Scott Pioli’s 2013 NFL Mock Draft
John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports
Kansas City Chiefs GM turned in his first ever mock draft this morning on NFL Network.
Pioli has been involved in personnel for over 20 years so engaging in mock drafts, especially before the combine in free agency, is a pretty foreign exercise. Pioli’s co-hosts on the show even mentioned that revealing his mock was a moment he had been “dreading.”
Here is Pioli’s mock draft, in all its glory.
1. Kansas City Chiefs: Luke Joeckel, LT, Texas A&M
I think the Chiefs need to take the best player available and you add a position of need, which following free agency, I think that might be without Branden Albert. I think Dwayne Bowe’s going to get the franchise tag and I think that’s their player.
2. Jacksonville Jaguars: Dee Milliner, CB, Alabama
3. Oakland Raiders: Sharrif Floyd, DT, Florida
4. Philadelphia Eagles: Chance Warmack, G, Alabama
5. Detroit Lions: Damontre Moore Defensive End, Texas A&M
6. Cleveland Browns: Jarvis Jones, OLB, Georgia
7. Arizona Cardinals: Eric Ficher, LT CMU
8. Biffalo Bills: Bjoern Werner, Defensive End, Flordida State
9. New York Jets: Cordarrelle Patterson, WR, Tennessee
10. Tennessee Titans: Kenny Caccaro, Safety, Texas
So Pioli doesn’t have any QBs going in the top ten. He also doesn’t have DT Star Lotulelei going in the top ten, which is a rarity in mocks. In fact, given Pioli’s love of defensive lineman, I think if he was still the Chiefs’ GM, folks would be mocking Lotulelei to the Chiefs more often than they are now.
The interesting thing about Pioli’s mock is that if the top ten shakes out this way, the Chiefs would still have a pretty good shot at QB Geno Smith. After the top ten, the rest of the teams drafting in the first round aren’t particularly QB needy. The Chiefs might be able to trade back into the first round, say in the 20s somewhere to snag their QB. Or, if they are bold enough, they could wait until the second round but the Chiefs would need to be sure the Jaguars, the team picking first in round two, doesn’t want Smith.