On the heels of a visit to the Central Valley by several members of the Browns coaching staff and front office earlier this week, perhaps it is no surprise that Cleveland is still the front-runner in the Derek Carr sweepstakes. The latest cross-section of mock drafts looks much the same as the last one.
Name | Site | Updated | Pick # | Team |
Charlie Campbell | WalterFootball | 3/31 | 5 | Oakland |
Walter Cheripinsky | WalterFootball | 4/3 | 5 | Oakland |
Bryan Fischer |
NFL.com | 26 | 26 | Cleveland |
Matthew Fairburn | Mocking the Draft | 3/31 |
26 | Cleveland |
Dan Hope |
Bleacher Report | 4/1 |
8 |
Minnesota |
Pat Kirwan | CBS Sports | 3/31 |
32 | Oakland (from Seattle) |
Pete Prisco |
CBS Sports | 4/2 |
26 |
Cleveland |
Rob Rang | CBS Sports | 4/1 |
8 | Minnesota |
Josh Sanchez | Fansided | 3/31 |
26 | Cleveland |
Mel Kiper |
ESPN (Insider required) |
4/3 |
39 |
Jacksonville |
Mike Tanier |
Sports on Earth | 3/26 |
20 | Arizona |
Mike Sudds | DraftTek | 4/2 | 35 | Cleveland |
It is worth noting that some of the mock drafts are predicated on the perceived demand for Jadaveon Clowney, most notably those of Fairburn and Hope. In the former, the Rams take him with the second overall selection. In the latter, the Atlanta Falcons trade with Houston to grab him at number one. Both would seem to affect other teams in the top ten accordingly, though Fairburn sees Carr falling much further than Hope.
Another significant part of the discussion has been centered around the reshuffling of the top quarterbacks. Some have argued that pro day performances don't mean much at all, but that hasn't stopped many analysts from retooling their mocks. The latest mock draft by Doug Farrar at SI.com's Audibles, for instance, does not have Carr listed as a first-round pick but slotted Johnny Manziel as the first overall pick. This would appear to be at odds with the machinations of some teams in need of a franchise quarterback like the Browns and the persistent rumors that a significant number of teams prefer Carr over Manziel. The main takeaway is that, at least for now, there's no consensus about the QBs anymore, which should make the next month or so very entertaining.
Other Mountain West Prospects
There are not many sites that cover multiple rounds at this point, but Matthew Fairburn's latest mock includes two rounds. Walter Cheripinsky has hammered out five rounds. DraftTek has done two better and gone the distance with all seven rounds. Here is where other Mountain West athletes are slotted:
Name | Cheripinsky | DraftTek | Fairburn | |
Davante Adams, WR, Fresno State | 67 (Oakland, rd. 3) |
60 (Carolina, rd. 2) |
36 (Oakland, rd. 2) | |
Shaquil Barrett, LB, Colorado State |
191 (Chicago, rd. 6) |
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Bene Benwikere, CB, San Jose State |
204 (Carolina, rd. 6) |
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Joel Bitonio, T/G, Nevada |
84 (Arizona, rd. 3) |
111 (Detroit, rd. 4) |
60 (Carolina, rd. 2) | |
David Fales, QB, San Jose State |
151 (Tennessee, rd. 5) |
200 (Kansas City, rd. 6) |
||
Crockett Gilmore, TE, Colorado State | 147 (Atlanta,rd. 5) | |||
Robert Herron, WR, Wyoming |
153 (St. Louis, rd. 5) |
196 (Arizona, rd. 6) |
||
Marqueston Huff, S, Wyoming |
154 (New York Jets, rd. 5) | 127 (Cleveland, rd. 4) |
||
Marcel Jensen, TE, Fresno State |
135 (Houston, rd. 4) |
|||
Tyler Larsen, C, Utah State |
169 (New Orleans, rd. 5) |
126 (New Orleans, rd. 4) |
||
Charles Leno, T, Boise State |
157 (Pittsburgh, rd. 5) |
227 (Detroit, rd. 7) |
||
Demarcus Lawrence, DE, Boise State |
52 (Arizona, rd. 2 |
112 (Tennessee, rd. 4) |
27 (New Orleans, rd. 1) | |
Nevin Lawson, CB, Utah State |
197 (Green Bay, rd. 6) | |||
Weston Richburg, C, Colorado State |
62 (New England, rd. 2) |
77 (San Francisco, rd. 3) |
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Brett Smith, QB, Wyoming |
151 (Tennessee, rd. 5) |