Welcome to my first ever mock draft. The word “rookie” in the title isn’t referring to the obvious fact that the NFL draft is full of rookies, but because that’s what I am in this situation. I tried to combine a little of what I believe each team should do, along with their needs and what they should do on paper. I did not incorporate any trades, although I’m 100% certain they’ll be at least one to shake things up. Without further adieu, here it is…

#1 Houston Texans – Jadeveon Clowney, DE, South Carolina – He’s as solid as it gets at the top in my opinion and I believe new Head Coach Bill O’Brien wants the sure thing with his first ever draft selection. They can get a QB in the second round at #33.

#2 St. Louis Rams – Sammy Watkins, WR, Clemson – They could go with Greg Robinson, but I believe they can get a good tackle at #13. Sam Bradford hasn’t had a legitimate big weapon since he arrived in St. Louis. They drafted Tavon Austin last year, but a mid-season injury to Bradford didn’t allow them to fully gel. Add Watkins to an offensive core of Austin, Jared Cook,  and Zack Stacey, and you have a very good core to go with an excellent defense.

#3 Jacksonville Jaguars – Khalil Mack, OLB, Buffalo – Jacksonville would love Watkins and may consider Manziel, both to add excitement, but ultimately I believe Head Coach Gus Bradley goes with arguably the second best player in the draft.

#4 Cleveland Browns – Johnny Manziel, QB, Texas A&M – They can hint that they may go in another direction all they want. I don’t buy it. They have a talented young core with Josh Gordon, Jordan Cameron, and now Ben Tate, so I believe they look to get their long awaited established quarterback while providing excitement for their franchise.

#5 Oakland Raiders – Mike Evans, WR, Texas A&M – The spirit of Al Davis lives on. While they could use a solid tackle like Greg Robinson, Evans is just more of a Raiders type of pick. They hope Watkins falls, but when he doesn’t, they pull the trigger on Evans to give desperate help to a boring offense and new quarterback Matt Schuab.

#6 Atlanta Falcons – Greg Robinson, OT, Auburn – Already planning on taking a tackle, Atlanta will be thrilled with Oakland’s selection of Evans. The Falcons get their offensive line help to protect Matt Ryan.

#7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Aaron Donald, DT, Pittsburgh – I truly think that Tampa Bay will take Manziel if he somehow falls, but in this situation, both he and Evans are off the board. New Head Coach Lovie Smith would absolutely love to add Donald to his Tampa-2 defense, where the 3-technique is one of the key positions for it to succeed.

#8 Minnesota Vikings – Blake Bortles, QB, Central Florida – I’m not too sure about this pick, because I could see Minnesota waiting till the 2nd round to grab their quarterback. They did great work in last year’s draft with three 1st round picks, so they could start to round out their rebuilding in the post-Favre times.

#9 Buffalo Bills – Jake Matthews, OT, Texas A&M – This one is obvious for me. The blood line is a big connection and the Bills badly need to sure up their offensive line.

#10 Detroit Lions – Justin Gilbert, CB, Oklahoma State – Though the Lions dream of having Watkins or Evans to pair with Calvin Johnson, not having the choice of one of them at this spot may be the best case scenario. Their secondary has been horrible and they’d love to get first pick of the corner back class.

#11 Tennessee Titans – Darqueze Dennard, CB, Michigan State – Though they flirt with the idea of a quarterback, they can’t justify reaching this high. They need a corner to replace Alterraun Verner.

#12 New York Giants – Eric Ebron, TE, North Carolina – This is another one I’m not too sure about, but the Giants know that a weapon like Ebron could really get Eli Manning and their offense going again. Ebron, along with Victor Cruz and Rueben Randle, will present a dangerous down field threat.

#13 St. Louis Rams – Zack Martin, OT, Notre Dame – Although this may seem a little high for Martin, the Rams can solidify their RT position after landing a weapon like Watkins at #2.

#14 Chicago Bears – Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, S, Alabama – I believe Head Coach Mark Trestman is more than satisfied with his offensive attack, so they fill a big need with the best safety in the class.

#15 Pittsburgh Steelers – Kyle Fuller, CB, Virginia Tech – Although they flirt with taking Odell Beckham Jr, Fuller just fits the Steelers defense. They have taken a step back and they need to get younger, with Ike Taylor quickly aging.

#16 Dallas Cowboys – Calvin Pryor, S, Louisville – I could see someone like Anthony Barr going here to try and replace DeMarcus Ware, but Dallas needs to sure up their secondary.

#17 Baltimore Ravens – Morgan Moses, OT, Virginia – I believe the Ravens would love to have Zack Martin fall to this spot, who’d fit better at RT, but they’ll settle for the ginormous Moses to get their offensive line to improve.

#18 New York Jets – Odell Beckham Jr., WR, LSU – If the Jets can get Beckham at this spot, without having to move up, Rex Ryan may be as excited about an offensive player as he has ever been in his life.

#19 Miami Dolphins – C.J. Mosley, ILB, Alabama – The Dolphins will be sad to see Martin and Moses go off the board ahead of them, but they’ll settle for the very talented linebacker who proved his abilities in the best defense in NCAA.

#20 Arizona Cardinals – Ryan Shazier, OLB, Ohio State – Although they think about a quarterback, Head Coach Bruce Ariens likely believes he can hold off and get his big armed quarterback like Zach Mettenberger in the second round. Instead, they’ll continue to improve one of the best young defenses in the league.

#21 Green Bay Packers – Jace Amaro, TE, Texas Tech – This is certainly a bit of a reach, but it’s time to replace Jermichael Finley and give Aaron Rodgers his big weapon down the seam and in the red zone again.

#22 Philadelphia Eagles – Brandin Cooks, WR, Oregon State – Although they could use a corner back, Head Coach Chip Kelly won’t be able to pass this guy up. He knows him very well from his time at Oregon and he’ll find a way to make him dangerous in his offense.

#23 Kansas City Chiefs – Cody Latimer, WR, Indiana – One of the most consistent receivers in this class, the Chiefs would love to snag a talented pass catcher like Latimer. He doesn’t drop passes and they don’t necessarily need a huge home run thread, already having that in Jamaal Charles.

#24 Cincinnati Bengals – Bradley Roby, CB, Ohio State – This could go either with Roby or Jason Verrett, but I believe Head Coach Marvin Lewis has the character to deal with the off the field issues that Roby has had, while locking down possibly te most physically gifted corner back in the draft.

#25 San Diego Chargers – Anthony Barr, OLB, UCLA – Filling a position of need with a very talented player, this one feels boring, but right.

#26 Cleveland Browns – Jason Verrett, CB, TCU – These next two picks could easily flip flop, but I think the Browns will choose to add one more piece to their talented defense with Verrett. They flirted with the idea of putting Darrelle Revis opposite Joe Haden, so they’d love to get a talented young corner here.

 

**#27 New Orleans Saints – Marqise Lee, WR, USC

I displayed my love for this guy in the player reviews, so I’d be ecstatic with this pick. Lee had a down year in 2013 due to a few bad breaks that were out of his control, but just a year ago, he was considered to be right behind Sammy Watkins for best receiver in the country. Put him in Sean Payton’s creative offense, with a quarterback who spreads the ball and keeps the focus off of one player, and Lee can quickly get back to 2012 form. This pick would instantly help improve Jimmy Graham’s game, as well.

 

#28 Carolina Panthers – DaVante Adams, WR, Fresno State – The Panthers are in desperate need of a receiver for Cam Newton and questions have arisen about Kelvin Benjamin’s character lately. Adams presents a skill-set similar to Steve Smith, so this could be a great replacement for the veteran who was cut after the season.

#29 New England – Louis Nix III, DT, Notre Dame – The Patriots could go with a wide receiver to give Brady weapons again, but I believe they’ll feel as if they can wait and grab one later with the deep class. Nix could become Vince Wilfork’s replacement as a big nose tackle in the middle of their 3-4 defense.

#30 San Francisco 49ers – Dee Ford, DE/OLB, Auburn – This is another team that could look for receiver help, but I believe Ford’s speed and undersized frame for a defensive end could spark the 49ers to envision him at outside linebacker. They also wouldn’t mind some insurance for Aldon Smith.

#31 Denver Broncos – Xavier Su’a-Filo, G, UCLA – They could reach on a corner back, but here they elect to sure up a position of need at guard. With the unexpected success of the running game last season with the now departed Knowshon Moreno, Denver would love to keep that going with second year running back Montee Ball.

#32 Seattle Seahawks – Jimmie Ward, S, Northern Illinois – Stephon Tuitt very well could be the choice here, but the recent news of Kam Chancellor undergoing hip surgery could spark the Seahawks to add insurance with a talented safety such as Ward.

 

There it is. We’re just over 24 hours away from finally seeing what’ll actually happen, so hold on just a little longer folks. I will be out of town, so I may not be able to get a full piece up on whoever the Saints ultimately do draft, but I will certainly share my thoughts on twitter. Keep an eye out next week for a full recap of the entire draft for the Saints, as well. Enjoy the draft and as always…

Who Dat?!

 

Follow David Billiot Jr on twitter @DCBilliotJr6.