The Blog of Northern Aggression: NFL Mock Draft
By David Wipperman (a.k.a. Ragnarok) – @Wipperman
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David Wipperman, also known as Ragnarok (or Rags) on the forum, has been in charge of setting up the Wednesday fantasy football mock drafts for a few years. Ragnarok had his own section in the fantasy mocks this summer where he broke down the best and worst teams. Ragnarok will be writing his own weekly column on this Web site. It will contain a different topic each week as well as some of his gut bets, which should be used for entertainment purposes only. You can follow Ragnarok @Wipperman or leave a comment below. |
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I am basing this mock draft off of my power rankings from last week. Yes, I know some teams moved up and down after last week, but I am going to keep it consistent. For my playoff teams, I simply alternated the seeds to keep things balanced.
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Jacksonville Jaguars: Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Louisville
This should be a no-brainer. The Jaguars have crap for a team and just traded their best player for a few cheap picks. Gabbert is about as useless as they come, so a big-time change is needed. I love Bridgewater as a prospect, and if anything can turn this organization around, it’s a potential franchise quarterback. -
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Tajh Boyd, QB, Clemson
Schiano needs to be gone after this year and Freeman sucks (he’s already gone anyway). I know the Bucs just started Mike Glennon, but you can not trust your franchise to a quarteback who threw four interceptions to my poor, sad Tennessee Volunteers last year. A new regime will mean a new quarterback and you have to hope Tampa Bay gets rid of Schiano. -
Oakland Raiders: Jadaveon Clowney, DE, South Carolina
I have been beyond impressed with Pryor and his growth, which allows Oakland to take an awesome prospect. This would be an easy pick as Clowney is one of the best defensive prospects to come out in a long time. He and Houston would form a very nice pass-rushing tandem for the Raiders as McKenzie tries to build a functional roster. -
Minnesota Vikings: Brent Hundley, QB, UCLA
The Vikings start another quarteback and get a win – amazing how that works. Ponder has shown no improvement since he entered the league, which is inexcusable when you consider the talent around him. I think Minnesota scraps the Ponder project and moves on to a new signal-caller. -
Buffalo Bills: Anthony Barr, OLB/DE, UCLA
Barr is a fantastic prospect who would give the Bills another outside-rushing presence, which is a necessity in a division with Brady. Mario Williams, Marcell Dareus, Kyle Williams and Barr would be a very talented group capable of moving into various fronts. -
Philadelphia Eagles: Sammy Watkins, WR, Clemson
Jeremy Maclin went down with a knee injury and will be a free agent at the end of the year. Philadelphia needs another weapon across from DeSean Jackson, and Watkins would provide that. That pairing would really open things up for Chip Kelly’s running game. -
St. Louis Rams: Louis Nix, DT, Notre Dame
One thing that Jeff Fisher always tried to build in Tennessee was a dominant defensive line. He gets to finish that project here. Robert Quinn, Michael Brockers, Chris Long and Nix would form an extraordinarily talented unit capable of controlling the line of scrimmage in a very competitive NFC West. -
Cleveland Browns: Marqise Lee, WR, USC
Adding Marqise Lee to Josh Gordon and Jordan Cameron would provide Brian Hoyer with a very young and very talented group of targets and put the Browns in an excellent position to succeed. -
Arizona Cardinals: Taylor Lewan, OT, Michigan
Arizona just traded away Levi Brown, but he wasn’t very good anyway. It’s very plausible for the Cardinals to go back-to-back offensive line in the first round and bring in a franchise left tackle to join Jonathan Cooper. Lewan is an excellent technician who would upgrade Arizona’s offense immediately. -
Pittsburgh Steelers: Jake Matthews, OT, Texas A&M
Pittsburgh may have the worst offensive line I have ever seen. Yes, the Steelers just traded for Levi Brown, but it’s not like he is very good anyhow. Matthews has the talent and potential to take over either tackle spot for a long time. -
New York Jets: Austin Seferian-Jenkins, TE, Washington
The Jets are all in behind Geno Smith and need to give him more weapons. Stephen Hill is developing into a reliable outside wide receiver and Jeremy Kerley is a very nice slot option, but Seferian-Jenkins would give New York’s offense another dimension. The best friend of a young quarterback is a good tight end. -
San Diego Chargers: Bradley Roby, CB, Ohio State
San Diego’s front seven has looked surprisingly good this year, but Weddle is the only reliable member of the team’s secondary. Roby would give the Chargers a true No. 1 corner for the first time in a long time. I almost went offensive line here, but it has shockingly looked like a solid unit so far. -
New York Giants: Cyrus Kouandjio, OT, Alabama
The Giants need talent on their offensive line in a terrible way. Cyrus would allow New York to kick Pugh inside to guard and upgrade two positions at once. When the Giants won their Super Bowls, they had solid, if no-name, offensive lines. This pick helps get the team back to that. -
Carolina Panthers: Loucheiz Purifoy, CB, Florida
Carolina made major efforts the past two years to upgrade its front seven. Now, the Panthers turn their attention to the secondary. Purifoy has the potential to turn into a shutdown man corner, which would make this defense even more intimidating. -
St. Louis Rams: Johnny Manziel, QB, Texas A&M
Jeff Fisher finally moves on Sam from Bradford. Fisher had great success with a mobile quarterback in Steve McNair and has always loved drafting top-notch athletes. Not to mention, the Rams have been willing to take chances on character concerns before. -
Detroit Lions: C.J. Mosley, OLB, Alabama
This is a bit of a boring pick, but Mosley would really help Detroit be able to cover tight ends and running backs. Solid against the run and excellent in coverage, the Lions front four would allow Mosley the freedom to make sideline-to-sideline plays. -
Baltimore Ravens: Jordan Matthews, WR, Vanderbilt
The Ravens, somehow, stole Eugene Monroe from the Jaguars for was one of the dumber moves I’ve seen in a long time. Beyond retarded. Anyway, Walt and I were discussing Matthews in a scum chat during Vanderbilt’s first game of the year, when I mentioned Baltimore as a perfect fit and I still feel that way. Matthews would be an excellent possession wide receiver complement to Torrey Smith’s speed. -
Tennessee Titans: Haha Clinton-Dix, S, Alabama
Bernard Pollard and George Wilson are old while Michael Griffin is wildly inconsistent. A top talent at safety could elevate the Titans’ defense even further. Although if Tennessee is stupid and doesn’t re-sign Verner, cornerback would become a need. -
Kansas City Chiefs: Ra’Shede Hageman, DT/DE, Minnesota
With Andy Reid as the head coach, it’s usually a safe bet to assume a big man is going in the first. Hageman would pair with Dontari Poe to form a dominant defensive line that would make Tamba Hali and Justin Houston even more dangerous. -
Atlanta Falcons: Khalil Mack, OLB, Buffalo
Atlanta has some serious linebacker and pass-rushing issues. Mack would help the the team with both issues as he is a multi-faceted player. The Falcons could move him all over to provide versatility to their front seven. -
Cleveland Browns: A.J. Johnson, ILB, Tennessee
Cleveland has an awesome front seven, but the organization needs an inside linebacker next to D’Qwell Jackson. Johnson can move sideline to sideline and is very good in coverage. Adding him to this group would make it truly dominating. -
Green Bay Packers: Antonio Richardson, OT, Tennessee
Bryan Bulaga has had two knee issues in two years and Derek Sherrod has done literally nothing. Aaron Rodgers needs a functional offensive tackle to help keep him from being sacked on a regular basis. I’m not yet sold on David Bakhtiari or Don Barclay being long-term solutions. -
Miami Dolphins: Anthony Johnson, DT, LSU
With Randy Starks and Paul Soliai both set to hit free agency, Miami badly needs a defensive tackle. Johnson would be a nice addition to Dion Jordan and Cameron Wake. -
San Francisco 49ers: Marcus Roberson, CB, Florida
Justin Smith is getting older and Aldon Smith is in rehab, but the cornerbacks of the 49ers are the team’s biggest concern on defense. Roberson would be an immediate upgrade to San Francisco’s secondary and allow fir more schematic freedom. -
Houston Texans: Christian Jones, ILB, Florida State
Houston has very few holes on defense, but one of them is the inside linebacker spot next to Brian Cushing. Jones would give the Texans another fast, athletic linebacker capable of covering backs and tight ends. -
Dallas Cowboys: Cyril Richardson, OG, Baylor
Dallas spent a first-rounder on Travis Frederick last year, but the organization still has major holes at both guard spots. Richardson could take over at left guard right away and provide a big boost to both the Cowboys’ running and passing games. -
Cincinnati Bengals: Kyle Van Noy, OLB, BYU
Outside of Vontaze Burfict, Cincinnati could use more talent in its linebacking group. Van Noy could come in and play a Von Miller-type role to make up for the Bengals likely losing Michael Johnson. -
Chicago Bears: James Hurst, OT, UNC
Jordan Mills has fallen off after a nice first week, and this offensive line is just awful. Chicago needs more talent up front, and Hurst is capable of coming in and playing either offensive tackle spot. Something has to be done to keep Jay Cutler upright. -
New England Patriots: Stephen Tuitt, DT/DE, Notre Dame
New England suffered a big blow with the loss of Vince Wilfork for the year. It’s tough to guess how a man his age and his size will come back from that injury. Tuitt gives the Patriots a tough inside presence capable of collapsing the pocket. -
New Orleans Saints: Adrian Hubbard, OLB, Alabama
Rob Ryan is doing very well with what he has on defense, but a true pass-rushing specialist would do wonders for this defense. Hubbard and Cameron Jordan would wreck havoc on opposing offensive lines. -
Denver Broncos: Aaron Colvin, CB, Oklahoma
With Champ Bailey aging, Denver needs another outside corner. Colvin would give the Broncos a good man-cover corner to take over when Bailey finally hangs it up. -
Seattle Seahawks: Eric Ebron, TE, UNC
Seattle doesn’t have any dependable options at tight end. Ebron would give Russell Wilson a big target in the middle of the field and also help the team in the running game. Defenses would have fits trying to cover both Percy Harvin and Ebron working the middle.
The Blog of Northern Agression Menu:
NFL Power Rankings - 10/31
Surprises and Disappointments - 10/19
Hard Knocks - 10/10
Mock Draft - 10/4
NFL Power Rankings - 9/27
Football Team Bias - 9/11
Surprise Super Bowl Team - 9/6
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2024 NFL Mock Draft - April 23
NFL Power Rankings - Feb. 22
Fantasy Football Rankings - Feb. 19
NFL Picks - Feb. 12
