Ever since Roger Goodell penned his let-down of a form letter to the fans, and the NFLPA decertified; there’s been a real dark cloud hangining over all things NFL. Hopefully the draft coming up in a few weeks changes that.
Welcome to NFL mock draft round two. Follow this link to see the first round.
Even Taiwanese animators are having fun at the NFL labor situation’s expense.
Lots of changes following all of the pro days.
By Paul M. Banks
1. New England Patriots (from Car) Leonard Hankerson, WR, Miami
Hankerson had a monster Senior Bowl week to propel himself up this far. Pats seriously need more receivers who can get vertical and stretch opposing defenses. Wes Welker just wasn’t the same since without Moss complementing him. Both when Moss was there and after he left, in 2011.
2. Buffalo Bills Justin Houston, OLB, Georgia
The Bills are notoriously one of the toughest teams to predict on draft day, but I could easily see them trying to shore up that porous front-seven. A former defensive end, Houston switched over to a stand up pass rushing outside backer in 2010. And he fit the bill perfectly.
3. Cincinnati Bengals Christian Ponder, QB, Florida St
Ponder is probably the third best prospect in a very weak QB class. Still no time like the present to start grooming Carson Palmer’s replacement. If indeed he does come back, which is still not set in stone. Ponder had a tremendous pro day, no doubt partially augmented by the presence of Isaac Bruce, who came in to catch his throws.
4. Denver Broncos Luke Stocker, TE, Tennessee
His “grindiness” has seen him move up the charts lately. Work ethic, intangibles, he seems to be exactly what NFL teams are looking for in a tight end. And Denver needs to find more versatility and balance in their offense. Adding depth at this position would help quite a bit.
5. Cleveland Browns, Stephen Paea, DT, Oregon St
This Oregon State prospect was able to bench 225 pounds a whopping 49 times at Monday’s Combine workout. That’s a combine record. It took him just a minute to lift 11,025 pounds. Perhaps he’ll shoot up into the first round?
6. Arizona Cardinals, Ras-I Dowling, CB, Virginia
As you might have noticed, the Cards need help in the secondary. and Dowling probably could have come out last year, but stayed in and acquired another year of seasoning. He ran a 4.40 and has good size at 6-1.
7. Tennessee Titans, Aaron Williams, CB, Texas
it’ll be interesting to see what the Titans’ insane defensive coordinator can do with this guy. Williams has ideal size and musculature, but he’s still a little skinny by NFL standards. Has great technique though.
8. Dallas Cowboys, Torrey Smith, WR, Maryland
Smith needs to make sure no one compares him to former Terps WR and workout warrior Darius Heyward-Bey. Measurables are one thing, but on-field performance is another. Smith had a 1,000 yard season despite being the only pass-catching option on his team. He’s a bargain here.
9. Washington Redskins, Danny Watkins, OG, Baylor
Are the Hogs ever going to come back? Will we ever have another Hogs 2.0? Probably not as long as a Daniel Snyder is in charge. But Skins will go for OL help anyway.
10. Houston Texans, Phil Taylor, DL, Baylor
Do the Texans keep the local product close by home? It all comes down to how much Taylor is able to diet his way into the league. He could tip the scales at an alarming number if he doesn’t watch himself. Taylor didn’t have the greatest Texas Bowl versus the Illini, but there aren’t many true nose tackle prospects in this class.
11. Minnesota Vikings, Quinton Carter, S, Oklahoma
In a weak safety class, Carter moves up because he can play either position. He’s got speed, leaping ability and experience playing QB and wide receiver during his career.
12. Detroit Lions, Marcus Cannon, OT, Oklahoma
The Lions can call Matthew Stafford a China Doll all they want, but unless they protect him better, there’s no moral ground to stand on when it comes to name calling.
13. San Francisco Rahim Moore, S, UCLA
Moore who picked off ten passes last fall, and has all the skills to play “centerfield” in the NFL. But I’m still not entirely sold on him as a prospect.
14. Denver (from Mia) Cameron Heyward, DL, Ohio State
Nice prospect to pair with Bowers from round one. But Heyward could have been picked somewhere in the #15-#25 range in the NFL Draft had he come out last spring. His stock is rising for 2011; even though people don’t often talk about him. He’s the “sneaky hot” player in the Big Ten. I guess you could call him the Pam Beesly/Jenna Fischer of the NFL Draft.
How high he gets drafted will depend on his ability to flourish in both the 3-4 and the 4-3 schematics. The new hot trend these days is for collegiate defensive ends to transition into 3-4 outside linebackers. I asked Heyward about playing in both base defenses.
“I think the 4-3 is a better fit sometimes for running and physical teams, but in the 3-4 you can mix it up too, you can bring a couple linebackers up on the edge and bring your d linemen down in the middle,” he responded.
Any preference? “I’m pretty confident in both of ‘em.”
And Heyward’s greatest strength? (according to him) “I think my bull rush is pretty good, but the thing I’m most confident about is just finding the ball and not giving up on the play.”
For more on Heyward go here
15. St. Louis Lance Kendricks, TE, Wisconsin
Here’s our Kendricks Q &A:
Do you have any TE role models in the NFL? Or maybe a favorite player you had as a kid?
“ I watch Dallas Clark and Tony Gonzalez a lot.”
What do you think is the biggest strength of your game?
“I would say blocking and having the ability to get there and run.”
Conversely, what are you working on to improve?
“Running my routes. Garrett helped me a lot with that last year. That is my focus this year.”
16. Oakland Benjamin Ijalana, OG/T, Villanova
Impressive small school prospect worth taking a flier on.
17. Jacksonville Jaguars DeAndre McDaniel, S, Clemson
Didn’t really get it done all that much on the field, but he’s a great measurables guy. Jax needs to go DB and he’ll be the best of what’s around.
18. San Diego Chargers Terrence Toliver, WR, LSU
Toliver shows good quick feet, and crispness getting out of routes. His leaping ability will also no doubt help the Chargers improve their aging, decrepit wide receiver corps
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Mason Foster, OLB, Washington
I think the Bucs will continue to augment their defensive front seven, with this elite prospect who ran a 4.65 at the combine, despite his 6-1, 245 pound frame.
20. NY Giants, Christian Ballard, DE, Iowa
Ballard may best be suited to the 3-4 as an end. But he also has a skill set that makes him a good inside player.
21. Indianapolis Colts Martez Wilson, LB, Illinois
Cincy needs an inside linebacker and despite the fact that he really only had one solid season of starting under his belt, the Illini Wilson is the #1 guy on the charts at this position. He’s still more potential and measurables than he is stats, but man has he overcome a lot during his years in Champaign-Urbana just to get here.
Much of Wilson’s growth stems from the now-infamous stabbing incident in December 2008, when he was out at a local bar called Fubar with one of his former teammates – Eastern Illinois standout running back D’Angelo McCray – and two of McCray’s friends from Eastern. The following year, he missed pretty much all of 2009 due to a neck injury. Wilson’s health is certainly not in question now; as he owned the combine. But his pro day showed less than optimal footwork, and his stick plummeted a bit.
For more on Wilson go here
22. Philadelphia Eagles Tyler Sash, S, Iowa
Tyler Sash a 6-1, 210 junior from Oskaloosa, Iowa is the starter on the strong side. And he’s about the same size as starting free safety Brett Greenwood, a 6-0 200 pound senior from Bettendorf. You might hear Greenwood’s name called in a later round, but he doesn’t have as much stock as Sash.
23. Kansas City Chiefs Jerrelle Powe, NT, Mississippi
Powe is more of a 3-4 round prospect, but he fills a need for KC, so I see him slotting up into this round
24. New Orleans Saints Shiloh Keo, S, Idaho
Made a name for himself at the combine
25. Seattle Jake Locker, QB, Washington
Despite all the on-the-field issues Locker has shown this season, there’s no way the Hawks pass up on the hometown boy. This pick is a mutually beneficial relationship. Locker is the poster child for “if you can leave early do it! You’ll be kicking yourself later.”
How far has this guy fallen? Well it fell even more after the Senior Bowl. The day after the 2010 NFL Draft I received a Jake Locker promotional postcard from the Univ. of Washington in the mail. Here are some of the more interesting quotes included in it. “”If he’s not the number one pick in 2011, it’s an upset,” Mel Kiper Jr. “If I didn’t have to coach against him, I’d be a bigger fan,” Jim Harbaugh. Since then I’ve gotten two more promotional and informational postcards from UW, but both came before his 4 of 20 passing disaster in week two. The luster is off Locker now.
His Senior Bowl week didn’t go so well.
26. Baltimore Ravens Drake Nevis, DT, LSU
Could be the first d tackle taken after Nick Fairley, but the foot injury keeping him out of the Senior Bowl greatly hurt his stock.
27. Atlanta Falcons Titus Young, WR, Boise St
How much was his game helped by having such a great QB in Kellen Moore and facing mid-major DBs all the time? He answered some critics by catching every pass but one in the combine gauntlet drill.
28. New England Patriots, Ryan Williams, RB, Virginia Tech
How many freaking picks in the first two rounds do they have? How can they not win the Super Bowl when you take a 14-2 team and give them 4 picks in the first two rounds?
29. San Diego (from NYJ) Ugo Chinasa, DE, Oklahoma St
And we have the first major sleeper pick of the draft. His combine numbers have propelled Chinasa up a couple pegs.
30. Chicago Bears Clint Boling, OT, Georgia
They seriously should consider taking a OL in all seven rounds, just so they can get at least one or two to pan out
31. Pittsburgh Greg Romeus, DE/OLB, Pitt
Poor guy’s injuries saw draft stock drop like Enron. He seems to be convalescing quite nicely now though. Pitt’s season was a train wreck, but the money Romeus will soon make probably compensates.
32. Green Bay Allen Bailey, DT, Miami
Bailey has all the natural gifts and skill sets, but he’s been quite inconsistent over his collegiate career. And his Senior Bowl week was so abominable, I’m wondering if he deserves to be here at all.
For round one go here
Carolina -> New England: Armanti Edwards
Miami -> Denver: Brandon Marshall
New York Jets -> San Diego: Antonio Cromartie
This mock draft is listed at Walter Football, Football Fan Spot, Fantasy Football Toolbox and DC Pro Sports Report
Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net, a Midwest webzine. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Walter Football, Yardbarker Network, and Fox Sports
He does a weekly radio segment on Chicagoland Sports Radio.com His Twitter is @thesportsbank