Mock Draft: 2.1

Well we have 2 weeks in the Books in the NFL season so that means its time for a Mock Draft update.  NFL Mocks writer Jason Madson takes the latest stab at predicting the 2011 NFL Draft.  Be sure to check out our other Mock Drafts that can be found under the Mock Draft tab.  We also have an updated Big Board where you can find the rankings of our top prospects.  The NFL Mocks team has also been hard at work putting together Scouting Reports for each of the NFL prospects so be sure to check that out too.

1.       Buffalo–  Andrew Luck QB- Stanford:  Goodbye Jake Locker, hello Andrew Luck!  He is by far the best QB prospect on the board and that happens to be the Bills biggest need.  The only question would be, does he stay in school or declare?

2.       Cleveland–   AJ Green WR- Georgia:  The Browns believe they have the QB of the future in Colt McCoy, so why not get him the best weapon in the draft.

3.       Carolina–  Patrick Peterson CB- LSU:  When you play the Saints 2 times per year, your team needs elite athlets on defense.  Patrick Peterson is about as elite as they come.  Did I mention he is an excellent kick returer as well?

4.       Detroit–   Robert Quinn DE- UNC:  This guy will bring the heat on every play, especially if Gunther is still in town at DC.

5.       St. Louis–  Julio Jones WR- Alabama:  With Bradford and SJAX already in place, this pick could give the Rams “the triplets” of 2011 and beyond.

6.       New England(Oakland)-   Adrian Clayborn DE- Iowa: New England needs some help along the DL and Clayborn is the best DL available.  He is great against the run, can get to the passer and has a fire that rubs off on his teammates.

7.       Arizona–  Christian Ponder QB- Florida State: Definitely need a QB and Christian Ponder fits the description of a good QB perfectly.

8.       Seattle- Marvin Austin DT- UNC: Mebane and Cole haven’t lived up to expectations on the Seattle DL, so Austin is the pick here.  The Seahawks also need some pass rushing help.

9.   Denver–  Jonathan Baldwin WR- Pitt:  He is very good at grabbing poorly thrown balls and remember the Broncos have Tebow in their plans.  He is a great complement to 2010 1st round pick D Thomas.

10.  Giants–  Gabe Carimi T- Wisconsin:  Eli needs some help from his OL, especially the LT position.  Carimi is the best tackle on the board, and he fits the Giants mentality perfectly.

Check out the rest of the Mock after the Jump!

11.   Tennessee–  Bruce Carter LB- UNC:  Athletic, playmaking linebackers are always needed on an NFL roster.  Carter is a stud in coverage and makes plays all over the field.

12.   Tampa Bay–  DeAndre McDaniel S- Clemson:  The best safety finally comes off the board at 13, to a team that is dying for help at the position.  McDaniel is a very special talent that will make the entire Bucs D better very quickly.

13.   Kansas City–  Von Miller OLB- Texas A&M: Kansas City needs a pass rush opposite of Tamba Hali, who is becoming a force at the position.  Miller is smart, has a variety of pass rushing moves and plays with heart.

14.   Jacksonville–  Prince Amukamara CB- Nebraska:  The Jags needed to make this pick in 2010, they are struggling in the defensive backfield.  Prince is a big, physical, shutdown corner who can man an island in the NFL.

15.   Philadelphia–  Mark Herzlich LB- Boston College:  Herzlich is as good as they come at stopping the run, he could be a good option to replace the injury prone Stewart Bradley in the years to come.

16.   San Francisco–  Ras-I Dowling CB- Virginia:  The 49ers have been revamping their defensive backfield for a few years now, but I’m not sure its working.  Dowling adds playmaking ability and top coverage skills to a secondary that needs a lot of both.

17.   Dallas–  Cameron Heyward DE- Ohio State:  This is too much talent for the Cowboys to pass up at this position in the draft, although a safety is needed as well.  Heyward looks like a prototypical 3-4 DE and is very solid against the run.

18.   Atlanta – Anthony Castonzo OT- Boston College:  This mammoth, athletically gifted tackle fits perfectly into the Atlanta blocking scheme.  He will push often injured Sam Baker for the LT spot.

19.   Baltimore–  Greg Jones ILB- Michigan State:  This seems to happen to the Ravens every year.  An extremely talented defender just falls into their lap.  Jones has the best tackling skills in the 2011 draft, he has heart and is a great leader.  You might be looking at the replacement for Ray Lewis.

20.   New England–  Mark Ingram RB- Alabama:  The first running back is off the board to the Patriots, and they got a good one.  Ingram is freakishly athletic and is above average at everything he does.  This pick is to even out the Pats offense, especially with the talks of Moss playing elsewhere.

21.   Cincinnati–  Rahim Moore S- UCLA:  The Bengals have, in my opinion, the best duo of cornerbacks in the NFL.  They are missing a big time play maker at safety to make that backfield complete.  Moore is a ball hawk that turns qb mistakes into turnovers.

22.   Minnesota–  Ryan Mallett QB- Arkansas:  Finally the Vikings draft a QB in the first round.  Hopefully this is Favre’s last season and Tarvaris Jackson has proved he is not the answer.  Mallett has a huge arm and rarely misses an open target, he will be a good fit with the Minnesota receiving corp.

23.   Washington–  Michael Floyd WR- Notre Dame:  The Redskins WR are absolutely atrocious.  They have 2 pretty good TE, but that is it.  Floyd instantly becomes the top target for the Redskins.  He is a big play waiting to happen, and if McNabb doesn’t lose his deep ball ability, he could have a huge rookie campaign.

24.   San Diego– DeAndre Brown WR- Southern Miss:  San Diego has some very good receivers this year, but Vincent Jackson will surely be missed to stretch the field.  DeAndre Brown is a huge playmaking threat that can fill that void.

25.   Miami–  Curtis Brown CB- Texas:  The Miami defense needs to add a few more playmakers before they get back to that elite level.  Curtis Brown is a player that has great coverage and ball skills, he is an instant upgrade over Sean Smith at corner.

26.   Colts–  Stephen Paea DT- Oregon State:  Talk about tailor made draft picks.  Paea fits with the Colts defensive philosophy about as well as any defensive player still on the board.  He is the strongest player in college football, and at 6-1 315 lbs has the ability to stop the run and create pressure by collapsing the pocket.

27.   New York Jets– Dont’a Hightower LB- Alabama:  Rex Ryan and the Jets are defense first and this youngster out of Alabama is a player.  The Jets have a very good group of LBer’s, but this talent is too good to pass up.  The rich get richer as they say.

28.   Pittsburgh– Matt Reynolds OT- BYU:  The Steelers have an OL that is going to end up hurting them before the end of the season.  Matt Reynolds is the best player on the board at this point and he fits a need for the Steelers.  Reynolds excels at pass pro and has improved his run blocking immensely.

29.   Chicago– Justin Boren OG- Ohio State:  The Bears need some help on the OL, especially on the interior.  Boren is a nasty player, in the same mold as Olin Kreutz.  He will be an instant fan favorite in the Windy City due to his work ethic.

30. Houston– Aaron Williams CB- Texas: The Texans will continue to face Peyton Manning twice a year so they need to be able to shut down the Colts passing game.  Willams is a good corner that can help out right away.

33.   Green Bay–  Travis Lewis LB- Oklahoma:  The Packers used 2 first round picks on LBer’s in the previous 4 seasons and one has worked out great(Matthews) while the other is still waiting to be seen(Hawk).  Lewis would come in and push Hawk for that starting ILB spot because his game is solid all the way around.

32.   New Orleans– Quizz Rodgers RB- Oregon State:  This pick is a luxury for the Super Bowl Champs, but I could see it happening.  Quizz has the tools to be a better running version of Reggie Bush.  Imagine lining Bush and Quizz up in the backfield together for some Wild-Saint action.  I’m just sayin.