2014 NFL Mock Draft: Broncos and Seahawks Fill Biggest Voids

Nov 20, 2013; Toledo, OH, USA; Northern Illinois Huskies safety Jimmie Ward (15) warms up before the game against the Toledo Rockets at Glass Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

Since we’re so used to looking at the top of the NFL Draft, I thought we’d take a look down at the bottom on one of today’s features. The Denver Broncos and Seahawks were the last two teams standing this year, and the Seahawks came out on top in a big way.

I was perusing some mock drafts to see if anyone had already put some thoughts out as to what each team might do, and I checked the usual suspects over at NFLDraftScout.com, Rob Rang and Dane Brugler.

Here are their complete first round mock drafts, but I wanted to touch on the final two picks of each guy’s particular mock.

Rang has the Broncos selecting Northern Illinois safety Jimmie Ward, a guy who had a huge week at the Senior Bowl but is slightly undersized for a safety. That hasn’t made much of a difference in his collegiate career, and Ward proved at Senior Bowl week that he has the fluidity and athletic ability to hang in the slot with receivers as well as the ability to play the deep coverages.

I personally think safety is the Broncos’ top need going into the 2014 NFL Draft, depending of course upon what they do in free agency, and I noted that prior to the Super Bowl. The Broncos have Rahim Moore, a very good young free safety, but they need a guy that can make plays from the strong safety spot as well. Duke Ihenacho proved his worth and likely earned himself a roster spot next season, but I think they could definitely get a guy to come in and provide them with some more pop in the defensive backfield.

For the Seahawks, Rang projected receiver Kelvin Benjamin out of Florida State. It wouldn’t be a bad deal for Benjamin, who would be going from one championship team to another. Benjamin made the game-winning catch in the National Title game and has incredible size for the receiver position. In my mind, that is one of the top areas where the Seahawks can upgrade to make their offense even more dangerous with a vertical threat and red zone nightmare like Benjamin.

For Brugler, the Broncos went with Auburn pass rusher Dee Ford, another guy who lit it up at Senior Bowl week. The Broncos could lose Robert Ayers and/or Shaun Phillips, so adding more guys to get pressure on the QB is not a bad idea in the least.

He also had Seattle taking UCLA guard Xavier Su’a-filo, one of the top interior linemen in this draft to bolster their power running offense.