Each week Fansided.com will have a new mock draft t preview and showcase this upcoming April’s draft. For more in depth analysis of each pick, be sure to visit the Fansided site of your favorite team and check back each Monday for a new and updated Mock Draft. NOTE: This is as accurate a draft order as possible. As the season nears it’s conclusion, the accuracy of the draft positioning will become more pin point.
– Matt Barkley|QB/USC Trojans
The Chiefs are in serious need of rebuilding and that all starts, as we’ve seen in the past, with a franchise quarterback. The Falcons drafted Matt Ryan to rebuild, Detroit took Matthew Stafford and both have been to the playoffs not long after making those selections. The Chiefs are far from being playoff worthy in the near future but they need a leader and Barkley is their best shot.
– Luke Joeckel|OT/Texas A&M
The Jaguars need help, and that starts with moving the ball. Maurice Jones-Drew’s days seem to be done in Jacksonville so offensive line help is a must if the Jags want this young team to grow. Blaine Gabbert needs protection and Rashad Jennings needs a line to block for him. When teams build their line up through the draft, they win. Jacksonville is not blind to this formula.
– Jarvis Jones|LB/Georgia
Jones is Top 5 pick in this year’s draft and although the Panthers would be going linebacker in back-to-back years, they could use the upgrade and stability. Carolina has Luke Kuechly and for a team that plays in a rough NFC SOuth full of high powered offenses, having two stout linebackers could keep the Panthers competitive.
– Chance Warmack|OT/Alabama
The Browns could go defense with this pick, but they’ll more than likely try to shore up an awful offense. Brandon Weeden and Trent Richardson are the wave of the future, but they need someone to block for them. Joe Thomas won’t be around forever, so the longer you can have top tier guys on the line with him, the better the Browns will be.
– Star Lotulelei|DT/Utah
Some have him going No. 1 but almost everyone has Lotulelei going in the Top 5. If he falls to the Raiders, they’ll be able to finally have someone that can give them a presence on the front line. Oakland’s defense isn’t bad but it’s nowhere near good and that starts with their defensive line.
– Taylor Lewan|OL/Michigan
Expect a run of lineman at the top of this draft, because the number one reason most of these teams are here has to do with how poorly their front five protected. Michael Vick has been so horribly shattered this year, he’ll likely never be the same guy. To avoid Nick Foles falling into this hole, offensive line help is needed.
– Barret Jones|OL/Alabama
The Cardinals started out 4-0 and have lost seven straight games. Their front line has been just brutalized almost as badly as they’ve allowed the quarterbacks behind them to be. No matter who is under center in Arizona next season, this offensive line needs to be improved or this cycle won’t be broken.
– Barkevious Mingo|DE/LSU
Mingo may be a product of his environment and that environment may be one that sees a run on offensive lineman, but don’t mistake his falling in the draft for lack of skill. He’s a Top 5 talent and a team that needs OL help may bite on taking him, but if he falls to the Bills, he won’t make it any further in the draft.
– Manti Te’o|LB/Notre Dame
The Lions could use offensive line help but having Te’o on this team does more than just give them massive talent. The Lions have been known as the “bad boys” of the NFL and Te’o’s zen like presence and his character will go a long way in mending an image that has been kicked, stomped and spat on by Ndamukong Suh.
– Jonathan Cooper|OL/UNC
New York could do anything with this pick, include trade down to get more picks to fix what is obviously an awful team. They’ll likely be picking higher in the draft when all is said and done, but they’ll still likely shore up an offensive line that can’t protect to save it’s life — or win a game.
– Sam Montgomery|DE/LSU
Last season the Chargers took Melvin Ingram and by taking Montgomery this year they’ll have two of the countries top defensive pass rushers on their line. San Diego has struggled to get pressure on opposing quarterbacks this year but with Montgomery, those problems should disappear.
– Johnathan Hankins|DT/Ohio State
Tennessee has an awful defense, and it needs rebuilding all around. While they could lean linebacker with this pick, shoring up the defensive line is something else they need to do and Hankins is a talent that could make other teams with other needs draft him solely based on his upside.
– Justin Hunter|WR/Tennessee
Jeff Fisher loved to draft offensive stars and defensive line studs when he was in Tennessee, and he might be going back to the well in more than one sense. Hunter isn’t a guy getting a lot of talk from pundits, but he’s getting compared to A.J. Green when he’s mentioned, and they’re not kidding. Bradford needs a true No. 1 and Hunter is that guy.
– Damontre Moore|DE/Texas A&M
Moore is in the Top 5 of both Todd McShay and Mel Kiper’s Big Board and for good reason. The Cowboys will likely be taken over by Rob Ryan at some point, and if not he’s clearly a leader on the staff. If Moore heads to Dallas, he can play either defensive end or inside linebacker, and Ryan’s defense will only get better.
– Dee Milliner|CB/Alabama
Miami has a pretty good run defense, and their offense is coming around. But they need some assistance in the secondary and Milliner is perhaps the best cornerback in the draft. He’s got great instincts, recognition skills and he is reliable in run support. Vontae Davis used to be the guy, Milliner is the future.
– Kenny Vaccaro|S/Texas
The secondary in New Orleans is among the league’s worst and Vaccaro would give them youth and versatility. New Orleans could lean towards cornerback on this pick but either way the secondary is getting upgraded.
(From Redskins) – Jake Matthews|OT/Texas A&M
The Rams need wide receiver help, and while they may double up they’ll likely try to get Sam Bradford some help to actually have time to throw to those receivers. Matthews is a sound lineman who can play anywhere on the offensive line, and unlike D.J. Fluker, Matthews is NFL ready in a lot more ways.
– Keenan Allen|WR/California
Linebacker is viewed as a need for the Bengals, but if they can get Keenan Allen and line him up along with A.J. Green, then this offense has the potential to be explosive. Allen is a 6-foot-3 monster who has No. 1 WR skills, which means the Red Rifle would have two No. 1 receivers to throw to on any given Sunday.
– Robert Woods|WR/USC
If I was a drunken (or normal) Vikings fans that calls into radio shows, I’d have put Geno Smith here, and if Ponder struggles and Smith falls, the discussion will heat up. But for Ponder to succeed, or any QB in Minnesota, he needs someone to throw to who will actually catch the ball. Woods isn’t elite but he’s better than anything not named Harvin in the Vikings receiving corps.
– Geno Smith|QB/West Virgina
If this order stays as is, the Vikings might be able to pull of a trade, because the aforementioned Smith doesn’t fall past the Steelers. Big Ben is currently injured, as he usually is, he turns 31 and the Steelers have no contingency plan, as we’ve so delicately seen. Smith is an RGIII type of quarterback and after the RGIII storm, teams will want another guy like him.
– Anthony Barr|LB/UCLA
Barr’s not the top linebacker in the draft, as C.J. Mosley and Alec Ogletree will get looks as well, but Pete Carroll knows Barr from his USC days and Carroll likes going with guys he knows. Plus, Barr is a beast of a prospect and can chase people from sideline to sideline.
– Jonathan Banks|CB/Mississippi State
A lot of people have different things for the Bucs, but they need secondary help more than anything. Banks is the top senior corner and second in the draft to only Dee Miliner. The Bucs could use a guy like Tavon Austin, but their secondary is currently holding them back from being contenders.
– C.J. Mosley|ILB/Georgia
No matter what the Packers do it will be on defense. Currently the Packers run a defense that features four linebackers, and only two of them have been consistent. Besides A.J. Hawk and Clay Matthews, the Packers haven’t had a great linebacker and adding a third name to that mix is a must.
– Bjoern Werner|DE/Florida State
Werner might not last this long but if he does, the Colts can use him on a hungry young defense just itching for a star.
– Alec Ogletree|LB/Georgia
Ogletree is raw, he’s unheralded but he’s got amazing talent that could pay off in the right system. Right now the Giants have alright linebackers, which means Ogletree has time to grow into his role. He’s got speed, he’s crazy and he fits with this defense.
– D.J. Fluker|OL/Alabama
The Bears need help on the offensive line, as it might be the reason they don’t win a Super Bowl this year. When Jay Cutler gets protection, he’s great and Matt Forte can run the ball. When there’s no protection, people get hurt and the Bears are experiencing that right now with a thin and terrible line.
– Giovanni Bernard|RB/UNC
Bernard is a guy not a lot of common NFL viewers have heard of, but how many guys new who Doug Martin was prior to last year’s draft? The Broncos need running back help and they may be able to trade back into the top of the second round to get him (or just win the Super Bowl). Denver needs a running back, and they need one badly.
– Matt Elam|S/Florida
Like most years, the Patriots don’t need much as they’ve been consistently excellent for the past decade. But when they do add players, it’s always been like seeing the rich get richer, and Matt Elam is an example of that. He hits hard and lets you know it too, he fits right in with New England.
– Tavon Austin|WR/West Virginia
Jim Harbaugh likes making unconventional picks (see: LeMichael James), and with the 49ers not needing much, adding Austin just because you can is just a ridiculously good idea for the kind of offense moving forward with the speedy Colin Kaepernick. Fast offense, hard hitting quick defense, San Francisco is back to being dominant.
– Khaseem Greene|LB/Rutgers
The Ravens defense isn’t getting any younger and Greene is a guy that can help lead the defense into the next generation. He can diagnose plays early, read the backfield and he’s a hard hitter.
– Sylvester Williams|DT/UNC
Despite being 11-1, the Falcons have an atrocious run defense and while they could reach for a second round linebacker or they could grab a guy to stuff the run. That’s Williams, who’s rated highly on both of Kiper and McShay’s big boards but he might fall on draft day.
– Terrance Williams|WR/Baylor
The Texans might get lucky and not win the Super Bowl (stay with me here) because then they could pick higher and draft Tavon Austin. Instead, for arguement and this mock’s sake, the Texans are grabbing Terrance Williams from Baylor. Andre Johnson hasn’t had a No. 2 partner in all his years in Houston and this team is on the cusp of something special, adding a big threat like Williams is what they need.