The 2014 mock draft season is here and Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay have put together their latest expert predictions on ESPN fir the first round and they have picks, projections and grades for the top 10 picks and the first round and some names that the draft guru selected include Jadeveon Clowney, Johnny Manziel, Greg Robinson, Mike Evans, Blake Bortles and Teddy Bridgewater.
Kiper started his first mock draft with Johnny Manziel as the top pick to the Houston Texans, but over time he has changed that stance and now he feels that the Texans will take Clowney with the first overall pick. The Texans are the most interesting team to watch, as no one really has an idea of what they will do and while they need a quarterback after trading away Matt Schaub, Bill O'Brien could opt to take one later in the draft and pick someone like Clowney, Sammy Watkins or Greg Robinson with the number one pick. McShay and Kiper also feel that Khalil Mack will be in the mix at number one and if the Texans pick Clowney, expect at least one team to jump into the top five to pick a QB.
Check here for the Mel Kiper and Todd McShay draft links or for more on mock drafts from SWR and ESPN.
The draft has a deep class of QBs past the top three and right now the consensus has Blake Bortles, Manziel and Teddy Bridgewater as the top three names and after that players like Aaron Murray, Derek Carr, Jimmy Garoppolo, AJ McCarron and Tajh Boyd are all considered solid prospects and that could find teams waiting to make their picks at QB. The top 10 should have at least two, as the Texans, Cleveland Browns, Oakland Raiders, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Minnesota Vikings all could conceivably take one and what the Texans do will have a domino effect on those picks.
The latest mock draft for Kiper is a little different than his first two mock drafts, as he picks the first three selections for every team and also gives a rundown of their needs and what value players bring at the picks. Kiper likes to change things up sometimes and he writes that this one is more about the value of players rather than projecting where they will go and he writes that he is using the team with the pick and not where the pick is as the judgment. Kiper says that the Texans could look at someone like Garoppolo in the second round and that would enable them to get a player like Clowney at number one.
If this were after 2012 there would be no question that Clowney is the first pick, as he had an amazing sophomore year, but after a down season in 2013, questions have come up about his work ethic. Clowney said that he wants to be the number one pick and his workouts have been very good and one thing is for certain, Clowney is a physical freak. Kiper writes that he thinks this is an "A" draft and this year many agree, as the wide receiver position, defensive end and quarterback positions are very deep and there is also prime talent expected to go in the top 10.