NFL Early Top Ten Mock Draft

As of Week 15 2014 Season-

10. Chicago Bears – Shaq Thompson OLB, Washington

Lance Briggs’ days as a Chicago Bear are over. Hurt and on injured reserve, he will not play for the Bears after this season. Shaq Thompson will likely be a top ten draft pick WHEN he runs in the 4.5’s and will immediately upgrade this linebacking corps that struggled all year. Thompson played RB earlier this year and had some huge games as a LINEBACKER! This guy will be all over the field making tackles and plays. Maybe this is what the Bears need to slow down the Packers and the Lions. He is the younger brother of former NFL player Syd’Quan Thmopson.

9. New Orleans Saints – Shane Ray  OLB/DE – Missouri 

This is a perfect fit for the Saints. Super athletic pass rusher from Mizzou who had 14 sacks in the regular season (13 games).  Saints do not have reliable pass rushers off the edge as their leading sack man is a DE. That’s not good enough in a 3-4 defense. Ray will fix that. He will do that and more. If he stays healthy and earns playing time, he could crack 10 sacks as a rookie.

8. Carolina Panthers – Landon Collins S, Alabama

Touted as even better than his predecessors (Mark Barron-Rams, Clinton Dix-Packers, Rashad Johnson-Cards) Collins will definitely help shore up this pass defense that was just absolutely horrendous. Luke Kuechly and their banged up front 7 needs someone to hold up on the backend. There is just absolutely no reason to pass up on this guy. They missed out on Cooper, but there doesn’t seem to be a WR at this point that’s worthy of a top ten pick. IF Carolina really wanted, a trade into the mid-teens will be good for them to pick up extra draft picks and take a WR.

7. New York Giants – Brandon Scherff OT, Iowa

They went with a WR last year when everyone knew their defensive needed a big upgrade. This year, they missed out on the big defensive linemans in Gregory and Williams. Is it worth to take a guy like Shane Ray? The next regime will decide this but at this point, they need to get protection for Eli if he’s going to stay. There’s no reason to get rid of him. Take the best tackle and maybe the Giants will the games they lost this year by just not turning the ball over.

6. Washington Redskins – Randy Gregory DE, Nebraska

Only 3 of their current 8 defensive lineman are under 30  years old. They need an upgrade. They get their future anchor in Randy Gregory. An all around type kind of guy, Gregory will help sustain the kind of defensive intensity we have seen flashes of by the Redskins. Ryan Kerrigan and if Orakpo stays will both be happy. Gregory will be a better pick in the long run than reaching for a QB not named Winston or Mariota.

5. New York Jets – Jameis Winston QB, Florida State

They will do what it takes to get the spot light. They took on an aging Michael Vick. They drafted Geno Smith when no one wanted to. They traded up and reached for Mark Sanchez 6 years ago. This year, they’ll try their luck again and hopefully they find their guy with Winston. Arguably the best QB, Winston has a lot of trouble and run-ins with the law that are still left resolved which probably explains why he fell to No.5. But the Jets will do what it takes to win, and that starts with Winston.

4. Tennessee Titans – Leonard Williams DE, Southern California

The Titans choose to pass on Jameis Winston and his troubles with the law. They’ll find a developmental type qb for HC Ken Wisenhunt to groom in the later rounds and opt for depth up front with the best defensive lineman in the draft. If this isn’t the same draft class as Mariota, Williams would be the No.1 pick. Titans will be happy with this pick in the long run.

3. Jacksonville Jaguars – Melvin Gordon RB, Wisconsin

Jaguars are all in on offense. A year after taking Blake Bortles and a flurry of WRs, the Jags go with the Heisman hopeful and 2k rushing yards running back from Wisconsin. Gordon is an all around type running back that will thrive in Jacksonville in the warm weather. This is a match made in heaven for the Jags. They will be running up the draft card for this one.

2. Oakland Raiders – Amari Cooper WR, Alabama

Oakland Raiders drafted probably the best QB in this year’s draft in the surprising Derek Carr. In an offensive league, the Raiders are going to take every chance they get to give Carr all the weapons he need to thrive. Cooper is the next big WR coming out and this guy will give Carr that 100 reception type of player. Raiders will forgo any defensive players and make sure their offense can hang with the Broncos , Chiefs, and Chargers.

1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Marcus Mariota QB, Oregon

Maybe this was their plan all along. Tank for a franchise QB and then finally let the training wheels off. After spending a boat load of money on defensive players in last year’s FA, the Bucs are looking for their future signal caller and there is none better than this year’s Heisman favorite in Mariota. There’s just no other way for the Bucs to go. Granted there are still 3 games left to decide who gets the top pick, but at this point, the Bucs will end up with him if they stay in the top 3 picks (unless someone decides to trade away half a decades worth of pick to jump ahead of them and risk a fallout—see Redskins). Seems like the perfect fit all around.