With most of our pro days done, and the NFL draft getting closer and closer, Joe Champine has some updates to his NFL Mock Draft.
Joe Champine’s NFL Mock Draft 3.0
1. Tampa Bay- Jameis Winston QB Florida State
Last Mock- Jameis Winston
With Josh McCown gone and Mike Glennon not the answer in Tampa, Lovie Smith and TB GM Jason Licht take the franchise play caller and buy them some time. Plus with Doug Martin and Vincent Jackson, Winston will be insulated with some decent offensive options.
2. Tennessee Titans- Marcus Mariota QB Oregon
Last Mock- Marcus Mariota
Tennessee was aggressive in free agency and added two safeties, two outside linebackers and a defensive tackle. Ken Wisenhunt can try to win games with a re-vamped defense and draft his franchise quarterback in the process.
3. Jacksonville Jaguars- Leonard Williams DT Southern Cal
Last Mock- Dante Fowler Jr
Gus Bradley will need to fill a void of a pure pass rusher on his defense. While pairing Fowler with free agent signing Jared Odrick on the inside is tempting, Bradley takes the best player in the draft and starts the re-build of his defense in the right direction.
4. Oakland Raiders- Amari Cooper WR Alabama
Last Mock- Leonard Williams
With two linebackers and a pure nose tackle added in free agency, Reggie McKenzie will look to the offensive side of the ball and take Cooper to pair with the second year quarterback Derek Carr. But if Williams slips, he will be the pick.
5. Washington Redskins- Dante Fowler Jr OLB/DE Florida
Last Mock- Shane Ray
With two defensive tackles and Chris Culliver added as a corner in free agency, Fowler will come in and immediately fill the void of Orakpo leaving as a pass rush specialist.
6. New York Jets- Shane Ray DE/OLB Missouri
Last Mock- Vic Beasley
The Jets added three top corners in free agency. New Head Coach Todd Bowles will try and find a pass rush piece in Ray to fit into his complex blitz scheme to try and compete in the AFC East.
7. Chicago Bears- Randy Gregory DE/OLB Nebraska
Last Mock- Randy Gregory
Even with Waynes on the board, New general manager Ryan Pace will continue the trend of pass rushers off the board and select Gregory to try and wreak havoc and get to Rodgers, Stafford and Bridgewater in the division.
8. Atlanta Falcons- Vic Beasley DE Clemson
Last Mock- Amari Cooper
Dan Quinn gets his Bruce Irvin type defensive end in Beasley. Beasley will come in and play both on the end as a stand up linebacker in Quinn’s aggressive 4-3 defense.
9. New York Giants- Arik Armstead DE Oregon
Last Mock- Brandon Schreff
I keep flip-flopping on this pick between Armstead and Schreff. I feel that with the three other teams in the division, the Giants will look to get after the quarterback with this pick, rather than protect theirs.
10. St. Louis Rams- Andrus Peat OT Stanford
Last Mock- Andrus Peat
With St. Louis releasing two offensive line starters, the Rams address their need in Peat, who may need a year or two at right tackle before protecting Nick Foles blindside.
11. Minnesota Vikings- Todd Gurley RB Georgia
Last Mock- Todd Gurley
While Parker may still be the pick here, I am going to assume Adrian Peterson will not be wearing Viking purple for the 2015 season. The Vikings get Gurley to help Bridgewater in the backfield.
12. Cleveland Browns- Dorial Green Beckham WR Missouri
Last Mock- Dorial Green Beckham
Cleveland needs a threat on the outside with Josh Gordon suspended for the year. Beckham is an upside receiver with Calvin Johnson like size and speed.
13. New Orleans Saints- Kevin White WR West Virginia
Last Mock- Kevin White
Out goes Jimmy Graham from the Bayou, and in steps White, who will give Brees and immediate deep threat for the Saints offense.
14. Miami Dolphins- DeVante Parker WR Louisville
Last Mock- DeVante Parker
Losing Brian Hartline to the Browns and with the Dolphins being a need based drafting organization, The Fins realize they need another option for Ryan Tannehill to pair with newly acquired Jordan Cameron.
15. San Francisco 49ers- Malcolm Brown DT Texas
Last Mock- Arik Armstead
Brown is a 2-gap tackle in the middle will fill one of the many holes on the 49ers defense. Pairing Brown inside with Aldon Smith on the edge, the 49ers will at least help their secondary by hopefully getting to quarterback more often.
16. Houston Texans- Trae Waynes CB Michigan State
Last Mock- Trae Waynes
This is a great value pick at 16. Waynes is the best corner in the draft. The Texans get some help on defense for J.J. Watt and Jadaveon Clowney. In a division with Andrew Luck and very little done in free agency thus far, Waynes is an immediate upgrade at cornerback.
17. San Diego Chargers- Jalen Collins CB LSU
Last Mock draft- Jalen Collins
With the Chargers going out and getting Orlando Franklin in free agency, San Diego looks to try and slow down the three quarterbacks in their division. Collins is a long corner with good cover skills and should be able to match up against the opponent’s number one receiver by the middle of year one.
18. Kansas City Chiefs- Marcus Peters CB Washington
Last Mock draft- Marcus Peters
With all of the issues in the Chiefs secondary last year, the Chiefs will look at both Peters and Landon Collins here. But in the end, Peters can grow into a role of being on an island and making an impact quicker in the Chiefs defense.
19. Cleveland Browns- TJ Clemmings OT Pittsburgh
Last Mock Draft- TJ Clemmings
Clemmings is a raw tackle project who will be able to line up on the right side and be a very good run blocker from the start. Within a few years, I could see him transition to left tackle once Joe Thomas is gone.
20. Philadelphia Eagles- Byron Jones CB Connecticut
Last Mock Draft- Bud Dupree
With all of the turnover this off-season, this is the pick that I am least confident to make. With the departure of Trent Cole, Dupree was the pick. But I think Chip Kelly may end up going corner here, adding Jones to his back seven.
21. Cincinnati Bengals- La’El Collins OL LSU
Last Mock Draft- La’El Collins
Andy Dalton was paid a lot of money two years ago and needs to perform. That means he needs to stay in the pocket and the Bengals need to upgrade their offensive line with Collins.
22. Pittsburgh Steelers- Landon Collins SS Alabama
Last Mock Draft- Landon Collins
The Steelers have to replace Troy Polamalu in the secondary and with Mike Mitchell signed long term, Collins becomes the running mate to take the torch from Polamalu as the play-maker in the back seven.
23. Detroit Lions- Eddie Goldman DT Florida State
Last Mock Draft- Eddie Goldman
No Nick Fairley. No Ndamukong Suh. The Lions must get a defensive tackle to fill the void for the number two defense in the NFL last year.
24. Arizona Cardinals- Melvin Gordon RB Wisconsin
Last Mock- Melvin Gordon
Arizona is equipped with a good defense, even without Todd Bowles, and a 36-year-old signal caller in Palmer. The offense needs help and Gordon could be the home run hitting rusher the Cardinals need.
25. Carolina Panthers- D.J. Humphries OT Florida
Last Mock- D.J Humphries
Carolina has a franchise quarterback in Cam Newton and they have to protect him. Humphries is the type of tackle that can be plugged and played immediately.
26. Baltimore Ravens- Bud Dupree DE/OLB Kentucky
Last Mock- Maxx Williams
After losing six free agents this off-season, Baltimore takes value in Dupree to get to the quarterback from the outside and try to replace Pernell McPhee.
27. Dallas Cowboys- P.J Williams CB Florida State
Last Mock- P.J. Williams
If Dallas can somehow get Adrian Peterson to pair with Darren McFadden, Dallas will look to their defense here and Williams will help the back seven in big D.
28. Denver Broncos- Danny Shelton NT Washington
Last Mock- Danny Shelton
Denver fills the hole left by Knighton by bringing in Shelton in the middle of their defensive line.
29. Indianapolis Colts- Gerod Holliman S Louisville
Last Mock- Gerod Holliman
The Colts will look to Holliman to fill the void left by Sergio Brown who’s heading to Jacksonville via free agency.
30. Green Bay Packers- Kevin Johnson CB Wake Forest
Last Mock- Malcolm Brown
With Davon House leaving for Jacksonville, Green Bay fills their biggest hole on the defense with Johnson.
31. New Orleans Saints (From Seattle) Preston Smith DE Mississippi State
Last Mock- Shaq Thompson
The Saints at some point have to address their defense. Smith can help the defensive line that needs to play far more aggressive for the Saints to reach the playoffs.
32. New England Patriots- Brandon Schreff OG Iowa
Last Mock- Jordan Phillips
While Benardrick McKinney or Jordan Phillips would bring youth and versatility to Belichick’s defense, New England revolves around Tom Brady and his health. Schreff can step in and be the exact replica at guard that was lost last year when the Pats traded Logan Mankins.
