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]

Originally Posted by scott free

I could certainly live with the consensus best safety in this draft at #1, been saying all along that I want a 4-2 ratio defense to offense... this would be a great start towards that.

Between Commings and Dix we're likely to have that base well covered.

Berry/Abdullah, Commings/Dix... yeah, works for me.

I don't have much faith in Commings as a starter. He's never played safety and wasn't a very good CB in the first place.

[OldSchool]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

Can you link me to Wards Pro Day info?

http://blogs.nfl.com/2014/03/08/jimm...inois-pro-day/

PRO DAYS
Jimmie Ward, Jordan Lynch star at Northern Illinois pro day
Gil Brandt
By Gil Brandt |
Published: March 8th, 2014 | Tags: Jimmie Ward, Jordan Lynch, Northern Illinois, pro day

Jimmie Ward was the main attraction of Northern Illinois’ pro day Friday, which drew representatives from 30 NFL teams, including the defensive backs coaches of the Colts, Giants, Lions and Bears.

Ward (5-10 3/4, 197 pounds), who plays safety, was among 11 players who worked out. He didn’t run at the combine, but he posted times of 4.47 and 4.48 in the 40 on Friday. He had a 38-inch vertical jump and a 10-foot, 5-inch broad jump, as well as a 4.24-second short shuttle and 6.89-second 3-cone drill. He’s going in for surgery on his foot this week and will not be able to do anything for about six weeks. Teams will keep a close eye on how he recovers, but I think he’ll be an early second-day pick.

Those times and jumps are all on a busted foot.

[Direckshun]

Damn, that is ****ing impressive.

[OldSchool]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

Damn, that is ****ing impressive.

Yup, here is a little more, haha.

http://www.daily-chronicle.com/2014/...njury/a9dar3p/

DeKALB – Jimmie Ward wanted to show pro scouts he could run with NFL skill position players.

The former Northern Illinois safety didn’t get that chance at the NFL Scouting Combine in February, as a foot fracture sidelined him in Indianapolis.

Ward’s foot still actually isn’t fully healthy – he’ll have surgery on it next week, and said recovery from the injury will be anywhere from four to eight weeks.

He still got his shot to work out at NIU’s pro day Friday in front of a large group of NFL scouts, and the foot didn’t seem to bother Ward, who unofficially ran a 4.45 40-yard dash at the Chessick Center.

Ward’s time would have ranked him second among safeties at the combine. Florida State’s Terrance Brooks had the top mark in Indianapolis, running a 4.42.

“All the teams wanted to see how fast I am,” Ward said. “Some people were saying 4.59 to 4.6. I’m like, ‘Wow, I covered Dri Archer. Dri Archer ran a 4.2.’ Basically, I wanted to show that I can run a 4.4.”

Ward, who led the Huskies with 95 tackles and seven interceptions in 2013 and was named a third-team All-American by The Associated Press, was scheduled to work out with the defensive backs Feb. 25 at Lucas Oil Stadium. He said he didn’t feel the foot injury and noted that it didn’t start aching until after the combine. He wanted to work out and sign a waiver, but wasn’t allowed to.

“It was disappointing, but it’s all a mindset thing,” Ward said. “I had to get back right for pro day.”

Ward interviewed with NFL teams at the combine, and was doing interviews for more than an hour Friday.

ESPN NFL draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. has Ward as the third-best safety in the draft, behind Alabama’s Ha Ha Clinton Dix and Louisville’s Calvin Pryor. NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock said Ward is a second-round pick.

Naturally, Ward was asked about his draft prospects.

“I hear a lot of stuff. I try not to pay attention,” Ward said. “But if you wanted me to give you a guess, I’d say first three rounds.”

Ward was listed at 192 pounds this past year, but said he weighed in at 197 on Friday. He said he’s going to keep working out leading up to the draft.

“I feel like the process just got started,” Ward said. “It’s OK, it’s nothing compared to what rookie year I feel is going to be like.”

[Mugsy]

I am very impressed with this kid. I really didn't know much about him until yesterday.


That said, speed isn't as important as smarts and fundamentals for free safeties imo. Jarius Byrd ran a 4.68 forty at the combine. He is good because he is extremely disciplined and detailed in his assignments. He's always in the right place at the right time.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by scott free

I could certainly live with the consensus best safety in this draft at #1, been saying all along that I want a 4-2 ratio defense to offense... this would be a great start towards that.

Between Commings and Dix we're likely to have that base well covered.

Berry/Abdullah, Commings/Dix... yeah, works for me.

Commings isn't beating out Ha Ha. If we take Ha Ha, he'll end up starting.

[milkman]

Where is Ward projected to be picked now?

[OldSchool]

Originally Posted by milkman

Where is Ward projected to be picked now?

Late 1st to early 2nd. He's one of those 1st round level talents who will probably be picked early 2nd instead due to the depth of this class in other positions.