2016 Mock Draft: Fox's Penultimate Mock

Updated 2016 Mock Draft with just over a week until the big day.

1. Los Angeles Rams(from Tennessee): Jared Goff, QB California.
Goff is far more pro ready than Wentz is so taking a long term project after giving up all those picks makes little sense for the Rams. Goff’s lack of arm power might not be as big a problem for the Rams, but it will limit him to Matt Ryan levels of performance.

2. Philadelphia Eagles(projected trade with Cleveland Browns. Browns get pick #7, Eagles’ 2017 1st and Eagles’ 2016 3rd. Eagles get Justin Gilbert on top of this pick): Carson Wentz, Qb North Dakota State
I’m not a fan of Wentz. He looks like a classic “he looks great in shorts but can’t handle a rush” type quarterback. And the Eagles have two quarterbacks under contract who’ve been promised a shot at the starting gig, but whatever: they’re calling around trying to move up for Wentz.

3. San Diego Chargers: Jalen Ramsey, DB Florida State
The Chargers need Tunsil more than they need Ramsey. They’ll almost certainly take Ramsey and then worry about left tackle in the 2nd round. Ramsey with those corners around him could make for a great secondary.

4. Dallas Cowboys: Joey Bosa, DL Ohio State
The Cowboys probably would prefer Ramsey but they’ll be happy with Bosa. Teaming him, Gregory and DeMarcus Lawrence could make for a tough pass rush for opposing teams. Keeping Bosa in a 3 point stance is critical to his success in my opinion. He’s just slightly stiff enough to not be as effective out wide. On sub packages, they would be wise to move Bosa to 3 tackle.

5. Jacksonville Jaguars: Laremy Tunsil, OT Ole Miss
The odds are that most mock drafts will have the Jags taking a defensive player as they collect more and more defensive talent. But they’re not committal on Luke Joeckel’s 5th year option and he’s just not going to become that cornerstone left tackle that they hoped they were drafting. On monday, they announced that they would decide on his 5th year option after the draft. This should put everyone on alert that they’re thinking left tackle early.

6. Baltimore Ravens: Myles Jack, LB UCLA
Since friday, there have been reports that “some teams” still had concerns about his knee long term. To me it sounds like teams picking in the middle of the first trying to get Jack to drop. If a top team was concerned, that’s what the report would be and they would be uniform like the reports on Jaylon Smith’s knee are. The Ravens would love to get him and add him to that defense.

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7. San Francisco 49ers: Paxton Lynch, QB Memphis
Boom goes the dynamite. And out the door goes Kaepernick. Chip Kelly might want a more mobile passer so he can work in some designed runs, but his offense clicked in the NFL when he had a strong armed gunslinger in Nick Foles. Lynch could be a better version of him.

8. Cleveland Browns(from Miami via Philadelphia): DeForest Buckner, DL Oregon
Cleveland did pretty well for themselves in this mock: they dumped Gilbert off elsewhere, got a future first and still got a player that they wanted. Buckner would be a big 5 or 3 for them to rebuild their defense around.

9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Sheldon Rankins, DL Louisville
This shouldn’t be a surprise. Rankins is smoking hot in the draftverse and the Bucs have been pretty open about wanting to reinforce McCoy inside of their defense so that Alexander and David won’t face as many offensive linemen as they did in 2015.

10. New York Giants: Ezekiel Elliott, RB Ohio State
Best player available now. Best player available then. Best player available forever! Elliott is top 5 talent to me but the quarterback scramble scrambles his draft position. The Giants are happy to see him here though.

11. Chicago Bears: Ronnie Stanley, OL Notre Dame
They need defensive help for sure, but Stanley dropping here gives them pause. Massie is a quality right tackle but drafting Stanley means that they can keep Long at guard where he’s best.

12. New Orleans Saints: Andrew Billings, DL Baylor
They did just sign Fairley, but they’re going to run a lot of 4-3 fronts and they need more on the defensive line. The Saints also have shown a propensity for ignoring needs for talent in the draft of late and Billings probably helps more than most of the prospects left at this point.

13. Miami Dolphins(from Philadelphia): William Jackson III, DB Houston
The Phins are making no secret of what they think that they need: a corner. WJ3 over VH3 because of his sheer size/speed and that they think that they can coach out his propensity to grab.

14. Oakland Raiders: Karl Joseph, DB West Virginia
It’s hard to know when Joseph will play again, but it’s believed that he won’t be a PUP list candidate. If so, then he’s a top 15 pick and the Raiders-after signing Reggie Nelson and Sean Smith-would love to add his skill set to their secondary,

15. Tennessee Titans(from Los Angeles): Taylor Decker, OL Ohio State
The Titans’ goals haven’t changed despite the trade: they need to protect Mariota and open holes for Murray. I personally like Decker over Tunsil, so this pick with 5 more picks in the first 76 selections means that they can throw a lot of prospects into the mix and take more chances.

16. Detroit Lions: Vernon Hargreaves III, DB Florida
I still like VH3 and think he’s the best cover corner in this draft. Yes, he’ll always struggle against bigger wideouts but the lack of size isn’t always a barrier to a great cover corner(ask Haden and Revis). The Lions get a steal here in my opinion.

17. Atlanta Falcons: Josh Doctson, WR TCU
Doctson makes more sense than Treadwell here. The Falcons need a field stretcher more than another flanker. Julio Jones can stretch the field with the best of them but he’s at his best when he plays Flanker so he can move the chains consistently and lull the defense into moving up their coverage so he can then go deep.

18. Indianapolis Colts: Noah Spence, EDGE Eastern Kentucky
The Colts could go in many directions here and Ryan Grigson is unpredictable enough to take literally anyone, but this is probably him and Pagano’s final year if they struggle again. Spence is a ready to start prospect who puts Cole on the bench and potentially revitalizes their defense.

19. Buffalo Bills: Darron Lee, LB Ohio State
The Bills quite literally have nothing at outside linebacker right now. And in that defense, if they’re going to stick with the 4-3 front, they require talent there. They’d love it if Paxton Lynch fell this far but that looks doubtful now.

20. New York Jets: Emmanuel Ogbah. DL Okla State
I won’t be shocked if Muhammed Wilkerson is traded during the draft. However, even if they keep him, they need more pass rushing talent. Ogbah can play the 5, 7 or 9 for them and should be a big upgrade over Quentin Coples.

21. Washington Redskins: Michael Thomas, WR Ohio State
They really were hoping that Billings and Karl Joseph dropped here since that defense is talent poor right now. They also need an upgrade over Garcon, who averaged 7.7 yards per target in 2015(that’s pretty bad). Getting Thomas means they can dump his big cap charge.

22. Houston Texans: Ryan Kelly, OC Alabama
The Texans need to maximize their new investment in Osweiler and Miller and they need some offensive line help. Whitehair is a possibility but they just can’t pass on one of the better centers to come out in a long time.

23. Minnesota Vikings: Laquon Treadwell, WR Ole Miss
So why does Treadwell drop this far? It’s not about his sheer 40 time, it’s about his tape. To overcome his speed issues, the Rebels used him a lot in quick throws and especially underneath ones. It’s just concerning that for someone who’s supposed to have good receiving abilities, his route tree is limited. Defenses will look to press him until he shows he can handle it(he can’t consistenly).

24. Cincinnati Bengals: A’Shawn Robinson, DL Alabama
While I’m not a fan of A’Shawn, this is an ideal spot for him. The Bengals like to take linemen(on both sides of the ball) and stash them while they teach them how to play. This is exactly what he needs. If he’s asked to start immediately, it will be a disaster.

25. Pittsburgh Steelers: Su’a Cravens, LB/DB Southern Cal.
The Steelers would consider a top corner prospect here and just cut Cortez Allen. Mac Alexander might not be that so they go with the strong safety/weakside linebacker tweener with great pursuit skills from Southern Cal. That’s worked for them in the past.

26. Seattle Seahawks: Cody Whitehair, OL Kansas State
They’re apparently all in with Gary Gilliam at left tackle. That should be..interesting. And Britt could help him thrive but they still need a right tackle and right guard. Whitehair starts tomorrow for them at right guard.

27. Green Bay Packers: Kevin Dodd, DL Clemson
Dodd checks more boxes for them than say Shaq Lawson. Dodd is a prospect who should grow much more than Lawson and he looks more of a fit as a 5, a potential 3 or out wide as a 7 or 9. The Packers like to move players around to create matchup problems for opposing offenses and this flexibility means that Dodd gets the nod here.

28. Kansas City Chiefs: Kamalei Correa, EDGE Boise State
So why Correa over Lawson? Lawson really looks like a prospect who only has one position in the NFL: LEO End. This is what teams who run variants of the Seattle defense use. And that’s fine, but it’s hard to see a team like Kansas City, who needs a pure edge rusher, taking Lawson over a better fit like Correa unless they’re name chasing.

29. Arizona Cardinals: Reggie Ragland, LB Alabama
The Cards are all in on one last run with Larry Fitzgerald and Carson Palmer. That’s why they dealt Jon Cooper, whom they quite liked, for Chandler Jones. They need to add talent to that defensive front 7 because when The Honey Badger went down, their defense struggled. I’m not a big fan of Ragland, I think that he’s a 2 down linebacker who’ll struggle in space. But in that defense where they have multiple safeties that can take over his coverage duties, it could work.

30. Carolina Panthers: Jason Spriggs, OL Indiana
This is the rare occasion where a team who likes to draft “best player available” at the expense of addressing needs can find a prospect who checks both boxes. Spriggs helps an offensive line that was exposed in the Super Bowl. The Panthers like more mobile linemen and Spriggs certainly looks like he can fit that.

31. Denver Broncos: Robert Nkemdiche, DL Ole Miss
Elway decides to start early with the lottery ticket picks. There’s a lot of teams who are very concerned about Nkemdiche on and off the field. The sheer talent and physical ability that he could bring as a 3 or 5 in the hands of Wade Phillips makes him irresistible to Elway. With so many holes, Elway will have to take some chances in the hopes of finding a playmaker to help plug those holes.

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2016 Mock Draft: Fox’s Penultimate Mock

By jonfox | Apr 19, 2016

Updated 2016 Mock Draft with just over a week until the big day.

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