The NFL draft is coming and with 1 month to go, Mel Kiper and other experts have made 2014 NFL mock draft predictions and projections, including which players from the Big Board will be going in the top 10 when things kick off at Radio City Music Hall in May and names like Blake Bortles, Teddy Bridgewater, Johnny Manziel, Sammy Watkins and Jadeveon Clowney are expected to be taken with the top picks.
Things will obviously start with the Houston Texans at the number one overall pick and what they do will dictate how the first part of the draft plays out and it's possible that trades could start flying depending on who they pick. The draft should have some trades up front, as the St. Louis Rams have the number two overall pick and they could look to move that to pick up a bunch of selections for 2014 and that could end up paying dividends for years. The Texans need a quarterback after trading away Matt Schaub and while they could look at one of the top three quarterbacks in Bortles, Manziel and Bridgewater, there is also a chance they could pick one later on.
The draft class this season at quarterback has a deep roster of names and players like Derek Carr, David Fales, Aaron Murray and Zach Mettenberger all could be available and that would allow for the Texans to pick Clowney or Watkins. Kiper went with Manziel in his first mock draft and then he changed it to Clowney and he also said that Khalil Mack is moving up draft boards and could also be in the mix if the Texans avoid a quarterback. If the Texans pass up one of those names, teams like the Browns and Vikings could look to move up and the top five could see two or three of the quarterbacks selected and that would be a huge difference from last season when just one QB went in the round.
Manziel put up the highest Wonderlic score of any of the QBs and many scouts think he has a huge upside, but there are a ton of questions still about him moving into the pros. Bridgewater is considered to be the top pro-ready QB, while Blake Bortles has been compared to Ben Roethlisberger and many see him as having the best upside of anyone. Last season Manziel had 4114 yards and 37 touchdowns, while Bortles broke out with 3581 yards and 25 touchdowns last season. Bridgewater had nearly 4,000 yards last season and over 30 touchdowns and he could be a top 10 pick as well.
The Cleveland Browns are in an interesting spot, as they can let things play out to see who they end up selecting. The team surely needs a quarterback after getting rid of Brandon Weeden and Jason Campbell and they have been mentioned as targets for Bortles as well. According to ESPN.com, Clowney is not doing any individual workouts to avoid any injuries leading into the draft and while many have said he is one of the best talents in the draft, many have also questioned his work ethic. Clowney could go number one or as low as number eight and it will be interesting to see how he plays things out.
Check here for the Mel Kiper mock draft or for more on mock drafts leading up to the NFL draft in May.