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Notes From Around The NFL

By Jeff Risdon

May is the slowest month of the year for the NFL, but that doesn’t mean the football world stops. Here are some quick thoughts on some recent developments. 

--Geno Smith impresses in minicamp. All reports from the New York Jets' rookie camp were glowing in praise of Smith, who unexpectedly fell into the second round of last month’s draft. Smith appears to be seizing his opportunity, holding players-only meetings in the team hotel and impressing all viewers with sharpness and velocity on his passing reps. The cynic in me wants to say, “well of course he’s impressive compared to Mark Sanchez and Greg McElroy”. And there is probably more than a little of that going on here; the Jets' media and fan base knows some bad quarterbacking from recent times, so anything resembling competence is a refreshing change. But I am a more ardent believer that Geno Smith can emerge as a very good NFL quarterback in time. I still prefer that he tutor behind David Garrard for a few games, if for no other reason than to set the bar a little lower, but it sure appears as if Geno Smith will start Week 1 against Tampa Bay.

--Chip Kelly is changing the culture of the Philadelphia Eagles. Gone are Fast Food Fridays, unhealthy eating, and passive practicing. In are customized smoothies, carefully choreographed music during practice sections, and a frantic no huddle offense and practice system.

This is a radical change from the Andy Reid era. After more than a decade of the same routine, Kelly isn’t just rocking the boat, he’s torpedoed it. I happen to think that’s a very good thing. The Eagles appeared complacent and uninspired last year. Kelly is pumping up the intensity, improving the physical fitness and conditioning, and bringing something new and fresh to the NFL. Nobody knows how it is all going to work for Kelly with Philadelphia, but I admire the Eagles for giving Kelly the chance to try such a radical experiment. It’s a far better option than using a retreaded coach with a philosophy that got him fired from some other NFL team recently. Successful coaches instill a defined culture to a team, and that is exactly what Kelly is doing in Philadelphia. It might rankle some veteran feathers, but this franchise was unlikely to fly again without serious changes. 

--The Arizona Cardinals released QB Brian Hoyer. Can we finally put an end to the mystique of the Patriots backup quarterback? Hoyer was cut by the Patriots at the end of the 2012 preseason. The Steelers, who were down to Charlie Batch as the starter with no backup thanks to injuries, signed Hoyer in late November but quickly discarded him as soon as bodies became healthy. The Cardinals lapped him up in a desperate attempt to rectify their desperate quarterback situation. In two games he managed to not completely stink, but didn’t show enough to merit any sort of commitment; the Cardinals signed Drew Stanton and traded for Carson Palmer. Now they have chosen Ryan Lindley over Hoyer as the third option.

Let that sink in for a second--the new regime in Arizona feels that Ryan Lindley is a better option than Hoyer. Just as Matt Cassel proved incapable of being a good starter after looking fantastic playing behind Tom Brady, Hoyer is much less desirable once stripped of the Patriots luster. In fact, Hoyer wasn’t as good as Cassel in his limited opportunity. No doubt Hoyer will get yet another chance somewhere, but here’s the plain truth: if Hoyer had never been a Patriot, his career would be over. Sadly, we will go thru this same cycle with Ryan Mallett in another year or two. For the record, I’d take Hoyer over Mallett any day.

--Titus Young gets arrested. Again. I wrote extensively about this at DetroitLionsDraft.com, but here is the Reader’s Digest version: Titus Young needs help. The story is not funny anymore. Here’s hoping that Young can turn his life around, if for no other reason than to be a father to Titus Young Jr. Football is irrelevant at this point.

--There is growing momentum from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that rookie Mike Glennon has a very good chance to unseat incumbent Josh Freeman as the starting quarterback for the Buccaneers. Glennon had a very strong minicamp and has impressed the coaches with his quick knowledge of the offense. He’s also a competitor and not afraid to show a little emotion, boxes in which Freeman often fails to check off.

Aiding in Glennon’s case is that Freeman is entering the final year of his contract and there is little reason to pay him big money if he continues to plod along. Other than about two months of his four year career, Freeman has been a below-average NFL starter. His penchant for poor decisions and relative apathetic persona has rubbed Bucs fans--and some coaches--the wrong way. Glennon offers change, and does so inexpensively. Don’t think that doesn’t factor into the equation for the spendthrift Bucs, who have ranked in the bottom 5 in payroll for years. I’m admittedly not a Glennon backer; he was my 11th rated QB in April’s draft with a grade equivalent to a 5^th-6^th round pick. I worry about his sloppy foot mechanics, his alarming tendency to drop his eyes when pressured, his propensity to fabricate pressure, and lack of velocity on his throws. But if he can seize the day with a better supporting cast, the Bucs are better for it. However, I sense the endgame the Bucs really want here is for Glennon to push Freeman into being the guy who nearly wedged the team into the playoffs back in 2010 with a brilliant finish to the season and not the guy with a 3-12 record with 24 INTs in games beyond Week 8 the last two seasons.

--Former Chargers RB Chuck Muncie passed away. He was 60 and died of an apparent heart attack. I loved Muncie’s rough and tumble running style, sort of an early predecessor of Jerome Bettis. As a prematurely bespectacled child, I also loved that Muncie wore glasses while he played. Alas, there was more to the Chuck Muncie story than just his powerful running.

Muncie had a couple of very prominent strikes in his NFL career. After toiling for some truly dreadful Saints teams, he pouted and sulked his way into a trade to the Chargers. This was one of the earliest cases I can personally recall of a disgruntled player forcing a team’s hand, and that bothered me as a naïve young fan. A handful of years later, Muncie was banished for a cocaine addiction that cost him his career. He even served prison time for it. That could have been the sad ending to a tragic story, but Muncie chose to write a different ending.

Chuck Muncie became a widely respected advocate and agent of change for troubled youths. His foundation gave kids a chance to avoid the drug-and-thug lifestyle, and did so with compassion and personal commitment by Muncie himself. He mentored scores of young athletes, steering them on the right path and teaching them about making the smart choices he failed to make in his early life. His final years were a source of redemption and virtue, and that is what Chuck Muncie should be remembered for as much as his on-field success. RIP Mr. Muncie.

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Rules Of Thumb: First Round Edition

By Jeff Risdon

The first round of the 2013 NFL Draft on Thursday will be remembered as the Year of the Lineman, as nine of the 32 picks were offensive linemen. Other intriguing developments caught my eye as well, some positive and some negative.

Thumbs Up:

-- To the wild unpredictability of this year’s draft. I’ve said it many times but it bears repeating: I have better contacts with more teams than ever before, yet this is the year I knew what fewer teams were going to do than ever before. Once I got past the professional humiliation of having a wildly inaccurate mock draft, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Not knowing what was going to happen was titillating, like riding a roller coaster with a blindfold. I run a Detroit Lions' draft website and I honestly had very little idea who the team was going to pick until about 15 minutes before they were on the clock. Beat writers for just about every team fumbled and balked on answering direct draft questions because they had no clue either. It made for the most exciting first night of the draft I can remember.

-- To the Kansas City Chiefs for opting on Eric Fisher as the #1 overall pick. I like Luke Joeckel and I think he’ll be a very good tackle for a long time, but Fisher offers the chance of Joe Thomas-esque greatness. When you have the #1 pick, you have to go for greatness. The Chiefs made the correct choice, even if it scuttled what my team (the Lions) had planned.

-- To only having one quarterback in the first round. Never mind that it was E.J. Manuel, a player I graded out as a fifth round prospect. The bellyaching over the relative lousiness of this quarterback class led everyone to histrionics about how big of a mistake some teams were going to make in selecting Geno Smith, Matt Barkley, and Ryan Nassib in the first round. Guess what…it didn’t happen. Either the teams listened or they knew it on their own. Either way, it’s a positive for both the teams and the quarterbacks themselves, who are now in a much more favorable position to succeed with a lot less pressure to do so off the bat.

-- To the Carolina Panthers, who made what I believe to be the best pick of the first round by taking Star Lotulelei at No. 14 overall. Star fills what is by far the biggest need on the team, and he was a top 3 overall talent before the pesky heart issue at the Combine. He’s also an outstanding foil to Mark Ingram, Steven Jackson, and Doug Martin within the division.

Other picks I liked: Cleveland Browns/Keke Mingo, Cincinnati Bengals/Tyler Eifert, the Dolphins trading up for Dion Jordan, Lions/Ziggy Ansah, San Diego Chargers/D.J. Fluker and the St. Louis Rams trading up for Tavon Austin and down for Alec Ogletree.

Thumbs Down:

-- To the early run on interior offensive linemen. I’m actually okay with the Cardinals taking Jonathan Cooper at 7, because the North Carolina guard is an immediate above-average starter and it fills what is unquestionably the weakest position on the team. I would like him a lot better at 14 instead of seven, but the Cards did what they had to do. Chance Warmack is one of the few guards worthy of top 10 consideration as well, but he goes to the Titans, who broke the bank to import free agent Andy Levitre. Now Tennessee has a massive investment at the guard position, traditionally the one spot on the field where teams skimp to save money for the skill position players. They have what should be the best guard tandem in the AFC, but they still don’t have a passing game that scares anyone but their own fan base or the ability to stop any other team’s passing game with a pass rush. But what really points the thumb down is the later picks. Justin Pugh, Travis Frederick and especially Kyle long (more on him below) are all horrible value picks in the first round in descending order. Yes, the teams who took them (the Giants, Cowboys, and Bears respectively) absolutely needed help at the positions. But first round interior linemen are supposed to be players with such overwhelming and obvious talent. None of these guys fits the bill, and none really help their teams as much as other players available could have in the long run.

Other picks I didn’t like: I really like DJ Hayden, No. 12 overall is too high for the Oakland Raiders. The Atlanta Falcons traded up for the wrong cornerback, taking overrated Desmond Trufant instead of Jamar Taylor or either Mississippi State player, Johnthan Banks or Darius Slay.

Thumbs Twiddling:

-- To the Minnesota Vikings, who made three picks in the twenties. Holding onto their original selections at 23 and 25, they took Florida DT Sharrif Floyd and Florida State CB Xavier Rhodes. Not content to call it a day, GM Rick Speilman engineered a trade with the (who else?) New England Patriots to move back into the first round. Every single person covering the draft presumed the move was made to acquire Manti Te’o, including the team’s own beat writers, who Tweeted out that Te’o was the pick. Except the Vikings took Tennessee WR Cordarrelle Pattterson instead. Believe it or not I actually like the picks in inverse order; Patterson has game-changing potential at should have gone at 23, while Rhodes is one of the more overhyped players in this draft. Rhodes benefitted from fitting the physical profile of the big corners in Seattle, never mind that he is a holding machine with iffy instincts. Floyd is an intriguing player who will be widely seen as one of the perceived “fallers” in this draft, though 23rd is about where he belonged. However, they selected Floyd over Sylvester Williams, a better player and a better scheme fit. And they passed on Te’o, who for all the criticism he’s taken would have been an excellent fit for the Vikings as well. This is a “chips all in” move for the Vikings to try and win with Adrian Peterson still in his prime, and it made them a better team for sure. I’m just not sold that they couldn’t have made themselves even better with some savvier choices. 

-- To the pick “spoilers”. I applaud both the NFL Network and ESPN for refraining from revealing the selections before Roger Goodell announces them at the podium, eliminating the cutaway shots of players on the phone. The vast majority of viewers didn’t want to see that, and the networks responded. Good for them. But at the same time I admit to harboring curiosity about who really knew what was about to go down. I also get Jay Glazer’s point about wanting a 100 percent accurate mock draft but then complaining about having to wait an extra minute to find out if it’s really correct. Guys like Jason LaCanfora are just doing their jobs by tweeting out the names before they are delivered to the podium. I like that both options are available, but if you are someone who must know the pick before the tension and suspense are broken by the Commissioner, well, I just don’t understand why you want to eat the dessert before the steak.

Thumb Sucking:

-- To the Chicago Bears, for taking Oregon guard Kyle Long with the 20th overall pick. This pick is the second-biggest reach in terms of value that I have ever seen. The biggest also happens this ear with EJ Manuel, a fifth round talent, but at least he’s a quarterback and even his harshest critics acknowledge that if the light bulb ever turns on, he could be very good. Plus he plays a premium position where reaches are not uncommon.

If Manuel is a 100 watt bulb, Long is the 40 watt soft white light. Long wound up with the 114th highest grade of the nearly 200 players we graded out at detroitlionsdraft.com, a solid 4th round value at what is arguably the least-coveted position on any football team. The Bears got caught up in the run on offensive linemen and name value (he’s Howie Long’s son and Chris Long’s brother) and executed a ridiculous reach. Even if Long becomes a serviceable starting guard, which he probably will, there is no value at all in taking him at 20. Teams cannot panic for an interior lineman.

The Dallas Cowboys did the same with Wisconsin center Travis Frederick, but they at least traded back to do so and I also had Frederick rated a lot higher (63rd) than Long. A team with a decrepitly aging defense ignores some excellent talent (Bjoern Werner was a perfect fit, Sylvester Williams or Datone Jones also made great value sense there) and makes a huge reach for a guard who started less than 10 games at the BCS level and was not real impressive during Senior Bowl week. That is a horrible fail by GM Phil Emery and the Bears staff.

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Final 2013 NFL Mock Draft

By Jeff Risdon

This is one of the strangest drafts ever. It’s two days before the draft and we still don’t know who will be the No. 1 pick. I talked to someone with War Room access with a team picking in the 16-24 range and he told me they have 37 players listed as “potentially gone” for their pick, or about 10 more than they would normally expect. The pain truth: this will be forever remembered by draftniks as The Year of the Inaccurate Mock. Trying to accurately project this year is insanely difficult. This is my best guess as to how it might play out. Enjoy the unexpected twists and turns and embrace the fact that nobody knows what is going to happen!

Round 1

1. Kansas City Chiefs: Luke Joeckel, T, Texas A&M. The pick will be a tackle. Whether it’s Joeckel or Eric Fisher remains to be seen. I know there are people in the room who want Dion Jordan, but they are not calling the shots. Note that if Fisher is the pick here, Joeckel falls to five instead of going three, with Star Lotulelei or Sharrif Floyd going to the Raiders at three.

2. Jacksonville Jaguars: Dion Jordan, DE/OLB, Oregon. Jordan is the versatile edge presence the Jaguars sorely need, a player who can rush the passer or drop into coverage. New Coach Gus Bradley is a creative defensive mind and Jordan gives him a queen on his chessboard.

3. Oakland Raiders: Eric Fisher, T, Central Michigan. He will be the top name on some draft boards, and I suspect the Raiders are one of those teams. Fisher doesn’t fill the biggest need in Oakland but is too highly rated to pass.

4. Philadelphia Eagles: Geno Smith, QB, West Virginia. Because the demand for quarterbacks is great enough that teams actually traded picks for Matt Flynn, Colt McCoy, and paid surprising free agent dollars to Chase Daniel and Matt Cassel. Because the Eagles are at the onset of a major overhaul and have a little cushion built in. Because Smith could be electrifying in Chip Kelly’s offense. Because Dion Jordan is already gone.

5. Detroit Lions: Ezekiel Ansah, DE, BYU. I’ll admit to making this selection more with my heart than my head; it could very well be Lane Johnson. With no trade back worthwhile to slide down and get Chance Warmack or Tavon Austin for better value, Detroit goes for the athletically rare pass rusher they got to coach up close and personal in Mobile.

6. *San Diego Chargers (from CLE): Lane Johnson, T, Oklahoma. San Diego trades #11 overall, #45 overall, and a 2014 2nd round pick to Cleveland to move up and take the third tackle off the board. They preemptively deal up to stymie the Chargers efforts to move up and get Johnson, using the extra 2nd round pick they have to sweeten the deal.

7. *San Francisco 49ers (from ARI): Star Lotulelei, DT, Utah. The 49ers trade #31, #34, a 7th rounder and their 2014 1st round pick to Arizona, giving precious picks to a division rival in order to secure Star Lotulelei. His ability to play all over the line and physical dominance convinces GM Trent Baalke to pull the trigger.

8. Buffalo Bills: Ryan Nassib, QB, Syracuse. Sometimes a pick makes too much sense, akin to Ryan Tannehill to the Dolphins last year. It was an obvious pick, just as this pick appears to be. I’m not going to fight it.

9. New York Jets: Barkevious Mingo, OLB, LSU. His production has yet to match his physical potential, but Mingo has the chance to invigorate a moribund pass rush. If the Jets are going to win in 2013, it’s going to be with defense. Rex Ryan would love this pick.

10. Tennessee Titans: Sheldon Richardson, DT, Missouri. This is one of the hardest picks to slot. At various points I had Dee Milliner, Sharrif Floyd, Chance Warmack, Tank Carradine, and Tavon Austin here. I settled on Richardson because an interior pass rusher with Richardson’s disruptiveness is the best way to immediately compete within the AFC South.

11.*Cleveland Browns (from SD): Dee Milliner, CB, Alabama. Cleveland falls back and still gets its man. Pairing Milliner with Joe Haden gives the Browns a long, talented starting CB duo that will be the envy of the AFC. At least that’s the hope. If he’s gone, look for Tyler Eifert.

12. Miami Dolphins: Jonathan Cyprien, S, Florida Intl. Because the Dolphins appear (as of Monday 7PM) poised to trade their 2nd round pick for tackle Branden Albert, I think this pick tacks to the defensive side of the ball. Cyprien is a local who rode a meteoric rise in the postseason and is NFL-ready to play either safety spot. Don’t ignore the fact he’s a local in a city where fans are as fickle as Miami.

13. New York Jets (from TB): Tavon Austin, WR, West Virginia. If he’s not gone by this point, and he might be, I feel very confident about this pick. Austin can be the dynamic offensive playmaker this team so desperately lacks.

14. Carolina Panthers: Sharrif Floyd, DT, Florida. This is my 10th year covering the draft here at RealGM, and Sharrif Floyd is the 2nd hardest player to slot in the final mock in those 10 years. The hardest? Brady Quinn. Panthers fans must hope that Floyd turns out a little better than Quinn…

15. New Orleans Saints: Jarvis Jones, OLB, Georgia. The Saints need the piece de resistance for their shiny new 3-4 defense, and Jones is the most prolific pass rusher in the nation. I had DJ Fluker here for a long time but the pass rusher just makes too much sense.

16. St. Louis Rams: DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Clemson. The trashed hotel room notwithstanding, Hopkins is a relatively safe pick as far as wideouts go in this draft class. He would give Sam Bradford a more polished downfield threat and challenge defenses. Sleeper pick: Menelik Watson.

17. Pittsburgh Steelers: Tyler Eifert, TE, Notre Dame. Eifert’s proven ability to make plays while lined up outside is the catalyst for Pittsburgh selecting him here. Coming off a down year puts the Steelers in a good position to make some transformative changes to the offense, where Heath Miller is no safe bet to recover. I strongly suspect that if they do go offense here, the rest of their draft is defense. I do believe they would take Cyprien over anyone else if he’s available.

18. Dallas Cowboys: Chance Warmack, G, Alabama. I’ll believe the “guard in the top 10” talk only when I see it, even though Warmack is immensely talented. The Cowboys are the beneficiary of the inherent prejudice against using premium picks on guards. Plan B is Sylvester Williams, Plan C is Kenny Vaccaro.

19. New York Giants: Tank Carradine, DE, Florida State. His impressive workout ameliorates concern about his torn ACL. The Giants get a top-shelf pass rusher to fall into their lap. They have more pressing needs elsewhere, but GM Jerry Reese does not look gift horses in the mouth.

20. Chicago Bears: Datone Jones, DE, UCLA. I have a strong feeling Datone Jones is one of those players that NFL teams covet a lot more than the general populous presumes they do. His ability to play rush end in base defense and slide inside in nickel situations is invaluable. Remember, he was the only player who found sustained success against Eric Fisher in Mobile.

21. *Arizona Cardinals (from CIN): Jonathan Cooper, G, North Carolina. Arizona trades its acquired 2nd round pick from the earlier trade (#34 overall) and their 3rd round pick this year (#69 overall) and in 2014 to move up and take Jonathan Cooper. He is a plug-and-play top-shelf guard prospect who the Cardinals consider themselves very lucky to be able to acquire this late in the 1st, thus prompting the trade. Had the Bengals kept this, I had Kenny Vaccaro here.

22. St. Louis Rams (from WAS): DJ Fluker, T, Alabama. This seems artificially low for Fluker, whom I think could very well go in the top 10. Funny things happen during drafts, and in this one the Rams laugh all the way to the podium with their unbelievable good fortune. Fluker is the best run blocking tackle I’ve ever scouted, even though his pass protection can be ugly at times.

23. Minnesota Vikings: Sylvester Williams, DT, North Carolina. Not to be cute, but I like the marketing angle of “rebuilding the Williams Wall”. NFC North offensive lines strongly disagree. Sylvester Williams has an amazing first step and would draw attention away from Jared Allen. Some have Williams ranked higher than Floyd. I’m one of them.

24. Indianapolis Colts: Xavier Rhodes, CB, Florida State. Rhodes has great size and speed for the position in a league that is trending towards those attributes. He’s going to get his fair share of holding and illegal contact flags, but he also provides potential to be a shutdown corner on a defense that desperately needs playmakers.

25. Minnesota Vikings (from SEA): Manti Te’o, LB, Notre Dame. This is another one of the rare picks in this mock in which I have a strong degree of confidence. The marriage of need, value, and talent is too strong to ignore. And no, I’m not trying to catfish you here.

26. Green Bay Packers: Kenny Vaccaro, S, Texas. Vaccaro could very well go 10 picks higher than this, but the Packers won’t mind being his basement. They can plug him into the Charles Woodson role of base safety and inside nickel corner, which is what the speedy Vaccaro did pretty well at Texas.

27. Houston Texans: Margus Hunt, DE, SMU. For as much as everyone knows the Texans need a wideout, their 2-deep on the defensive front 7 has nine names on it. Adding to that is also an imperative, and Hunt brings an intriguing blend of length, power, and a kick blocking acumen like none before him. I’m a big believer that one of the picks between 26-28 is dealt to a team that will move back into the first round and take a QB, likely the Jets and EJ Manuel.

28. Denver Broncos: Bjoern Werner, DE, Florida State. Werner is another player with an unusually wide draft range; he could go anywhere between 10 and 40. The Broncos can use him as a situational rusher and strongside end when using a 4-man front, which is an ideal situation for the German. Sprechen sie sack, Herr Elway?

29. New England Patriots: Justin Hunter, WR, Tennessee. This is a case of Hunter having too much potential to fall, and the Patriots with a glaring need for a downfield threat. If he ever masters the mental aspects of being a professional, Hunter is a steal at this point. Big “if”, however.

30. Atlanta Falcons: Darius Slay, CB, Mississippi State. Another one of the postseason risers, Slay offers a lot more athleticism and outward confidence than his more celebrated college teammate Johnthan Banks. Even though the Falcons desperately need a bookend pass rusher, the value at corner here is much better. I do believe they will try very hard to move up and get a higher-rated CB, but if the draft comes to Dimitroff he knows what to do with it.

31. *Arizona (from SF): Menelik Watson, T, Florida State. The OL overhaul continues with Watson, a raw Briton with strong potential. Teams tend to take risks with acquired picks and Watson will either be really good or fail to get a 2nd NFL contract.

32. Baltimore Ravens: Justin Pugh, T/G, Syracuse. This pick is more on a hunch that Pugh somehow sneaks into the first round. With Bryant McKinnie not re-signed the Super Bowl cahmps have an opening at left tackle. Pugh has short arms for the position but could fall back as a strong guard as well.

Round 2

33. Jacksonville: Matt Barkley, QB, USC
34. *Cincinnati (from KC via SF and ARI): Arthur Brown, LB, Kansas State
35. Philadelphia: Cordarrelle Patterson, WR, Tennessee
36. Detroit: Terron Armstead, T, Arkansas-Pine Bluff
37. Cincinnati (from OAK): Matt Elam, S, Florida
38. Arizona: Damontre Moore, DE/OLB, Texas A&M
39. New York Jets: EJ Manuel, QB, Florida State
40. Tennessee: DJ Hayden, CB, Houston
41. Buffalo: Desmond Trufant, CB, Washington
42. *Kansas City (from MIA): Jesse Williams, DT, Alabama. This pick will be traded to Kansas City so Miami can acquire LT Branden Albert
43. Tampa Bay: Keenan Allen, WR, California
44. Carolina: Blidi Wreh-Wilson, CB, UConn
45. *Cleveland (from SD): Jamar Taylor, CB, Boise State
46. St. Louis: Eddie Lacy, RB, Alabama
47. Dallas: DJ Swearinger, S, South Carolina
48. Pittsburgh: Sio Moore, LB, UConn
49. New York Giants: Eric Reid, S, LSU
50. Chicago: Kawann Short, DT, Purdue
51. Washington: Logan Ryan, CB, Rutgers
52. Minnesota: Quinton Patton, WR, Louisiana Tech
53. Cincinnati: Travis Kelce, TE, Cincinnati
54. Miami (from IND): Robert Alford, CB, SE Louisiana
55. Green Bay: Larry Warford, G, Kentucky
56. Seattle: Johnathan Hankins, DT, Ohio State
57. Houston: Robert Woods, WR, USC
58. Denver: Zach Ertz, TE, Stanford
59. New England: Johnthan Banks, CB, Mississippi State
60. Atlanta: David Bakhtiari, T, Colorado
61. San Francisco: Markus Wheaton, WR, Oregon State
62. Baltimore: Kevin Minter, LB, LSU

Round 3

63. Kansas City: Alex Okafor, DE, Texas
64. Jacksonville: Dallas Thomas, G/T, Tennessee
65. Detroit: Brandon Williams, DT, Missouri Southern
66. Oakland: Johnathan Franklin, RB, UCLA
67. Philadelphia: Kyle Long, G/T, Oregon
68. Cleveland: Alec Ogletree, LB, Georgia
69. *Cincinnati (from ARI): Giovani Bernard, RB, North Carolina
70. Tennessee: Tyler Wilson, QB, Arkansas
71. Buffalo: Vance McDonald, TE, Rice
72. New York Jets: Stedman Bailey, WR, West Virginia
73. Tampa Bay: Jordan Reed, TE, Florida
74. San Francisco (from CAR): Duke Williams, S, Nevada
75. New Orleans: Corey Lemonier, DE/OLB, Auburn
76. San Diego: Mike Glennon, QB, North Carolina State
77. Miami: Devin Taylor, DE, South Carolina
78. St. Louis: Quanterus Smith, DE, Western Kentucky
79. Pittsburgh: Jamie Collins, DE/LB, Southern Miss
80. Dallas: John Jenkins, DT, Georgia
81. New York Giants: Travis Frederick, C/G, Wisconsin
82. Miami (from CHI): LeVeon Bell, RB, Michigan State
83. Minnesota: JJ Wilcox, S, Georgia Southern
84. Cincinnati: Lavar Edwards, DE, LSU
85. Washington: Gavin Escobar, TE, San Diego State
86. Indianapolis: Kiko Alonso, LB, Oregon
87. Seattle: TJ McDonald, S, USC
88. Green Bay: Jelani Jenkins, OLB, Florida
89. Houston: Landry Jones, QB, Oklahoma
90. Denver: David Amerson, CB/S, North Carolina State
91. New England: Jordan Hill, DT, Penn State
92. Atlanta: Mike Catapano, DE, Princeton
93. San Francisco: Akeem Spence, DT, Illinois
94. Baltimore: Jon Bostic, LB, Florida
95. Houston (comp pick): Chris Harper, WR, Kansas State
96. Kansas City (comp pick): Philip Thomas, S, San Diego State
97. Tennessee (comp pick): Reid Fragel, T, Ohio State

As a bonus I’ll go out a few extra spots to include the top 100 picks

Round 4

98. Jacksonville: Brian Schwenke, C, California
99. Kansas City: William Gholston, DE, Michigan State
100. Oakland: Baccari Rambo, S, Georgia

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10 Questions From The NFL Draft Mailbag

On Chance Warmack, Falcons moving up, Arthur Brown's potential drop, identifying first round surprises, D.J. Hayden and more.

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32 Fearless Predictions For The 2013 NFL Draft

Some of these have basis in legitimate info gathered. Some are reading between some lines that may or may not exist. Some are wild figments of imaginary vision of the draft.

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Who Will Draft The Kaepernicks, Who Will Draft The Gholstons?

Dion Jordan, Eric Fisher, Tavon Austin, Shariff Floyd, Jonathan Cooper, Keenan Allen, Robert Woods, Gavin Escobar and Ryan Swope make this year's list.

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NFL Draft Mailbag

People are always seeking out Jeff Risdon with their draft questions. In this edition, he answers several of the more intriguing ones.

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2013 NFL Mock Draft (St. Patrick's Day Edition)

Luke Joeckel at the top of the draft, Ezekiel Anash at No. 2, two quarterbacks in the top-10 and more in an uncertain draft.

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Top 123 For 2013 NFL Draft, Post-Combine Edition

The top five prospects for the 2013 NFL Draft are linemen, headlined by Luke Joeckel.

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