Mel Kiper's 1st Mock Draft Out: NFC North

ESPN Insider needed to see all 32 teams but here are the NFC North picks:

3. Minnesota Vikings
Kiper's pick: USC offensive tackle Matt Kalil
Seifert comment: Kalil is available because Kiper has the St. Louis Rams taking Oklahoma State receiver Justin Blackmon at No. 2. The guess is the Vikings would have an opportunity to trade down in this scenario, especially if a team is hot after Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III. But the Vikings need a left tackle, and it's hard to find a good one later in the draft.

19. Chicago Bears
Kiper's pick: Notre Dame wide receiver Michael Floyd
Seifert comment: Everyone has the idea that the Bears will take Floyd, and it sure sounds good. But without a general manager in place yet, and with offensive coordinator Mike Tice now a head coaching candidate in Oakland, it's only a guess.

23. Detroit Lions
Kiper's pick: North Carolina linebacker Zack Brown
Seifert comment: One thing we've learned about Lions general manager Martin Mayhew is that his board is not arranged by need. If it were, defensive lineman Nick Fairley would be somewhere else. Whoever Mayhew takes at No. 23 will be the best player left on his board, regardless of position.

28. Green Bay Packers
Kiper's pick: Illinois linebacker Whitney Mercilus
Seifert comment: We've been speculating for upwards of three years that general manager Ted Thompson will seek out more pass rushers for the Packers' 3-4 scheme. Maybe this is the year.

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Originally Posted by Bear Goggles

28. Green Bay Packers
Kiper's pick: Illinois defensive end Whitney Mercilus
Seifert comment: We've been speculating for upwards of three years that general manager Ted Thompson will seek out more pass rushers for the Packers' 3-4 scheme. Maybe this is the year.

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Fixed for ya. ;-)

http://www.nfl.com/draft/2012/mock-drafts

With the 2012 NFL Draft exactly 100 days away, some NFL.com and NFL Network analysts are unveiling their first attempts at projecting how the first round will go on April 26.

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1st round:

3. Minnesota Vikings

- OT Matt Kalil [USC] 7x
- WR Justin Blackmon [Oklahoma State] 1x

19. Chicago Bears

- WR Michael Floyd [Notre Dame] 4x
- OG David DeCastro [Stanford] 1x

23. Detroit Lions

- DE Whitney Mercilus [Illinois] 2x
- CB Alfonzo Dennard [Nebraska] 1x
- CB Janoris Jenkins [North Alabama] 1x
- CB Stephon Gilmore [South Carolina] 1x

28. Green Bay Packers

- DE Andre Branch [Clemson] 3x
- DE Nick Perry [USC] 1x
- TE Coby Fleener [Stanford] 1x

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:bah: from: http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcnorth/pos...012-mock-draft

To me neither of those picks make the most sense unless all other possibilities are exhausted. DeCastro is a very good lineman but unless he can play LT why do we need him. Unless somebody thinks we can move CWill back to LT we already have a logjam at OG. We've got OG's and OC's up the ass but not LT and the talking heads have us talking DeCastro or Konz.

The other thing is I will never be happy with Michael Floyd as our #1 pick. I've seldom seen a Notre Dame receiver do all that well in the NFL. I realize Floyd has the size we need and some tools but this draft is fairly deep at WR and there are guys who will last into the 2nd round and maybe even the 3rd who also have size and are less of a risk than Michael Floyd. We should be picking up one of the top FA WR's too so that position can slide down just a little on the needs list.

I doubt a CB like Dre Kirkpatrick will fall that far but Coples and/or Ingram may and unless we cop a good pass rusher like Cliff Avril in FA we need to look at that. Teams rarely let great pass rushers go. There are usually only one or two a year worth pursuing and they are expensive to sign compared to the cost of a rookie who has just as much chance of contributing as the vet.

So unless things change dramatically between now and the draft I'd rather see us going after a DE, CB or a LT is such an animal exists that late in the 1st. Somebody whose last name isn't Omiyale needs to be a backup OT.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bear Goggles

:bah: from: Mel Kiper's debut 2012 mock draft - NFC North Blog - ESPN

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Is dropping a mock any thing like dropping a turd? I mean that's what some of these early mock drafts look like. :lol-027:

Not bad of a mock considering we dont have a gm yet to really know what direction this team is going.

FWIW since there's always an outside chance we take an OT or OG with that first pick here's Greg Gabriel's scouting report on the two Stanford first round prospects. As you all probably remember Gabriel was the Bears Director on College Scouting and a draft room player until Angelo fired (or should I say scapegoated) him prior to the 2010 season.

Pair of Stanford linemen set to succeed at the next level

The Cardinal will have two talents not named Luck taken early in April's draft. Greg Gabriel
http://s7.addthis.com/static/btn/sm-share-en.gifPrint ThisJanuary 17, 2012, 05:30 PM EST
1 Comment



http://cdn.cloudfiles.mosso.com/c191...static/NL3.png
For the last few years, Stanford has had one of the better offensive lines in the country. The Cardinal have been coached in a pro-style offense and are very physical. Two of those players who are both 4th-year juniors have decided to forgo their final year of college football and enter the NFL Draft. These players are left tackle Jonathan Martin and right guard David DeCastro. I have been able to look at three game tapes from 2011 (USC, Notre Dame and Oklahoma State) and two from 2010 (Notre Dame, UCLA). Here’s what I saw.

Jonathan Martin
Martin redshirted his freshman season and has been a starter at left tackle the last three years. He was a 3-star recruit from Los Angeles and was pretty much a regional recruit having been offered by schools such as UCLA, Utah and Utah State.
http://cdn.cloudfiles.mosso.com/c191...han-Martin.jpgJonathan Martin was a starter at left tackle the last three years at Stanford.

Martin has good size at about 6-5 and 305 with long arms. While he has very good feet and good short area quickness, he is not what I would call a very fast guy when he has to get out into space. Watching him run, I doubt he will be faster than about 5.50 when he runs the 40. Still, he has good balance and you seldom see him off his feet. He plays from both a 2 point and 3 point stance and shows very good initial quickness. He has been very well coached and is technique sound.

In the run game he comes off the ball low and has good “pop” on contact. He shows good natural hip roll, keeps his hands inside. He keeps his feet running on contact and is able to generate movement with his blocks. He is consistent getting to linebackers and usually takes good angles. They seldom use him to pull and when they do pull him he can struggle. He lacks the speed to consistently get to the block and can struggle to adjust on the move.

The best part of his game is pass blocking. He has good feet, lateral agility and recovery. He plays with bend and shows good anchor ability. In the run game, he sets quickly, has a strong punch and is able to control his opponent. He can stop wide speed and recover when his opponent tries a counter move. In the five games I viewed, I seldom saw him beat to the outside.

Overall, because of his pass protection skills and inline blocking ability he should be a first-round type pick. His lack of top athleticism in space will cause him to be drafted lower than players like Matt Kalil of USC and Riley Reiff of Iowa. Still, the club that drafts him is getting a solid player.

David DeCastro
Like Martin, DeCastro was a 3-star recruit coming out of high school. He is from Bellevue, Washington, and like Martin was mainly a regional recruit with offers from most of the northern Pac-10/12 schools (Oregon St, Washington, Washington St, Stanford). Also like Martin he redshirted his freshman year and has been a 3-year starter at right guard and has been very productive as a starter.

DeCastro shows good snap reaction and gets to his blocks quickly. He plays with good strength and explosion and shows good natural hip roll on contact. What I don’t like is that he can have a tendency to stop and restart his feet when he makes contact. While he can get away with this versus college competition he won’t be able to in the NFL. I have seen him run his feet enough to know it’s not a problem, but rather a technique he needs to improve on. He takes good angles and again makes solid contact. He can be a physical run blocker showing he can get movement and will pancake when given the opportunity. He has very good hand use when run blocking, consistently keep his hands inside.

Stanford uses DeCastro to pull a lot but it’s always to the left. In five games viewed I never once saw him pull to his right. When pulling he shows average speed to get in front of a back and also has adequate ability to adjust on the move. I have seen a few plays where he did miss in space or not make a solid block.

As a pass blocker, he is very steady, again getting his hands on his opponent quickly, playing with bend and has good mirror skills. He slides his feet well, can recover versus moves and anchors. He consistently looks to finish both run and pass blocks. Like with his run blocking, his hand use is very good. Overall, DeCastro is a solid guard prospect who should also be able to play center at the next level but I doubt he could play outside. He has the talent and tenacity to start early in his career. While I don’t like to draft a guard in the first round unless they have some special traits, it wouldn’t surprise me if DeCastro went in the first. I don’t see a special player but I see a damn good one.

I've seen a few early mocks as well and they range from pretty astute to bizarre & ridiculous.

As far as the DeCastro selection goes, that is on the ridiculous side IMO unless someone is anticipating maving CWill back to LT (which is ridiculous in itself as he failed there before and finally seems to have found a home at LG). Pure OGs rarely go that high anyway and I've seen no respected analysts that say DD is anything but an NFL OG prospect. The Bears need an LT and THAT'S IT on the OL. Whoever forecast us taking DD in #1 doesn't seem to have a firm grasp on what the team's key needs are.

I disagree with the Floyd prediction but can at least see how it makes some superficial sense. The only way we should consider that is if we don't sign a FA WR...kill me if that ends up being the case. We do have a glaring need for a playmaker WR but I disagree with the prediction that this is how the team should/will go about filling it. I don't see any likely mid-1st WR that is going to have a big immediate impact and the risk of a bust/disappointment is large there.

I did see a new mock recently on the Bleacher Report that has us taking OT Mike Adams from Ohio St. in round 1. While I like the positional choice, lots of scouting reports indicate that after Kalil, Martin, & Reiff there is a steep dropoff in talent among OTs in this draft class. Adams would definitely be better than OMG but if he can't beat out Webb for the starting job, then he isn't worth a #1 pick...JMO

Here's the NFP Scouting report on Martin. He's done well at LT at the college level but unlike guys like Kalil and Reiff he's not a physical player. He's more of an athletic finesse guy. Maybe CWill v2.0? He'll need to bulk up and add muscle but probably will never hold a candle to Gabe Carimi as a run blocker.

He's actually the 6th ranked OT in this draft behind guys like Mike Adams from OSU and Jeff Allen from Illinois and at this point he doesn't even carry a 1st round grade. What bothers me is the comment that he will probably be over drafted or in other words because he's a LT he's a reach in the 1st. The real question is whether or not he can play LT at the pro level. We already have an oversized athlete playing LT who struggles to block. Martin's grade indicated he's a boom or bust kind of guy so to me not worth a risk at #19.

JONATHAN MARTIN OT, Stanford

• 2011 GRADE: 6.6 D B J HT: 6-6 WT: 304
• Overview

News & Updates


Jan 17


What I like…

- Possesses an athletic looking frame with solid length for the position.
- Showcases natural bend and flexibility when asked to sit into his stance.
- Can keep his base under him and knees bend initially on his kick slide.
- Does a nice job initially maintaining proper balance with his footwork when trying to reach speed off the edge and set.
- Showcases natural range to the corner. Exhibits a good first step and the ability to reach quick-twitch pass rushers.
- Looks natural when asked to quick set. Keeps his base down, hands up and demonstrates natural foot quickness and change of direction skills when asked to mirror in space.
- Exhibits the body control and recovery ability needed to quickly collect himself through contact after he gets overwhelmed at the point.
- Possesses the kind of natural bend and length to gain leverage vs. the bull rush.
- Displayed more of a mean streak to his game in 2011, doing a better job staying engaged and finishing blocks in the run game.
- Works hard through contact to try to create an eventual push as an angle guy.
- Does a nice job staying low off the ball when asked to get around on reach blocks and seal. Doesn't waste much motion and can get around opposing linemen quickly.
- Exhibits good short area quickness when working in tandem on a combination block and then quickly reaching a defender off his frame at the second level.
- Has experience getting around the edge and pulling into the second level. Exhibits average range in space.
- Understands angles well in the run game. Is coordinated, gets his feet around when looking to set the edge and can seal.
- Has anchored the Stanford offensive line the past three years and handled the pressure well of protecting the blindside QB Andrew Luck during that time.

What I don't like…

- Isn't a real physical kid and doesn't possess the natural girth through the base/hips to get that much stronger in the lower half.
- Tends to pop upright into contact and doesn't stay real compact with his footwork.
- Isn't a natural puncher, struggled to uncoil a quick, strong jab and gain inside leverage.
- Isn't real heavy handed through contact and has a tough time sticking once he gets his hands on defenders. Too often his hands are outside the defenders chest plate.
- Will get overextended into his punch and stop moving his feet, allowing quicker pass rusher to slip him on contact and work the edge.
- Has a tendency to give up a soft corner in pass protection too often because of lacking explosive/power elements to his game.
- Possesses solid recovery ability (not great), but lacks the type of natural power to consistently stick to defenders once they gain a step and simply push them past the play.
- Has a tendency to get upright as an angle blocker in the run game as well and has a tough time gaining leverage.
- Lacks ideal natural power on contact, works hard and eventually can begin to get a push. However, will struggle with balance and ends up on the ground too often as an in-line guy.
- Doesn't display the type of "plus" range and body control his frame would indicate when asked to block in space.

Impression: He's got the NFL size, length and overall athletic skill set. However, he's not a natural anchor player and doesn't strike me as a guy who is ever going to be real physical at the next level. He can mirror in space, but struggles to stick through contact and isn't real heavy handed. Looks like a finesse tackle who will get over drafted because of athletic talent, but is going to have a hard time keeping the edge clean at the next level.


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