Sac's 2014 NFL Mock

[Saccopoo]

First Round:

1. Houston Texans: Jadeveon Clowney, DE; South Carolina
- You want them to draft a QB because of 2013, but remember that they were the best team in the AFC in 2012 with the same QB. And you don't pass on a guy with Clowney's size/speed/production ratios, especially for a guy like Blake Bortles. That's how GM's get fired.

2. St. Louis Rams: Sammy Watkins, WR; Clemson
- The Rams seem like they are on the verge. In 2012, they had the best record in their division, have a great defense and spent a first rounder on dynamic Tavon Austin last draft. However, he's not a true #1 WR, but Watkins is and has the potential to be a transcendent player at that position.

3. Jacksonville Jaguars: Blake Bortles, QB; UCF
- Prototype QB for a QBless team. Not much else to say.

4. Cleveland Browns: Johnny Football, QB; Texas A&M
- The Browns need an infusion of "Boom!," of "Wow!," a certain je ne sais quoi that only comes with the QB position, and nobody fits that bill better than Johnny Football. Dynamic, electric and mercurial, Manziel will immediately give relevance to the Browns.

5. Oakland Raiders: Teddy Bridgewater, QB; Louisville
- The Raiders QB situation is a mess. Pryor looks really good one week and then horrible the next forcing a benching. Bridgewater is the most consistent and productive QB in this draft. I'm not completely sold on him as a pro, but the Raiders don't have many other options at this point.

6. Atlanta Falcons: Greg Robinson, OT; Auburn
- The Falcons couldn't have had this turn out any better. Matt Ryan does a jig as Robinson is an absolute force at the tackle position.

7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Jake Matthews, OT; Texas A&M
- Possibly the most sound football player in this draft with a lot of upside and a very high floor. The Bucs need an anchor on the offensive line and Matthews has the potential to be a high level player at all five positions.

8. Minnesota Vikings: Aaron Donald, DT; Pittsburgh
- The Vikings could go in any direction and improve their team, but their defensive line is in desperate need of a reconstruction. Kevin Williams is on his last NFL legs and there isn't anybody else who scares you. Donald has had one of the best off-season's of any prospect, destroying everyone at the Senior Bowl and then having a freakishly great Combine.

9. Buffalo Bills: Mike Evans, WR; Texas A&M
- The Bills need to get 2012 first round pick Manuel some help beyond Stevie "Cheap Shot" Johnson. Evans has the chance to be a Marques Colston type of player.

10. Detroit Lions: Darqueze Dennard, CB; Michigan State
- As in every year, the Lions secondary is a mess. They are most likely going to lose Louis Delmas to free agency and the rest are just guys. Dennard is the best secondary player in this draft and will be an immediate and better upgrade than the linebackers available.

11. Tennessee Titans: CJ Mosley, LB; Alabama
- The Titans will most likely be switching to a 34 under new DC Wisenhunt and they'll need an immediate upgrade at a number of defensive positions. Mosley is already versed in the alignment as the Tide's Dick Butkus Award Winner.

12. New York Giants: Khalil Mack, LB; Buffalo
- An easy pick if Mack makes it this far.

13. St. Louis Rams: Taylor Lewan, OT; Michigan
- The Rams secure the right side of their line and hopefully the rest of Bradford's time in the league with the selection of the talented and very nasty Lewan.

14. Chicago Bears: Timmy Jernigan, DT; Florida State
- The best three tech DT available, which the Bears desperately need.

15. Pittsburgh Steelers: Louis Nix, DT; Notre Dame
- The Steelers weren't very good against the run in 2013. Nix was the lynch pin for the Domers defense and anchors well.

16. Dallas Cowboys: Calvin Pryor, S; Louisville
- With the top DT's off the board, Dallas addresses it's second biggest position of need with the selection of Pryor.

17. Baltimore Ravens: Marquis Lee, WR; USC
- I think it's a photo finish type of selection between Lee, Beckham and Cooks for the next WR selected after Mike Evans. Lee gets the nod here for his glorious 2012 season and the difficulties he faced in 2013 while still putting up very respectable numbers.

18. New York Jets: Odell Beckham, WR; LSU
- The Jets are 98% likely to pick the best receiver on their board with this selection and it's nearly sixes between Beckham and Cooks. Beckham gets the nod here.

19. Miami Dolphins: Zach Martin, OL; Notre Dame
- Martin can play either tackle or guard spot and, like anyone didn't notice, the Dolphins might need a tackle or guard spot filled.

20. Arizona Cardinals: Anthony Barr, LB; UCLA
- Last year I would have said that the Cardinals needed to draft someone to rush the passer because free agent acquisition John Abraham was 34 years old...yeah, so the guy goes out and does what he always does and gets double digit sacks. But this year, he's 35 and the Cardinals need someone to rush the passer.

21. Green Bay Packers: Eric Ebron, TE; North Carolina
- Rogers will be discount doubling checking people in the balls if this isn't the pick. A better fit you could not find at this point for the Packers.

22. Philadelphia Eagles: Justin Gilbert, CB; Oklahoma State
- That Gilbert is still on the board shows you how insanely deep this draft is.

23. Kansas City Chiefs: Ha-Ha Clinton Dix, S; Alabama
- It's tempting to take Brandin Cooks here, but every Chiefs fan who watched even partial games in 2013 realizes that there was a really, really big hole on the defensive side of the ball that ended up costing the Chiefs a number of games. Dix is what you could consider a shut down back half safety. He plays the deep ball as well as anyone and has ridiculous range. The Chiefs can still get a top flight receiver in Round 3.

24. Cincinnati Bengals: David Yankey, OL; Stanford
- Bengals have a serious need at offensive guard and Yankey is coming off a First Team All-American season.

25. San Diego Chargers: Kyle Fuller, CB; Virginia Tech
- I think he's better than Roby and bigger than Verrett the Chargers need to upgrade their outside pass defense.

26. Cleveland Browns: Brandin Cooks, WR; Oregon State
- While Gordon is one of the best young WR's in the league, he's one stupid act away from getting a massive hit from the Banhammer. Cooks gives new QB Johnny Football another option and his pogo stick like legs will work well with the free lance stylings of Mr. Manziel.

27. New Orleans Saints: Jason Verrett, CB; TCU
- Saints are happy that a player the talent of Verrett is still on the board as CB is a big need in the Big Easy.

28. Carolina Panthers: Dee Ford, DE; Auburn
- Yeah, the Panthers are in a bad way for an offensive tackle after Jordan Gross surprised them with his retirement a couple of weeks ago, but you don't ever reach for need lest you end up in a Jon Baldwin situation. They do have an almost as big need at DE and Ford is a major talent that should have been long gone at this point in the draft.

29. New England Patriots: Ra'Shede Hageman, DT; Minnesota
- The Pats have a need at both DT and DE and the athletic but enormous Hageman has the potential to play both spots.

30. San Francisco 49ers: Kelvin Benjamin, WR; Florida State
- The Niners had one of the worst passing offenses in the league in 2013. Yet they still came a tipped ball from their second Super Bowl in as many years. However, that fact is not to be ignored and they'll try to get Kaepernick more weapons in an effort to bolster those anemic passing numbers.

31. Denver Broncos: Kony Ealy, DE; Missouri
- The Doncs are probably still having nightmares of pass rushers in blue and green and as it's a copy cat league, they go after one of the top rush ends in this draft in Ealy, who will bookend nicely with Wolfe.

32. Seattle Seahawks: Stephen Tuitt, DT; Notre Dame
- What do you do when you are the Super Bowl champs and you've just jettisoned your starting DE because of a bloated salary? Well, you go out and get a guy who's got even more potential, that's what.

[Mugsy]

Not a Dix fan. He is a very suspect tackler and is questionable in run support - an "ankle biter" if you will. He's a ball hawk for sure but, Kendrick Lewis might literally tackle better imo and that is not good.

[Saccopoo]

Originally Posted by Pestilence

Dee Ford is not a 4-3 DE. And whomever said that Barron is a failure....is a monumental reerun.

Remember way back when, before 2012, when the Colts were running a 43 defensive front and had this guy playing defensive end?:



I think Ford's hope/upside is Mathis and his best position would be a 43 DE, at least initially, at the next level.

[Saccopoo]

Originally Posted by Mugsy

Not a Dix fan. He is a very suspect tackler and is questionable in run support - an "ankle biter" if you will. He's a ball hawk for sure but, Kendrick Lewis might literally tackle better imo and that is not good.

No freaking way. I had hopes for Lewis, but after the 2013 season, I'm positive that, at least after that season, there wasn't a worse tackler in the league.

And Dix does one thing exceptionally well - defends the deep ball. Sideline to sideline. He's got great range, and if you watched the Chiefs in 2013, it's the one thing that absolutely destroyed them nearly every week.

Dix has uncanny pass defense skills. He takes good angles, has very smooth feet and hips, and has the length to disrupt on deep throws.

There isn't a safety in this draft that offers you the complete package that Dix does, especially when you consider the defense that Sutton runs. The Chiefs have their front box guy in Berry. The missing piece is a guy just like Dix.

The 2014 NFL Draft won't provide another Thomas, but Alabama safety Ha'Sean Clinton-Dix is the closest thing available in this class. Many of the single high concepts used in the NFL were used at Alabama. Clinton-Dix was responsible for processing a lot of information and covering a lot of ground in Alabama's secondary.

As a result, he comes to the NFL prepared to take on an NFL playbook and also has the athletic upside to grow into a dominant playmaker in the secondary. He's not without his flaws, but Clinton-Dix has a ton of tools that will keep NFL teams interested.

Ball skills

Clinton-Dix flashes excellent ball skills at times. He's able to leap and high-point the football with ease. The only issue Clinton-Dix has at times is being too aggressive. If he anticipated a bit better, his ball skills would come in handy more often. As it is, he's built to play the safety position and looks natural when attacking the football in the air. Clinton-Dix is physical at the catch point, using his long arms to get a hand in to break up passes.

Coverage ability

Nick Saban trusted Clinton-Dix with a lot responsibility in coverage during his career at Alabama, and for the most part, the long, athletic safety rewarded his faith. Clinton-Dix has the change-of-direction skills and fluid hips to cover a ton of ground in the secondary. He's also fast enough to play deep middle and get to passes on the sideline. Clinton-Dix wasn't often asked to play man-to-man coverage and didn't appear to be too comfortable in those situations. Still, his length and hip quickness make him a capable cover man over the middle of the field. He also has the size to hang with tight ends at the next level.

[BigMeatballDave]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

Thoughts:

1. Clowney 1st overall? el oh el.

2. I always want to mock Watkins to the Rams, too, but they gotta keep Bradford upright, and Jake Long won't be ready for the start of the 2014 season.

3. I flipflop between Manziel and Bridgewater as the best QBs in this draft. Bortles looks great, and throws great. But he's going to require far more work than either of those guys.

4. Mack falls waaaaaaaaaay too far. He doesn't get past Atlanta.

5. If the Titans are in fact changing defensive schemes, they should get an edge rusher (Barr) or a nose tackle (Nix).

6. As you alluded in the post, it's just not possible that Gilbert falls that far.

7. I like Clinton-Dix a lot as a FS in our scheme. I think he makes a ton of sense and I'd be happy with us taking him over Brandin Cooks or Dee Ford. However, if we do not sign a quality DE this offseason, I would be really upset if we pass on Hageman. Geez.

8. Really? The 49ers are going to take a big, physical WR, after already having Boldin and Baldwin on the roster?

Good first round mock. I don't mind disagreeing with a few of its moves since really weird

things happen on draft day. But yeah, no way in hell does Mack fall that far.

Why is Clowney at 1.1 funny?

[milkman]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

So I take it you'd take Clinton-Dix as well.

Not necessarily, though I would be more torn about it than you, in that poisition I would take Hegeman.

I just don't agree with the post I responded to.

[Bowser]

Man, the Texans just HAVE to take a QB, don't they? New coaches, new system, new era - all that stuff, right? That said, I get how they would be tempted by Clowney, especially going against Luck twice a season. Clowney + Watt = pure destruction.

[Direckshun]

Originally Posted by BCD

Why is Clowney at 1.1 funny?

New coaches mean new QBs. There are two elite QB prospects in this draft, and another very good one in Bortles. All three are different kinds of guys.

Whatever the new regime likes in QBs, they have their choice of it. Clowney is not going first overall.

[Mugsy]

Originally Posted by Saccopoo

No freaking way. I had hopes for Lewis, but after the 2013 season, I'm positive that, at least after that season, there wasn't a worse tackler in the league.

And Dix does one thing exceptionally well - defends the deep ball. Sideline to sideline. He's got great range, and if you watched the Chiefs in 2013, it's the one thing that absolutely destroyed them nearly every week.

Dix has uncanny pass defense skills. He takes good angles, has very smooth feet and hips, and has the length to disrupt on deep throws.

There isn't a safety in this draft that offers you the complete package that Dix does, especially when you consider the defense that Sutton runs. The Chiefs have their front box guy in Berry. The missing piece is a guy just like Dix.

He is a great ball hawk but he is not the complete package. Pryor is the complete package. Pryor is the most well rounded safety in this class and it's not even close imo. Fans complained more about Lewis missing tackles than they did blown coverage's. Ha Ha is not going to be much of an improvement in this area. With the way they use Berry in the box so much, that other safety damn sure better be able to tackle because he is going to be the last line of defense on almost every play. Lewis killed us last year. I don't want an ankle biter back there. I want a solid tackler at FS who can also play the pass.

[milkman]

Originally Posted by Mugsy

He is a great ball hawk but he is not the complete package. Pryor is the complete package. Pryor is the most well rounded safety in this class and it's not even close imo. Fans complained more about Lewis missing tackles than they did blown coverage's. Ha Ha is not going to be much of an improvement in this area. With the way they use Berry in the box so much, that other safety damn sure better be able to tackle because he is going to be the last line of defense on almost every play. Lewis killed us last year. I don't want an ankle biter back there. I want a solid tackler at FS who can also play the pass.

Missed tackles are more obvious to fans, in general, so it is not surprising that most fans complain more about those.

Failing to provide help over the top is not as easily recognized, and fans, in general, are more inclined to blame corners who were expecting (or hoping might be a better descriptor, in Lewis' case) for help over the top that never showed.

[kccrow]

Dix is an epic failure when it comes to tackling. I wouldn't draft him if you paid me to.

[Saccopoo]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

New coaches mean new QBs. There are two elite QB prospects in this draft, and another very good one in Bortles. All three are different kinds of guys.

Whatever the new regime likes in QBs, they have their choice of it. Clowney is not going first overall.

I'd argue that there are no elite QB's in this draft, but there is definitely an elite, generational talent at DE.

Like I said, you want to be the guy who takes Blake Bortles over Jadeveon Clowney?

That's the kind of shit that will haunt you for the rest of your life.

You'll be demonized for eternity.

[kccrow]

Originally Posted by Saccopoo

I'd argue that there are no elite QB's in this draft, but there is definitely an elite, generational talent at DE.

Like I said, you want to be the guy who takes Blake Bortles over Jadeveon Clowney?

That's the kind of shit that will haunt you for the rest of your life.

You'll be demonized for eternity.

Sac, this is something I agree with you on. I disagree with many that the QBs in this draft are can't miss, franchise-type, QBs. Clowney, on the other hand, is an absolute freak coming off the edge. There is Clowney in this draft, and then there is everyone else. There is absolutely no comparison. If I were Houston, I'd take Clowney without thinking about it and try to trade up from my 2nd rounder to get Derek Carr or Jimmy Garappolo. If I was going to take a QB at #1, I'd lean heavy towards Manziel, I think he's that Brett Favre type of talent.

[RunKC]

I would rather get a veteran safety. I do t trust any rookie vs manning next year

[Saccopoo]

If I'm the Chiefs, I know which one I'm favoring:

Clinton-Dix is regarded as the better prospect in coverage, while Pryor, according to NFL Media analyst Mike Mayock is more of an "inside the box" safety. Speed might, thus, figure to be a slightly more important attribute for Clinton-Dix, and he noted at the combine that his ability to handle slot receivers in man coverage and play a variety of roles in the secondary should propel him on draft boards.

What may matter more, however, is whether the first team prepared to draft a safety in the first round prefers a strong safety type (Pryor) or a free safety type (Clinton-Dix).

"They're different flavors," Mayock said. "For me, Calvin Pryor is like a bigger, stronger Bob Sanders. He flies around, he hits people, he explodes everywhere. I think he's a little better in the box than he is on the back end. It might be just because of the way Louisville used him.

"Clinton-Dix, on the other hand, has better range. I think he's more of a deep-third, deep pass guy. He tackles well, he can invert up into the box. I think he's a complete player. Both of those guys I wouldn't even blink if they went at No. 10."

Which player goes first in the draft this May could come down to whether teams want a strong safety-type of player (such as the hard-hitting Pryor) or a free safety (like the swift Clinton-Dix).

“Separating the two hasn't been easy for scouts entering the combine, and the same official 40 times won't make it any easier coming out of it, either,” wrote NFL.com’s Chase Goodbread. “The smallest of margins could manifest into the biggest of differences where the rookie contracts of the two prospects are concerned.”

Pryor, who numbered three interceptions last season and forced a pair of fumbles, will certainly play on Sundays this fall. NFL.com’s evaluators rate him at 6.15, in the range of players who “should become an instant starter.”

The Port St. Joe, Fla., product said he’d like to shape his game around the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Troy Polamalu and the Seattle Seahawks’ Kam Chancellor — players who he said “get into position to move around. They make plays.”

One thing working against Pryor? While U of L’s roster listed him at 6-foot-2, he measured at 5-11 when measured at the combine.

As much as the versatility matters, it's Clinton-Dix's range that can separate him. Similar to Earl Thomas in Seattle, Clinton-Dix can play in the deep half of the field and chase down receivers, and also play man coverage in the slot. He had a two-game suspension and a knee injury during his senior season, yet still finished first-team all-Southeastern Conference and does not turn 22 until December.

Nice size and body length. Quick to read and react. Has speed and flexibility to match up with slot receivers or tight ends. Ranges off the hash. Good hands to intercept. Effective run supporter -- drops downhill with conviction and does not shy from contact. Takes direct angles to the ball. Runs the alley and wipes out ball carriers. Secure tackler. Can break down and tackle in space. Has special-teams experience. Well-coached in a pro-style defense. - NFL.com

[Saccopoo]

Originally Posted by kccrow

Dix is an epic failure when it comes to tackling. I wouldn't draft him if you paid me to.

I don't know what you've been watching, but when I watched this game this past season, I thought he was really fundamentally solid, even commenting during the game that "that's the type of tackling that I wish Kendrick Lewis could do."



I think Dix is pretty freaking sound all the way around.

It's not that I don't like Pryor. I think he's a good safety prospect, but he's short, isn't very long, and we've already got a much more athletic and bigger and better guy manning the strong safety/front box in Berry.

Dix is two inches taller, has longer arms and better hips and feet than Pryor while being just as fast.