At long last, NFL Network guru Mike Mayock has revealed his one and only mock draft for 2012. Mayock is the go to guy for the NFL Network at draft time, and he rivals long time ESPN Draftnik Mel Kiper Jr. for draft knowledge. Among those that follow the draft closely, you’re either a Mayock guy or a Kiper guy. They are the two heavy hitters for their respective networks, and as you can tell by the title of this article, I’m a Mayock guy.
Mayock drops one 1st round mock draft as opposed to some experts that roll a new one out weekly, and I think his singular focus makes his mock more anticipated. Here’s the link to his mock from NFL.com, and I’ll highlight some of the more intriguing choices.
While Mayock has the Browns at #4 taking Oklahoma St., WR Justin Blackmon, he thinks Alabama tailback Trent Richardson will be a better choice. Honestly, they couldn’t go wrong with either, but getting a number one wide out is more important than a top of the depth chart running back in today’s NFL.
At number 13 he has the Seahawks taking up and down defensive end prospect Quinton Coples of North Carolina. Coples is a freakish athlete that some believe has some work ethic and maturity issues, but head coach Pete Caroll would be an ideal coach for him.
At #19 for the Chicago Bears he has Syracuse DE, Chandler Jones as the pick, and what makes his selection more compelling is what he says about the choice.
The Bears cannot believe Chandler Jones has fallen to them. The general public might not know a lot about him, but my view is — and I’ll take a lot of heat for this — three years from now, he might be the best defensive player to come out of this draft.
That’s high praise from Mayock, and if it’s to be believed, Bears fans should be ecstatic.
He has the inside linebacker from Alabama, Dont’a Hightower, going at #29 to the Ravens. That would be a very nice pick up for them as a guy that could play immediately next to Ray Lewis in their 3-4 scheme, then eventually take over for the perennial Pro Bowler.
In what I think would be a great pick, he has Baylor WR Kendall Wright going at #30 to the 49ers. Wright saw his stock drop after a poor showing at the combine and some rumors about body fat percentage (seriously), but he’s an exceptional football player, and will pay immediate dividends to which ever team drafts him.
The NFL Draft kicks off tonight with live coverage on both the NFL Network and ESPN. Care to guess which one I’ll be watching…
Wrong. I have Time Warner Cable and they don’t carry the NFLN. Damn you Time Warner…