NFL mock drafts continue to come out ahead of free agency and here is a look at some first round predictions for the top 10 picks along with Mel Kiper's Big Board projections before teams start signings free agent players starting up on Tuesday.
Kiper had Johnny Manziel first in his opening mock draft of the season and he has continue to remain there as free agency gets closer and while many think that the Texans will take Manziel, there is a good chance they have other plans for the pick. Kiper writes that Manziel is a great option since he is from Texas and played college football there and one top of that, his improvisational style is something that the NFL is moving towards with mobile quarterbacks and that could put Houston ahead of the curve. The team has not ruled out trading the pick and there is a chance that the team could take someone else, including Jadeveon Clowney, Greg Robinson or Sammy Watkins, who looks to be the fastest wideout in the draft.
The Texans lost 14 straight games to finish the season last year and they have question marks on both sides of the ball and their first round pick will be huge to how they remake their team in the offseason. There is a chance that the team will let go off Matt Schaub and that opens things up for the quarterbacks, while Clowney will be very attractive as well after the team lost former number one overall pick Mario Williams last year as a free agent.
The Rams are in the second pick after the deal with the Redskins for Robert Griffin and they are in position to make a trade as well if they want, while they also could add an impact player in a year when they have no business picking in the top two. The Redskins were terrible and now they have to watch as the Rams take their selection and adding someone like Robinson, Clowney or even Manziel is on the table for the Rams and they would love to bring in someone like Clowney to give them a dominating pass rush again this season.
Manziel, Blake Bortles and Teddy Bridgewater are considered the top three quarterbacks in the draft and this comes after Manziel won the Heisman in college, while Bridgewater is considered to be the most ready for the NFL. Kiper has written about the size of Bortles and he compares well to Ben Roethlisberger, although he is not as polished as some of the other names. Bortles and Manziel are considered more to be "project" quarterbacks than Bridgewater, which is why early predictions had him going number one, but now that's not happening.
The Cleveland Browns and the Oakland Raiders could be in the mix for a quarterback and if one of the top three drops to number four or number five, expect the two franchises to go after those names. The Buccaneers and Vikings could also be in the mix for a quarterback and players like Jake Mathews, Khalil Mack and Anthony Barr are also players that Kiper thinks can be top 10 picks. The Texans could bring in Watkins to put next to his teammate DeAndre Hopkins from Clemson, while along Andre Johnson would give the team three legitimate deep threats.