79. Rudolph also appeared in 51 unique mocks, while Houston just 37. Adrian Clayborn came in a close third place with 67 total mocks, and matched Rudolph’s 49 unique ones. Torrey Smith (47 total, 33 unique), Cameron Heyward (25 total, 19 unique), Gabe Carimi (22 total, 15 unique), Derek Sherrod (21 total, 13 unique), Aaron Williams (22 total, 11 unique), Jon Baldwin (20 total, 12 unique), and Anthony Castonzo (19 total, 9 unique) round out the Top 10. Interestingly enough, Ryan Kerrigan came in 11th with 17 total, but all were unique.

In total, 47 different players at one point in time since January were predicted as the Falcons selection. In 256 of the total mocks or about 41% of the time, a defensive end was selected as the Falcons choice. Next most were: wide receiver (86), offensive tackle (83), tight end (80), and cornerback (44).

4.28 – Pro Football Weekly: Andy Dalton, QB, TCU
4.28 – NFL.com (Mike Lombardi): Greg Little, WR, North Carolina
4.28 – National Football Post: yle Rudolph, TE, Notre Dame
4.28 – Draft Insiders: Kyle Rudolph, TE, Notre Dame
4.28 – FF Toolbox (Warner): Aaron Williams, CB, Texas
4.28 – Draft Countdown: Adrian Clayborn, DE, Iowa
4.28 – Draft Ace: Kyle Rudolph, TE, Notre Dame
4.28 – Draft Board Insider: Phil Taylor, DT, Baylor
4.28 – Draft Empire: Akeem Ayers, LB, UCLA
4.28 – Draft Season (Outhouse): Adrian Clayborn, DE, Iowa
4.28 – Draft Breakdown (Spencer & Engle): Jabaal Sheard, DE, Pittsburgh
4.28 – Draft Breakdown (Ryan Lownes): Adrian Clayborn, DE, Iowa
4.28 – Draft Breakdown (Aaron Aloysius): Adrian Clayborn, DE, Iowa
4.28 – Draft Tek: Anthony Castonzo, OT, Boston College
4.28 - ESPN Insider (Todd McShay): Da’Quan Bowers, DE, Clemson (subscription required)
4.28 – FF Toolbox (Christiansen): Kyle Rudolph, TE, Notre Dame
4.28 – FF Toolbox (Standig): Akeem Ayers, LB, UCLA
4.28 – Mock Draft Online (Anderson): Akeem Ayers, LB, UCLA
4.28 – Mock Draft Online (Casavetes): Cameron Heyward, DE, Ohio State
4.28 – New NFL Draft: Kyle Rudolph, TE, Notre Dame
4.28 – NFL Draft Day Insider (Alex): Aldon Smith, DE, Missouri
4.28 – OG Draft: Torrey Smith, WR, Maryland
4.28 – Sideline Scouting: Torrey Smith, WR, Maryland
4.28 – The Draft Shack (Tony Bader): Adrian Clayborn, DE, Iowa
4.28 – The Football Expert (Michael Abromowitz): Adrian Clayborn, DE, Iowa
4.28 – The Football Expert (Clearwater): Kyle Rudolph, TE, Notre Dame
4.28 – With the 1st Pick (Larry): Ryan Kerrigan, DE, Purdue
4.28 – Great Blue North Report: Danny Watkins, OG, Baylor
4.28 – CBS Sports (Pete Prisco): Adrian Clayborn, DE, Iowa
4.28 – CBS Sports (Clark Judge): Cameron Heyward, DE, Ohio State
4.28 – Walter Football: Kyle Rudolph, TE, Notre Dame
4.28 – NFL Draft Geek: Corey LIuget, DT, Illinois
4.28 – My NFL Draft: Adrian Clayborn, DE, Iowa
4.28 – Football’s Future: Adrian Clayborn, DE, Iowa
4.28 – FF Toolbox (Long): Adrian Clayborn, DE, Iowa
4.27 – NFL Draft Dog: Kyle Rudolph, TE, Notre Dame
4.27 – Draft Bulletin: Akeem Ayers, LB, UCLA
4.27 – CBS Sports (Chad Reuter): Kyle Rudolph, TE, Notre Dame
4.27 – Consensus Draft Services: Jon Baldwin, WR, Pittsburgh
4.27 – Draft Ace (Mike Band): Ryan Kerrigan, DE, Purdue
4.27 – Draft Season (Onebar): Adrian Clayborn, DE, Iowa
4.27 – ESPN Insider (Mel Kiper): Adrian Clayborn, DE, Iowa (subscription required)
4.27 – FF Toolbox (Weida): Da’Quan Bowers, DE, Clemson
4.27 – National Football Post: Jabaal Sheard, DE, Pittsburgh
4.27 – NFL Draft 101: Adrian Clayborn, DE, Iowa
4.27 – NFL Draft Day Insider (Consensus): Kyle Rudolph, TE, Notre Dame
4.27 – NFL.com (Mike Mayock): Adrian Clayborn, DE, Iowa
4.27 – Rookie Draft: Kyle Rudolph, TE, Notre Dame
4.27 – Scar Draft (Scott Carasik): Gabe Carimi, OT, Wisconsin
4.27 – Scout.com: Adrian Clayborn, DE, Iowa
4.27 – SI.com (Don Banks): Jon Baldwin, WR, Pittsburgh
4.27 – Walter Football (Greg Cox): Kyle Rudolph, TE, Notre Dame
4.27 – Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Akeem Ayers, LB, UCLA
4.26 – Draft Season (Lupagus): Kyle Rudolph, TE, Notre Dame
4.26 – Draft King: Kyle Rudolph, TE, Notre Dame
4.26 – FF Toolbox (Welser): Justin Houston, DE, Georgia
4.26 – FF Toolbox (Dimon): Justin Houston, DE, Georgia
4.26 – FOX Sports (Pete Schrager): Adrian Clayborn, DE, Iowa
4.25 – CBS Sports (Rob Rang): Jabaal Sheard, DE, Pittsburgh
4.25 – Draft Maven (Mike): Justin Houston, DE, Georgia
4.25 – Draft Daddy: Akeem Ayers, LB, UCLA
4.25 – FOX Sports (Adam Caplan): Jabaal Sheard, DE, Pittsburgh
4.25 – FF Toolbox (De Lima): Brooks Reed, DE, Arizona
4.25 – NFL.com (Steve Wyche): Akeem Ayers, LB, UCLA
4.24 – NFL.com (Pat Kirwan): Kyle Rudolph, TE, Notre Dame
4.22 – Draft Ace (Matt Peterson): Da’Quan Bowers, DE, Clemson

Read more…

I have minimal confidence in this mock, mainly because of the lack of free agency due to the lockout. Probably half of these teams, had there been free agent signings the past six weeks, would have addressed these areas of need that they are now being projected to use their top picks on.

And with the lockout “ending” in the past 48 hours, we don’t know if this is going to have any impact on how teams approach the draft. More than likely, not enough time has passed or questions answered to really affect it too much.

I do think trades are going to make this first round, particularly the latter half of it, pretty inaccurate. I think there will probably be at least two teams trading back into the end of the first round to get one of their quarterbacks, as I predicted previously my first round mock with trades. It’s possible that some of the teams in the top half of the draft get trigger happy (e.g. Tennessee, Minnesota, Miami, etc.) and take a quarterback there, but it seems doubtful given all the questions surrounding most of these QB prospects. But here goes…

1. Carolina Panthers – QB Cam Newton, Auburn
2. Denver Broncos – DT Marcell Dareus, Alabama
3. Buffalo Bills – OLB Von Miller, Texas A&M
4. Cincinnati Bengals – WR A.J. Green, Georgia
5. Arizona Cardinals – CB Patrick Peterson, LSU
6. Cleveland Browns – WR Julio Jones, Alabama
7. San Francisco 49ers – QB Blaine Gabbert, Missouri
8. Tennessee Titans – DT Nick Fairley, Auburn
9. Dallas Cowboys – OT Tyron Smith, USC
10. Washington Redskins – OLB Robert Quinn, North Carolina
11. Houston Texans – CB Prince Amukamara, Nebraska
12. Minnesota Vikings – OT Anthony Castonzo, Boston College
13. Detroit Lions – DE Aldon Smith, Missouri
14. St. Louis Rams – DT Corey Liuget, Illinois
15. Miami Dolphins – DE Cameron Jordan, California
16. Jacksonville Jaguars – DE Ryan Kerrigan, Purdue
17. New England Patriots – DE J.J. Watt, Wisconsin
18. San Diego Chargers – OLB Akeem Ayers, UCLA
19. New York Giants – OG Mike Pouncey, Florida
20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – DE Da’Quan Bowers, Clemson
21. Kansas City Chiefs – OLB Brooks Reed, Arizona
22. Indianapolis Colts – OT Nate Solder, Colorado
23. Philadelphia Eagles – CB Jimmy Smith, Colorado
24. New Orleans Saints – RB Mark Ingram, Alabama
25. Seattle Seahawks – OT Gabe Carimi, Wisconsin
26. Baltimore Ravens – DE Muhammad Wilkerson, Temple
27. Atlanta Falcons – DE Adrian Clayborn, Iowa
28. New England Patriots – OG Danny Watkins, Baylor
29. Chicago Bears – OT Derek Sherrod, Mississippi State
30. New York Jets – OLB Justin Houston, Georgia
31. Pittsburgh Steelers – CB Aaron Williams, Texas
32. Green Bay Packers – DE Cameron Heyward, Ohio State