4 Round NFL Mock Draft

I never mock trades but in this scenario I am going to mock one. The Redskins are going to give up their 1^st, 2^nd, and 4^th round picks to move up from #6 to #2. Also note that this was written on 1/21, before the Championship games were played so the order of the draft reflects that. The final four picks were determined by Regular season record.  Note – because the order is wrong at the end I decided to forgo explanations for the final three rounds and just get this published.

Round 1

1.    Indianapolis (2-14) – Team Needs: QB, OG, OC, 2CB, WR, SS, TE, DE, LB, RB – Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford – Is an explanation really needed here?

2.    TRADE – Washington (5-11) – QB, WR, LG, ILB, RT, CB, NT, TE, OC, SS, K, Rush LB – Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor – I really think the Redskins are going to move up to #2 and get their franchise QB. Griffin is an extraordinary talent and will instantly revitalize the Redskins offense.

3.    Minnesota (3-13) – LT, CB, WR, S, OG, 2LB, DT, FB, RB3 – Matt Kalil, OT, USC – The Vikings are praying that someone trades up to the No. 2 spot to take Griffin because that will cause Kalil to slide to them. The Vikings are in desperate need of a LT and Kalil is the best LT prospect to come around in years.

4.    Cleveland (4-12) – QB, WR, RT, DE, CB, OLB, RB, OG, FS, DT, K – Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma State – The Browns get screwed in a trade up for Griffin because then they are stuck with Colt McCoy. However, giving McCoy a weapon like Blackmon will allow the Browns to truly judge McCoy’s skills.

5.    Tampa Bay (4-12) – 2CB, 2LB, RT, WR, OC, RB, LG, FB, DT, QB, K – Morris Claiborne, CB, LSU – This pick is a no brainer. The Bucs have a massive need at CB and Claiborne is the BPA.

6.    St. Louis (2-14) – 2OT, 2WR, 2OLB, FS, CB, DT, OC, RB, FB – Jonathan Martin, OT, Stanford – The Rams need to give Bradford more weapons but also better protection. Due to the depth and talent of the WR class, I think the Rams elect to take a franchise LT in Martin.

7.    Jacksonville (5-11) – QB, WR, 2CB, DE, FS, RT, P, OC, LB – Alshon Jeffery, WR, South Carolina – The Jags will only take a QB if Griffin falls to them. If not, they will look to give Gabbert a true #1 WR like Alshon Jeffery.

8.    Miami (6-10) – QB, RT, Rush LB, NT, FS, RG, CB, TE, DE, ILB – Courtney Upshaw, OLB, Alabama – The Dolphins would love to land Griffin or Martin but since both are off the board, they will elect to add a pass rusher to their front 7. Outside of Cameron Wake, they have nobody who can rush the passer and Upshaw happens to be the best Rush LB in the draft. 

9.    Carolina (6-10) – DT, CB, LB, RT, 2S, RG, WR, K – Dre Kirkpatrick, CB, Alabama – The Panthers would love to land Kirkpatrick here and it looks like they should be able to. Kirkpatrick is a great talent and has the size/speed to become an elite corner. Getting busted for weed should not hurt his draft stock too much.

10. Buffalo (6-10) – 2 Rush LB, WR, LT, CB, QB, DE, TE – Whitney Mercilus, OLB, Illinois – The Bills must add a few pass rushers to their defense and Mercilus is the best pure pass rusher in this class. He will have to transition from DE to OLB but I believe the Bills run some 4 DL sets so he could also play DE in those sets.

11. Kansas City (7-9) – QB, RT, NT, CB, OG/OC, TE, RB, Rush LB, ILB – Riley Reiff, OT, Iowa – Reiff is a very good tackle prospect and with no good QBs here, the Chiefs will look to upgrade the RT spot.

12. Seattle (7-9) – QB, RDE, OG, DT, LDE, CB, RB – Quinton Coples, DE, North Carolina – I would imagine the Seahawks try to trade down here since Coples does not fit in their scheme well. However, Coples is a versatile prospect that can likely adjust and become a dominant force for the Seahawks.

13. Arizona (8-8) – RT, WR, ILB, DE, Rush LB, RG, CB, QB, NT, K, P – Mohammed Sanu, WR, Rutgers – The Cardinals need to add a playmaker across from Larry Fitzgerald and Sanu is an elite WR prospect. With his route running, size, hands, and speed he can become a great compliment to Fitzgerald.

14. Dallas (8-8) – CB, OC, OG, S, DE, OLB, ILB, Backup QB, P (if McBriar not resigned) – David DeCastro, OG, Stanford – The Cowboys would love to get Kirkpatrick here but if he is gone, DeCastro should be the pick. DeCastro is the best guard prospect to come around in a long time and will be a huge upgrade for the Cowboys.

15. Philadelphia (8-8) – LB, DT, CB, S, WR, TE – Luke Kuechly, ILB, Boston College – The Eagles have a massive need at LB and Kuechly is the best LB in the class. He is a tackling machine with great knowledge of the game.

16. New York Jets (8-8) – OLB, RT, FS, SS, RG, LG, WR, DE – Nick Perry, DE/OLB, USC – The Jets need to add a pass rusher to their defense and Perry is a fantastic prospect. His value is all over the place but I think he ends up being drafted in the top 20 so this is not really a reach.

17. Cincinnati – from Oakland (8-8) – CB, RB, S, OG, WR, DE, DT, Strong LB – Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama – The Bengals are one elite RB away from being a dominant offense. Landing the best RB in the class at 17 will give them the stud RB they lacked all season. With 2 first round picks, they can elect to get a CB with their second 1^st round pick.

18. San Diego (8-8) – OLB, SS, OT, OG, TE, CB, NT, ILB, RB, WR, QB – Cordy Glenn, OG, Georgia – Glenn might be a slight reach here but no other position of need has any value here. The Chargers would likely try hard to trade down.

19. Chicago (8-8) – WR1, OT, CB, DE, LB, OC, S, DT, QB – Michael Floyd, WR, Notre Dame – The Bears have to get Cutler a true #1 WR and luckily for them, they should have a god shot at landing one of the big 4 WRs in this class. Floyd has great size and speed and character concerns drop him here. However, with a good combine, he could become the 2^nd WR off the board.

20. Tennessee (9-7) – OC, 2OG, DE, 2S, Weak LB, CB, WR – Peter Konz, OC/OG, Wisconsin – The Titans have a huge need on the interior OL and Konz is the 2^nd best interior OL prospect in this year’s draft. He is a versatile prospect and would likely start immediately.

21. Cincinnati* (9-7) – CB, S, OG, WR, DE, DT, Strong LB – Alfonzo Dennard, CB, Nebraska  - Dennard is a very good corner prospect that would fill the Bengals biggest need. Dennard, like Prince Amukamara, excels in man coverage and is a very good tackler.

22. Cleveland – from Atlanta* (10-6) – QB, RT, DE, CB, OLB, RB, OG, FS, DT, K – Chase Minnifield, CB, Virginia – The Browns would love to fill a bigger need here but nobody at their top 3 needs is good value. Instead they take a very good zone corner (the best in the draft) and toss him across from Joe Haden.

23. Detroit* (10-6) – CB, OLB, OC, OG, LT – Janoris Jenkins, CB, North Alabama – The Lions would love to land Peter Konz but with him off the board they take a chance on Janoris Jenkins. Jenkins is incredibly talented but will need to keep focused and stay out of trouble.

24. Pittsburgh* (12-4) – OG, ILB, NT, S, K, CB, OT, QB, RB – Donta Hightower, ILB, Alabama – The Steelers have 3 major needs and will probably look to fill them all in this draft since they have no cap room. The ILB class is weak outside the top 3 so they will probably take an ILB in round one and hope that a guard and a NT fall to them in rounds 2 and 3.

25. Denver* (8-8) – CB, RB, LG/RT, DT, WR – Devon Still, DT/DE, Penn State – The Broncos have said they will take BPA and Still is by far the BPA. He had a great season and might end up being a top 15 pick but I could not find a spot to put him.

26. Houston* (10-6) – CB, WR, NT, S, OG, LB – Kendall Wright, WR, Baylor – Houston must find a WR to put across from Andre Johnson and Wright is the perfect type of WR. He is blazing fast, very shifty and reminds me of Antonio Brown.

27. New England – from New Orleans* (13-3) – WR, CB, DT, OLB, S, RG, DE – Michael Brockers, DT/DE, LSU  - The Patriots will look to address the defensive side of the ball early and often this year. Brockers is the BPA and fills a need. He can play 4-3 DT or 3-4 DE which makes him a good fit for New England, since they play both a 3 man and a 4 man front.

28. Green Bay* (15-1) – OLB, RB, CB, DE, S, LT, OC – Vinny Curry, DE/OLB, Marshall – Curry is a slight reach here but he fills the Packers biggest need. He is one of the top pass rushers in the class and will be a good pairing with Clay Matthews.

29. New York Giants* (9-7) – ILB, OG, OT, CB, TE, OC, RB – Vontaze Burfict, ILB, Arizona State – Obviously the Giants won’t be picking in this spot anymore and thus Burfict will likely be off the board because the Ravens will likely nab him. However, Jerry Reese would love to land an athletic ILB like Burfict and hope that the strong locker room can get him in place.

30. Baltimore* (12-4) – ILB, OC, LT, FS, OG, WR (big), CB – Mark Barron, S, Alabama – The Ravens likely need to replace Ed Reed and the only instant starter quality safety in the draft is Mark Barron. Barron is a great prospect and does everything well.

31. San Francisco* (13-3) – WR, CB, OC, RG, RT – Dwight Jones, WR, North Carolina  - In their loss to the Giants, the 49ers showed how futile their WR position is. They need a big target that can help out Vernon Davis and Jones is just the guy. He has the potential to be a #1 WR.

32. New England* (13-3) – WR, CB, DT, OLB, S, RG– Stephon Gilmore, CB, South Carolina – The Patriots can’t have WR’s on the field playing corner anymore and adding a talent like Gilmore will help their defense a lot.

  Atlanta -> Cleveland: Julio Jones

  New Orleans -> New England: Mark Ingram

  Oakland -> Cincinnati: Carson Palmer
Round 2

1.    St. Louis (2-14) – OT, 2WR, 2OLB, FS, CB, DT, OC, RB, FB – Nick Toon, WR, Wisconsin

2.    Indianapolis (2-14) – OG, OC, 2CB, WR, SS, TE, DE, LB, RB – Josh Robinson, CB, Central Florida

3.    Minnesota (3-13) – CB, WR, S, OG, 2LB, DT, FB, RB3 – Marvin McNutt, WR, Iowa

4.    Tampa Bay (4-12) – CB, 2LB, RT, WR, OC, RB, LG, FB, DT, QB, K – Zach Brown, LB, North Carolina

5.    Cleveland (4-12) – QB, RT, DE, OLB, RB, OG, FS, DT, K – Ryan Tannehill, QB, Texas A&M

6.    Jacksonville (5-11) – QB, 2CB, DE, FS, RT, P, OC, LB – Jayron Hosley, CB, Virginia Tech

7.    TRADE – St. Louis – from Washington (5-11) – OT, WR, 2OLB, FS, CB, DT, OC, RB, FB – Ronnell Lewis, OLB, Oklahoma

8.    Carolina (6-10) – DT, LB, RT, 2S, RG, WR, K – Brandon Thompson, DT, Clemson

9.    Buffalo (6-10) – Rush LB, WR, LT, CB, QB, DE, TE – Tommy Streeter, WR, Miami

10. Miami (6-10) – QB, RT, NT, FS, RG, CB, TE, DE, ILB – Nick Foles, QB, Arizona

11. Seattle (7-9) – QB, OG, DT, LDE, CB, RB – Jerel Worthy, DT, Michigan State

12. Kansas City (7-9) – QB, NT, CB, OG/OC, TE, RB, Rush LB, ILB – Josh Norman, CB, Coastal Carolina

13. Dallas (8-8) – CB, OC, S, DE, OLB, ILB, Backup QB, P – Markelle Martin, S, Oklahoma State

14. Philadelphia (8-8) – DT, CB, S, WR, TE – Fletcher Cox, DT, Mississippi State

15. New York Jets (8-8) – RT, FS, SS, RG, LG, WR, DE – Mike Adams, OT, Ohio State

16. New England – from Oakland (8-8) – WR, DT, OLB, S, RG– Rueben Randle, WR, LSU

17. San Diego (8-8) – OLB, SS, OT, TE, CB, NT, ILB, RB, WR, QB – Bruce Irvin, DE/OLB, West Virginia

18. Chicago (8-8) – OT, CB, DE, LB, OC, S, DT, QB – Melvin Ingram, DE, South Carolina

19. Philadelphia – from Arizona (8-8) – CB, S, WR, TE – Casey Heyward, CB, Vanderbilt

20. Tennessee (9-7) – 2OG, DE, 2S, Weak LB, CB, WR – Kelechi Osemele, OG/OT, Iowa State

21. Cincinnati* (9-7) – S, OG, WR, DE, DT, Strong LB – Stephen Hill, WR, Georgia Tech

22. Detroit* (10-6) – OLB, OC, OG, LT – Ben Jones, OC, Georgia

23. Atlanta* (10-6) – LT, CB, OC, TE, DE, RB, ILB, RG, FS, WR, LB – Dwayne Allen, TE, Clemson

24. Pittsburgh* (12-4) – OG, NT, S, K, CB, OT, QB, RB – Dontari Poe, NT, Memphis

25. Denver* (8-8) – CB, RB, LG/RT, WR – Lamar Miller, RB, Miami

26. Houston* (10-6) – CB, NT, S, OG, LB – Alameda Ta’amu, NT, Washington

27. New Orleans* (13-3) – OLB, DT, MLB, RT, C, SS, WR, CB – Lavonte David, OLB, Nebraska

28. Green Bay* (15-1) – RB, CB, DE, S, LT, OC – David Wilson, RB, Virginia Tech

29. New York Giants* (9-7) – OG, OT, CB, TE, OC, RB – Zebrie Sanders, OT, Florida State

30. Baltimore* (12-4) – ILB, OC, LT, OG, WR (big), CB – Michael Brewster, OC, Ohio State

31. San Francisco* (13-3) – CB, OC, RG, RT – Nate Potter, OT, Boise State

32. New England* (13-3) – DT, OLB, S, RG– Derek Wolfe, DT, Cincinnati –

  Oakland -> New England: Joseph Barksdale and Taiwan Jones

  Arizona -> Philadelphia: Kevin Kolb 

Round 3

1.    Indianapolis (2-14) – OG, OC, CB, WR, SS, TE, DE, LB, RB – Kevin Zeitler, OG, Wisconsin

2.    St. Louis (2-14) – OT, WR, OLB, FS, CB, DT, OC, RB, FB – Matt Reynolds, OT, BYU

3.    Minnesota (3-13) – CB, S, OG, 2LB, DT, FB, RB3 – Winston Guy Jr., S, Kentucky

4.    Cleveland (4-12) – RT, DE, OLB, RB, OG, FS, DT, K – Andre Branch, DE, Clemson

5.    Tampa Bay (4-12) – CB, LB, RT, WR, OC, RB, LG, FB, DT, QB, K – Travis Lewis, LB, Oklahoma

6.    Washington (5-11) – WR, LG, ILB, RT, CB, NT, TE, OC, SS, K, Rush LB – T.Y. Hilton, WR, Florida International

7.    Jacksonville (5-11) – QB, CB, DE, FS, RT, P, OC, LB – Trumaine Johnson, CB/FS, Montana

8.    Buffalo (6-10) – Rush LB, LT, CB, QB, DE, TE – Ricky Wagner, OT, Wisconsin

9.    Miami (6-10) – RT, NT, FS, RG, CB, TE, DE, ILB – Josh Chapman, NT, Alabama

10. Chicago – from Carolina (6-10) – OT, CB, LB, OC, S, DT, QB – Bobby Massie, OT, Mississippi

11. Kansas City (7-9) – QB, NT, OG/OC, TE, RB, Rush LB, ILB – Kirk Cousins, QB, Michigan State

12. Seattle (7-9) – QB, OG, LDE, CB, RB – Brock Osweiler, QB, Arizona State

13. Philadelphia (8-8) – S, WR, TE – Coby Fleener, TE, Stanford

14. New York Jets (8-8) – FS, SS, RG, LG, WR, DE – Brandon Taylor, S, LSU

15. Oakland (8-8)

16. San Diego (8-8) – SS, OT, TE, CB, NT, ILB, RB, WR, QB – Levy Adcock, OT, Oklahoma State

17. Chicago (8-8) – CB, LB, OC, S, DT, QB – Micah Hyde, CB, Iowa

18. Arizona (8-8) – RT, ILB, DE, Rush LB, RG, CB, QB, NT, K, P – Audie Cole, ILB, N.C. State

19. Dallas (8-8) – CB, OC, DE, OLB, ILB, Backup QB, P – Philip Blake, OC, Baylor

20. Tennessee (9-7) – OG, DE, 2S, Weak LB, CB, WR – Billy Winn, DE, Boise State

21. Cincinnati* (9-7) – S, OG, DE, DT, Strong LB – Ryan Miller, OG, Colorado

22. Atlanta* (10-6) – LT, CB, OC, DE, RB, ILB, RG, FS, WR, LB – William Vlachos, OC, Alabama

23. Detroit* (10-6) – OLB, OG, LT – Danny Trevathan, OLB, Kentucky

24. Pittsburgh* (12-4) – OG, S, K, CB, OT, QB, RB – Amini Silatolu, OG, Midwestern State

25. Denver* (8-8) – CB, LG/RT, WR – Shaun Prater, CB, Iowa

26. Houston* (10-6) – CB, S, OG, LB – Harrison Smith, S, Notre Dame

27. New Orleans* (13-3) – DT, MLB, RT, C, SS, WR, CB – Kawann Short, DT, Purdue

28. Green Bay* (15-1) – CB, DE, S, LT, OC – Shea McClellin, DE, Boise State

29. New York Giants* (9-7) – OG, CB, TE, OC, RB – Chris Polk, RB, Washington

30. Baltimore* (12-4) – ILB, LT, OG, WR (big), CB – Chris Marve, ILB, Vanderbilt

31. San Francisco* (13-3) – CB, OC, RG– Coryell Judie, CB, Texas A&M

32. New England* (13-3) – OLB, S, RG– Tank Carder, ILB/OLB, TCU

  Carolina -> Chicago: Greg Olsen

  Raiders used 3rd-round pick on Terrelle Pryor in supplemental draft
Round 4

1.    St. Louis (2-14) – WR, OLB, FS, CB, DT, OC, RB, FB – Jordan White, WR, Western Michigan

2.    Indianapolis (2-14) – OC, CB, WR, SS, TE, DE, LB, RB – Cliff Harris, CB, Oregon

3.    Minnesota (3-13) – CB, OG, 2LB, DT, FB, RB3 – Brandon Boykin, CB, Georgia

4.    Philadelphia – from Tampa Bay (4-12) – S, WR – Joe Adams, WR, Arkansas

5.    Cleveland (4-12) – RT, OLB, RB, OG, FS, DT, K – Bernard Pierce, RB, Temple

6.    Jacksonville (5-11) – QB, CB, DE, RT, P, OC, LB – Don Barclay, OT, West Virginia

7.    TRADE – St. Louis – from Washington (5-11) – OLB, FS, CB, DT, OC, RB, FB – Terrell Manning, OLB, N.C. State

8.    Miami (6-10) – RT, FS, RG, CB, TE, DE, ILB – Tanner Hawkinson, OT, Kansas

9.    Carolina (6-10) – LB, RT, 2S, RG, WR, K – Nico Johnson, LB, Alabama

10. Buffalo (6-10) – Rush LB, CB, QB, DE, TE – Orson Charles, TE, Georgia

11. Seattle (7-9) – OG, LDE, CB, RB – Lucas Nix, OG, Pittsburgh

12. Kansas City (7-9) – NT, OG/OC, TE, RB, Rush LB, ILB – David Molk, OC, Michigan

13. New York Jets (8-8) – SS, RG, LG, WR, DE – Lonnie Edwards, OG, Texas Tech

14. Washington – from Oakland (8-8) – LG, ILB, RT, CB, NT, TE, OC, SS, K, Rush LB – J.K. Schaeffer, ILB, Cincinnati

15. San Diego (8-8) – SS, TE, CB, NT, ILB, RB, WR, QB – David Paulson, TE, Oregon

16. Chicago (8-8) – LB, OC, S, DT, QB – Sean Spence, LB, Miami

17. Arizona (8-8) – RT, DE, Rush LB, RG, CB, QB, NT, K, P – Blake DeChristopher, OT, Virginia Tech

18. Dallas (8-8) – CB, DE, OLB, ILB, Backup QB, P – Jared Crick, DE/DT, Nebraska

19. Philadelphia (8-8) – S – Trenton Robinson, S, Michigan State

20. Tennessee (9-7) – DE, 2S, Weak LB, CB, WR – Neiko Thorpe, S, Auburn

21. Cincinnati* (9-7) – S, DE, DT, Strong LB – Kendall Reyes, DE/DT, Connecticut

22. Detroit* (10-6) – OG, LT – Andrew Datko, OT, Florida State

23. Cleveland – from Atlanta* (10-6) – RT, OLB, OG, FS, DT, K – Emmanuel Acho, OLB, Texas

24. Pittsburgh* (12-4) – S, K, CB, OT, QB, RB – LaMichael James, RB, Oregon

25. Denver* (8-8) – LG/RT, WR – Ryan Broyles, WR, Oklahoma

26. Houston* (10-6) – CB, OG, LB – Donnie Fletcher, CB, Boston College

27. New Orleans* (13-3) – MLB, RT, C, SS, WR, CB – Jerry Franklin, ILB, Arkansas

28. Green Bay* (15-1) – CB, S, LT, OC – DeQuan Menzie, CB, Alabama

29. New York Giants* (9-7) – OG, CB, TE, OC – Ladarius Green, TE, Louisiana-Lafayette

30. Buffalo – from Baltimore* (12-4) – Rush LB, CB, QB, DE – Devin Taylor, DE/OLB, South Carolina

31. San Francisco* (13-3) – OC, RG– Rokevious Watkins, OG, South Carolina

32. New England* (13-3) – S, RG– Delano Howell, S, Stanford

  Atlanta -> Cleveland: Julio Jones

  Oakland -> Washington: Jason Campbell

  Tampa Bay -> Philadelphia: Luke Stocker

  Baltimore -> Buffalo: Lee Evans

 

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