The NFL draft order is not fully set even though the season is over. There are still some coin tosses that must take place to determine the particulars, and the playoff teams will be slotted based on how they finish. But for the most part, the teams that will be picking at the top of the draft are set, and that's the most interesting part of the draft anyway. So today begins a period in which everyone in their mother will come out with a NFL mock draft once a week for the next four months; yay .......
Here is SB Nation.com's first attempt. Andrew Luck at the top, A.J. Green, Patrick Peterson and Da'Quan Bowers filling out the next three picks. Yup, it all seems to be copacetic at the top. As for the Redskins, SB Nation has them taking J.J. Watt, a defensive end out of Wisconsin at tenth overall. Here is their rationale:
Mike Shanahan will take a long, hard look at the top quarterback prospects available, but with such a peculiar taste in signal-callers, we feel safer projecting a stud defensive linemen to Jim Haslett. Watt's stock is soaring.
Yawn. After a season like this, they might need to shake things up a little more than taking a 3-4 defensive end. But then again, trying to shake things up is a good way to miss on an important draft pick.Here are some of the more exciting players who SB Nation says will be available after the Skins take Watt; Cam Newton, Michael Floyd, Justin Blackmon and Janoris Jenkins. Just sayin ...
I just think that Shanahan will want to make a bigger splash than Watt would provide. But that's the beauty of this time, everyone is a draft expert if they say so. Including me.