Now that we're only a month or so away from the draft, what does everyone see going down and wish for their own team? My personal mock top 10 is at the moment:
#1 Houston Texans: Jadeveon Clowney, DE, SCAR- This is the pick I projected here last month and I now see as the closest thing we have to a lock in this draft. Teams don't and shouldn't pass on talents like Clowney, and the idea of Clowney/Watt coming off the edge together is too good to pass up.
#2 St Louis Rams: Sammy Watkins, WR, Clemson- This is a pick i've seen 6-7 different things happening with in different mock drafts, some involving the Rams trading and other's involving them staying put. Personally I think it makes the most sense for them to stay where they are and pick Watkins to give their offense an explosive playmaker that they can put across from and pair with Tavon Austin.
#3 Jacksonville Jaguars: Khalil Mack, LB, Buffalo- This pick would give the Jags the ideal fit for Gus Bradley's defense and fill a hole at pass rusher that they've been missing for years. If the Mack was gone at this point I think they'd probably be fine 'settling' for Watkins, but would choose Mack over him if both happened to be available.
#4 Cleveland Browns: Johnny Manziel, QB, Texas A&M- Personally while I'm a fan of Manziel, I'm not all that about this pick and think it feels like a little bit of a reach to take a Quarterback this early. However there seems to be a building buzz that the Browns are big Manziel fans, and Watkins being off the board makes it all the more likely that it will happen.
#5 Oakland Raiders: Greg Robinson, OT, Auburn- Nothing fancy here, the Rams need an OT after losing Veldheer and having the Staffold deal fall through and Robinson is the best player at the position in this draft. He'll be a nice instant starter and has serious potential to be a future perennial pro bowler.
#6 Atlanta Falcons: Jake Matthews, OT, Texas A&M- Once again, not all that fancy of a choice here. The Falcons protection of Matt Ryan was god awful last year and Matthews would be an instant upgrade on the right side, who could easily move to the left in a year or two.
#7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Mike Evans, WR, Texas A&M- I don't buy the QB speculation and think see them letting Glennon and McCown battle for the starting position going into next season. If Evans falls to them he gives them a clear cut #2 option they've been needing across from Vincent Jackson since Mike Williams was traded/in trouble.
#8 Minnesota Vikings: Blake Bortles, QB, UCF- Personally I'm not that high on Bortles but for one reason or another his stock has seemed to skyrocket past Bridgewater and seems to be viewed as a top-2 QB in this draft so I'll put him here on consensus. It's obvious to me that the Vikings will probably select a QB here, but I wouldn't be too shocked if they traded up to protect against other teams jumping ahead of them or did actually go with Bridgewater either.
#9 Buffalo Bills: Eric Ebron, TE, North Carolina- The Bills are a tricky team who I think could easily move either way in this draft, but I don't personally have the resources to know what's more likely. If they do stay here, which still isn't all that unlikely, I think Eric Ebron represents a nice prospect and a weapon that they can give EJ Manuel as they try to develop him into a the long waited franchise quarterback.
#10 Detroit Lions: Justin Gilbert, CB, Oklahoma State- This is a plug and play move that will give the Lions a much needed fix in their secondary by taking the consensus top rated Corner here in the draft. If they did go another direction I still believe it would be at 10 and on the defensive side of the ball with a player like Anthony Barr or Haha Clinton Dix.
After the top 10 I still see Bridgewater being a top-16 guy, despite all of the negative hype around him the past few months, with #20 to the Cardinals being the absolute floor. As for the Patriots what I said last month still holds Donald or one of the top-2 Saftys would be amazing, but if not a secondary prospect at TE (Amaro, Jenkins) or DT (Nix, Jurrinigan, Hageman) would be a nice fit as well.
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