The Halftime Huddle Mock 10
With the NFL Draft only 3 weeks away, it’s time to start looking at who could go where and why. This is the Halftime Huddle Mock 10 – a look at the first 10 picks in next month’s draft as we see it here at HTH.
1. St. Louis Rams – Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma
For the Rams, this pick will come down to 2 players – Bradford or Nebraska DT Ndamukong Suh. The Rams are what feels like light years away from the days of the “Greatest Show on Turf,” and are in need of not only a great player but also a public relations boost, which they would struggle to get from a defensive lineman. That’s why Bradford is the pick here, and while he may not start right away in St. Louis, Marc Bulger is always one injury away from making that happen.
2. Detroit Lions – Ndamukong Suh, DT, Nebraska
If the Rams take Bradford, then the Lions have the choice between Suh and his Big 12 counterpart, Gerald McCoy from Oklahoma. While McCoy has charged up draft boards in recent weeks, Suh’s dominance throughout the season and his fourth place finish in the Heisman voting gives him the nod. Along with newly signed Kyle Vanden Bosch, Suh would give the Lions quite a 1-2 punch on the defensive line.
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Gerald McCoy, DT, Oklahoma
The Bucs gave up the most rushing yards in the league last year, so a run stopper is a must at number 3. McCoy could slide right in as Tampa’s opening day starter, and he may just have the talent to do so.
4. Washington Redskins – Jimmy Clausen, QB, Notre Dame
The Redskins don’t seem sold on Jason Campbell, and with a new head coach in the fold in Mike Shanahan, he’ll most likely want to start developing his own quarterback (much like he did with Jay Cutler in his last few seasons in Denver).
5. Kansas City Chiefs – Eric Berry, S, Tennessee
Offense wasn’t the problem for Kansas City in 2009. The Chiefs gave up 26.5 points per game last season, but with the jury still out on defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey (the Chiefs’ first round pick in 2008), a playmaking safety like Berry makes the most sense.
6. Seattle Seahawks – Russell Okung, OT, Oklahoma State
With the retirement of longtime Seahawk Walter Jones, Seattle finds themselves with a need for a tackle. Enter Oklahoma State’s Russell Okung, as the Big 12 continues its dominance of the early stages of the draft. However, a sleeper for this pick could be safety Taylor Mays, given his USC ties with Pete Carroll.
7. Cleveland Browns – Joe Haden, CB, Florida
While the story of the Browns in 2009 was the struggles of the offense, the defense finished behind only the Lions in total yards allowed. Haden gets tabbed for Cleveland here, but with the release of Derek Anderson and the trade of Brady Quinn, don’t be surprised to see the Browns jump on either Bradford or Clausen if one of them is still on the board.
8. Oakland Raiders – Bryan Bulaga, OT, Iowa
With the Raiders, you can never truly tell where they are going to go (Darrius Heyward-Bey, anybody?). The offense did show signs of life at the end of 2009 (and the Raider running game has always been solid), so look for the Raiders to bulk up their offensive line with Bulaga.
9. Buffalo Bills – Trent Williams, OT, Oklahoma
And this is where the Tim Tebow watch officially begins. Buffalo is one of the rumored destinations for the Florida QB, but I think the Bills back off this early in the draft and hope that Tebow falls to them in Round 2. Instead, they help out their underrated running game by selecting offensive lineman Trent Williams.
10. Jacksonville Jaguars – Dez Bryant, WR, Oklahoma State
Jacksonville will be another team pressured by the Florida-faithful to select Tebow, but with the release of veteran WR Torry Holt, the Jaguars need another threat to line up opposite last year’s breakout surprise Mike Sims-Walker. Bryant, the consensus number one WR in this year’s draft, makes the most sense for Jacksonville at 10.
Stick with Halftime Huddle for all the latest news heading into next month’s NFL Draft.
Josh Cohick
Halftime Huddle contributing writer
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