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@DarkDyson
Draft Preview by @Echelon_85 follow him on Twitter for more great NFL views & news
This year’s NFL Draft is going to be a lot different compared to those
of recent years. It’s not a top-heavy draft with a clear #1 pick like there was
with Cam Newton in 2011 and Andrew Luck in 2012 - players that are going to go
in the top 5 picks this year would more likely be have gone in the latter half
of the 1st round last year. Normally you’d have a good idea as to who the top 7
or 8 picks are going to be, but this year is different and even the players you
expect to go in the top 10 have some question marks over them. When 2 Guards
(Chance Warmack and Jonathan Cooper) are widely considered to be the safest
picks this year you know there’s a lack of, perceived, star quality at the top
end of the draft.
As a result, I expect that teams will have completely different grades
on a lot of players and I would think there isn’t too much of a difference in
talent between players taken at the bottom of round 1 and the top of round 3.
That’s not to say that there isn’t talent to be had in this crop of
players, with positions like DT boasting considerable depth and with the new
CBA from 2012 in place adding a rookie wage scale, teams aren’t going to be
afraid to pull off a trade if they fall in love with a player.
All of these factors are going to make for an intriguing 3 days and I’m
fully expecting a lot more surprise picks and trades than we’ve had in recent
years.
So, who’s going to go 1st overall? Since new Kansas City head coach Andy
Reid sorted out his QB + WR situation by trading for Alex Smith and re-signing
Dwayne Bowe (as well as franchising OT Branden Albert), I fully expect the
Chiefs to select Texas A&M OT Luke Joeckel with the #1 pick. Central
Michigan OT Eric Fisher has been rising up draft boards and should also be
being considered by the Chiefs but, having played in a stronger conference,
Joeckel is the safer pick here. I think the Chiefs would love to trade out of
this pick, but I can’t see that happening.
Part of the reason for the lack of a trade partner for Kansas City is
that there isn’t an ‘elite’ QB prospect worthy of the #1 pick in this year’s
draft. West Virginia QB Geno Smith is the best-rated QB in this draft and
despite his overall talent/value not warranting it, I don’t see him getting out
of the top 10 due to the number of QB-needy teams picking there. As we’ve all
seen if you don’t have a good QB, you don’t win and over the last couple of
years we’ve seen teams pass on players like Russell Wilson, Colin Kaepernick
and Andy Dalton - all of whom have taken their respective teams to the
playoffs. The new CBA, as mentioned earlier, also puts a lot less financial
pressure on teams who want to take a QB early on.
There should be a couple more QBs taken at the end of the round with
teams picking in the top 10, but not willing to take one that early, trading
back into the end of the 1st round. Teams like the Patriots who don’t have an
abundance of picks will actively be looking to trade down from that position.
Speaking of trades, I think there will be a lot of them in this draft. I
just spoke about teams at the end of the 1st round looking to trade down and
accumulate more picks, but I also envisage there to be some movement nearer the
top of the round - the Detroit Lions could possibly be looking to trade out of
their position and a CB needy team could jump in ahead of the Cleveland Browns
(who could also be thinking about going CB with their pick) and take the
top-rated CB, Dee Milliner from Alabama.
So, all in all, an intriguing and unpredictable draft to come!
2013 1st Round Order
- Kansas City Chiefs
- Jacksonville Jaguars
- Oakland Raiders
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Detroit Lions
- Cleveland Browns
- Arizona Cardinals
- Buffalo Bills
- New York Jets
- Tennessee Titans
- San Diego Chargers
- Miami Dolphins
- New York Jets (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
- Carolina Panthers
- New Orleans Saints
- St. Louis Rams
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- Dallas Cowboys
- New York Giants
- Chicago Bears
- Cincinnati Bengals
- St. Louis Rams (from Washington Redskins)
- Minnesota Vikings
- Indianapolis Colts
- Minnesota Vikings (from Seattle Seahawks)
- Green Bay Packers
- Houston Texans
- Denver Broncos
- New England Patriots
- Atlanta Falcons
- San Francisco 49ers
- Baltimore Ravens
Team’s Biggest Needs and Potential Fits
NFC West
- Arizona Cardinals: OT - Eric Fisher (Central Michigan), Lane Johnson (Oklahoma)
- San Francisco 49ers: S - Matt Elam (Florida), John Cyprien (Central Florida)
- Seattle Seahawks: OT - Justin Pugh (Syracuse)
- St.
Louis Rams: WR - Tavon Austin (West Virginia), Cordarrelle Patterson
(Tennessee)
NFC North
- Chicago Bears: LB - Manti Te’o (Notre Dame), Alec Ogletree (Georgia)
- Detroit Lions: DE - Dion Jordan (Oregon), Ezekial Ansah (BYU),
- Green Bay Packers: S - Matt Elam (Florida), Eric Reid (LSU)
- Minnesota
Vikings: WR - Cordarrelle Patterson (Tennessee), Keenan Allen (Cal)
NFC South
- Atlanta Falcons: CB - Desmond Trufant (Washington), Jamar Taylor (Boise State)
- Carolina Panthers: DT - Sheldon Richardson (Missouri), Star Lotulelei (Utah)
- New Orleans Saints: OLB - Jarvis Jones (Georgia), Barkevious Mingo (LSU)
- Tampa
Bay Buccaneers: TE - Zach Ertz (Stanford)
NFC East
- Dallas Cowboys: S - Kenny Vaccaro (Texas)
- New York Giants: LB - Manti Te’o (Notre Dame), Alec Ogletree (Georgia)
- Philadelphia Eagles: OT - Eric Fisher (Central Michigan), Luke Joeckel (Texas A&M)
- Washington Redskins: S - Eric Reid (LSU), Phillip Thomas (Fresno State)
AFC West
- Denver Broncos: DT - Sylvester Williams (North Carolina), John Jenkins (Georgia)
- Kansas City Chiefs: OT - Luke Joeckel (Texas A&M), Eric Fisher (Central Michigan)
- Oakland Raiders: DT - Shariff Floyd (Florida), Star Lotulelei (Utah)
- San
Diego Chargers: G - Chance Warmack (Alabama), Jonathan Cooper (North
Carolina)
AFC North
- Baltimore Ravens: LB - Manti Te’o (Notre Dame), Kevin Minter (LSU)
- Cincinnati Bengals: S - Matt Elam (Florida), Eric Reid (LSU)
- Cleveland Browns: CB - Dee Milliner (Alabama)
- Pittsburgh Steelers: OLB - Jarvis Jones (Georgia)
AFC South
- Houston Texans: WR - Keenan Allen (Cal), DeAndre Hopkins (Clemson)
- Indianapolis Colts: OLB - Bjoern Werner (Florida State), Cornellius Carradine (Florida State)
- Jacksonville Jaguars: DE - Dion Jordan (Oregon)
- Tennessee Titans: G - Chance Warmack (Alabama), Jonathan Cooper (North Carolina)
AFC East
- Buffalo Bills: QB - Geno Smith (West Virginia), Ryan Nassib (Syracuse)
- Miami Dolphins: OT - Lane Johnson (Oklahoma)
- New England Patriots: CB - DJ Hayden (Houston), Desmond Trufant (Washington)
- New York Jets: OLB - Ezekial Ansah (BYU), Barkevious Mingo (LSU)
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