2014 NFL Mock Draft – 2nd Edition
Mandatory Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre-USA TODAY Sports
17) Baltimore Ravens – Marquise Lee WR – USC
Baltimore has put a lot of faith and money into Joe Flacco and they’ll give him every chance to succeed. Torrey Smith is a great wide receiver but Flacco has missed Anquan Boldin and adding a consistent reliable wide out will help him tremendously. Lee has stayed productive and a leader on a team whose front office has been shaken to the core. Baltimore will address their offensive line but they couldn’t allow an offensive weapon like Lee to fall any further.
18) New York Jets – Jace Amaro TE – Texas Tech
Another rookie quarterback and another safety blanket to pair him with. Geno Smith hasn’t been consistently good this year but he hasn’t been consistently bad either. Every quarterback is going to need a few years to get the hang of things but not having any reliable threats can hinder the process dramatically. Jace Amaro is a fantastic pass catcher and should give Geno a huge redzone target for years to come.
19) Miami Dolphins – Greg Robinison OT – Auburn
While Miami has overcome much of their problems from this year, the fact is that they are out two offensive lineman for the foreseeable future. Greg Robinson’s draft stock has skyrocketed as Auburn has gone on their unlikely championship run. Much of which has been made possible by elite run blocking.
20) Arizona Cardinals – Johnny Manziel QB – Texas A&M
In my opinion, Arizona would be lucky to be in the position to draft Johnny Manziel and I think they jump at the opportunity. The Arizona front office has shown that they aren’t afraid to take on potential troublemakers when they drafted Tyrann Mathieu and Carson Palmer has been serviceable but far from elite. Palmer isn’t going to get any younger but gives Manziel a veteran to learn about the league from before taking over.
21) Green Bay Packers – Austin Sefarian-Jenkins TE – Washington
Jermichael Finley was not only seriously injured this past season but is also a pending free agent. I think that Green Bay is ready to move on from Finley and find another athletic pass catching tight end. Sefarian-Jenkins had somewhat of a disappointing year but his natural ability cannot be denied.
22) Philadephia Eages – Justin Gilbert CB – Oklahoma St.
Despite not winning the Jim Thorpe Award, Gilbert has Dennard beat on size and perhaps ceiling. Philadelphia desperately needs a defense to pair with their high scoring offense and I think they start collecting players right away. Chip Kelly did better than most thought he was capable of this year and I’m sure he would love to continue to shock the talking heads with not only his offensive capabilities but a stout defense as well.
previous pick – Darqueze Dennard CB – Michigan St
23) Kansas City Chiefs – Darqueze Dennard CB – Michigan St.
Ya know, it’s weird. At the start of our season, if you would have asked me what our strengths were, I would have mentioned the secondary. But at that time, our pass rushers were getting to the QB and no one knew what type of decline Brandon Flowers was having. It pains me to say that. I like Brandon Flowers but I had no idea he was declining as much as he was. Dunta Robinson was a good idea at the time and probably still was. Brought a calming effect to the secondary and a sense of leadership, but having him on the field put us at a disadvantage. Clinton-Dix would be without a doubt our best option here but the fact is, he probably won’t be here when we pick. Darqueze Dennard won the 2013 Jim Thorpe Award for the best defensive back in the league and if he’s still here when we pick, I think it’s a good idea to move on from Dunta Robinson, save some cap space, and continue to develop Marcus Cooper
previous pick – Antonio Richardson OT – Tennessee
24) Cincinatti Bengals – Antonio Richardson OT – Tennessee
The Bengals current left tackle, Anthony Collins, will be a free agent after this season and Cincinnati will look to upgrade. Because I knew that the Chiefs weren’t going to have a top 15 pick this year, I’ve been focusing more on the latter part of the draft all season and Richardson is my favorite tackle prospect. It’s been said that he is not only a fantastic player with a ton of potential but also a fantastic person with high intelligence and strong leadership qualities.
previous pick – Cameron Irving OT – Florida St.