Today marks the first of four NFL Mock Drafts here at Rugby Wrap Up. My next three will be released right after the NFL Combine ends later this month, a month into free agency in mid-April, and right before the NFL Draft in May. So let’s get the ball rolling… Here’s the first edition of The 2014 Rugby Heads NFL Mock Draft!
1. Houston Texans (2-14) – Jadeveon Clowney, Defensive End, South Carolina: The Texans have a lot of options here selecting first. They could go quarterback with the first overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, selecting Louisville gunslinger Teddy Bridgewater… Or they could go with the quarterback destroyer Clowney. Having a great quarterback in the same division in Indianapolis Colts’ Andrew Luck certainly influences the Texans into their pick.
2. St. Louis Rams (7-9) via trade from Washington Redskins – Greg Robinson, Offensive Tackle, Auburn: The Rams are pretty lucky that the Redskins had such a poor season. Robinson is a mauling tackle that will do quarterback Sam Bradford wonders. St. Louis needs to keep Bradford healthy, which is why drafting Robinson is the right move.
3. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-12) – Teddy Bridgewater, Quarterback, Louisville: For a long time it looked like Jacksonville would be drafting first overall, but they caught fire at the end of the season and finished with a .500 record in their last eight games. Quarterback is the biggest need on the Jaguars roster, which is why Bridgewater is the clear favorite. For some reason Bridgewater has fallen out of the graces from some of the NFL’s top draft analysts, but I’ve seen this guy in person and he can light it up.
4. Cleveland Browns (4-12) – Johnny Manziel, Quarterback, Texas A&M: Cleveland has a great defense and they’re a couple of offensive weapons away from being a contender in the AFC North. There’s already rumors of a blossoming relationship between the Cleveland Front Office and Manziel, it could be a match made in heaven.
5. Oakland Raiders (4-12) – Sammy Watkins, Wide Receiver, Clemson: Watkins is the most dynamic offensive player in the draft, and could be the perfect fit for Oakland. The more playmakers the Raiders can provide for quarterback Terrelle Pryor the better.
6. Atlanta Falcons (4-12) – Jake Matthews, Offensive Tackle, Texas A&M
7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-12) – Khalil Mack, Outside Linebacker, Buffalo
8. Minnesota Vikings (5-10-1) – Blake Bortles, Quarterback, Central Florida
9. Buffalo Bills (6-10) – C.J. Mosley, Inside Linebacker, Alabama
10. Detroit Lions (7-9) – Mike Evans, Wide Receiver, Texas A&M
11. Tennessee Titans (7-9) – Anthony Barr, Outside Linebacker, UCLA
12. New York Giants (7-9) – Taylor Lewan, Offensive Tackle, Michigan
13. St. Louis Rams (7-9) – Marqise Lee, Wide Receiver, USC
14. Chicago Bears (8-8) – Timmy Jernigan, Defensive Tackle, Florida State
15. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-8) – Darqueze Denard, Cornerback, Michigan State
16. Baltimore Ravens (8-8) – Cyrus Kouandjio, Offensive Tackle, Alabama
17. Dallas Cowboys (8-8) – Dee Ford, Defensive End, Auburn
18. New York Jets (8-8) – Eric Ebron, Tight End, North Carolina
19. Miami Dolphins (8-8) – Zach Martin, Offensive Tackle, Notre Dame
20. Arizona Cardinals (10-6) – Justin Gilbert, Cornerback, Oklahoma State
21. Green Bay Packers (8-7-1) – Lamarcus Joyner, Cornerback, Florida State
22. Philadelphia Eagles (10-6) – Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Safety, Alabama
23. Kansas City Chiefs (11-5) – Kelvin Benjamin, Wide Receiver, Florida State
24. Cincinnati Bengals (11-5) – Stephon Tuitt, Defensive End, Notre Dame
25. San Diego Chargers (9-7) – Kony Early, Defensive End, Missouri
26. Cleveland Browns via trade from Indianapolis Colts (4-12) – Carlos Hyde, Running Back, Ohio State
27. New Orleans Saints (11-5) – Louis Nix III, Defensive End, Notre Dame
28. Carolina Panthers (12-4) – Calvin Pryor, Safety, Louisville
29. New England Patriots (12-4) – Allen Robinson, Wide Receiver, Penn State
30. San Francisco 49ers (12-4) – Aaron Donald, Defensive Tackle, Pittsburgh
31. Denver Broncos (13-3) – Jason Verrett, Cornerback, TCU
32. Seattle Seahawks (13-3) – David Yankey, Offensive Guard, Stanford
If you are in NYC, we recommend you go to the New York Rugby Club Chili Cook-off at O’Brien’s Bar. it goes from 3-7p.
That’s it for now… feel free to comment below, look for and “Like” our Facebook Rugby Wrap Up Page and follow us on Twitter @: RugbyWrapUp, Junoir Blaber, DJ Eberle, Nick Hall, James Harrington, Cody Kuxmann, Jaime Loyd and Declan Yeats, respectively.
