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First and Last Mock


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1. WR Corey Coleman Baylor- Starting to doubt he makes it to 24, but Coleman (or Doctson) would be the dream pick. Need meets value as I think both are legit top-20 prospects and the need is obviously huge.

2. DT Austin Johnson Penn State- The strength of this draft class is the DTs, but they probably start flying off the board mid-late 1st through the end of the 2nd round. There are at least 10 who look really intriguing and I think one of those guys will fall to 55 as other teams reach for need. Really like Johnson's athleticism and upside. Could also see Nkemdiche, Kenny Clark, Adolphus Washington, Chris Jones or Javon Hargrave if any of those guys are there at 55.

3. S TJ Green Clemson- With only 3 legit Safeties on the roster, think we definitely see one taken in the 3rd-4th round range. Since we don't need a starter but have a pretty glaring need for a backup, 1st or 2nd round seems too rich and 5th or later might be too late to guarantee a solid player who could step in and play in 2016 if needed. Green seems to fit in terms of value at this point in the draft and he has the big-school background we like in the first few rounds.

4. OL Caleb Benedoch UCLA- A versatile OL who could backup at least 4 positions. Also fits the Bengals mold. Powerful, smart. He's also a religious guy from Katy, TX (like our QB). Need a backup OG pretty bad and think we get one in round 4 or 5. 

5. WR Malcolm Mitchell Georgia- We always need at least one UGA guy and Mitchell is a great fit. Smart, productive, versatile, mature. Instant #4 receiver who could bump up to #3 if LaFell isn't resigned next offseason.

6. RB Josh Ferguson Illinois- A poor man's Gio Bernard. With Burkhead expected to get some time in the slot and Gio set to hit FA after 2016, think we see a late round RB taken. Probably a guy who is strong in the passing game like Ferguson or DeAndre Washington from Texas Tech.

7. DE Branden Jackson Texas Tech- Think we take a pass-rushing DE late. It's the one real early round want/need that doesn't get addressed because we only have 3 picks on day 1. Might have to wait one more year for that impact pass rusher. Maybe a small school DE that's under-the-radar but has some upside?

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I freakin LOVE TJ Green.....unfortunately, I doubt I'm alone...I think he's a 2nd rounder.

Might be. I used the rankings (prices) on "play the draft" which is the stock market like game for the approximate draft slots. I've noticed in the past it does a really good job of capturing the wisdom of the crowd and ends up being closer to the actual draft results than expert rankings. Green was 85th.

Jalen Mills was ranked 75th and the only other Safety in the general range of our 3rd rounder. (Also Jeremy Cash at 69 but I think he's more of a LB.)

Lapham mentioned DT and Safety as the two deepest positions in the class and said in an ideal world we'd get one of our top targets at WR in the 1st and then take advantage of the depth of those two position in rounds 2 and 3 to get a couple really good players later than you could in a normal year.

 

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Unless they think they will have a hard time re-signing Williams, I think both DE and CB are higher needs than safety, as well as WR and DT. 

I think it kind of depends upon how you define need. I love Williams and think we are set at starter. But Derron Smith is undersized and probably best suited as the #4 Safety. Taylor Mays isn't good and probably won't make the team. So it looks to me like we really need a #3 Safety who is able to step in and play as a rookie if either of the starters goes down. That's the perfect type of need to address in the mid-rounds IMO. Especially since this draft is so deep at Safety and there's no guarantee you get an extension done with Williams. 

Sorry for long-winded response, but the short version is IMO Safety doesn't make much sense as an early-round need where you're hopefully drafting an early-career starter. And that's even considering that I really like some of the potential round 2 safeties.

But in the mid-rounds if you can get a long-term #3 who probably starts a handful of games each year, plays special teams and gets in on some sub-packages (and potentially starts if Williams leaves), that's a good use of a pick. 

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