Bar-bq's First 2011 2 Round Mock Draft!

Hey Everybody!

I'm finally just about on top of what has been a fervently busy couple of months. Sorry for my absence here on the board. Hopefully, my first two-rounder for 2011 will make up for it. Feedback is always appreciated!

Round One:

1. Carolina Panthers: Cam Newton, QB, Auburn
Adam Schefter beat everybody to the punch on Sam Bradford last year, and Newton to the Panthers makes a lot of sense. He guarantees bums on seats in Carolina, and he has the skillset to develop into a special player.

2. Denver Broncos: Marcell Dareus, DE/DT, Alabama
This pick is all but locked up. One of the most versatile linemen to come along in some time who addresses a major need on the Denver defense.

3. Buffalo Bills: Von Miller, OLB, Texas A&M
Miller will provide the pass rush the Bills’ organization has sorely been lacking. Gabbert is a possibility, but if the Bills aren’t sold, Ryan Fitzpatrick still has some mileage in him.

4. Cincinnati Bengals: Patrick Peterson, CB, LSU
Peterson is the most fluid defender to come along since Woodson, and in a division where you face Boldin and Wallace twice a year each, you’ll need all the help you can get.

5. Arizona Cardinals: Blaine Gabbert, QB, Missouri
If he’s available, I have no doubt that Wisenhunt will pull the trigger on Gabbert: he’s exactly what you look for in a young passer and has the chance to become the second best QB in the division behind Sam Bradford.

6. Cleveland Browns: Da'Quan Bowers, DE, Clemson
For a long time, Bowers was projected to Carolina as the #1 pick. His stock has fallen a little due to injury concerns, and Cleveland are the benefactors. Shurmur will be hard pressed not to pull the trigger on Green, but Mike Holmgren will make the ultimate call.

7. San Francisco *****: Prince Amukamara, CB, Nebraska
The ***** have a gaping hole in their secondary, and with neither of the top QBs on the board, Amukamara is the pick.

8. Tennessee Titans: Nick Fairley, DT, Auburn
Did somebody say Albert Haynesworth? Fairley will be a good fit in the middle of the Titans’ 4-3 and is really good value here.

9. Dallas Cowboys: Tyron Smith, OT, USC
Smith has done everything he can to secure himself a place in the top 10, and the OT-neediest team is the Cowboys. They’ll race to the podium if he’s available and Amakamura is gone.

10. Washington Redskins: AJ Green, WR, Georgia
I still think that AJ Green will be selected higher, but I’m not projecting trades. The Redskins get lucky to nab the best WR to come out since Megatron in ’08.

11. Houston Texans: Robert Quinn, DE/OLB, UNC
How much did a year off hurt Robert Quinn? Enough to push him all of the way out of the top 10 overall. Houston need some help getting to the passer, and they’ll be willing to take the risk.

12. Minnesota Vikings: Jake Locker, QB, Washington
Brett Favre has finally retired, and the Vikes are in dire straits at QB. Enter last year’s Andrew Luck, who is surprisingly a little bit of a reach here. I think he’ll be a great pro.

13. Detroit Lions: Nate Solder, OT, Colorado
The Lions will be looking to make a move up or down on draft day, as they’ll struggle to pair value and need at pick 13. If they have their sights set on CB/OL, they’ll be able to find better value in the 6-10 range. Solder fits the bill as a good OT to protect Stafford.

14. St. Louis Rams: Julio Jones, WR, Alabama
Teams looking to leapfrog the Rams for Jones will find viable trading partners at pick 13. If the Rams want really him, which they really should, they’ll probably have to move up themselves.

15. Miami Dolphins: Mark Ingram, RB, Alabama
Brown and Williams are projected to bolt, so Ingram makes a lot of sense. First round runner with extraordinary vision.

16. Jacksonville Jaguars: Ryan Kerrigan, DE, Purdue
I love Kerrigan’s motor. The Jags will be looking to bolster their pass rush, and the Purdue product is arguably the best man for the job.

17. New England Patriots: JJ Watt, DE, Wisconsin
Watt’s stock is on the rise, and New England need a 5-Technique opposite Ty Warren. It’s common sense, people.

18. San Diego Chargers: Cameron Jordan, DE, Cal
Another needy 5-Technique team secures a prospect who played the position in college. Jordan has had an outstanding senior bowl and combine.

19. New York Giants: Anthony Castanzo, OT, Boston College
The Giants’ OL is ageing, and they’ll need somebody to step in and protect Manning eventually.

20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Adrian Clayborn, DE, Iowa
Clayborn has been slipping a little, but I think he’d be a nice fit as a part of the re-tooled Bucs D-Line.

21. Kansas City Chiefs: Gabe Carimi, OT, Wisconsin
The Chiefs add another blocker to keep Cassel upright. The holes for Jones and Charles are going to keep getting bigger.

22. Indianapolis Colts: Derek Sherrod, OT, Mississippi St.
The Colts fell apart midseason, and a lack of OL depth was a big reason why. Look for Sherrod to start sooner rather than later.

23. Philadelphia Eagles: Akeem Ayers, LB, UCLA
OLB has been a spot of bother for the Eagles for the best part of the last five years. Ayers has all of the tools you look for and would be right at home next to Stewart Bradley.

24. New Orleans Saints: Justin Houston, DE, Georgia
The Saints don’t have an abundance of needs, but DE is certainly up for consideration. Houston is good value at this point and has a pretty solid burst.

25. Seattle Seahawks: Mike Pouncey, OG, Florida
The Seahawks will either have to reach for Ryan Mallett or wait until next year to find their QB of the future. Pouncey has played his way into the late first/early second and will be a stud blocker by the time a new QB arrives.

26. Baltimore Ravens: Jimmy Smith, CB, Colorado
The Ravens’ secondary wasn’t exactly a strong suit last year. Journeymen stand aside: the Jimmy Smith era begins now.

27. Atlanta Falcons: Corey Liuget, DL, Illinois
Luiget is another prospect I expect to see go a little higher than this. As it stands, he’ll perform a Justin Tuck type role for the Falcons.

28. New England Patriots: Aldon Smith, DE/OLB, Missouri
The Patriots probably could have looked at Smith with their first pick, and he’s a good fit here. He’ll bolster their pass rush with Watt holding down the frontline.

29. Chicago Bears: Phil Taylor, DT, Baylor
Tommie Harris was sent packing, and Taylor has enough size and strength to be two nose tackles.

30. New York Jets: Jabaal Sheard, DE/OLB, Pittsburgh
Vernon Gholston was a colossal bust, and it’s time for Rex Ryan to bring in another stud pass rusher.

31. Pittsburgh Steelers: Brandon Harris, CB, Miami
I really like Brandon Harris as a player, and Pittsburh definitely could use some depth in the secondary. Value meets need at pick #31.

32. Green Bay Packers: Allen Bailey, DL, Miami
The Pack don’t exactly have an abundance of needs. Bailey is a promising 5-Technique End, and would solidify the fort with Cullen Jenkins up front.

Round Two:

1. New England Patriots: Danny Watkins, OG, Baylor

2. Buffalo Bills: Marcus Canon, OT, TCU

3. Cincinnati Bengals: Jon Baldwin, WR, Pittsburgh

4. Denver Broncos: Kyle Rudolph, TE, Notre Dame

5. Cleveland Browns: Leonard Hankerson, WR, Miami

6. Arizona Cardinals: Brooks Reed, DE/OLB, Arizona

7. Tennessee Titans: Ryan Mallet, QB, Arkansas

8. Dallas Cowboys: Aaron Williams, CB, Texas

9. Washington Redskins: Christian Ponder, QB, Florida St.

10. Houston Texans: Martez Wilson, LB, Illinois

11. Minnesota Vikings: Stephen Paea, DT, Oregon St.

12. Detroit Lions: Rasi-I Dowling, CB, Virginia

13. San Francisco *****: Ricky Stanzi, QB, Iowa

14. Denver Broncos: Johnny Patrick, CB, Louisville

15. St. Louis Rams: Bruce Carter, OLB, UNC

16. Oakland Raiders: Stefan Wisniewski, OC Penn State

17. Jacksonville Jaguars: Rahim Moore, S, UCLA

18. San Diego Chargers: Titus Young, WR, Boise St.

19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Martez Wilson, LB, Illinois

20. New York Giants: Christian Ballard, DT, Iowa

21. Indianapolis Colts: Muhammad Wilkerson, DT, Temple

22. Philadelphia Eagles: Curtis Brown, CB, Texas

23. Kansas City Chiefs: Marvin Austin, DT, UNC

24. New Orleans Saints: Sam Acho, OLB, Texas

25. Seattle Seahawks: Rodney Hudson, OL, Florida St.

26. Baltimore Ravens: Torrey Smith, WR, Maryland

27. Atlanta Falcons: Randall Cobb, WR, Kentucky

28. New England Patriots: Jeremy Kerley, WR, TCU

29. San Diego Chargers: Ben Ijalana, OL, Villanova

30. Chicago Bears: Clint Boling, OG, Georgia

31. Pittsburgh Steelers: James Carpenter OL, Alabama

32. Green Bay Packers: Mikel Leshoure, RB, Illinois

Good Mock Draft Bar-bq. I have a hard time seeing the Browns taking Bowers and passing on AJ Green if he's on the board at #6. Holmgren and Shurmer are offensive guys who likely see the value of a top playmaking receiver over a DE who's been slipping because of injury and is a bit of a 1 year wonder. Otherwise I hope this plays out as you forecast with us getting Jones at #14 and Carter in round 2. Welcome back.

Go Rams!

I'm not up to date on the Bengals impending free agents, so this might answer itself, but do you really see them drafting peterson with both Jonathan Joseph and Leon Hall on the roster? Also, they apparently have Jonathan Wade on the squad as well, so forget about it!

Great mock by the way :)

I really like how you did the top 5 picks in the draft. Each one of them were bold picks except Dareus to the Broncos. I definiatly think the cards will pull the trigger on Gabbert because they see first hand how a franchise QB impacts a team they saw how important Sam Bradford was to the Rams. Many are saying peterson will drop but i doubt it the Bengals will have a pretty good defense next year with peterson and joseph. The bills need a pass rusher and with Newton off the board i doubt they go gabbert when they have fitzpatrick. The panthers can have a good preseason competition with clausen and newton.


It does suck that you dont project trades. I would pull the trigger and trade with the cowboys to take green ahead of the skins.

I love the Jones pick. However just not sold on bruce carter pick. I believe saftey is a bigger need with Atogwe gone and Moore is the best safety in the draft and after him there is a huge difference in talent at the safety position.

I don't know about Von Miller as a top three pick. If I were picking for the Bills, I'd have some serious reservations about taking a 6'3", 246-pounder as a pass rusher that early. Of course, he's fast; he weighs the same as Will Witherspoon but is two inches taller. If you're drafting him to chase tight ends and occasionally blitz, that's great; but I don't know about putting him outside in a 3-4 where he's going to be expected to take on 300 lb. NFL offensive tackles on a regular basis. Your typical Demarcus Ware/Shaune Merriman type is about 265.

Although most of the early picks seem pretty realistic, I think we'd be really lucky if 3 quarterbacks were taken in the top 12 in this class. Of course, I wouldn't be complaining if it happened and Julio Jones fell into our laps.