The NFL season is always full of surprises, and the 2016 season has been no different.
After another loss dropped Carolina to 1-5, the Panthers are now in position to own the No. 3 pick in the 2017 NFL draft. The Patriots, without Tom Brady, went 3-1 (is that really that surprising?)
With Week 6 wrapping up with the Jets losing to the Cardinals on Monday Night Football, the draft order has changed once again. Here is the updated mock draft after week 6 :
Myles Garrett’s pass rushing ability is too much for the Browns to pass up.
Pick 1 : Cleveland Browns – Myles Garrett, DE, Texas A&M
Cleveland starts off the draft with the best pass rushing prospect in years. Garrett’s first two years in College Station were impressive, though he could’ve stood to add more variety to his pass rushing moves. Year 3 has vaulted him to the number one prospect. He has added a nice bull rush to his arsenal and his productivity has gone way up. The Browns pair him with Emmanuel Ogbah and Carl Nassib to form a solid young pass rushing core.
Pick 2 : San Francisco 49ers – DeShone Kizer, QB, Notre Dame
Deshone Kizer is the perfect quarterback for Chip Kelly. 6’4” with a strong arm, speed, and good accuracy, he would be able to slot in and start Day 1 for the 49ers. The poor play of Colin Kaepernick and Blaine Gabbert only serves to increase the need for a QB, and Kizer is the one.
Pick 3 : Carolina Panthers – Marlon Humphrey, CB, Alabama
After losing Josh Norman to the Redskins in the offseason, the Panthers need secondary help desperately. James Bradberry, the teams second round pick in the most recent draft has shown promise, but the rest of the secondary has been awful. Humphrey is a big, physical corner with the athleticism to be molded into a top cover corner in this league, even if he does have an odd backpedal.
Pick 4 : Chicago Bears – Cam Robinson, T, Alabama
Cam Robinson is a freak athlete and dominant in the run game. He could end up becoming an elite tackle with the right coaching, and the Bears desperately need help at tackle. Cam Robinson would be an instant upgrade over Bobby Massie on the right side and could develop into a perfect solution on the left side.
Pick 5 : New York Jets – Adoree Jackson, CB, USC
The Jets need to upgrade their CBs. Darrelle Revis, while still a solid CB, is no longer Revis Island and cannot shut down the top flight receivers anymore. Enter Adoree’ Jackson. Jackson shut down Calvin Ridley in the season opener against Alabama and has continued to play well this season.
Pick 6 : San Diego Chargers – Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson
With Phillip Rivers climbing up the ladder in age, the San Diego Chargers go with the top QB left on the board in Watson. He has a strong arm and speed, and a nice touch on his deep ball. Although he could stand to increase his accuracy across all depths of the field, Watson is a great young QB to have sit behind Phillip Rivers and learn before eventually taking the reins of the franchise.
Pick 7 : Miami Dolphins – Jonathan Allen, DE, Alabama
Although Miami can’t nab Myles Garrett, they nab a heck of a consolation prize in Allen. He has a phenomenal first step and can quickly get to the QB. Mario Williams and Cameron Wake are a great DE duo 3 years ago, but now Wake and Williams are both aging and an injection of youth would be great for the Dolphins D.
Pick 8 : Cincinnati Bengals – Jamal Adams, S/LB, LSU
Against the Patriots on Sunday, the Bengals were gashed by Rob Gronkowski to a tune of 7 catches for 162 yards and 1 TD. No one on Cincinnati seemed to be able to cover him. Jamal Adams may be able to change that, giving them a good coverage safety who is elite at stopping the run. He recorded 8 stops in the run game at Southern Miss with a forced fumble and looks to translate that ability to the NFL
Pick 9 : Jacksonville Jaguars – Jabrill Peppers, S, Michigan
Peppers is one of the most athletic safeties in this years draft and is also the most versatile. He provides value at Linebacker, Safety, and on special teams coverage. Although he isn’t the best in coverage, he gives the Jaguars a Day 1 contributor on special teams and a nice player for defensive guru Gus Bradley to mold.
Pick 10 : Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Malik Hooker, S , Ohio State
Three safeties in a row ? In this case, I think so. Hooker is extremely athletic and the best coverage safety in the draft. Bradley McDougald and Chris Conte is possible the worst safety duo in football, and replacing one with Hooker would be a great move.
Pick 11 : New Orleans Saints – Reuben Foster, LB, Alabama
New Orleans has been rocked by injuries on defense, having lost Paul Kruger, 1st round DT Sheldon Rankins, and Hau’oli Kikaha to them, while in the secondary Delvin Breaux and PJ Williams are both out. Coming into the 2017 season, Linebacker is the worst position on this team if everyone is healthy (a very big if). Foster is a more athletic version of Bills 2nd round pick Reggie Ragland, so grabbing Foster would instantly improve this poor Saints defense.
Pick 12 : Detroit Lions – Charles Harris, DE/OLB, Missouri
Without the off the field issues, Tim Williams is the 2nd best edge rusher in this class, and likely the pick here. However, with those issues, I think he drops and Charles Harris comes off the board. Harris possesses elite quickness for his size and would form a nice tandem with Ziggy Ansah in Detroit off the edge.
Pick 13 : Tennessee Titans – Tre’Davious White, CB, LSU
Not the biggest guy in the world, but he’s extraordinarily fluid, vertically explosive, and he has special teams value as well. If I run mostly off coverage he’s my kind of guy. Tennessee could use another corner across from Jason McCourty as well to give the Titans D an elite status.
Pick 14 : New York Giants – Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU
If not for his hampering injuries over the last 3 weeks, Fournette may have gone earlier. He is the top RB prospect since Adrian Peterson and can do it all : Speed, Power, Agility, Vision, Pass Blocking and Catching. There is nothing he cannot do. The Giants lack a clear-cut RB1, and nabbing Fournette gives them a great one, albeit a tad bit risky.
Pick 15 : Indianapolis Colts – Malik McDowell, DT, Michigan State
This pick is a no-brainer if I am Ryan Grigson. A top 10 talent like McDowell would give the Colts at the worst a run stopper in the trenches, which is exactly what they need, as they are one of the worst run-stopping teams in the league. At best, McDowell can be a stud 5 tech who can both stop the run and penetrate the pocket, making this a home run for Ryan Grigson.
Pick 16 : Arizona Cardinals – Mitch Trubisky, QB , North Carolina
Trubisky has broken out this season in Chapel Hill, propelling him into the 1st round discussion for QBs. With Carson Palmer rising in age and struggling to find his form from 2016, the Cardinals grab their QB for the future in Trubisky to sit behind Palmer or potentially unseat him.
Pick 17 : Tennessee Titans (From Los Angeles) – JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, USC
The Titans offense has been awful this season, and adding Smith-Schuster to the poor WR corp would help Marcus Mariota develop as well. Smith-Schuster had a slow start to the season, but in the last few weeks he has turned it on and done very well. He is very physical and in single coverage could win every jump ball he gets.
Pick 18 : Green Bay Packers – Zach Cunningham, ILB, Vanderbilt
The first thing that stands out when watching Cunningham is his speed and physicality. He attacks blockers and gets to the ballcarrier quickly. Inside linebacker has been a position of need for quite a long time in Green Bay, and taking Cunningham would be a great selection for the Pack.
Pick 19: Kansas City Chiefs –Jarrad Davis, ILB, Florida
While Derrick Johnson has shown no signs of slowing down, he is aging, and Jarrad Davis is the perfect replacement. Aggressive and a very physical athlete, he will come into the Chiefs 3-4 as their second ILB while eventually taking over as the primary ILB in a few years
Pick 20 : Baltimore Ravens – Jalen Tabor, CB, Florida
I am not as high on Jalen Tabor as other draft gurus are, but he is still a first round corner, and Baltimore could plug him in day 1 across from Jimmy Smith. He isn’t the best in man coverage, but has a good feel for zone coverage and has the speed and size to improve in man to man.
Pick 21 : Houston Texans – Lowell Lotulelei, DT, Utah
The Texans have created one of the better defenses. Save for at nose guard, where former Pats All-Pro Vince Wilfork is still eating up blocks. PFF has rated Wilfork fairly poorly since becoming a Texan, so Houston getting Lowell Lotulelei would be good. Strong as an ox with a good bull rush, Lotulelei will improve the Texans pass rush from the get go.
Pick 22 : Cleveland Browns (From Philadelphia) – Sidney Jones, CB, Washington
I am quickly starting to believe Jones should go higher than 22, but his play this season has at least earned him this pick. Cleveland has to completely rebuild their defense, and after taking Myles Garrett first overall, they get a corner to improve the defense even further. Joe Haden has been very inconsistent over the past 2 years, so getting Jones is essential.
Pick 23 : Washington Redskins – Ethan Pocic, C, LSU
In Washington, Kory Lichtensteiger has been awful. The Redskins attempted to solve their center problem by trading for Bryan Stork, but he failed his physical. Ethan Pocic is a road grader who dominates in the run game while having solid pass protection as well. He needs to work on his punch and footwork, but he is better than Ryan Kelly (Colts first round pick and the first center chosen), so this is a good pick for Washington.
Pick 24 : Buffalo Bills – Dan Feeney, G, Indiana
Another very good run blocker who is steady in his pass protection, Feeney falls in the draft due to a suffered concussion earlier this year. The right side of the Bills o-line is very poor, so slotting in Mr. Feeney will help open up more holes for LeSean McCoy and improve Buffalo’s offense.
Pick 25 : Seattle Seahawks – Mike McGlinchey, T, Notre Dame
Russell Wilson had an injury scare earlier in the year, and that is all on the offensive line. Seattle once again has the worst line in football, and to protect their investment in Russell Wilson, they have to protect him. McGlinchley can do just that on the right side in his rookie year, and could potentially move to the left if Tom Cable can work more magic on him.
Pick 26 : Oakland Raiders – Christian McCaffrey, RB/KR/WR, Stanford
McCaffrey can be a jack of all trades in Oakland, adding another dimension to their offense. He will never have more than 15 carries a game, but he can line up in the slot as a wideout for slants, drags, and short routes while also catching screens and giving Oakland 75 yards from the backfield. Seth Roberts is not great from the slot, and none of the Oakland backs have taken the steps to being a lead back, so taking McCaffrey here helps the Oakland offense in many ways.
Pick 27 : Denver Broncos – O.J. Howard, TE, Alabama
The Denver defense is dominant now, but the offense has been very lackluster. Giving Trevor Siemian/Paxton Lynch another weapon in Howard is a good pick, as Virgil Green has not produced as a TE1 should, and the uber-athletic Howard can do things Green simply cannot do.
Pick 28 : Pittsburgh Steelers – Derek Barnett, OLB, Tennessee
Bud Dupree and Jarvis Jones have been two of the Steelers busts from the first round off the edge. Both were risky picks, and that’s why they take Barnett here. He is a safe pick. He doesn’t do anything great, but does everything well, and would improve a poor Pittsburgh pass rush.
Pick 29: Atlanta Falcons – Tim Williams, OLB/DE, Alabama
Atlanta decides to be the team that takes the risk of Tim Williams. He is a top 10 talent in this draft, but gun charges have caused him to fall into the lap of Atlanta. If Dan Quinn can keep Williams out of trouble this is a phenomenal pick. He is an explosive edge rusher with the speed to get to the QB almost instantly. Vic Beasley hasn’t worked out in the ATL, so Tim Williams may be the guy that will.
Pick 30 : New England Patriots – Mike Williams, WR, Clemson
Williams, at 6’3”, is a good sized target and comes from Clemson. Williams has a nice combination of size and speed. He is able to stretch the field vertically and make leaping catches over DBs. The Patriots are gonna have to start getting weapons for the Post-Brady era, and Williams is a nice place to start.
Pick 31 : Dallas Cowboys – Desmond King, CB, Iowa
King fell in this draft due to his speed. He has the coverage ability and instincts to play CB now, but his lack of size and speed are killing his draft stock. While Morris Claiborne has finally started to play like a first round pick, Orlando Scandrick is almost 30 years old, which is the end of the line for many a corner. Grabbing King allows the ‘Boys to start King off in the slot and if Scandrick plays at a high level they can keep him outside and if Scandrick declines, King can move outside.
Pick 32 : Philadelphia Eagles (From Minnesota) – Cordrea Tankersley, CB, Clemson
The Eagles need CB help, badly. Leodis McKelvin and Nolan Carroll have struggled mightily this past year for them, and they dealt 2015 2nd round pick Eric Rowe to New England.
