Good morning Giants fans. In case you've been living under a rock, the NFL Draft is coming up on Thursday night. Ed and I have been preparing for the draft pretty much from the moment the Giants season ended. Now that it's almost here, we decided to do a little something different, and something that I, for one, have never done before. I have completed my own first round mock draft. Originally this was supposed to run yesterday in lieu of a Mock Draft Monday, but there were some technical difficulties on my part which Ed thankfully helped me out with, so I apologize for the lack of a post yesterday afternoon.
Take a look at my mock after the break, hope that I'm terribly wrong (for the Giants sake), and leave your thoughts, praise, or ridicule in the comments section. Happy Tuesday!
1. St. Louis Rams -- Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma. If I were drafting here, I'd take Suh or even Eric Berry, the two best players on the board in my opinion. If I was forced to take a QB, I'd go with Jimmy Clausen. Clearly, I'm not a fan of this pick.
2. Detroit Lions -- Ndamukong Suh, DT, Nebraska. Last year I criticized the Lions for taking Matthew Stafford instead of building up their lines, but it seems to have worked out for them, as the best defensive line prospect in years falls into their laps.
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- Gerald McCoy, DT, Oklahoma. McCoy inherits the legacy of Warren Sapp. Can he live up to the hype?
4. Washington Redskins -- Russell Okung, OT, Oklahoma. This pick became a no-brainer after the McNabb trade.
5. Kansas City Chiefs -- Bryan Bulaga, OT, Iowa. I would have taken Berry here, but apparently the Chiefs are leaning towards Bulaga.
6. Seattle Seahawks -- Eric Berry, S, Tennessee. Safety has become an increasingly important position in the NFL (look at the Steelers without Polamalu or the Colts when Bob Sanders is healthy, or the Gi…actually, let's not talk about that), and Berry has the potential to be the best player in this draft.
7. Cleveland Browns -- Earl Thomas, S, Texas. The Browns miss out on Berry by one pick, but Earl Thomas is a nice consolation prize.
8. Oakland Raiders -- Trent Williams, OT, Oklahoma. He's not quite the workout warrior Anthony Davis is, but he put up impressive enough combine numbers to impress Crazy Al. The Raiders will give JaMarcus one year behind an improved offensive line to see if he can turn into a passable NFL QB. My bet: nope.
9. Buffalo Bills -- Anthony Davis, OT, Rutgers. Just a hunch - I think the Bills are going to trade for Jason Campbell, and will try to do what the Redskins haven't been able to do: block for him.
10. Jacksonville Jaguars -- C.J. Spiller, RB, Clemson. I expect the Jaguars to trade down, but if not there's been some buzz that they are looking closely at Spiller. A large percentage of BBV rejoices.
11. Denver Broncos -- Rolando McClain, LB, Alabama. And the rejoicing stops. I considered having Dez Bryant here, but realized it was just wishful thinking on my part. McClain makes too much sense for the Broncos to pass up.
12. Miami Dolphins -- Dan Williams, DT, Tennessee. Bill Parcells likes his big nose tackles (remember Jim Burt?), and nobody fits that mold better than Williams in this draft. Starting NT Jason Ferguson is 35 years old and is suspended for 8 games next year, so this pick makes a lot of sense.
13. San Francisco 49ers -- Derrick Morgan, DE, Georgia Tech. Morgan is the best defensive player left in the draft, and I wanted to make sure to get all the really attractive options off the table before the Giants pick. Let's just say I hope my predictions for this draft are as off as when I predicted "Avatar" would be a flop...
14. Seattle Seahawks -- Jimmy Clausen, QB, Notre Dame. The oft-injured Matt Hasselbeck is 35 and his contract expires after the season. I see Pete Carroll (who heavily recruited Clausen once upon a time) taking his QB of the future here.
15. New York Giants -- Mike Iupati, OL, Idaho. Ugh. Pretty much the nightmare scenario for the Giants. They can either reach for someone like Sean Weatherspoon or Brian Price, or they can go offensive line. With the recent rumors that they like Iupati, I wouldn't be shocked if this was the pick.
16. Tennessee Titans -- Jason Pierre-Paul, DE, South Florida. An athletic freak that I desperately hope the Giants stay away from.
17. San Francisco 49ers -- Sergio Kindle, LB, Texas. The 49ers would have liked an offensive lineman here, but Kindle is a better value than any of the remaining OL.
18. Pittsburgh Steelers -- Maurkice Pouncey, OL, Florida. The Steelers need some inside protection for Big Ben (too. many. jokes.), and Pouncey gives them some flexibility on the line.
19. Atlanta Falcons -- Brandon Graham, DE, Michigan. Atlanta needs a pass rusher, and Graham is the best one left.
20. Houston Texans -- Joe Haden, CB, Florida. The Texans need a CB to replace Dunta Robinson, and would be ecstatic if Haden falls to them here.
21. Cincinnati Bengals -- Dez Bryant, WR, Oklahoma St. With the tragic death of Chris Henry, the Bengals need some more weapons for Carson Palmer. Dez Bryant fits the bill.
22. New England Patriots-- Jared Odrick, DL, Penn State. Odrick's been linked to the Pats lately, and makes sense here.
23. Green Bay Packers -- Charles Brown, OT, USC. How the Packers got as far as they did with that OL is a mystery to me. I'm almost afraid to see how good Aaron Rodgers can be with some protection.
24. Philadelphia Eagles -- Kyle Wilson, CB, Boise State. The Eagles need help in their secondary.
25. Baltimore Ravens -- Jermaine Gresham, TE, Oklahoma. The Ravens went out and got Anquan Boldin, and the addition of Jermaine Gresham would give Joe Flacco a really nice arsenal of receiving threats.
26. Arizona Cardinals -- Sean Weatherspoon, LB, Missouri. The Cardinals have lots of holes as their roster has seemingly been gutted this offseason, and their biggest need might be replacing Karlos Dansby.
27. Dallas Cowboys -- Devin McCourty, CB, Rutgers. I really, really want the Cowboys to take Taylor Mays (aka Roy Williams 2.0) here, but it doesn't look likely. I've seen them linked to McCourty, so that's the pick.
28. San Diego Chargers -- Terrence Cody, DT, Alabama. The Chargers two biggest needs are NT and RB. This draft is really deep at running back, but without a whole lot of high-end prospects. I think the Chargers are better off taking Cody here and grabbing an RB later on.
29. New York Jets -- Jerry Hughes, LB, TCU. The Jets want someone who can rush the passer, and Hughes gives them that.
30. Minnesota Vikings -- Kareem Jackson, CB, Alabama. Honestly, I really haven't paid enough attention to the guys projected to go in the second half of the first round to tell the difference between Wilson, McCourty, and Jackson, but I've seen Jackson linked to the Vikings in a few mocks, so that's good enough for me.
31. Indianapolis Colts -- Brian Price, DT, UCLA. I kinda screwed the Colts over: in the mock drafts I was looking at while putting this together, every single player that was connected to them I have already drafted. DT and OL are the Colts biggest needs, and Price is a better prospect than any of the remaining OL's, so that's the pick.
32. New Orleans Saints -- Everson Griffen, DE, USC. The Saints could use another pass rusher, and Griffen looks like a good fit.