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Mock Draft Roundup: 10th Edition
By Myles Simmons
The draft is now just a few weeks away, and the analysts are turning in more predictions. A bit ironically, only one player from last week’s roundup shows up again in this 10th edition. However, the positions of focus -- wide receiver, offensive line, cornerback -- do remain the same. And in perhaps the most intriguing mock of this week, one analyst has the Rams making trades to get two picks in the first round -- and probably not in the way you’d guess.
Before we get to it, be sure to check out all the previous editions of our mock draft roundups below.
Let’s start with the most intriguing mock draft of the week, compiled by Peter King of Sports Illustrated’s The MMQB.
In what he calls his, “best guess draft,” King has the Rams trading up twice to take two players in the first round: West Virginia wide receiver Kevin White and Pittsburgh offensive tackle T.J. Clemmings.
It’s perhaps the boldest draft strategy of any of the mocks so far. For the first trade, King has St. Louis swapping its No. 10 and No. 72 (Round 3, pick 8 ) selections for Washington’s No. 5 overall to take White.
“The Rams don’t love anyone on the board here, but a premier player at wideout is a big need,” King writes. “Interesting if it happens: The two big receiver stars in recent Mountaineer history, White and Tavon Austin, would be together in Missouri.”
That trade would leave the Rams with just four more picks, and King says that they would use two of them to jump back in the first round at No. 29. St. Louis would swap its No. 41 (Round 2, pick 9) and No. 119 (Round 4, pick 20 -- from Philadelphia) selections for the Colts’ first rounder to take Clemmings.
“The Rams have done their share of compiling picks during the Les Snead regime,” writes King, adding that it’s time to spend them to address the offensive line. “Teams will be sniffing around the end of the first round for the remnants of the tackle and receiver markets.”
It’s a complicated scenario that would leave the Rams with only two more selections -- a compensatory pick in the sixth round, and their own seventh-round pick. But it would give the Rams two top-flight prospects in the 2015 class.
White dazzled teams with his blazing 4.35 40 time at the February combine, solidifying his status as one of the best receivers in the draft class. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound West Virginia product had a stellar senior season with 109 receptions for 1,447 yards, becoming a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award in the process.
One of the featured prospects in our #FutureInvestments series, Clemmings converted from defensive to offensive line prior to his junior season at Pitt. And once he did make that switch, he excelled at right tackle. While he’s still said to be somewhat raw, he was named first-team All-ACC in 2014
Getting back to the more conventional mocks, Sports Illustrated Don Banks projects the Rams to go with defense at No. 10 by taking cornerback Trae Waynes.
“The Rams might be just out of the money at No. 10 in terms of the draft’s elite prospects, but selecting the draft’s top-rated cornerback is a logical move with both Janoris Jenkins and Trumaine Johnson slated for free agency in March 2016,” Banks writes.
However, that’s not all Banks puts out there.
“There’s still some buzz that St. Louis could be looking to trade up in a quest for Marcus Mariota,” he adds, “but I’m of the mindset the Rams are content with the newly arrived Nick Foles under center.”
A Michigan State product, Waynes had a stellar combine, highlighted by his 4.31 40-yard dash. He was named first team All-Big Ten and a semifinalist for the Thorpe Award (given to the top defensive back in the nation) after recording three interceptions and eight pass break-ups in 2014.
CBS Sports/NFLDraftScout.com’s Dane Brugler has put out a ton of mock drafts leading up to April 30, and his latest has the Rams taking Iowa offensive tackle Brandon Scherff.
“The Rams invested in a top-10 offensive lineman last year (Greg Robinson) and it makes sense to do so again this year, especially if Scherff is available for them,” Brugler writes.
Also featured in our #FutureInvestments series, Scherff has long been thought of as one of the top offensive linemen in this year’s class. He raked in plenty of awards following the 2014 season, as he won the Outland Trophy (awarded to the best interior lineman in the nation), the Rimington-Pace Offensive Lineman of the Year (a conference award from from the Big Ten), was named a unanimous All-American, and first-team All-Big Ten.
Brugler’s mock drafts mostly examine different scenarios rather than just straight up predictions. That’s why if you look at previous editions of the roundup, you’ll see he’s had the Rams selecting La’el Collins (8th edition), Kevin White (7th edition), T.J. Clemmings (2nd edition), and Andrus Peat (1st edition).
For a little local flavor, Rams beat writer Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has the Rams selecting Scherff at No. 10 as well.
“Some see Scherff as best suited to play guard in the NFL,” Thomas writes, adding that Scherff could be a starter from Day 1. “In fact, NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock thinks Scherff has all-Pro potential there like a 2015 version of Zack Martin in Dallas.”
In his previous mock, Thomas had the Giants selecting Scherff at No. 9. For this edition, he has New York addressing their defense with Waynes, which lets the Iowa product slip to No. 10.
Finally, Rob Rang of CBS Sports/The Sports Xchange takes a familiar tone with some Mariota talk before coming to the conclusion that the Rams will select White. But unlike King, Rang projects the selection will be at No. 10.
“The Rams might consider Mariota if he was here, but providing Nick Foles with a potential star receiver could be another way to spark St. Louis' disappointing passing attack,” Rang writes. “No player has boosted his stock more this season than White, who climbs the ladder to make contested catches look easy and answered any questions about his athleticism with a spectacular workout at the combine.”
Unsurprisingly, Rang has the Raiders selecting Amari Cooper at No. 4, calling him the more polished receiver of the consensus top two wide receivers. This, in turn, allows White to be available at No. 10.
By Myles Simmons
The draft is now just a few weeks away, and the analysts are turning in more predictions. A bit ironically, only one player from last week’s roundup shows up again in this 10th edition. However, the positions of focus -- wide receiver, offensive line, cornerback -- do remain the same. And in perhaps the most intriguing mock of this week, one analyst has the Rams making trades to get two picks in the first round -- and probably not in the way you’d guess.
Before we get to it, be sure to check out all the previous editions of our mock draft roundups below.
Let’s start with the most intriguing mock draft of the week, compiled by Peter King of Sports Illustrated’s The MMQB.
In what he calls his, “best guess draft,” King has the Rams trading up twice to take two players in the first round: West Virginia wide receiver Kevin White and Pittsburgh offensive tackle T.J. Clemmings.
It’s perhaps the boldest draft strategy of any of the mocks so far. For the first trade, King has St. Louis swapping its No. 10 and No. 72 (Round 3, pick 8 ) selections for Washington’s No. 5 overall to take White.
“The Rams don’t love anyone on the board here, but a premier player at wideout is a big need,” King writes. “Interesting if it happens: The two big receiver stars in recent Mountaineer history, White and Tavon Austin, would be together in Missouri.”
That trade would leave the Rams with just four more picks, and King says that they would use two of them to jump back in the first round at No. 29. St. Louis would swap its No. 41 (Round 2, pick 9) and No. 119 (Round 4, pick 20 -- from Philadelphia) selections for the Colts’ first rounder to take Clemmings.
“The Rams have done their share of compiling picks during the Les Snead regime,” writes King, adding that it’s time to spend them to address the offensive line. “Teams will be sniffing around the end of the first round for the remnants of the tackle and receiver markets.”
It’s a complicated scenario that would leave the Rams with only two more selections -- a compensatory pick in the sixth round, and their own seventh-round pick. But it would give the Rams two top-flight prospects in the 2015 class.
White dazzled teams with his blazing 4.35 40 time at the February combine, solidifying his status as one of the best receivers in the draft class. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound West Virginia product had a stellar senior season with 109 receptions for 1,447 yards, becoming a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award in the process.
One of the featured prospects in our #FutureInvestments series, Clemmings converted from defensive to offensive line prior to his junior season at Pitt. And once he did make that switch, he excelled at right tackle. While he’s still said to be somewhat raw, he was named first-team All-ACC in 2014
Getting back to the more conventional mocks, Sports Illustrated Don Banks projects the Rams to go with defense at No. 10 by taking cornerback Trae Waynes.
“The Rams might be just out of the money at No. 10 in terms of the draft’s elite prospects, but selecting the draft’s top-rated cornerback is a logical move with both Janoris Jenkins and Trumaine Johnson slated for free agency in March 2016,” Banks writes.
However, that’s not all Banks puts out there.
“There’s still some buzz that St. Louis could be looking to trade up in a quest for Marcus Mariota,” he adds, “but I’m of the mindset the Rams are content with the newly arrived Nick Foles under center.”
A Michigan State product, Waynes had a stellar combine, highlighted by his 4.31 40-yard dash. He was named first team All-Big Ten and a semifinalist for the Thorpe Award (given to the top defensive back in the nation) after recording three interceptions and eight pass break-ups in 2014.
CBS Sports/NFLDraftScout.com’s Dane Brugler has put out a ton of mock drafts leading up to April 30, and his latest has the Rams taking Iowa offensive tackle Brandon Scherff.
“The Rams invested in a top-10 offensive lineman last year (Greg Robinson) and it makes sense to do so again this year, especially if Scherff is available for them,” Brugler writes.
Also featured in our #FutureInvestments series, Scherff has long been thought of as one of the top offensive linemen in this year’s class. He raked in plenty of awards following the 2014 season, as he won the Outland Trophy (awarded to the best interior lineman in the nation), the Rimington-Pace Offensive Lineman of the Year (a conference award from from the Big Ten), was named a unanimous All-American, and first-team All-Big Ten.
Brugler’s mock drafts mostly examine different scenarios rather than just straight up predictions. That’s why if you look at previous editions of the roundup, you’ll see he’s had the Rams selecting La’el Collins (8th edition), Kevin White (7th edition), T.J. Clemmings (2nd edition), and Andrus Peat (1st edition).
For a little local flavor, Rams beat writer Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has the Rams selecting Scherff at No. 10 as well.
“Some see Scherff as best suited to play guard in the NFL,” Thomas writes, adding that Scherff could be a starter from Day 1. “In fact, NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock thinks Scherff has all-Pro potential there like a 2015 version of Zack Martin in Dallas.”
In his previous mock, Thomas had the Giants selecting Scherff at No. 9. For this edition, he has New York addressing their defense with Waynes, which lets the Iowa product slip to No. 10.
Finally, Rob Rang of CBS Sports/The Sports Xchange takes a familiar tone with some Mariota talk before coming to the conclusion that the Rams will select White. But unlike King, Rang projects the selection will be at No. 10.
“The Rams might consider Mariota if he was here, but providing Nick Foles with a potential star receiver could be another way to spark St. Louis' disappointing passing attack,” Rang writes. “No player has boosted his stock more this season than White, who climbs the ladder to make contested catches look easy and answered any questions about his athleticism with a spectacular workout at the combine.”
Unsurprisingly, Rang has the Raiders selecting Amari Cooper at No. 4, calling him the more polished receiver of the consensus top two wide receivers. This, in turn, allows White to be available at No. 10.