With Free Agency nearing its end, now is the time to begin the age old tradition of trying to guess who will be making moves in the draft. Here is our initial thoughts on picks 1-5.
Pick 1 Houston Texans QB Blake Bortles
With Matt Schaub now at the Raiders the most obvious pick for the Texans would be a top QB, and there are a few promising ones to choose from this time round. However as we have already discussed its not a foregone conclusion in our opinion. The reason briefly is that there is a lot of QBs with potential this year and spending the coveted no 1 pick on a QB where there could be the chance to pick up a starter deep in the 1st or even in the 2nd round is high risk.
If they do go QB then Blake Bortles would be a good choice, however both Teddy Bridgewater and Jonny Manziel are worth considering. If they decide to wait and fill the QB need in round two, then the options would be DE Jadeveon Clowney OT Greg Robinson or WR Sammy Watkins in that order. At this stage we feel they will probably go with Bortles however we think that Clowney would be the best choice.
Pick 2 St Louis Rams OT Greg Robinson
The Rams continue to benefit from Washington’s blockbuster trade to get RGIII and if they don’t decide to trade this pick (a strong possibility if the Texans don’t take Bortles at No 1) then they will probably look to the OL in an attempt to keep Sam Bradford healthy. OT’s Jake Matthews & Greg Robinson would be the obvious picks here, although both Jadeveon Clowney & Sammy Watkins would be considered. Given the physicality of the NFC West we think that OT is the way to go and just give the edge here to Greg Robinson due to his strength and bulk (he came in at 332lbs at the Combine).
Pick 3 Jacksonville Jaguars DE Jadeveon Clowney
The Jags need a QB and if as we think is possible the Texans have passed on Blake Bortles they will snatch him here if no one has already traded up with the Rams. However assuming things have gone as predicted they will take Jadeveon Clowney here. Jake Matthews & Sammy Watkins would also be one on their radar, however a class WR is not much use without the ball and when you have a roster full of holes taking the best available is always the safest way to go.
Pick 4 Cleveland Browns WR Sammy Watkins
The Browns have made no secret of the fact they are going to draft a QB, however with 2 1st round picks they can afford to take a chance and see who drops to them at 26 so unless Blake Bortles is by some miracle still on the board, we think they will strengthen their receiver corp with Sammy Watkins. Then when they get the latest in their conveyor belt of rookie QBs he will at least have Watkins and the equally talented Josh Gordon to target. If as is possible both have gone then they would probably take the best OT left or Clowney if still on the board.
Pick 5 Oakland Raiders OT Jake Matthews
The Raiders need a franchise QB and although the likes of Teddy Bridgewater and Jonny Manziel will be tempting the fact they have traded a 6th round pick for Matt Schaub would indicate that they intend to start him. Even the Raiders are unlikely to use the No 5 pick on a back up QB especially when there is likely to be ones with potential floating around in the 2nd and 3d rounds. Thus taking a top OT who will start and serve you well (injuries allowing) for at least 5 years makes sense. Other options here would be picking up a quality OLB and Khalil Mack & Anthony Barr would both be considerations here. Another option would be trading down and trying to replace that 6th round pick they spent on Schaub in the process.
So we have a QB two OTs, a DE and a WR going in the first 5 picks. This could lead to a flurry of trades for the top QB’s, and a few quality CB’s and Safeties slipping further than expected. We will give our best guesses for picks 6-10 over the weekend.