2014 Boards Mock Draft

With the first pick of the AF Forum Mock Draft 2014 the Houston Texans select







Blake Bortles, Quarterback, University of Central Florida





Quarterback hungry Houston had a real dilemma here. Do they take the best player in draft (imho) Clowney and pair him with Watt or go get their Franchise QB of the future? Yes they've traded for Ryan Fitzpatrick after jettisoning Schaub to the Raiders but Fitzpatrick (and Keenum) is/are at best a safeish pair of hands should Bortles not be ready day 1. Bill O'Brien will love Bortles, he’s got the kind of prototypical size and athleticism that everybody covets and while maybe not as Pro ready as the likes of Bridgewater, the upside is phenomenal. Having said all the above a trade is also an option here to a team desperate for Clowney.


Innish_Rebel is on the clock for the St Louis Rams.

With the 3rd pick in the 2014 Draft the Jacksonville Jaguars pick Jadeveon Clowney.



Offense starts with Defense, Defense win Championships, and with that in mind, we are picking an excellent prospect in Clowney.

On the national level, the legend of Jadeveon Clowney was born in a split second, on New Year's Day 2013, against Michigan in the Outback Bowl. Clowney knifed through the line and obliterated running back Vincent Smith as he took the handoff, simultaneously separating Smith's helmet from his head and the ball from his hands. The underappreciated conclusion of the play: Clowney recovered the fumble. Video of "The Hit" has been viewed millions upon millions of times. Clowney still hears about it "everywhere" he goes. "A lot of the people at the game said they didn't see it, but they heard it," he said. Of the continuing reaction, Clowney smiles and shakes his head, "It's crazy."

TO : you are on the clock

With the 9th pick of the 2014 Draft the Buffalo Bills select...





Jake Matthews, Tackle, Texas A&M



Like a few of the teams above, the Bills are in need of offensive weapons. Given the depth of the draft at reciver, however, I've decided to shore up the offensive line first. Matthews is athletic, has good technique, and is equally adept at pass blocking and run blocking. Easy pick here.

Next on the clock is blured with the Lions

Justin Gilbert would have been the pick here had the lions not picked him up. With the best CB on the board gone the Titans decide to take the best remaining pass-rusher. Even though the the titans have addressed this position in the off season with the signing of Shaun Philips but the fact that he's 32 adding in some youth at the position is a must. the Titans are expected to transition to a 3-4 defense under Ray Horton which would call for more pass rushers. While Barr is not as polished as the likes of Clowney and Mack, his tremendous blend of size (6-5, 255), speed (4.44) give him a sky high ceiling. The Weaknesses in Barr's game would be his run defending and he would be tested in coverage, but i think the titans could use him purely as a pass rusher and still get great value from the pick

next up is malistheman with the Giants

Innis Rebel did exactly what I would have done at #2 and took an offensive tackle (though I would have gone with Matthews instead of Robinson). That meant that there were three main needs for the Rams with this pick. Safety, cornerback and wide receiver. If Evans is here I would have pulled the trigger on him, but I think in the absence of Evans the best option was to focus on the secondary. With Gilbert and Dennard off the board, the cornerback options are weakened so I've chosen to take the best safety in the draft and significantly boost the Rams secondary. In all honesty it's probably the one position of greatest need for this team.

Clinton-Dix is a rangy, athletic safety with a tendency to make explosive plays. He has great closing speed, makes plays on the ball as well as a wide receiver and hits very hard. It's not all good, he's often too aggressive and gets sucked in by play action so needs to learn when to be aggressive and when not to, but I feel he has the potential to reach Earl Thomas like levels of performance in the future if he continues to develop. Ultimately, he's a great fit for the Rams who will be playing a lot of press man coverage this season.

With their first pick of the 2014 draft the Pittsburgh Steelers select


Eric Ebron TE

With the Steelers having many defensive needs but with the two nailed on first round CBs gone I had to look at best player available. This was a toss up for Nix III and Ebron. Nix has some injury concerns but would have fit in well. Ebron has good yards after the catch and will be Millers long term replacement. comparisons to San Fransicos Davies did no harm and there is plenty of upsides to this TE/slot catcher. Plenty of CBs and WRs in this draft os the Steelers can pick them up later.

WITH THE 17th SELECTION IN THE 2014 NFL DRAFT THE BALTIMORE RAVENS

CJ MOSLEY LB UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA

A tough decision between going for Zack Martin OT and Mosley, yes the ravens do need help on there offensive line. But martins lack of speed could see him being groomed for a guard position as opposed to tackle.


Positives

Pairs athletic upside with developed technique.
Light feet in space with impressive change-of-direction ability.
Accelerates to close with significant burst.
Fluids hips to turn and run with recovery speed to play man coverage up the seam.
Instinctive ability to sink underneath intermediate routes and into passing lanes.
Lets the eyes of the quarterback take him to plays in underneath zone coverage.
Satisfactory length to play the ball in the air.
Disciplined working laterally with sudden feet to react and fit the run quickly.
Picks his way through traffic in the box staying light on his feet and using his hands.
Maneuvers around blocks with fine flexibility and balance.
Pursues to the perimeter from inside out, disciplined to not overrun.
Adequate long speed to make plays at the sidelines.
No qualms about coming forward to meet a fullback head-on.
Technical tackler who sinks and drives his hips through ball-carriers while wrapping.
Will deliver a big hit to a ball-carrier or receiver who leaves himself exposed.
High-motor pursuer of the ball who gets home at a high rate.
Model of consistency, the same player week in and week out.


Negatives

Lean frame from top to bottom.
Read-and-react skills are merely average.
Can freeze up reading his keys and hesitate on occasion.
Uses his hands extensively in coverage, will take adjusting to NFL rules.
Doesn’t always play with head on a swivel in zone coverage and can be slow to pick up routes.
Imprecise blitzer, doesn’t find space instinctively.
Lack of power limits effectiveness as a blitzer.
Stone hands when trying to intercept, track record of dropped interceptions.
Doesn’t assert himself with power against blockers, is usually overmatched physically.
Little power comes from his upper body despite skilled usage of his hands.
Extensive injury history.

A lot of his negatives can be offset, by good coaching and veteran guidance.

His lack of of blitzing ability shouldn't be apparent as the ravens have enough adept rushers.


In exile your up

As an Irish fan I'm going to miss this havoc wreaking DT a lot, I'd have liked him to say for longer. Nix is a beast who could become a huge star at this level. Nix is a very intelligent football player and thats what sets him apart for me amongst DT's in this draft. He has great power and he can bull rush to an elite level. He also gets his hands up in the air when he is not getting to the QB. He is always trying to be disruptive and never gives up on the play and he is deceptively fast for a DT. he has been double-teamed quite a lot over the past few years with good reason.

With 1st pick of the second round of AF forum mock draft 2014 the Houston Texans select

Cyrus Kouandjio, Offensive Tackle, Alabama.




Houston got their franchise QB in round 1, now it's time to get him some protection. They are set at Left Tackle with Duane Brown but Right Tackle is now Cyrus Kouandjio's to lose. He'll be just gone 21 when the season starts, the upside is enormous. He could end up on the Left side when Brown is done.

Innish_rebel is up next for the Redskins.

With the 3rd pick in the 2nd Round : The Browns select :



Auburn's Tre Mason RB (@ 5'8 207)

STRENGTHS Low center of gravity and pad level. Quick out of the blocks. Good vision to pick and slide. Can jump-cut abruptly and change the angle of pursuit. Darts through holes -- excellent stop-and-start quickness. Spins off contact. Forward lean. Runs bigger than his size and finishes runs. Flashes good hands and creativity as a short receiver in limited exposure. Trustworthy in pass protection -- faces up rushers. Has kickoff-return experience and has shown he can take it the distance. Proved capable of handling a heavy workload and played big in big games against top competition.

I didn't see alot of College football, but this guy caught my attention, I really like how he runs and finds holes, or spins away from defenders. He surveys the field well and makes good decisions for big gains.

With the 5th pick of the 2nd round (37th overall):



The Atlanta Falcons select:

Marcus Roberson, CB out of Florida



The Falcons are looking for a lot of support on the defensive side. Theyve already gotten help in the rush with Khalil Mack in the first round. And after releasing Asante Samuel in the offseason, they go corner and select Marcus Roberson.

Decent size at 6-0 and 191 lbs, hes got good athleticism and good range. He's a powerful corner and will really add a level of security to the Falcons backfield.




Chucky up next with the Bucs

With the 40th pick of the nfl draft, the Buffalo Bills select Troy Niklas, TE out of Notre Dam. On mobile so I'll add an explanation and pics later.

After much consideration i decided to go with the o-line here even though the d-line, TE and WR spots could do with improvements. But at the end of the day if the Giants can protect Eli(instead of him running for his life) they increase their chances of winning massively.

The Giants have a handful of questions that have made settling the offensive line far from being done. Will Chris Snee be up to speed after coming off both hip and elbow injures, Will Beatty is recovering from a broken leg suffered at the end of last season, will he be ready?? Do the Giants have enough quality depth at tackle? Guard?

With Yankey the Giants are adding an offensive lineman who can play multiple positions which i feel the Giants need. In the 2013 season Yankey played LG after spending time at LT and RG in previous seasons, he played extremely well on the inside, opening up holes in the ground game and doing a superb job in pass protection.

Up next is malistheman with the Rams pick

With the 47th Pick the Dallas Cowboys select Dee Ford - DE- Auburn.



Think this pick fits with the Cowboys, they have lost Ware in the offseason and Ford would be good value as some expect he could well be reached for in the first round. Boys need lots of help on Defence so would take Ford if he is still on the board at this pick. Safety still needs to be addressed but give Ford a year and although he may move from DE to OLB he should be a quality player for the Boys.

With the 49th pick in the NFL draft the NEW YORK JETS select



Rice's Phillip Gaines has the physical tools you want in a cornerback. He's tall and long at 6'0" and has the speed to turn and run with any wide receiver in the NFL. He's able to press and play up on receivers at the line of scrimmage but does lack strength to be a great jammer early on. You have to like his ability to bait quarterbacks and then attack with his blazing speed. He's a gambler at times, but often that pays off with an interception or defended pass. He dominated weaker competition at Rice but must get better at timing his turns and getting through transitions to have the same impact in the NFL

A 4.38 in the 40-yard dash is a dang good time for the long, linear Gaines. His speed shows up on film too, as he's rangy and attacking in coverage.

Gaines doesn't have the strength to be great against the run, but he does show active effort and willingness to make a play on the ball. He will have to get stronger and learn to use his strength once in the NFL to play the run.

Gaines has unbelievable talent and raw ability, but he's been suspended and arrested once in his college career. To realize his potential, he'll have to walk the line with NFL teams.

Gaines has starter traits, and with some development and coaching, he has the size and speed to be an effective cover cornerback on the edge. He's a solid second-round prospect.