Still up - pick coming.
Fun fact: Not only are the Cincinnati Bengals the first playoff team with a draft pick, they actually have 2 draft picks before any playoff team gets to pick.
Although the Bengals surprised everyone by making the 2011 playoffs, they still have plenty of gaps to address in the draft. One of the big two priorities is to protect their young QB, Andy Dalton. And it just so happens that the best player available is a step in that direction, so…
17. Cincinnati Bengals -
David DeCastro, G,
Stanford
Damn…was hoping he’d slide to the Bears.
The Chargers are on the clock… Before I make a pick, there’s a trade I want to look in to.
Really surprised he slid that far. Isn’t he thought to be a top-15 pick? I know, I know; it really depends on team need, and how the draft shakes out.
FWIW, our local guy’s latest mock had him at 13 to the Cards, while Walter Football lists him as a top-20 pick. Adam Caplan had him going to the Panthers at 9 (?!)
By the way, does anyone really think that Tannehill won’t have been taken by now? I honestly think he’s going in the Top 10.
DeCastro would be a top-10 pick if not for his position. Pro Football Weekly’s prospect value chart predicts a mid-1st selection. I have him tops on my board, but it’s unlikely the 49ers would get him.
Well it’s been an hour since the last pick, so let’s just assume that my 15 minutes on the clock are up and there will be no trade. With that in mind…
18.San Diego Chargers
Nick Perry
DE/OLB USC
There are any number of directions the Chargers could go right here. They’re almost certain to take defense, but it could be at any level. Everyone says it’s gonna be an OLB, but what they need is a pass rush, which doesn’t necessarily mean a new man on the outside. Could be a 3-4 DE, but there isn’t one here. Barron would’ve been my first pick, actually, cause they certainly need an upgrade at strong safety as well. It could very well even be one of the corner backs - Kirkpatrick and Gilmore are both available, and while neither would step in and start right away, they’d both be valuable additions to a backfield that needs help.
In the end, though, I’m going with the conventional thinking. They really need help in the pass rush, and Perry can do that. He may not be ready to start right away, but they have the pieces in place in Shaun Phillips and the recently acquired Jarret Johnson to let him spend his first season in the league learning the defense and acting as a pass rush specialist only for the time being. And I just happen to like Perry better than Upshaw.
19. Chicago Bears
Stephon Gilmore
CB, South Carolina
This is a player that wasn’t on my draft board and CB wasn’t a position very high on my list of needs. However I believe that he represents the BPA right now and he’s slid to become a real value pick at a premium position. Theoretically the CB in a Tampa 2 scheme isn’t required to be an elite talent, a big reason it’s a popular scheme is because it allows you to avoid having to pay top dollar for secondary help. That said, the Bears aren’t quite a pure Tampa 2 team any more and I suspect Emery is going to bring a less rigid mindset to the draft. Gilmore is simply ideal for what the Bears want to do, he tackles really well which is key for them and he’s got prototypical size and speed for the position. In the Bears system size and durability are crucial and Gilmore fits that to a tee. On top of that, he’s an A+ character and effort guy and could be a heir to Tillman’s role as a captain. If the draft plays out anything like this I’d much rather see Gilmore taken here than a reach for one of the middling pass rushers or OTs left on the board.
Alternative options: Mercilus, Martin, Curry, Fleener, Glenn
Here’s the roundup.
1. Indianapolis Colts - garygnu:
Andrew Luck QB, Stanford
2. Washington Redskins - DCnDC:
Robert Griffin III QB, Baylor
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Oakminster *(from Minnesota)**:
Trent Richardson RB, Alabama
4. Cleveland Browns - SenorBeef:
Morris Claiborne CB, LSU
5. Minnesota Vikings - Hamlet *(from Tampa Bay)**:
Matt Kalil OT, USC
6. St. Louis Rams - RetroVertigo:
Justin Blackmon WR, Oklahoma State
7. Jacksonville Jaguars - furt:
Michael Floyd WR, Notre Dame
8. Miami Dolphins - Omniscient:
Melvin Ingram OLB, South Carolina
9. Carolina Panthers - Jules Andre:
Fletcher Cox DT, Mississippi St.
10. Buffalo Bills - Omniscient
Riley Reiff OT, Iowa
11. Kansas City Chiefs - SenorBeef
Dontari Poe DT, Memphis
12. Seattle Seahawks - Hamlet
Quinton Coples DE, North Carolina
13. Arizona Cardinals - RetroVertigo
Kendall Wright WR, Baylor
14. Dallas Cowboys - kidchameleon
Mark Barron S, Alabama
15. Philadelphia Eagles - Jules Andre
Luke Kuechly LB, Boston College
16. New York Jets - Gray Ghost
Bobby Massie OT, Ole Miss
17. Cincinnati Bengals - It’s Not Rocket Surgery!
David DeCastro, G, Stanford
18. San Diego Chargers - TheBoltEater
Nick Perry DE/OLB, USC
19. Chicago Bears - Omniscient
Stephon Gilmore CB, South Carolina
20. Tennessee Titans - Oakminster
21. Cincinnati Bengals - It’s Not Rocket Surgery!
22. Cleveland Browns - SenorBeef
23. Detroit Lions - Gangster Octopus
24. Pittsburgh Steelers - furt
25. Denver Broncos - TheBoltEater
26. Houston Texans - Gray Ghost
27. New England Patriots - ShadowFacts
28. Green Bay Packers - Gangster Octopus
29. Baltimore Ravens - DCnDC
30. San Francisco 49ers - garygnu
31. New England Patriots - ShadowFacts
32. New York Giants - It’s Not Rocket Surgery!
- Tampa trades their 2012 1st and 2nd round picks to the Vikings, in exchange for the Vikings 2012 1st and 6th.
The Titans trade the 20th overall pick to the Dolphins in exchange for the Dolphins 2nd round pick this year, and 1st round pick next year.
I wanted Gilmore, but the Bears got him. I think I can get at least one of the top three guys on my board with the Dolphins pick in the second round, and might get another with my own 2nd round pick.
Edit to add: It would be fun if we actually applied trades made in this mock draft to next year’s version to the extent possible…but might be a pain to track.
There’s a clump of guys who are, to me, situational pass rushers. Perry. Upshaw. Mercilus. And I don’t see a huge dropoff to the next set of guys (Curry, Branch, Jones, Brown). It seems to me there are a lot of guys who might be fine if you say “go sack the QB”, but are somewhat limited outside that role. And none of them impressed me any more than the others. I think it’s a tough spot to have to decide which one of that group you want, because I don’t see a huge difference between those kind of guys. I just don’t know what to make of it.
He wasn’t on my draft board either. Then the combine happened and teams saw his 40 time, his athleticism, and began to overlook his mistakes in coverage. It seems he’s another one of those guys who makes a big move up after the games are played and they get in shorts.
That said, I think you’re right that he’s a great fit for the Bears. He’s a good and willing tackler who can play zone well. He can be exposed in coverage and sometimes watches the QB too much and gets burned, but he can also blitz well. As longs as you don’t put too much pressure on him, he should do fine. I wouldn’t want him on the Packers, but for what the Bears ask their CB’s to do, he’s fine. I would worry that he may have problems fitting in outside of a defense like the Bears (say if Lovie gets fired). And I can’t wait to see him bite on a pump fake on the slant and give up a 80 yard TD pass Rodgers to Jennings.
Plus any pick not used on that Bears O Line suits me just fine.
I agree 100%, and you didn’t even include McClellin in that list who might very well end up in the first round. History seems to say that half of these guys will be great picks and the other half will be useless busts, but I’m happy to admit that I have no Earthly idea which is which.
There’s an excellent trade opportunity at the 18th pick that I think the Chargers will be pushing hard to make if the board falls the way this one did. The Chargers pick at 18 and 49, and the Browns have 22 and 37 - which work out to exactly 1310 points each on the trade value chart, a rare perfect match. If the Browns saw someone they wanted to move up to get at 18, the Chargers would love to move up to the early second round; and dropping from 18 to 22, they’d either get Perry anyway or someone very much like him.
20. Miami Dolphins
Ryan Tannehill
QB, Texas A&M
After passing on Tannehill at the top of the draft and watching him slide down into the 20s the Miami Dolphins pull the trigger anda Brady Quinn-esque trade to move back into the 1st round to get their QB of the future. The Dolphins are going to be OK with Moore starting this season allowing Tannehill time to learn and season and with his college coach calling the plays his transition should be as smooth as possible. Giving up a lot to get him will be a challenge but with the Browns coming up in a couple of picks they 'Phins brass decided it was worth doing. Tannehill represents the only QB with the potential to be a star, and while a guy like Weeden, Osweiler or Cousins could have been gotten in the 2nd round those guys don’t represent an upgrade over Moore in the long term. Tannehill is high risk high reward and is just what the desperate Dolphins need to put asses in the seats.
It think it’s more than 40 time. When you compare him to Kirkpatrick and Jenkins his work ethic, smarts and leadership makes him seem too good to be true. This is a shabby class of CBs and Gilmore brings a lot to the table while the other guys take stuff off of it. Rumor has it that the Bears are bound and determined to get a pass rusher with this pick but I actually think this option has a chance of happening. Emery seems like a guy who values measurables and won’t be caught reaching for need.
**21. Cincinnati Bengals
Dre Kirkpatrick
CB, Alabama **
It’s Not Rocket Surgery! sent me proxy picks for the Bengals because he was going to be AFK for long stretches of the day today. I PMed him about a half hour ago and haven’t heard anything so I’m going to assume he’s out of pocket for a while and go ahead and make the pick.
The Bengals try and replace the gap left by Jonathan Joseph by adding Alabama CB Kirkpatrick. Personally I think he’s going to be a bust and he lacks instincts and that his collegiate success was almost wholly a by product of being on the backend of a excellent front 7 that forced a lot of mistakes from a group of terrible SEC passers.
I love a proxy pick that proceeds directly to bashing the pick.
- Cleveland Browns
Cordy Glenn
G/T, Georgia
This one is actually a tough one for me. I want to pick Hill here, but the Browns have no right tackle - a UDFA backup is all that’s on the roster. I’m not sure if Glenn is a schematic fit, but this will give the Browns 3 first rounders on their line and will solidify it with young talent for a decade.
Which means we can have a top 5 O-line, and still watch McCoy make his own sacks and have all the fans screaming “you can’t judge McCoy until all 5 starters on the O-line are top 10 picks!”
With Mack and Thomas, and some promising young guards, the Browns have a chance to put in the final piece and potentially create an elite O-line unit. I’ll have to snag WRs later. I can’t believe I’ve spent 2 picks on players who aren’t offensive playmakers though. I guess in part I’ve already written off the year - since we’ll probably be getting the QB of the future next year, might as well write this year off and solidify some units.
I’m heading out the door, so when the Texans come up, just fire away with the next guy on my draft board. I’ll supply the logic behind the choice when I get back.
I’m trusting we won’t make it all the way around to the Jets 2nd rounder before I get back.