Only two teams are left playing and with the down week and a pretty ignorable Pro Bowl on the horizon, the time has arrived to decide the future of our favorite franchises in the NFL Mock Draft 2.0.
1. Tennessee Titans – Joey Bosa, DE – Ohio State
The Titans would love to trade out of this spot, but I don’t think they’ll find any suitors with a deep class at pretty much every position in this draft. They could go for Laremy Tunsil, but I don’t think their offensive line is a major need and it would be hard to pass up the best defensive lineman in the draft when he’s sitting right there.
2. Cleveland Browns – Jared Goff, QB – California
The quarterbacks have shuffled a bit since our last Mock Draft and now Goff seems to be the guy atop everybody’s list. Frankly, I like Dak Prescott better than all the top-ranked quarterbacks, but he won’t get picked until the second round.
3. San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers – Laremy Tunsil, OT – Ole Miss
Mike McCoy is back for a final year (if he makes it through the whole season) so the Chargers might as well shore up their offensive line for Philip Rivers and their next head coach.
4. Dallas Cowboys – DeForest Buckner, DE – Oregon
Regardless of how well he played, I can’t see the Cowboys bringing Greg Hardy back. While they took Randy Gregory in the second round last season, I still think they’ll go with Buckner here, forcing Chip Kelly to kick rocks in frustration three picks later.
5. Jacksonville Jaguars – Jalen Ramsey, CB, – Florida State
The Jags basically get two first round picks this season with Dante Fowler Jr. coming back from his preseason knee injury. The three big corners in this draft don’t have a lot of space between them, but Ramsey will probably be the first to go off the board.
6. Baltimore Ravens – Miles Jack, OLB – UCLA
On most team’s boards, Jack is probably right under Bosa. The Ravens will never let him get past them at six.
7. San Francisco 49ers – Ronnie Stanley, OT – Notre Dame
With the hiring of Chip Kelly, you can forget picking a quarterback in the first round now. The 49ers are stuck with Colin Kaepernick and will take an offensive lineman for him to run past on a needless scramble after not making his pass reads.
8. Miami Dolphins – Mackensie Alexander, CB – Clemson
With Ramsey gone, the Dolphins can pick between Alexander and Vernon Hargreaves. I went with Alexander here…
9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Vernon Hargeaves III, CB – Florida
… and Hargreaves here. The Bucs have a draft full of defensive picks to make, might as well start with corner.
10. New York Giants – Shaq Lawson, DE – Clemson
The Giants have a decision to make on Jason Pierre-Paul, but even if they bring him and his club hand back they still need another defensive end. It won’t take them long to turn this card in.
11. Chicago Bears – A’Shawn Robinson, DT – Alabama
There’s a real chance the Bears could take a quarterback here. I tried to talk myself into it and if they don’t in the first round, they definitely should in the second. If Jay Cutler doesn’t have a fantastic season in 2016, the Bears can cut him next season and just lose $2 million in cap space. So now is the time to prepare for that scenario, but Robinson will help them this season and there should be a couple of good quarterbacks at this spot in the second.
12. New Orleans Saints – Darron Lee, OLB – Ohio State
The Saints have to go defense and Lee has done nothing but move up draft boards over the bowl season.
13. Philadelphia Eagles – Paxton Lynch, QB – Memphis
The Eagles could re-sign Sam Bradford, but I have to believe that Doug Pederson wants to start fresh with his own quarterback. At one time Lynch was the top ranked quarterback in this class and getting him at No.13 might just be a steal..
14. Oakland Raiders – Ezekiel Elliot, RB – Ohio State
The Rams showed the value of taking elite running backs in the first round again last year. The Raiders needed to have paid attention. Elliot isn’t Todd Gurley, but he could be the missing weapon in their offense.
15. Los Angeles Rams – Laquon Treadwell, WR – Ole Miss
You’ll see a lot of mock drafts with the Rams taking a QB here and if they’d fired Jeff Fisher, those drafts might be right. But Jeff and GM Les Snead know that starting a rookie quarterback will end up with an appointment at the unemployment office. Treadwell is the playmaking outside wide receiver the Rams have been desperate for since they chased Tory Holt out of town. We’ll see what good it does them.
16. Detroit Lions – Taylor Decker, OT – Ohio State
Jim Caldwell has defied all logic and kept his job so the team might as well get a little more insurance for Matthew Stafford.
17. Atlanta Falcons – Andrew Billings, DT – Baylor
Defensive tackle isn’t a huge need for the Falcons, but Billings wouldn’t drop this far if this draft wasn’t deep. As a value pick, Billings at No. 17 is tough to pass up.
18. Indianapolis Colts – Jack Conklin, OT – Michigan State
The Colts’ offensive line has been a sieve all season and this should just be the first of many picks they use to fix it in this draft.
19. Buffalo Bills – Reggie Ragland, ILB – Alabama
Ragland is a solid pick and will be a good player. He’ll likely be a day-one starter so it’s hard to complain about the pick here, but I still will. Everyone knows the Bills desperately need a real quarterback except the Bills. They should take Caron Wentz or Connor Cook here and weep tears of joy as they do. Cook especially is a Jim Kelly-esque quarterback that the fanbase can fall in love with. They won’t take either guy.
20. New York Jets – Leonard Floyd, OLB – Georgia
The Jets need an upgrade at quarterback too. I liked the Bryce Petty pick last season and maybe if he’s grown enough they can roll with the guys they have. This will also be one of those rare free agency periods where it’s possible to sign a legit starter. Floyd, at outside linebacker, fits another need and I have a feeling Bowles goes there.
21. Washington Redskins – Corey Coleman, WR – Baylor
The only issue with Coleman is his size. The Redskins might be looking for a bigger target since they’ve already got DeSean Jackson on one side and he’s about this same height.
22. Houston Texans – Carson Wentz, QB – North Dakota State
There’s a real chance Bill O’Brien will push for Christian Hackenberg here. No one in Houston is going to accept the QB situation that ended the team’s season this year. Wentz is the higher rated quarterback, obviously, but O’Brien recruited Hackenberg and the Hackster is a big reason that O’Brien got the job in Houston. He may want to return the favor.
23. Minnesota Vikings – Robert Nkemdiche, DT – Ole Miss
The Vikings are set on offense and have other needs on defense, but Nkemdiche was a consensus Top Five pick until he fell out of a window last month. He’s a steal at No. 23. Just keep him away from any guard rails and open fire escapes.
24. Cincinnati Bengals – Jarran Reed, DT – Alabama
The Bengals are loaded and the only reason they aren’t play in the Super Bowl this year is Andy Dalton’s thumb. Since you can’t draft a body part, the Bengals have to go with the best player available and that’s Reed.
25. Pittsburgh Steelers – Jaylon Smith, OLB – Notre Dame
The Steelers’ big weakness, other than back-up quarterback, was still on the defense after a mass of retirements and cuts. It’s time to continue the rebuild with Smith.
26. Seattle Seahawks – Jonathan Bullard, DE – Florida
The Seahawks will finally have some needs on defense, especially if someone works a trade for Kam Chancellor and, trust me, teams will be calling. Bruce Irvin is history so they might go outside linebacker, but Bullard is too valuable here to pass up.
27. Green Bay Packers – Michael Thomas, WR – Ohio State
The Packers have plenty of holes on defense, but one offensive injury, wideout Jordy Nelson, messed up their whole season. They need another guy and Thomas has the size to be a difference maker.
28. Kansas City Chiefs – Shon Coleman, OT – Auburn
The Chiefs are another team without a lot of glaring weaknesses so when you’re in that position, you need to beef up your offensive line.
29. New England Patriots – No pick
Suck it, cheaters.
30. Arizona Cardinals – Kenny Clark, DT – UCLA
The Cardinals’real defensive need is at linebacker but unless they want to reach for a guy here, they’ll take Clark and beef up their front.
31. Denver Broncos – Hunter Henry, TE – Arkansas
The Broncos might add an offensive lineman here, but with Owen Daniels as their primary tight end this season, they need to find a replacement. Hunter Henry is a weapon that will pay off from Brock Osweiler immediately.
32. Carolina Panthers – Josh Doctson, WR – TCU
The Panthers are the best team in football and have been all season. They’d be even better if Kelvin Benjamin hadn’t went down in the preseason. Carolina needs to add another wideout to make sure they don’t find themselves in the same predicament next year.
