OK, here's my yearly crazy attempt to figure out the madness that is the 1st round of the NFL draft. So here goes nothing.
1. Kansas City Chiefs. Luke Joeckel LT, Texas A&M. Joeckel is considered by many as the premier talent in this year's draft. The Chiefs have some holes to fill and this is one of them, especially since they plan to move Branden Albert. Joeckel will help protect Alex Smith and allow Andy Reid to implement a new offense into the Chiefs.
2. Jacksonville Jagars. Dion Jordan OLB, Oregon. This is the pick that will change the complection of the entire draft. Jacksonville has so many needs and their defense is one of the biggest holes. Last year the Jags defense piled up a whopping 20 sacks. J.J. Watt equaled that last season. Jordan is an amazing athlete, but is still a rather unproven commodity, however, he will provide a pass rush if that is all that he is needed to do. The Jags could take a lot of players with this pick that would help the team, but this pick would fill an immediate need.
3. Arizona Cardinals (traded from Oakland Raiders) Eric Fisher LT, Central Michigan. The Cardinals need help on the O-Line desperately. They will be willing to jump Philadelphia and Detroit here to make sure they get their hands on Fisher here. He will help keep newly aquired QB Carson Palmer upright and allow him to get the ball down the field to Larry Fitzgerald.
4. Philadelphia Eagles. Sharrief Floyd. DT. Florida. After losing out on Jordan and Fisher, the Eagles will take Floyd here. The Eagles are switching to a 3-4 and Floyd can play all positions in the "30" front.
5. Detroit Lions. Dee Milliner CB, Alabama. By default, the Lions will end up with the #1 corner in this draft. They need help at the corner position as well as a LT, but Joeckel or Fisher won't be there at #5. The Lions will end up with an improvement in their secondary, which may help them with their defensive problems that they had last season.
6. Cleveland Browns. Ziggy Ansah. DE. BYU. The Browns will have hoped to land Milliner, but will settle for the gifted, raw athlete that is Ansah. He will instantly benefit under new DC Ray Horton and may be a 10+ sack guy for 10 years.
7. Oakland Raiders. Star Lotulelei. DT. Utah. The Raiders traded down to gain more picks and hope that Floyd would still be there, but they will still be happy to land Lotulelei who willhelp anchor their DL and put pressure on opposing QB's.
8. St. Louis Rams (traded from Buffalo). Tavon Austin. WR. WVU. Jeff Fisher having 2 first round picks will make a move to get a playmaker. Austin fits that mold' however' his durability will be an issue, but he has the chance to make plays for an anemic Rams offense.
9. New York Jets. Barkevious Mingo. DE/OLB. LSU. The Jets will go defense here with Austin off the board. Mingo fills a big need for them in bringing an outside pass rush, something the Jets sorely need.
10. Tennessee Titans. Chance Warmack. OG. Alabama. Warmack falls to the Titans and will have the chance to block for Chris Johnson and will be coached up by the Titans HOF Coach Mike Munchak.
11. San Diego Chargers. Lane Johnson. OT. Oklahoma. Johnson will surprisingly fall here to the Chargers and will make Philip Rivers a happy man. Rivers got killed last year by poor offensive line play. Johnson walks into camp as the starter.
12. Miami Dolphins. Xavier Rhodes. CB. FSU. The Dolphins will end up getting Branden Albert from the Chiefs to fill one need. They will end up with a very good corner to help fill another need. It should be a very good Thursday fro South Beach.
13. New York Jets. Tyler Eifert. TE. Notre Dame. I wouldn't be shocked if the Jets took QB Geno Smith here, but I think REx will push for Sanchez to have on more shot. Eifert is moving up everyone's boards. The Jets lost Dustin Keller to free agency and this is Sanchez's last chance. The Jets will provide him with a weapon here.
14. Carolina Panthers. Sheldon Richardson. DT. Missouri. THe interior line of the Panthers defense is horrible. They have a young stub linebacker in Kuechly. Richardson will help keep blockers off Kuechly as well as help make the D-Line more stout.
15. New Orleans Saints. Jarvis Jones OLB. Georgia. The Saints are switching to a 3-4 and Jones will be a great fit as their rush linebacker. He may have some medical issues and ran a bad 40 time, but look at him on-the-field, he palys fast and is extremely disruptive. The Saints could end up with a steal here.
16. Buffalo Bills. Ryan Nassib. QB. Syracuse. The Bills have traded down and still get there guy. The could take teh chance to move down because this is not a year where teams are gunning for QB's and nassib will beenfit from playing under his old college coach and may even have the luxury of sitting, if Kevin Kolb does well, although I don't believe Kolb has the arm strength for Buffalo winters.
17. Pittsburgh Steelers. Eddie Lacy. RB. Alabama. The Steelers could with Vaccaro here as well, but I don't believe they will pass on the chance to get a bruising running back to help their pedestrian running game from last season. Lacy still has fresh legs because he was behind Ingram and Richardson at Alabama, so the Steelers land a workhourse back.
18. Dallas Cowboys. Jonathon Cooper. OG. UNC. The Cowboys will not make the sexy pick here and take the offensive guard Cooper here. The Cowboys will be ecstatic that he falls here and will help out a poor offensive line.
19. New York Giants. D.J. Fluker. OT. Alabama. The Giants need help on the right side of their O-Line and Fluker is a perfect fit for Coach Coughlin. Coughlin will love the work ethic and discipline that Fluker got from playing unde Coach Saban at Alabama.
20. Chicago Bears. Kenny Vaccaro. S. Texas. The Bears need help on the back end of their defense. Vaccaro is a playmaking safety, in the vein of Earl Thomas and will make P-Nut Tillman even better at corner. The Bears need an MLB and would not be shocked if they took Te'o here, but Vaccaro is too good of an athlete to pass on here.
21. Cincinati Bengals. Eric Reid. S. LSU. The Bengals need a saftey and have their choice of Reid or Matt Elam at this spot. I feel they will go with Reid here, but pick could go either way and Cincy would end up with a solid player.
22. Jacksonville Jaguars (traded from St. Louis Rams) Geno Smith. QB. WVU. Geno Smith falls and the Jaguars take a chance here. The Jags sorely need help at the position and having the top pick in the second round is a good bargaining chip to sneak back into the first round here to get a potential franchise quarterback.
23. Minnesota Vikings. Cordarelle Patterson. WR. Tennessee. The Vikings will gain an impact receiver at this spot, in hopes of making up for trading Percy Harvin. Patterson gives QB Christian Ponder a big target.
24. Indianapolis Colts. D.J. Hayden. CB. Houston. The colts need corner help and no one can ever question this kid's heart and determination and Coach Pagano will fall in love with him immediately.
25. Minnesota Vikings. Manti Te'o. ILB. Notre Dame. The Vikings win again. They will gain a future Pro Bowl linebacker in Te'o. Te'o falls only because of a poor performance in the National Championship game and the internet "hoax", but the Vikings will definitely take a chance here.
26. Green Bay Packers. Monte Ball. RB. Wisconsin. The Packers will sweep in and take the home state star here to fill a massive hole in their offense. The Packers have no run game and it took a toll on their offense last year as teams started teeing off on QB Aaron Rogers. The Packers will want to protect their investment in Rogers and give them a prescene in the run game and Ball fills that void very nicely.
27. Houston Texans. Justin Hunter. WR. Tennessee. The Texans need WR help. Hunter will be a nice playmaker opposire Andre Jonson and Johnson should be able to mentor the rookie immensely.
28. Denver Broncos. Bjoren Werner. DE. FSU. Werner may not be the flashiest DE out there, but he will be very productive. He has a very high motor and will keep playing all day long, eventually wearing out offensive tackles. This is the perfect guy for both John Fox and DC Jack Del Rio and he will step after Elvis left the building.
29. Tampa Bay Buccanneers (traded from New England Patroits). Matt Barkley. QB. USC. The Patroits take a pass on the first round for additional picks next year. Tampa wants to bring in a QB to help push Josh Freeman. Barkley has the pedigree to be a great NFL quarterback and would have been a Top 5 pick if he came out last year, so the Bucs may wheel and deal here.
30. Atlanta Falcons. Desmond Trufant. CB. Washington. The Falcons end up with a promising young corner with NFL pedigree to help them on their continuing quest fot a Super Bowl. The Falcons need secondary help and Trufant will help them.
31. San Francisco 49ers. Zach Ertz. TE. Stanford. Ertz will step into Delanie Walker's role and continue to help this team reach it's goal of going back to the Super Bowl.
32. Baltimore Ravens. Arthur Brown. ILB. Kansas State. The defending champs will fill the hole left by Ray Lewis with Brown. Brown can play both inside and outside, but fits the inside best in the NFL. Brown will not make people forget about #52, but he will make plays and be a solid starter for many years.
Well, there it is, this year's attempt to predict the madness that is the NFL Draft's 1st round. Enjoy the read, laugh if you want, but remember while you're laughing, you're reading my work and you didnt have the guts to try one haha. Hope your teams pick well, maybe this year I'll get a few more right than last year's craziness.
