1. Houston Texans- QB Teddy Bridgewater

The Texans have traded Matt Schaub away to the Oakland Raiders. As of present Case Keenum and TJ Yates are the only Quarterbacks on their roster. It seems pretty clear that this pick will be a QB. Teddy Bridgewater and Blake Bortles seem to be the top 2 QB prospects according to most draft experts. This could go either way, but I believe the Pick will be Bridgewater, who is more NFL ready, and polished, as opossed to Bortles who has more impressive physical attributes, but will need time to acclimate to the NFL.

2. St Louis Rams- WR Sammy Watkins

The St. Louis Rams have been looking to add playmakers for QB Sam Bradford for three years, and have thus far been unsuccessful. WR Tavon Ausitn was taken with 8th overall pick last year, and may pan out , but had a very underwhelming year for the Rams. Sammy Watkins is widely viewed as the second or third best player in this draft. OT Greg Robinson is also a possibility here, as many people feel tackle is a need for the Rams.

3. Jacksonville Jaguars- DE Jadeveon Clowney

Jacksonville has many needs, the most pressing of which is QB. The men running Jacksonville have never seemed too worried about finding a QB for the future, and the consensus best player in the draft is still on the board. They add Clowney here and hope a stout defense coached by Gus Bradley can keep them competitive. If they have finally decided a good QB can help you win Blake Bortles is the pick.

4. Cleveland Browns- QB Blake Bortles

The Cleveland Browns have a fairly solid roster aside from QB. Blake Bortles is available, looks the part, and has upside. The Browns take a shot here at finding their franchise QB. There has been some talk that the Browns may go BPA here and try to find a QB with the 26th pick in the draft. I think that would be a mistake. There has also been discussion of Brian Hoyer being the starting QB in Cleveland next year. I don’t buy into this as one month of solid play isn’t enough to convince me Brian Hoyer isn’t the career back up he was the 4 previous years. In 2012 Brian Hoyer backed up Charlie Batch before being released by the Steelers, then was picked up by the Cardinals who had a dumpster fire situation at QB. Two games was enough for them and he was released during the off season. If the Browns had a history of being run competently I would be certain they would take a QB here, but they don’t, so maybe they take OLB Khalil Mack.

5. Oakland Raiders- OT Greg Robinson

Robinson is one of the best prospects in this draft, and the Raiders have a need tackle. When BPA meets need it’s a beautiful thing, and the Oakland Raiders organization needs some beautiful things to happen for them. The Raiders attempted to fix their tackle problem by signing Roger Saffold, but after a failed physical he returned to the Rams. They did add Donald Penn how is a decent Tackle, but I see them trying to get younger and solidify the offensive line.

6. Atlanta Falcons- OT Jake Matthews

The Falcons have needs on both lines, Jake Matthews is close to the BPA here. It’s possible the Falcons trade into the top 3, with either St. Louis or Jacksonville in an attempt to get DE Clowney. If they don’t they grab Matthews to help their ailing o-line. Khalil Mack is a definite possibility here, and he is a better fit with the Falcons than the Buccaneers, but the Falcons spent a lot of money working on the defense in free agency, with fixing the o-line.

7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- OLB Khalil Mack

The Buccaneers would have loved to get one of the tackles that just went off the board. Unfortunatley there are no other tackles worth considering here, so they take the BPA and that happens to be Khalil Mack. In all honesty I don’t think this is a good fit for the Bucs, and they have needs at OT and CB, so it’s possible they reach for Taylor Lewan or Justin Gilbert.

8. Minnesota Vikings- QB Johnny Manziel

The Vikings have a solid football team that QB Christian Ponder was able to lead to the Playoffs in 2012. Ponder predictably regressed in the 2013 season. I imagine the Minnesota front office has to be thinking that with a sold QB they could be a playoff team again.

9. Buffalo Bills- WR Mike Evans

Buffalo adds Mike Evans to compliment QB EJ Manuel and RB CJ Spiller. The Bills drafted Manuel in the first round last year and teams like to provide investments like that with weapons. Mike Evans is the best WR available here, he is a big target with nice speed, and has a history of being able to improvise when a QB needs to scramble, and EJ Manuel has a fair amount of mobility.

10. Detroit Lions

The best player available here is OLB Anthony Barr. The best player at the position of most need is S Haha Clinton Dix. The players with the most upside here are Anthony Barr and TE Eric Ebron. Other players of notable consideration are CB Justin Gilbert, CB Darqueze Dennard, S Calvin Pryor, and ILB CJ Mosley.

Anthony Barr- Barr has a lot of upside, is the BPA, and fills a position of need. He is, however, very raw. Some have projected Barr as primarily a rush linebacker, but I tend to agree with those that project him to be adequate as a 4-3 LB as well as a rush linebacker. I imagine new Defensive Coordinator Teryl Austin would love a high upside OLB that can drop into coverage as well as rush the passer.

Haha Clinton Dix- Clinton-Dix is the most NFL ready safety in this years draft class. The Lions currently have only one starting quality S on the roster. Haha would be a slight reach, but if the Lions don’t pick up a free agent before the draft, the reach would be worth it. His name will also be very fun to call out on gameday.

Eric Ebron- Ebron has the sort of athleticism at TE that would make him a nightmare match up for both LB and S. The Lions could make this pick hoping to bolster an offense that hasn’t lived up to it’s billing in the past. This choice would, however bury Fauria on depth chart.

Justin Gilbert and Darqueze Dennard- Gilbert is the more NFL ready cover corner, and also the more athletic specimen, Dennard went to a school in the same state as the Lions. I find it highly unlikely Mayhew deviates from his pattern of waiting to draft CB’s later in the draft, but if he does, it would almost certainly be Gilbert.

Calvin Pryor- Pryor is a big hitter with nice instincts. He is less polished than Clinton-Dix and sometimes lacks discipline in tackling. I think of him as a younger version of Louis Delmas. If safety is the pick, I prefer Haha, and I think the Lions would too.

CJ Mosley- The Lions have a need at OLB, they played a lot of nickel coverage last year to cover up the lack of talent at OLB last year. I’ll say this one more time, THE DETROIT LIONS PUT MORE CORNERBACKS ON THE FIELD MOST OF THE TIME LAST YEAR SO THEY WOULD ONLY HAVE TO PLAY TWO LINEBACKERS. OLB is a huge need for the Lions. Anthony Barr is an upside athletic freak that could help the Lions have a disguised blitzing look in the future. CJ Mosley is an inside linebacker, but I don’t think that would keep the Lions from converting him to OLB. Mosley is more polished and ready to play right away than Barr, but doesn’t have anywhere near the flexibility or upside of Barr. The Lions have stated they are in win now mode, so Mosley may be a possibility.

My Pick:

Anthony Barr

I believe OLB is the Lions biggest need. The Lions have shown that even in win now mode they won’t shy away from raw high upside players. I like that approach and want them to continue it here. Watching the Defensive looks the Ravens have used to confuse QB’s over the years has given me the impression that while the Lions will stick to the 4-3 scheme, they will do things like bring pressure fro the second level while dropping defensive lineman into coverage at times. Barr will provide them a player that can line up at OLB and blitz or drop into coverage. Still at other times, he could line up at DE and provide capable pass rush, but baffle opposing offenses by dropping into coverage on a TE while a S or CB comes on a blitz. He represents the best player available and possibilities of multiple schemes and looks for Detroit’s defense.

Feel free to let me know who you would pick in the comments.