Alex's 2013 Mock Draft

The 2013 NFL Draft will begin April 25th in New York City.  This is the second half of Sportico's 2013 Mock Draft series as Alex makes his selections.

These mocks try to take into account future Free Agency moves but since trades are so hard to predict, we're staying away from them completely.


1. Chiefs - Luke Joeckel, OT.  As a Chiefs fan myself it's been painful watching the team underperform this past season despite being relatively healthy.  The good news is that this is easily the most talented 2-14 team in NFL history and they don't have as many holes as you'd think.  The team released Eric Winston and can afford to play Joeckel at RT for a season while LT Brandon Albert is playing his one year franchise tag.  Next season they'll be able to re-evaluate, but for now Joeckel is the easy pick.

2. Jaguars - Dion Jordan, OLB/DE.  The Jaguars pass rush is simply abysmal although it's not for a lack of trying... they've just drafted bust after bust at this position.  They did pick up Jason Babin off the waiver wire late in 2012 and pairing him with a young potential star is going to give them the beginnings of a fearsome pass rush.

3. Raiders - Star Lotulelei, NT.  If I know anything about the way the Raiders pick, you can bet the farm on this pick happening as long as Star is still available.  The Raiders go with measurables such as speed, size and arm strength (in QB's) and Lotulelei is the biggest, baddest guy out there.  He also has a troubling heart condition, but worrying about career threatening ailments in a prospect isn't really the Raider Way.  Oakland released starting NT Tommy Kelly this past week, which was likely done in anticipation of this pick.  The only player guaranteed to be a "Star" in the NFL.

4. Eagles - Geno Smith, QB.  I could legitimately see Philly going with Alex Foles at QB and drafting some OL help, however Foles doesn't fit in as well with Chip Kelly's offense and I see him wanting his own QB just the way his predecessor started in Philly with McNabb.  Smith's mobility also fits Kelly's system.

5. Lions - Eric Fisher, LT.  I think Detroit was set to take Dee Miliner to shore up a pass defense that will need to improve when they play Rodgers and Cutler a combined 4 times every year.  However, after longtime LT Jeff Backus retired, the Lions will need to find someone to replace him and given Matt Stafford's injury history this pick is a must.  Calvin Johnson can't catch passes from Matt Stafford is Stafford is being used for target practice by opposing pass rushers.

6. Browns - Sharrif Floyd, DT.  There's a good chance he'll already be off the board by now but since he isn't in this draft, the Browns will take him to shore up a DL in a division where lots of teams traditionally love to run the ball.  Miliner is also in play here given that Joe Haden can't play both CB spots.

7. Cardinals - Zeke Ansah, OLB/DE.  The Cardinals badly need a QB but without Geno Smith being available it's a huge stretch to take any of the remaining options.  They take a pass rusher with a huge upside and take solace in the fact that the two star QB's in their division were taken outside of the first round in the past couple drafts.

8. Bills - Cordarelle Patterson, WR.  Buffalo's GM told the media he wants a franchise QB and a playmaking WR in this year's draft.  There is no QB worth taking this high and while some might argue Patterson doesn't deserve to have his name called this early either, he has tons of potential.  Of course even if he does produce, it doesn't mean he'll be effectively used in Buffalo.  *See C.J. Spiller*

9. Jets - Dee Miliner, CB.  As of the writing of this draft, Darrelle Revis is still technically a Jet but that's unlikely to be the case by the beginning of the 2013 season and the Jets will probably need to replace him.  They'll be overjoyed that Miliner is still available at this slot.

10. Titans - Chance Warmack, OG.  It's rare to see interior linemen go in the top 10, but Chance Warmack may be the most talented player in the entire draft and the Titans need help on the OL. Warmack could conceivably go even higher than this even though it's extremely rare to see interior offensive linemen taken in the top 10.

11. Chargers - Jarvis Jones, DE/OLB.  Jones stock has plummeted because of injury concerns and some negative buzz about his workout regimen but he's too talented to pass up for teams in this area and San Diego remembers how fearsome they were when Shawne Merriman was in his prime, wreaking havoc on opposing backfields.

12. Dolphins - Xavier Rhodes, CB.  The Dolphins already needed some help in the secondary but after losing free agent Shaun Smith to the Chiefs, they're now in crisis mode with regards to their secondary.  Rhodes will fill a major need and should become a #1 CB for Miami. 

13. Bucs - Barkevious Mingo, OLB/DE.  The Bucs badly need help at CB but will likely trade for Darelle Revis and even if they don't, pass rush is a major area of need as well.  Mingo is too talented to pass up on here and the Bucs will try to build a legitimate pass rush around him and find CB help elsewhere.

14. Panthers - Bjoern Werner, DE.  The Panthers have Charles Johnson but not much else on the DL and they need someone to get in the opposing backfield.  They'd love to have Mingo or Jones but Werner is the best available so they'll go with him (or possibly Sheldon Richardson) and try to beef up the front line in front of star MLB Luke Kuechly.

15. Saints - Jonathan Cooper, G.  As a North Carolina alum, I've seen lots of Cooper's play and can only say that whatever team gets him will notice immediately, significant improvement on the OL.  The Saints lost star guard Carl Nicks last season and Cooper will be a terrific replacement for an offense that struggled uncharacteristically for big parts of last season.

16. Rams - Tavon Austin, WR.  St. Louis needed some playmakers last year and now they've lost WR Danny Amendola to the Patriots which only highlights this need even more.  Austin is the easy pick if he's still available.

17. Steelers - Sylvester Williams, DT.  With Casey Hampton no longer in the picture, Pittsburgh needs a big guy in the middle to occupy blockers so their pass rushing LB's (and Safety) can wreak havoc on opposing offenses.

18. Cowboys - Sheldon Richardson, DT.  The Cowboys have seen inconsistent DL play hurt them over the past couple seasons, with Jay Ratliff hurt and not producing every week even when healthy, and Marcus Spears relegated to the bench before being cut this offseason.  Richardson will fix a lot of issues on the DL.

19. New York Giants - Tyler Eifert, TE.  The Giants have lost a lot of offense this offseason, cutting ties with RB Ahmad Bradshaw and TE Martellus Bennett.  They also have yet to re-sign restricted free agent WR Victor Cruz.  Eifert would become an immediate starter at TE and would give Eli Manning another reliable target in his receiving corps.

20. Chicago Bears - Lane Johnson, OT.  The Bears offensive line is a mess and they've allowed Jay Cutler to get hurt in each of the past two seasons, which has resulted in two great starts to a season being wasted, no playoff appearances and the firing of coach Lovie Smith.  OL should be a priority for new head coach Marc Trestman.

21. Cincinnati Bengals - Kenny Vaccaro, S.  The Bengals had a phenomenal defense down the stretch last year, but Safety was the oldest and weakest link and NFL offensive coordinators with an offseason to review tape will find ways to attack them if the Bengals don't improve. 

22. St. Louis Rams - DJ Fluker, OT.  After spending 2012 behind a miserable excuse for a OL, Sam Bradford gets a LT who's a former #1 overall pick in Jake Long and a RT who will hold his own against the fierce NFC West DE/OLB's just as he did in the SEC last season for Alabama.

23. Minnesota Vikings - Kawann Short, DT.  The Vikings are beginning to show some age in the interior of the DL and Short could give the Vikings a one/two punch in the middle that they haven't had since Pat Williams retired two seasons ago.

24. Indianapolis Colts - Damontre Moore, DE.  Moore will help lessen the pain of fan favorite Dwight Freeney's unceremonious release earlier this offseason.  With Andrew Luck showing as much promise as he did, the Colts might try to plan for another decade of taking early leads and rushing opposing QB's who have to pass.

25. Minnesota Vikings - Alec Ogletree, LB.  An extremely talented player who may drop to this point because of character concerns, Ogletree will step up and be a day one starter for whatever team decides he's worth the risk.  And it's not like the Vikings aren't used to dealing with players who have character concerns.  See: Randy Moss (twice), Jared Allen, Pat and Kevin Williams PED scandal, Vikings Sex Boat, etc.

26. Green Bay Packers - Giovanni Bernard, RB.  The one aspect of the Packers explosive offense that has been lacking during the Aaron Rodgers era is any kind of production from the RB position other than short bursts of effectiveness here and there from Ryan Grant/James Starks.  Bernard is a Darren Sproles clone who would be for Rodgers what Sproles has been for Phillip Rivers and Drew Brees. 

27. Houston Texans - Deandre Hopkins, WR.  The Texans need someone else to make plays from the WR position besides Andre Johnson and even Johnson isn't a lock to play a full season so the sooner the Texans can develop another threat at WR, the better.  Hopkins is a strong athlete who would form a terrific tandem with Johnson.

28. Denver Broncos - Datone Jones, DE.  The Broncos need to take someone to replace Elvis Dumervil's pass rushing production.  Hopefully they won't try to make this pick via fax.

29. New England Patriots - Jamar Taylor, CB.  I wanted to mock Manti T'eo here because he seems like the exact type of player the Patriots would take.  But not in the first round where the risk it so high.  Taylor is a safe pick who will help with CB depth and should be a starter by Opening Day 2014.

30. Atlanta Falcons - Marcus Trufant, CB.  Atlanta has glaring holes at CB if Brent Grimes leaves as expected so this is an easy pick as Trufant is one of the best overall players and fills a need.  These last two picks could easily be switched but New England seems to love Taylor.

31. San Francisco 49ers - Matt Elam, S.  After losing Dashon Goldson in free agency, San Francisco will replace with him a very similar, hard-hitting player who's a poor man's Mark Barron.  He should be effective immediately.

32. Baltimore Ravens - Jonathan Cyprien, S.  The run on secondary players continues for the Super Bowl champs who will try their best to replace Ed Reed with a player who has the upside to, like Reed, eventually become one of the best safeties in the NFL.