Football is almost here! It’s just a matter of time before the season begins. The first step was Free Agency, the second was the Schedule. And now the Draft! This Thursday @ 8:00 pm the 1st Round of the Draft will be on in prime time and I’ll be glued to the television. This is a very interesting draft class and it’s hard to predict who each team will pick, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun trying. So, based on the opinions of experts and my own uneducated musings (and barring any draft spot trades) here it is, Olie’s 2016 Mock Draft:
1. Los Angeles Rams – Jared Goff, QB California
2. Philadelphia Eagles – Carson Wentz, QB NDSU
3. San Diego Chargers – Laremy Tunsil, OT Ole Miss
4. Dallas Cowboys – Jalen Ramsey, CB FSU
5. Jacksonville Jaguars – Joey Bosa, DE OSU
6. Baltimore Ravens – Miles Jack, LB UCLA
7. San Francisco 49ers – Ronnie Stanley, OT Notre Dame
8. Cleveland Browns – Ezekiel Elliott, RB OSU
9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Vernon Hargreaves, CB Florida
10. New York Giants – Deforest Buckner, DE Oregon
11. Chicago Bears – Leonard Floyd, LB Georgia
12. New Orleans – Sheldon Rankins, DT Louisville
13. Miami Dolphins – Shaq Lawson, DE Clemson
14. Oakland Raiders – Robert Nkemdiche, DT Ole Miss
15. Tennessee Titans – Jack Conklin, OT MSU
16. Detroit Lions – Kevin Dodd, DE Clemson
17. Atlanta Falcons – Darron Lee, LB OSU
18. Indianapolis Colts – Taylor Decker, OT OSU
19. Buffalo Bills – Reggie Ragland, LB Alabama
20. New York Jets – Paxton Lynch, QB Memphis
21. Washington Redskins – Jarran Reed, DT Alabama
22. Houston Texans – Corey Coleman, WR Baylor
23. Minnesota Vikings – Laquon Treadwell, WR Ole Miss
24. Cincinnati Bengals – Josh Doctson, WR TCU
25. Pittsburgh Steelers – Artie Burns, CB Miami
26. Seattle Seahawks – A’Shawn Robinson, DT Alabama
27. Green Bay Packers – Hunter Henry, TE Arkansas
28. Kansas City Chiefs – Will Fuller, WR Notre Dame
29. Arizona Cardinals – William Jackson III, CB Houston
30. Carolina Panthers – Andrew Billings, DT Baylor
31. Denver Broncos – Cody Whitehair, OG KSU
Best of the Rest: Jaylon Smith LB Notre Dame (injury), Chris Jones DT Miss St, Vernon Butler DT LA Tech, Emmanuel Ogbah DE Oklahoma St, Derrick Henry RB Alabama, Noah Spence DE Eastern Kentucky, Jordan Howard RB Indiana, Jonathan Bullard DT Florida, Le’Raven Clark OT Texas Tech, Eli Apple CB OSU, Mackensie Alexander CB Clemson, Tyler Boyd WR Pittsburgh, Germain Ifedi OG Texas A&M, Connor Cook QB MSU.
Notes: DE Deforest Buckner could easily rocket up to the Top 5. Teams could trade into the Top 10 in order to select Paxton Lynch. WRs Coleman, Treadwell, & Doctson could flip between the 22-24 slots. The New England Patriots lost their 1st Rd selection after ‘Deflategate’.