College football is past the midway point and NFL evaluators have started to narrow down their prospect lists. Here is the latest NFL Mock Draft after Week 9.
There are so many teams in desperate need for a franchise quarterback and simply not enough passers available to fill all of those needs. The 2017 Heisman race is reflective of the wealth of skill players to choose from and the shallow pool of potential NFL-quality passers.
The Houston Texans and the Kansas City Chiefs do not have first round picks at the moment, partially for that reason. Both teams traded away their top picks in 2018 to select what they hope will be their quarterbacks of the future. The Texans drafted Deshaun Waston out of Clemson and the Chiefs went with Texas Tech gunslinger Patrick Mahomes.
Guys like Josh Rosen and Sam Darnold were front-runners for the top selection entering the season, but Rosen has had some struggles with decision-making and Darnold has just looked bad under the spotlight. With those two having tough starts to the season a new name has emerged atop this week’s mock draft and he’s not a quarterback.
Here’s how the latest First Round NFL Mock Draft after Week 9 of the college football season.
Quarterback is the biggest need in the NFL right now. So far no passer has distinguished himself from the pack. Sam Darnold has struggled with interceptions, Josh Allen has yet to make much of a difference at Wyoming and Baker Mayfield lacks the measurables of NFL-caliber talent.
All of those negatives will result in one big positive for Saquon Barkley. There has not been a more exciting player in college football so far this season. Barkley has rushed for touchdowns, caught touchdowns and even thrown a touchdown pass and returned a kickoff for a score. Every time he touches the football he’s dangerous. And that’s exactly what San Francisco needs.
The success rate of first round quarterbacks is scattered. While running backs might only be marginally safer, the recent history will help sell this pick. Ezekiel Elliot and Leonard Fournette are two top round picks that come to mind to back up Barkley’s first round case.
The 49ers need a difference maker. When Barkley has the ball in space a touchdown is always possible, regardless of where he is on the field. He proved that once again in a losing effort against Ohio State, scoring two touchdowns. One came via the ground the other via returning the opening kickoff.
Death. Taxes. The Browns’ quarterback problems. Some things are inevitable. While the safest thing for Cleveland to do would be to role with Saquon Barkley they might not get the chance to grab the Penn State star. That will leave them in a too-familiar place, at the top of the first round in need of a quarterback.
The Browns have already flip-flopped between Kevin Hogan and Deshone Kizer as their starter this season. By the time the season has ended the odds of that situation being solved seem bleak at best. That’s part of the reason that the Browns will be too intrigued at the potential of this new crop of passer to avoid the temptation this time around.
While Sam Darnold was the early-appointed top pick before the season his recent struggles have given Josh Rosen time to maneuver into the top spot. Rosen left Saturday’s game with an undisclosed injury but still leads the Pac-12 in passing yards and has had plenty of deficits to air it out this season.
The UCLA defense is not good and Rosen will have plenty of time to add to his stats and his resume before the draft arrives.
The New York Jets have a problem at the quarterback position. Ever since the much maligned butt-fumble things have never truly clicked for the Jets under center. This year is no exception. Josh McCown is the starter for now, but backups Bryce Petty and Christian Hackenberg haven’t done much to separate themselves. If they can’t beat out McCown, there is much reason to think they have a long term future in New York.
The Jets have drafted nine quarterbacks in the last 11 years, but they did not take a passer last year. After a one year hiatus it’s time to go back to the well, this time for Sam Darnold.
If Josh Rosen does indeed surpass Darnold in the pecking order it won’t be by much. There are way too many quarterback-needy teams in the NFL for Darnold to fall much further and it’s going to take a massive implosion for Darnold to hear his name called outside the top five picks.
The gap, at least for now, between Rosen and Darnold is razor-thin. After those two Pac-12 passer the next quarterback off the board is much more uncertain. Darnold had one of his better games of the season in Week 9, throwing for 266 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Arizona State.
The Indianapolis Colts allowed their star quarterback Andrew Luck to get beat up through the beginning of his career. In 2016 the Colts allowed 44 sacks. That was the fifth most in the NFL. The hits took a toll on Luck who has yet to play a snap in the 2017 season.
It doesn’t do a team much good to have an elite passer riding the pine because he can’t stay healthy. The protection up front deservedly takes a good chunk of the blame for that.
During last offseason the Colts knew the offensive line was a need and they did address it, to a degree. Indianapolis spent three of their first six picks of the 2016 NFL draft on offensive lineman. Their top selection. No. 18 overall, was center Ryan Kelly from Notre Dame. They also drafted offensive tackles Le’Raven Clark (Round 3) and Joe Haeg (Round 5).
That’s a good start, but they need a sure-fire starter capable of holding down one spot for years to come. Protecting Andrew Luck is worth an extra top pick. Notre Dame’s Mike McGlinchey is the best tackle in this draft and well worth an early selection by the Colts.
There are going to be a lot of risky picks in the draft. The teams that go for broke and select a quarterback at the top of the draft know they’re playing with fire. For some they’ll strike it rich, but others will stay locked in the endless cycle of quarterback purgatory.
The NFL Draft has no sure things, but when it comes to safe picks, going with a defender from Alabama is as close as it gets.
Crimson Tide defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick fits the “best player available” mold that NFL GMs always come back to. He’s quick, intelligent and versatile. He’s lined up just about everywhere in the backfield for the Tide so far and has proven to be a lock down corner as well as a play-making safety/
Selecting Mitchell Trubisky No. 2 overall was an extremely risky move last year. So far he’s been a serviceable quarterback in the limited amount of game time he’s been given. The Bears need to follow up that roll of the dice with a high-floor pick. No player is bust proof, but Minkah Fitzpatrick might be pretty darn close.
Fitzpatrick has three passes defended this season, one interception and one sack. He picked up three tackles in a comfortable Alabama win over Tennessee prior to their bye in Week 9.
It’s not Eli Manning‘s fault that he lost his entire receiving corps over night. In case you haven’t been following the Giants this year, that’s no hyperbole. The GMen had four receivers injured in their Week 5 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Included were star receiver O’dell Beckham Jr. and veteran Brandon Marshall. Both are done for the season.
Manning is down to practice squad players to support him on offense. He’s given it a valiant effort to this point, but it’s becoming clearer by the day that the time for a changing of the guard in New York is coming soon.
The Giants likely won’t find themselves high enough in the draft to secure the rights to Sam Darnold or Josh Rosen. That leave’s them with their choice of the “best of the rest”. While his college film might not be flawless, NFL scouts love the arm and body-type of Wyoming starter Josh Allen.
Allen lacks the star-power of some of the other names in this class, namely Lamar Jackson, but he’s shown glimpses of something special. Manning in under contract through 2019. That would give the young signal caller two seasons to study under the two-time Super Bowl Champion.
Allen had a huge game n Week 9. Against New Mexico he threw for 34 yards, four touchdowns and added one rushing touchdown.
Sports Illustrated named Derwin James the best player in college football in their preseason Top 100. He check in at No. 4 in our list. There were a lot of rankings done, but the common them among them was single digits.
Few players posses the potential to completely lock down their side of the field. James, like Alabama’s Minkah Fitzpatrick, have done enough already in their careers that opposing offenses are scheming them out of games. College coordinators and quarterbacks have learned the hard way what happens when you challenge James.
James missed most of his sophomore season with a knee injury suffered early on. Having him off the field was a huge blow to the FSU defense. Corner Tarvarus McFadden stepped up, but the lack of James was evident.
Back on the field once again, James has led a defensive unit that has been forced to be near-perfect. A heavier burden was placed on the Noles defense when starting quarterback Deondre Francois was lost for the season against Alabama. James has stepped up and continued to climb in draft projections. The Chargers desperately need help in the secondary, adding a leader like James is a no brainer.
James, like the rest of the Seminoles, hasn’t had his best season. However, he did register a season high 13 tackles in their loss to Boston College.
North Carolina State stunned many college football fans when they upset Florida State and Louisville early in the season. Neither of those teams appears to be living up to their preseason expectations, but the Wolfpack beat them and Syracuse. As a result, they sit atop the ACC Atlantic.
While the results might not have been foreseen, the production of defensive end Bradley Chubb has been right on schedule. Chubb has 13 tackles for a loss and 6.5 sacks in 2017.
Chubb checks in at 6-foot-4, 275 pounds. The quickness at which he can get to the quarterback is unrivaled in the college ranks. Beyond that, most of those sacks and plays in the backfield have come in big games and in big moments. That’s who he is, a play maker.
Tampa Bay has had one of the worst pass rushes in the NFL in 2017. They’ve had to rely on outscoring the other team rather than shutting them down. While their offense has the talent to do it, that’s not a recipe for extended success. The Bucs are going to have to balance that out with a pick to strengthen their defense and Chubb fits the bill.
It’s safe to say that Marshawn Lynch isn’t going to be the long-term answer at running back for the Raiders. This year in Oakland looks to be more of a victory lap than a resurgence.
If the team had much faith in their running back situation entering the year they probably wouldn’t have kicked the tires of the veteran tailback at all. Jalen Richard and DeAndre Washington are complimentary backs, not three-down workhorses. The Raiders need one guy they can rely on in every situation, whether that be second and long or fourth and goal. If he can stay healthy, Derrius Guice could be that player.
The former backup to current Jacksonville Jaguar tailback Leonard Fournette, Guice has already broken Fournette’s single-game rushing record at LSU. Last season Guice led the SEC in rushing yards, as a backup. Carrying the ball 183 times for 1,387 yards and 15 rushing touchdowns.
He’s every bit as physical of a runner and his absence from the lineup has noticeably impacted the Tigers’ season. In limited action so far this season Guice has 711 yards rushing, six touchdowns and is averaging 5.7 yards per carry.
The Miami Dolphins found themselves in quite the predicament when starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill went down with an injury. He was lost for the season, prompting the signing of the recently retired Jay Cutler. To say the Cutler experiment has been a failure would be too kind, but it will produce at least one silver lining: a high draft pick.
Without an early pick there’s no way the Dolphins would be able to grab Malik Jefferson, the best linebacker in the 2018 class.
After a modest freshman season, Jefferson’s career took off when he moved outside. That figures to be his natural position at the next level and it’s paying dividends for the Longhorns. He has six tackles for a loss and 2.5 sacks so far this season.
The Dolphins have a decent amount of depth at linebacker, but they need an infusion of you talent. Veterans Kiko Alonso and Lawrence Timmons won’t be around forever. Whether he’s penciled in as the starter from day one or jumps right into a rotation, Jefferson is going to be a difference maker for years to come.
When the Jaguars last selected a quarterback in the first round they reached. They made Blake Bortles, a somewhat unknown name out of Central Florida, the third pick of the 2014 NFL Draft. He’s had his chances, but the Jags and their fans are ready to move on from the garbage time king.
They’ll be too late to select one of the elite quarterback prospects which leaves them with a few alternative, all with their own strengths and detractors. This time the Jags won’t overthink it. They’ll watch the film, evaluate the competition and pick the most exciting offensive player in college football: Lamar Jackson.
A repeat Heisman performance is unlikely, but Jackson is continuing to obliterate the state sheet in 2017. He’s made a concerted effort to improve as a passer and his yardage totals through the air are up. He looks more poised and confident in the pocket, but when all else fails he can make plays with his legs.
Jackson is a player that fans by tickets for. He’s got some work to do, especially when it comes to his patience in the pocket, but the potential is there.
Once again, Jackson put up a super-human effort in defeat. The Cardinals fell to Wake Forest in Week 9. Jackson accounted for 491 total yards and four touchdowns with one interception.
The Bills secondary has been one of them most beleaguered units in the NFL this season. After sending Ronald Darby to the Eagles and losing Stephon Gilmore in free agency they were left without a true standout in the secondary and real questions at corner. Rookie Tre’Davious White was pressed into immediate service and there isn’t much proven depth behind White on one side and veteran E.J. Gaines on the other.
Buffalo hoped they could offset the loss of Darby with the addition of wide receiver Jordan Matthews. He’s spent a good portion of the season injured, but hasn’t been terribly effective when healthy. It’s time the Bills for the Bills to bolster a secondary that they put in a precarious position entering the season.
Although Ohio State cornerback Denzel Ward might be a bit of a reach here, he may be the most talented corner in the draft. When Ward gets his combine invitation scouts will be most impressed by his quickness. While Ward lacks the proven track record of other recent Buckeye corners, he has excelled in somewhat limited playing time.
Baltimore has fallen away from their elite defenses of the early 2000s. They upgraded at linebacker last season with the addition of C.J. Mosley through the draft and could use their first round selection this year on that side of the ball again.
There were moments when it looked like Arden Key could be drafted at the top of the first round. He’s show flashes of brilliance, some good enough to earn him comparisons to last year’s No. 1 overall pick, Myles Garrett out of Texas A&M. Injuries have kept him from fully realizing that potential, but when healthy key is one of the most disruptive defensive players at the collegiate level.
Key would make the perfect understudy to Pro Bowl linebacker Terrell Suggs. Using that pair in tandem could preserve Suggs’ health as he gets older and ease Key into the pro game and minimizing the injury risk earlier in his career. The Ravens need someone who can get to the quarterback and Key has proven to be a disruptive force against some of the better offensive lines in the country in the SEC.
Key has 22 tackles so far this season (two for a loss), a pair of sacks and one forced fumble.
Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer went down with what could be a season-ending injury in a Week 7 blowout loss to the Rams. This isn’t the first time that Palmer has dealt with significant injuries in his career and he isn’t getting much younger. With star running back David Johnson also on the mend it might be time to start to think about the future of the franchise.
Even if he is able to make a full recovery, Palmer doesn’t have too much time left in the league. He’s signed through the 2018 season, giving the Cardinals one more year to find that elusive quarterback of the future. The ideal solution would be to follow the strategy of the Kansas City Chiefs, who spent a first round pick on Patrick Mahomes, knowing he wouldn’t see any meaningful snaps this season.
Oklahoma State passer Mason Rudolph, like Mahomes, has the size and body type of a prototypical NFL passer. However, he’ll need some time to adjust to the speed and finesse of the NFL game compared to the run and gun offenses of the Big 12.
Rudolph won another shootout in Week 9, this time leading the Cowboys over the West Virginia Mountaineers on the road. He threw for a season low 216 yards but had three touchdowns through the air and added one score on the ground.
Offensive tackle might not be the most exciting position to draft at the top of the first round, but the Bengals need to do something to shore up their offense. Trey Adams is a solid option, and regardless of his recent injury, he’s going to hear his name called sooner rather than later.
Andy Dalton has plenty of talent surrounding him at the skill positions. A.J. Green and Tyler Effeirt (when healthy) make for a dynamic receiving corps. The backfield trio of Giovani Bernard, Jeremy Hill and Joe Mixon is well-rounded and versatile. The offensive line, however, has some issues.
While the Bengals are around the middle of the pack in sacks allowed the offense as a whole has been atrocious. They did not score an offensive touchdown in their first two games. The Bengals rank near the bottom of the NFL in total offense.
Losing Andrew Whitworth and Kevin Zeitler has proven too much for this new, younger unit to replace. Whether its replacing Cedric Ogbuehi or moving to right guard, Adams can slide right into the starting lineup and be an instant fixture in this downtrodden unit.
The Redskins last drafted a linebacker in the first round in 2009. That was the year they selected Brian Orakpo out of Texas. That pick worked out well for Washington as Orakpo has been selected to four Pro Bowls in his career to date. The defense has maintained their strength up the middle but could move from good to dominant with the addition of one more elite linebacker.
Trojan standout Cameron Smith is that last piece of the puzzle. The junior has been a menace along the line of scrimmage and has developed a proven track record, especially when it comes to stopping the run. The Redskins are in the upper third of the league in run defense already. Adding Smith would put them over the top.
A linebacking corps of Ryan Kerrigan, Bashaud Breeland and Zach Brown plus Smith would be one of the best, if not the best group in the NFL. Especially when you consider guys like Ryan Anderson and Will Compton playing in reserve roles on that defense already.
Smith leads all Trojan linebackers with eight tackles for a loss in 2017.
The season began innocently enough for Harold Landry and the Boston College Eagles. The assumed bottom dwellers of the ACC Atlantic dropped three straight conference games to Wake Forest, Clemson and Virginia Tech.
While the team as a whole was underwhelming, Landry began another impressive season. In those three conference losses he registered four sacks and six tackles for a loss. When nothing else seemed to be going right for the Eagles, Landry did his part.
That role paid big dividends over the last few weeks. Rather than roll over, the Eagles pulled off three-straight ACC wins. In Week 7 they defeated Lamar Jackson’s Louisville squad. Then they bested and an improved Virginia team and a struggling Florida State squad. While Landry didn’t have otherworldly stat lines in those games his impact on the game was significant. He’s the type of player that offensive coordinators have to scheme for, and that poses problems.
The Titans defense has been surprisingly subpar this season. Landry could step onto the field immediately alongside Jurrell Casey and help Tennessee generate a pass rush in 2018. They’ll have to figure something out, because they have barely gotten opposing quarterbacks on the ground at all this season, registering just 11 sacks in their first eight games.
Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams have at least one thing figured out on the offensive side of the ball: Todd Gurley. The former Georgia tail back is having a career year and helping ease the pressure off his young quarterback, Jared Goff. The resurgence of the Rams offense has been encouraging, and it could go from good to great with reinforcements on the line.
The Rams traded for Sammy Watkins in the offeseason and spent draft picks on receivers Cooper Kupp and Josh Reynolds. None of those three have made much in the way of a significant impact in large part because they haven’t consistently been able to get the football.
This is one of the deeper drafts at the offensive tackle position in several years. That will give the Rams a couple of names to choose from midway through the first round. Oklahoma’s Orlando Brown would be a worthy selection here. The redshirt is the son of former NFL offensive lineman. While that won’t move the needle too much, having football in your blood could be the tipping point between Brown and someone else at this point.
Brown has anchored a Sooner unit that is allowing less than two sacks per game so far in 2017.
The ever revolving door at quarterback has made the Browns the laughingstock of professional football for what feels like eons now. Part of the reason they haven’t had anyone succeed under center in so long is the lack of weapons in the passing game. Outside of one solid season from tight end Gary Barnidge in 2015 there have been few positive aspects of the Cleveland receiving corps.
With the quarterback position addressed through the addition of Josh Rosen at the top of the draft the Browns will look to fortify their pass catchers by taking the most consistent collegiate receiver, Oklahoma State’s James Washington.
Washington is the unquestioned leader and most talented member of an OSU receiving group that is on par, if not better than the most elite receiving groups in the nation. His game-changing speed and ability to high-point the football in traffic make him the perfect No. 1 option for a young quarterback that needs help.
Oklahoma State boasts the No. 1 scoring offense in the Big 12 and the No. 4 scoring offense in the country. Washington has contributed eight receiving touchdowns so far and isn’t done breaking scoreboards this season.
The Lions were not prepared for Calvin Johnson‘s retirement. Since he announced he was hanging it up in 2016 the Lions have put together a patchwork team of receivers with varying degrees of success. Marvin Jones Jr. and Golden Tate have been good enough to get the job done, but neither of those guys have the ability to take over a game and win it by themselves.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford needs a redzone target. He needs someone who he can rely to come down with a critical third-and-long conversion late in the game. Grabbing Courtland Sutton midway though the first round would be a tremendous steal for an offense that could use a boost.
While he lacks the exposure that James Washington has received in the Big 12, SMU standout Sutton will rival Washington for the first receiver selected in the 2018 NFL Draft. Standing at 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, he’s a big man who doesn’t get pushed around by defensive backs to the same degree as smaller receivers.
Sutton converted from a defensive back to receiver as a freshman in 2014. You couldn’t tell from the tape that he’d only recently learned to play wideout at the collegiate level.
In Week 9, Sutton registered his fourth game of 100 yards or more receiving, posting 136 yards on six catches during the Mustangs win over Tusla.
Plenty of players have elevated their draft stock so far this season through impressive on field performances. Louisville’s Jaire Alexander has kept his spot in the first round projections, but he hasn’t done so with any marvelous plays on his own. Alexander has missed almost the entirety of the season so far with an injury in the Cardinals’ season opener.
It’s Alexander’s absence that has created the biggest argument for his ability. With him sidelined the Louisville pass defense has fallen from above average (fifth in the ACC in 2016) to awful (11th in the ACC this season) in the span of half a season.
While he’s been listed as day-to-day for weeks now, Alexander suffered a setback in practice before the Cardinals’ game against Florida State. It remains to be seen how much, if at all, we will see him on the field in 2017. That’s not ideal for draft stock, but it doesn’t preclude him from a big payday come the spring.
The Cowboys have shown a willingness to take risks on elite players with significant concerns. He’s proven he can hang with the best receivers in the ACC, and Jerry Jones won’t have forgotten that.
The New Orleans Saints, under the direction of Defensive Coordinator Dennis Allen, have improved by leaps and bounds on that side of the ball in 2017. The Saints finished 27th in the league in total defense a season ago and are currently hovering right around the middle of the pack thanks to a significant improvement in the secondary.
It’s been well noted that the easiest way to make a secondary look even better than it was to begin with is to beef up the pass rush. Even mediocre defensive backs start to look like pro bowlers when quarterbacks are forced to throw inadvisable passes to receivers they probably would have avoided had they had more time to think.
The Nick Saban football factor has produced the perfect solution for the Saints, defensive tackle Da’Ron Payne. An ESPN freshman All-American and a multi-year start for the Crimson Tide, Payne has brought the pain so far in 2017. Not only do the Tide have the best running defense in the SEC, they’ve been able to get to the quarterback often as well.
Payne’s presence on the interior of the defensive line has been critical to both facets of what has made the Tide so successful in the front seven once again.
It’s been a while since Eddie Lacey was effectively pounding the rock for the Green Bay Packers. Since Lacey the Packers have moved on to Ty Montgomery, a converted wide receiver, and Aaron Jones. A rib injury to Montgomery and the loss of Aaron Rogers has only amplified the lack of consistency from the Green Bay backfield.
Bryce Love has been the definition of consistency for the Stanford Cardinal. He’s emerged from the shadows of former first round pick Christian McCaffrey and made fans forget just how good Mcaffrey was for the Cardinals.
McCaffrey finished with 3,922 career rushing yards and topped 250 carries and 1,500 yards in two seasons as a full-time starter. Love had just 140 carries entering this, his junior season, and has skyrocketed up the draft boards after a string of incredible performances – that includes a 25 carry, 301 yard and three touchdown game against Arizona State.
Love’s worst game of season came against Oregon in which he only rushed for 147 yards and two touchdowns. He missed the Stanford’s Week 9 game and it nearly cost them dearly. It took a late fourth quarter rally to escape with a one point victory over Oregon State.
The Packers need someone who they can trust with 20 touches a game to compliment their already stellar passing game. In just eight games, Love has already proven himself to be one of, if not the most reliable ball carriers in college football.
There have been times this season when it felt like the Denver Broncos were holding their offense together with baling wire and duct tape. Part of that has been due to the struggles at the quarterback position, but they’ve also been hampered by injuries to their star wide receivers – Emmanuel Sanders and Demaryius Thomas.
While they don’t stand out as several lacking in any one area, they need a spark. That could come in Christian Kirk, perhaps the most talented player in the 2018 NFL Draft.
Christian Kirk is the lone veteran in a young Texas A&M wide receiving corps. As such, he’s been double and triple covered so often. His opportunities to make highlight reel catches and “wow” plays have dwindled. Even with fewer chances, Kirk has been dangerous. In addition to his speed, route running and quickness, Kirk is already tops in school history in punt return touchdowns.
Kirk isn’t a big bodied guy, but that’s part of what makes him such a perfect fit for this offense. He’s a home run hitter and sliding him into the slot is going to provide an instant jolt to the Denver offense from day one.
The Vikings could go in two different directions with their first round pick. They have some notable holes on offense, particularly along the offensive line. An addition at one of those spots could make a good offense better. While that’s not a bad strategy it might not be as tempting as adding one more piece to make a great defense elite.
The offensive tackle depth in this draft is particularly deep. Knowing that they’ll be able to pick someone up in the second round will give them the added confidence to make a bold pick with their first selection: Penn State safety Marcus Allen.
While Saquon Barkley gets the headlines the Penn State defense has been one of the best units in the country. The Nittany Lions had allowed just three passing touchdowns this season before J.T. Barrett exploded for four passing touchdowns against them in Week 9. They have four interceptions, one of which belongs to Allen.
A fixture in the secondary for four season at Penn State, Allen has the rare combination of coverage skills and the ability to crash the line of scrimmage and play the run. Pairing him with longtime Viking Harrison Smith would make for one of the best safety combinations in the league.
The Panthers secondary has regressed since the team reached the Super Bowl following the 2015 season. That year Carolina ranked second in the league in average yards per attempt (6.2) and led the league with 24 interceptions. Those numbers fell to 7.5 yards per attempt and 17 interceptions a year ago and currently sit at just under seven yards per attempt and just three interceptions.
The lack of plays by the secondary has kept the defense on the field and forced the offense way too many unfavorable situations. The Panthers need a hard-hitting, turnover producing enforcer as their last line of defense. That perfectly describes Texas A&M safety Armani Watts.
Watts already has two game ending interceptions in overtime and is well known for his propensity to make the big play. His former partner in the defensive backfield, Justin Evans, was selected in the second round by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a year ago. Like Evans, Watts has the versatility to deliver a heavy blow while still holding the last line of defense in center field.
Injuries cut his season short a year ago, but since returning to the field healthy he’s been a critical piece of the Aggie defense. Watts had 11 tackles in a losing effort against the Mississippi State Bulldogs in Week 9.
The Atlanta Falcons offense was one of the best in football a year ago. While not many of the pieces have changed, the unit as a whole has been less effective in 2017. One of the reasons for that has been the ineffectiveness of receiver not named Julio Jones.
Mohamed Sanu, Taylor Gabriel and Justin Hardy have all played minor roles in the Falcon offense, but none has been able to draw enough coverage away from Jones. Opposing defenses have blanketed the stud receiver in the red zone and minimized the effectiveness of both Jones and the Atlanta offense.
The Falcons need another down field threat that forces their opponents to respect both sides of the field. Their options will be limited picking later in the draft, but being able to snag Clemson pass catcher Deon Cain would be an absolute steal.
Cain took over for Mike Williams, a first round pick of the Los Angeles Chargers last season. The junior pass catcher snagged his third touchdown of the season in the Tigers’ win over Georgia Tech.
The Seahawks aren’t going to come out and say it, but the team still hasn’t adjusted to the loss of Max Unger on the offensive line. The trade that sent him to New Orleans in exchange for tight end Jimmy Graham has not been a rousing success. Graham has been a decent contributor, but the offensive line has been a mess.
Seattle has shuffled through different combinations this season, going as far as to sign former first round pick Luke Joeckel, formerly of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Joeckel is on injured reserve and the rest of the line has their own issues. If Russell Wilson wasn’t an excellent thrower on the run he might be not still be standing right now.
Texas tackle Connor Williams would be an immediate upgrade over current left tackle Rees Odhiambo. Odhiambo lacks the strength and power of Williams who was the anchor of the Longhorns’ offensive line until going down the a leg injury midway through the 2017 season.
Williams wasn’t a blue chip prospect entering college, but he’s quickly rocketed up draft boards after winning the starting job as a true freshman. An All-American praised for his football intelligence would go a long way to shoring up an offensive line in disarray.
The phrase “Maybe I don’t have it anymore” isn’t what you want to hear come out of the mouth of your franchise quarterback. Ben Roethlisberger made that comment offhand after his team was crushed by the Jacksonville Jaguars 30-9 early this season, in part due to a five interception day by Roethlisberger.
While Big Ben has talked about retirement in the past it never really seemed like he was serious about hanging it up. After several bad outings so far this season it looks like the Steelers might have to accelerate their plans to find a replacement for their long-time starting quarterback.
There are several guys who might fill that void, but the most likely man on the board this late in the first round would be Washington State passer Luke Falk. He has a similar frame to Big Ben and has more mobility than he’s given credit for. Falk checks in at 6-foot-4, 223 pounds compared to the big body of Big Ben who stands 6-foot-5 and 240 pounds.
Falk is the Washington State all-time passing leader but it’s been an up and down season. The talent is there, but his decision-making is dubious at time. Falk has a 23:7 touchdown to interception ratio on the year and has led the Cougars to a 7-2 start.
It’s been a slow start for Legarrette Blount in Philadelphia. The eight-year NFL vet signed a one year deal with the Eagles this offseason and his productivity had puttered along while the Philly offense soared. Carson Wentz is having a career year, but the rushing attack has been pedestrian. The Eagles are sixth worst in the NFL with just four rushing touchdowns, two by Blount.
It’s safe to say that the Eagles are going to be in the market for a running back next year. Saquon Barkley will be long gone, but Alabama stand out Bo Scarbrough will be a tremendous value pick at the bottom of the first round.
Scarbrough has split time in the backfield at Alabama meaning his legs are fresh and ready to make an impact. With the Tide he splits time with Damien Harris and Najee Harris. That’s not dissimilar to how the Eagles would look to use him, mixing him in with Wendell Smallwood and Darren Sproles.
Then there’s the Alabama factor. While not every Tide draft pick pans out, Nick Saban’s track record with running backs is commendable. There are currently five Alabama running backs on NFL rosters: Kenyan Drake, Derrick Henry, Mark Ingram, Eddie Lacy and T.J. Yeldon. Scarbrough would be the sixth.
The Washington Huskies produced a top pick from their receiving corps last year. The Cincinnati Bengals picked speedster John Ross with the ninth overall selection. It looks like he won’t be the only pass catcher from the 2016 Washington squad that will be a top round selection. Dante Pettis, his partner on the other side of the field, has slowly climbed into the first round, largely due to his production outside of the Husky offense.
Pettis recorded his third punt return touchdown of the season against Fresno State in September. That tied him for most all time with former Texas Tech wide receiver Wes Welker with eight career punt return touchdowns. He’s electric with the ball in his hands and most young players are asked to contribute on special teams.
Beyond his special teams scoring, Pettis has emerged as quarterback Jake Browning’s No. 1 target in a productive Washington offense. He has 45 catches for 484 yards and six receiving touchdowns in 2017.
The Bills need all the help they can get. They traded away Sammy Watkins in the offseason and acquired Jordan Mathews, who has struggled with injuries. Nobody has emerged to help quarterback Tyrod Taylor and the Bills are going to need someone who can make plays in every phase of the game.
The New England Patriots might have the best offense in football, but their defense has been putrid this season. While the defensive side of the ball hasn’t been the defining characteristic of Bill Belichick’s teams, it hasn’t been this bad.
New England’s secondary has been the most puzzling part of the breakdown. The team went out and signed Stephon Gilmore, arguably the most prized free agent corner on the market. Adding him to well known names Malcolm Butler, Patrick Chung and Devin McCourty was supposed to make this unit lights out – it has been anything but.
While fans get attached to the names of the back of the jersey, Belichick has a proven track record of not getting too sentimental. He and the front office will address this issue with their first pick, snagging one of the best corners in the 2018 NFL Draft: Tarvarus McFadden.
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McFadden led the nation in interceptions as a junior last season. He does’t have a pick yet this season, but he does have five passes defensed, tied for most on the team with safety Derwin James.