Wednesday 17 April 2013

DC Writer NFL Mock Draft: Picks 6-10


Part two of our writers round table mock in our build up to the NFL Draft Find picks 1-5 here

6th - Cleveland Browns - Dee Milliner, CB, Alabama 
Pick by Richard Penwright


With the loss of Sheldon Brown in the off season, it was no surprise that the browns were going to take someone who can line up opposite Joe Haden.

With Haden and Milliner in the corner slots, the Browns will now have two players capable of going toe to toe with a number of top flight receivers in the ever increasing passing league.

Milliners history of playing in a Nick Saban defence should help him have a long a successful career in the pros.



7th - Arizona Cardinals - Jarvis Jones, OLB, Georgia
Pick by Jon Goddard


With the top tackles off the board I'm hesitant to take a guard this high. On the other side of the ball Arizona struggled to pressure the Quarterback with Sam Acho and O'brien schofield hardly tearing up trees.

This choice came down to the production of Jones vs the freaky measurables of Ziggy Ansah and for me it's production all day. Jones was the stand out athlete at his position last year in a tough SEC conference, wracking up an impressive 14.5 sacks (2 against the NFL calibre Alabama offensive line), 24.5 tackles for a loss and 7 fumbles forced.

Arizona pick up a top five talent that dropped because of injury worries and a poor pro day, but may have just got themselves the next Von miller.


8th - Buffalo Bills - Tavon Austin, WR, West Virginia
Pick by Simon Love


Buffalo are desperate for a play maker at wideout to complement CJ Spiller and take some coverage away from Stevie Johnson.

Austin is pure money in both the slot and as a return specialist. He has lightning speed (4.34s 40 yard dash) and his quickness will humiliate anybody who tries to tackle him with less than perfect technique. His major red flag is his size, at 5'8" and 174lbs he is small even for a slot receiver and could get beaten up by larger defensive backs.

Buffalo could have gone for a solid pick such as Alabama guard Chance Warmack, but I feel that this Buffalo franchise needs more than just a solid interior lineman - they need a player capable of making the huge plays that will rev up the home support and breathe life into this dead franchise. Tavon Austin is the best Wide Receiver on the board, and fits the bill (and the Bills!) perfectly.


9th - New York Jets - Chance Wormack, OG, Alabama
Pick by Nathan Sharrocks


The Jets are in somewhat of a hole. Sanchez is bad at QB, and not just bad but buttfumble bad. McElroy didn't light up the place when he came in from third string. Tebow looks like he was a shirt-selling gimmick. But should they draft a quarterback? They could reach for Ryan Nassib but he would be a reach at this point and I'm not sure that he's NFL ready.

Instead they settle with McElroy for the year, consolidate and take a top talent for the offensive line, an area of need considering both of last year's starting guards are gone.

They will explore the option of trading down and picking up Jonathan Cooper or Larry Warford later in the draft but why wait when you can get a top talent at offensive guard?

Wormack gives them the opportunity to get back to the ground and pound ways that brought them success a couple of years back. Joe McKnight and Bilal Powell have talent but in order to reach their potential they need decent blocking up front. It doesn't get much better than Wormack. Do I finish with the standard (albeit very poor) "they need to take that Chance" pun?


10th - Tennessee Titans - Jonathan Cooper, N. Carolina.
Pick by Tommy Gibbs


As much as I was tempted to take the impressive OT Lane Johnson here, G whilst less glamorous is a far more pressing need for the Titans. Cooper is a beast, and one who's physical presence in the middle could put the spark back into what was once one of the league's most feared run games.

The Titans' short term success involves getting whatever is left out of CJ2K, and Cooper could be just the man to do it. Even if CJ doesn't find his old form, Cooper gives them a franchise guard to keep in their back pocket for whatever style they choose to employ.




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