The Too Early Mock Draft

By: Jake

It's been a while since we've posted on here, mostly due to school and other things, but what better way to come back than with an NFL Mock Draft? I can't think of any....

With the First pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, the St. Louis Rams select.....
Ndamukong Suh, DT Nebraska
While this may be hopeful thinking, a DT as explosive and disruptive as him does not come along very often. The Rams would be making a very big mistake passing on the consensus best player in this draft class. The Rams have spent their last few 1st round picks on D-Line with Adam Carriker and Jake Long, but what better way to build a dominant defense than stacking your D-Line with young players? Plus, James Laurinaitis looks like a stud in the Middle Linebacker position.

2. Detriot Lions: Russell Okung, OT Oklahoma State
With Matt Stafford getting constantly abused last year and him getting injured as a result, O-Line has to be a priority even for the Lions. Okung is the best OT in the draft and the Lions should take this opportunity to fix the porous O-Line that almost wrecked their #1 overall pick last year. Nowadays, LT is a vital position and the Lions should take the opportunity to replace Jeff Backus and protect Stafford's backside.

3. Tampa Bay Buccanners: Dez Bryant, WR Oklahoma State
The Bucs reach a little here, but they used last years 1st round pick on a QB, so its in their best interest to give him the best weapons possible. Dez Bryant has been out of football for a year, but he's still a huge talent and by far the best WR in the draft. Antonio Bryant could possibly leave this year and how fitting that another Bryant replaces him, they wont even need to make a new jersey.

4. Washington Redskins: Sam Bradford, QB Oklahoma
The Jason Campbell experiment is over and a new regime is in. The Redskins will pull a New York Jets here and draft a new QB for the new coach. Some might have Claussen here, but Bradford will be cleared by his doctors and have a great week at the combine and impress the scouts all over again. Braford was stellar at Oklahoma and has great potential to turn this dismal franchise around especially with emerging target Fred Davis really stepping up. That connection should be good for times to come.

5. Kansas City Chiefs: Eric Berry, DB Tennessee
The Chiefs get a steal here and Berry is the obvious pick. They already have a stud CB in Brandon Flowers and Berry will holster the secondary as the Chiefs hope their previous 1st round picks of Glenn Dorsey and Tyson Jackson mature into pressure that will make life much easier for Berry and Flowers. With players like Jon McGraw and Mike Brown currently holding starting jobs as Safeties, Berry makes even more sense than if he was just the best available player.

6. Seattle Seahawks: Jimmy Claussen, QB Notre Dame
This guy is going to look good in lime/blue... uhh whatever color their uniforms are. Hasselbeck has 1 more year in him and it will allow him to learn the system in Seattle. It has worked for many QBs in the league and no doubt Claussen will benefit from riding the pine for one year and having a mentor in Matt Hasselbeck. Once again, a new Head Coach will draft a QB to be his franchise figurehead. The Seahawks have a pick in 8 more slots, so they can wait to fix some of their defensive problems.

7. Cleveland Browns: Rolando McClain, LB Alabama
The Browns are stuck between a rock and a hard place here with no stud players left that fill a need. I highly considered Joe Haden here, but there is more of a drop off in LBs from McClain to the next LB than from Haden to the next CB. McClain and D'Qwell Jackson will make a nice pair of LBs and if Shaun Rogers can stay healthy maybe the Browns Defense can stop the run and give the Offense some more opportunities (God knows they need them)

8. Oakland Raiders: Bruce Campbell, OT Maryland
The Raiders may actually make a smart decision for once as maybe they learned their lesson about drafting workout freaks. However, I could easily see Al Davis taking Jason Paul-Pierre after he posts astounding numbers at the combine. For some reason, I'm giving the Raiders the benefit of the doubt here and saying maybe Al Davis forgets to take his meds and sleeps through the draft. Then maybe the GM's could do what they're really paid to do.

9. Buffalo Bills: Gerald McCoy, DT Oklahoma
The Bills were 30th in the NFL last year in rush defense, giving up more than 155 yards over game on the ground. They have a big man in Stroud, and McCoy would be perfect to pair with him and they would each take some pressure off each other. McCoy is a monster in the middle and could be a difference maker right away if he can beat out Kyle Williams who had a solid year last year and racked up 4 sacks along with 66 tackles. The fact that Stroud is aging and on the decline is another factor that supports this pick.

10. Jaguars (win coin toss)
If this is the situation when the Jaguars come to pick, I can definitely see them trading back to recoup the 2nd round pick they traded away last year to get William and Mary CB Derek Cox. If they do pick, it will be between Derrick Morgan and Joe Haden. So since I'm not making an imaginary trade, the Jaguars select......
Joe Haden, CB Florida
Haden is the Best available player here and at this point he would make Rashean Mathis expendable. Mathis could be worth a 2nd round pick and many Jaguars fans would be much happier if GM Gene Smith had more picks in this draft after his stunning draft class last year.

11. Denver Broncos: Taylor Mays, S Southern California
The broncos Defense started out very well but to say they faded is an understatement. They finished 26th in run defense last year and are starting Renaldo Hill and Brian Dawkins at Safety so its clear that unit could use an injection of youth. Also, Mays would have the best mentor in the business in Brian Dawkins. Mays was dominating in college and in a system like the Broncos, where Dumervil is constantly adding pressure, Mays would be highly successful.

12. Miami Dolphins: Golden Tate, WR Notre Dame
The Dolphins are in dire need of a legitimate threat of a WR. Devone Bess and Ted Ginn are more supporting receivers than a all in one receiver who can do it all. Tate is a receiver who can do it all. He has the speed and the hands as well as the route running ability to get open on the next level. Tate also was dangerous after the catch as he constantly broke through the tackles of DBs and ran for great Yards After Catch. If the Dolphins want Henne to be successful and lead them to a division title or more, he needs the weapons to throw to who can hold onto the ball, not just run fast.

13. San Francisco 49ers: Anthony Davis, OT Rutgers
The 49ers offense was among the worst in the league mostly due to inconsistent QB play. So one way to fix that is to give him more time. The 49ers could help out Alex Smith by taking Davis here and pairing him with the other young tackle Joe Staley. Davis and Staley could be bookend Tackles and give Smith more time as well as opening holes for one of the best RBs in Frank Gore. The 9ers have another pick later in the round, so they have the luxury of taking whoever they want here.

14. Seattle Seahawks: CJ Spiller, RB Clemson
The Seahawks strike gold in the first round grabbing their RB and QB of the future. Spiller is an electric runner with astounding playmaking ability. The Seahawks had some good success with Justin Forsett later in the year after Julius Jones failed to make an impact, but it looks like forsett is best utilized as a 3rd down back. Spiller will come in right away and be a part of this new offense and regime up in Seattle. Spiller can also return kick, something Seahawks fans were missing last year. Forsett averaged only 24 yards per return last year, so look for spiller t take over those duties fairly quickly.

15. New York Giants: Brandon Spikes, LB Florida
The Giants defense was abysmal last year and Antonio Pierce was injured for most of the year. So with injury problems at LB, which left Chase Blackburn starting at one point will force the Giants to address the need of LB with the fierce LB out of Florida. Spikes has a mean streak (as evidenced by his eye gouging incident) and thats something important in a LB (as long as they can control it). Spikes was a tackling machine at UF and theres no reason to think anything will change at the Pro level with the D-Line in front of him and supporting LB cast.

16. Tennessee Titans: Brandon Graham, DE Michigan
The Titans struggled getting pressure on the QB last year as they ranked 18th in sacks recorded. On top of last years struggles, Kyle VandenBosch is a FA and its likely he wont be back. This leaves a wide open hole for someone to step in and even if its not Graham right away, he could develop into a good pass rusher with the experience he will get this year due to the absence of Vanden Bosch.

17. San Fransisco 49ers: Sean Weatherspoon, LB Mizzou
I struggled between Brandon LaFell and Weatherspoon, but went with Weatherspoon even though he could be a bit of a reach. Weatherspoon will have one of if not the best LB in the game to learn from, and Willis is one of the few playmakers on the team and he can't do it all himself, sot he 49ers take Weatherspoon to compliment him and provide the Defense with a legitimate OLB with a nose for the ball. Weatherspoon also can put pressure on the QB, which is an added pressure. He had 5 sacks last year playing in an undermanned defense at Mizzou.

18. Pittsburgh: Brian Bulaga, OT Iowa
The Steelers O-Line was a mess last year and they yielded the 2nd most sacks of any team during the 2009 campaign. While some of that may be due to Big Ben's penchant for holding on to the ball for in ordinate amounts of time, 50 sacks is wayyy too many for a QB to take in one year. Ben has already been through enough in his life, his protection is an absolute necessity at this point. A solid OT, Bulaga can play either side his rookie year and the Steelers can bench either Willie Colon or Max Starks. Bulaga should start right away and make a big difference in Big Ben's protection.

19. Atlanta Falcons: Derrick Morgan, DE Georgia Tech
The Falcons don't have much in the way of pressure on the QB outside of John Abraham, so they snag up Derrick Morgan who is a great value here at 19. Morgan would start right away and benefit form the double teams placed on Abraham. Morgan is probably the best pure DE in this draft as he can get to the QB, but has some problems with the run sometimes.

20. Houston Texns: Earl Thomas, S Texas
The Texans were severely lacking on Safety position and it showed. There was just no prescense at Safety that scared anyone or made them pay for going deep. They were constantly out of position and in the wrong places. Earl Thomas will finally give them someone respectable back there with a starting job lined up for him. It should be easy for the Texans fans to get behind this pick because they seriously need some playoff football and came so close last year.

21. Cincinnati Bengals: Mike Iupati, G Idaho
Iupati is by far the best Guard prospect in the draft and he's been very impressive against the best competition that Idaho faced. The Bengals could use some more beef on their O-Line and Iupati is the guy at 21 for the Bengals. A road plow of a guard, Iupati can pass protect and pave the way for the surprising Cedric Benson. Anyone remember when Rudi Johnson was a top 10 RB? Whatever happened to him?

22. New England Patriots: Jason Paul-Pierre, DE South Florida
Paul Pierre will have a monster combine and his stock will rise from a 2nd round pick to late first round and Belicheck will pounce on the idea of being able to use him anywhere he wants. Also, DE fills a need that the Pats have. Their line is very old and Paul Pierre is a key to the longevity of the Patriots defense along with Jerod Mayo who had a down year last year. Expect him to bounce back and Pierre get elevated sack numbers because of it.

23. Green Bay Packers: Sergio Kindle, OLB Texas
The Packers are going to lose Aaron Kampman in the offseason and their Defense was lit up on National TV against the Cardinals due to little pressure on Warner. Kindle could come in and help Raji shore up the D-Line and finally get some consistent pressure on opposing QBs. Everyone knows the Offense is set up but the once feared D is not doing its job anymore.

24. Philadelphia Eagles: Jerry Hughes, OLB Texas Christian
The Eagles suffered many injuries at the LB position this year and it really highlighted their need for depth at all linebacking positions. Hughes played extremely well at TCU and constantly made plays behind the line. In the NFL today you can never have too many players who get pressure on the QB so Hughes is a great selection for the Eagles here. Now they just need to decide what they're going to do about McNabb and Westbrook.

25. Baltimore Ravens: Arrelious Benn, WR Illinois
The Ravens Offense has surprised people with its explosiveness, but thats mainly due to ray rice and his abilities. The WRs on that roster don't scare anybody and Flacco is coming up on the prime of his carreer where he needs a go to receiver who can be a playmaker. Benn fits the bill here at 25 and his speed should be something to take the pressure off of Rice and Flacco.

26. Arizona Cardinals: Brian Price, DT UCLA
The Cardinals have 3 great RBs in their division (Gore, S. Jackson, and now Spiller), so stopping the run will be an important factor in if they repeat as division champs again next year. Price has the size to plug the holes and speed to get to the passer. He will be a steal if they get him this late in the first round.

27. Dallas Cowboys: Damian Williams, WR, Southern California
With Roy Williams constant disappearing and no real other threat except Miles Austin, the Cowboys will take the best available WR here to keep Romo happy and fans in the seats. Wide receivers from USC haven't fared well in the NFL, but that won't stop someone from taking him in the first round if the need is there and its the right value.

28. San Diego Chargers: Patrick Robinson, CB Forida State
The Chargers could use some youth at CB as Jammer isn't getting any younger and Cromartie has been up and down in his career. Robinson is the 2nd best CB in the draft and the Chargers have the luxury to take what they need at pick 28.