Pre-Super Bowl Top 10 Mock Draft

Quick top ten mock draft: As always, I pick who I think they will pick and who they should pick. This is early so perhaps some of this may come off as outrageous, so sorry if it does. The rules here are no trades; teams have to stay at their spot.

1.  Cleveland Browns: The Browns all but set themselves up for this top slot, but it may have been the wrong year to do so. Will Take: Myles Garrett DE Texas A&M. I like Myles Garrett a lot, who does not? But from what I have seen, he is much better as a standup pass rusher. This makes me think that he might not fit the Browns system. Should Take: Davis Webb QB Cal. Does Davis Webb deserve to be the top pick? Nope. But I think he is the best QB in the draft and the premium pushes him up this high. I think he is much better than Jared Goff was and he went 1^st overall (really with how much the Rams paid, he was evaluated as worth more than the first overall pick).


2. San Francisco 49ers: The 49ers schemes are up in the air so this makes it a tougher call. If they go with a 3-4 and Myles Garrett is there, no contest, he is the best player in this draft. If they go 4-3 they should go offense. Will Take: Mitch Trubisky QB North Carolina. I am not on the Trubisky train yet but Kyle Shannahan seems to be able to handle gunslinger QBs. He could be a solid QB and while he will not rub people the wrong way like Kaepernick, it is going to be tough to get there. He may also get beat up as the team develops and go the route of David Carr. Should Take: If they go 3-4 then Myles Garrett, if not, go with Deshaun Watson QB Clemson. Watson is not dynamite, but he is a winner and I like his decision making. In a way, he plays a bit like Mark Brunell in that he does not have standout arm traits exactly, but he moves around and gets it done with solid skills. Just remember, Joe Montana did it that same way too.


3. Chicago Bears: The Bears are in an interesting position here because there are likely four or five players that would make sense for them. Will Take: DeShone Kizer QB Notre Dame. I remember hearing about Kizer declaring early and wondering why. So I went back and looked and I am still wondering why. I just do not see a consistent QB here and he makes some odd decisions with the ball. It reminds me a bit of when Akili Smith came out but Kizer at least has a little more to his resume than Smith did. The Bears would be better off waiting here. Should Take: Myles Garrett if the 49ers go with a 4-3, with his awareness and instincts and skills, he looks like a perfect 3-4 linebacker. If Garrett is gone it is a tough call here between Marshon Lattimore CB Ohio State and Jamal Adams S LSU. Top notch CBs change a defense a bit more than a safety would and the Bears greater need is CB so I would go with Lattimore. There is something about the Big Ten’s CBs this year as I really like three of them. If you watch tape of Humphrey what jumps out is his play awareness. It seems like he can read the offense really well and he goes in for the tackle when it is there.


4. Jacksonville Jaguars: The one advantage a team has with firing a coach that has lost for a while is that they typically have a team stacked with talent. The Jags are no different. I know there are issues with Bortles and I outlined some of those when he came out of college. But a good defense takes a lot of pressure off an inconsistent QB. The Jaguars are definitely in the catbird seat here. Will Take and Should Take: Jamal Adams S LSU. Plain and simple, Jamal Adams has what you want in a safety and a football player in general; awareness. Top that off with size, instincts, and intensity and you have an ideal safety. This is a slam dunk for a team that has a need for this position and leader. It should also be noted; he seems to have pretty good man cover skills when called upon.


5. Tennessee Titans: The Titans have a promising team and a great shot at a good player here. It will be interesting to see what they do. Will Take: OJ Howard TE Alabama. Call me crazy here but I have a weird feeling that the Titans are going to look at Howard and see a great security blanket and deep threat for Mariotta. I am not sure he is the right pick—I am not even sure he is the best TE in the draft. But I just have a weird feeling he will be a Titan. With his recent performance at Senior Bowl Practices, his stock will shoot up in the coming months. Should Take: This is still falling into that unknown of the 49ers scheme so if he is there, Marshon Lattimore for all of the reasons already explained. If not, go with Marlon Humphrey CB Alabama. The only reason I give Lattimore the edge over Humphrey is the strength of Alabama’s defense over Ohio State, which might be minimal. But Humphrey has a really interesting feistiness about him. Either player is a winner for them.


6. New York Jets: Oi, the Jets, the team that decided last year to overdraft Christian Hackenberg after overdrafting Geno Smith. Do they dare to venture with a QB here? Will Take: Marlon Humphrey CB Alabama. So this is probably going to be the smartest pick for them. If they had a shot, they would go for Kizer here, but fortunately for them, another team has already made that mistake. Should Take:  Again, the unknown of the 49ers scheme has the continuing domino effect. So if Humphrey is there then take him, no questions asked. If not, go with Taco Charlton DE Michigan and strengthen the pass rush to help the back end play better.


7. San Diego Los Angeles Chargers umm the soon to be second LA team that might be the Chargers: The Chargers are in a weird spot as a team and their needs vary. They did not listen to me last year so there is still a need at OT. Then there is Keenan Allen, who seems to get hurt a lot. Will Take: Corey Davis WR Western Michigan – Put simply, the Chargers only have Philip Rivers for a short amount of time. They need to give him weapons now. With how much Allen has been hurt, they could use another Wide Receiver. The other piece to this is that Davis is a nice compliment to Keenan Allen so the match works out well. To add to that, Tyrell Williams looked solid last year. Should Take: Ryan Ramczyk OT Wisconsin. Like I said, there is a limited amount of time the Chargers have Philip Rivers, so they need to protect him. I know there is not a lot of depth at OT in this draft, so get the best guy while you can. Cam Robinson is getting some love, but he looks more like a mauler than technician, that is not good in the NFL. While Ramcyk does not have the amazing feet of some of the best OT we have seen, he has a good base (needs some more weight perhaps) and shows some solid awareness. One thing I like in an Offensive Lineman is a guy that looks for “Whose next” and Ramcyk shows that.


8. Carolina Panthers: So Dave Gettlemen pretty much just goes after players he likes over players he needs, then tells everybody “I told you so”. It works most of the time but it also makes who he may pick even harder to project. Will Take:  Jabrill Peppers S Michigan. Like I said, Gettlemen tends to go after players that he likes over immediate needs. In a way, it makes sense to do so here, RB is a need, and OT is a need but a RB you can get later. Should Take: OT Garrett Bolles. Bolles needs some weight but should have no issue starting on this this OL while he gets bigger. He is probably not worthy of this spot right now, but again there is lack of depth and the Panthers need an OT and RB can come later.


9. Cincinnati Bengals: It is odd to see the Bengals here but perhaps things are finally catching up with them. They need to avoid the Bad Boy here. Will Take and Should Take: Jonathan Allen DL Alabama. Talking about Allen makes me sad because I think he is going to be considered a bust. Not because he is truly going to be a bust, but I will call it A.J. Hawk syndrome. If you watch Allen, he makes a lot of plays, but they are plays of opportunity over domination plays. So he plays smart, if a mistake is made in blocking he will make the play, but he is going to just be consistently good and not great. While the Bengals do not need a DL too bad, he is the best player to take here looking at their future.


10. Buffalo Bills: Do not buy into the Bills take a QB here. Tyrod Taylor was fine last year and they have Cardale Jones as their developmental guy. Will Take: Ryan Ramczyk OT Wisconsin. Just as I said about Jack Conklin last year, teams are going to be able to cut through the hype by draft day. Ramczyk will play RT to start and eventually move over to LT. Should Take: Cam Robinson OT Alabama. Robinson is a RT in the NFL. He still does some sloppy things but he is a mauler type so it would work for the Bills who need a bit more juice on the OL.

Okay, that is it for now. I know, some goofy things here, but last year I said that Myles Jack should not be a 1^st round pick and he wasn’t. So perhaps I have one outrageous thing right?  Until later Draft Compass Fans!

André