NFL Draft First Round

     The NFL draft's first rounds was coming in as the most highly anticipated first round since the Reggie Bush and Mario Williams was picked one two in the 2006 draft. The draft went like normal as everyone thought that the Carolina Panthers with the first pick would choose Cam Newton then Denver Broncos chose Von Miller with the second pick. Buffalo Bills chose Marcell Dareus to help out their dismal rushing defense then with the fourth pick the Cincinnati Bengals selected AJ Green but the Arizona Cardinals had what many believe to be the best quarterback prospect in Blaine Gabbert but passed on him to select the best player in the draft Patrick Peterson and this was the first interesting pick of the first round.
     The sixth pick brought the first trade of the night when the Atlanta Falcons traded up to get Julio Jones and the Cleveland Browns got five draft picks out of the deal. The seventh pick was the first "reach" of the draft as the San Francisco 49ers selected Aldon Smith instead of Gabbert but the Tennessee Titans would top "reach" pick and select Jake Locker and not Gabbert. Dallas Cowboys helped out their offensive line by selecting Tyron Smith and then Washington Redskins would trade their pick with the Jacksonville Jaguars would end up picking Blaine Gabbert. With the selection of Blaine Gabbert the AFC South will most likely have two rookie starting quarterbacks next year in Locker and Gabbert.
     The most shocking of all the picks would be Christian Ponder being taken by the Minnesota Vikings at number 12. Ponder was considered by many a mid 2nd round pick and I had him going to the Tennessee Titans in the 2nd round. The best value draft pick would have to be Nick Fairley going to the Lions at 13. Fairley was thought to be the first pick of the draft when mock drafts first made their apperances. The player to watch for out of the first round that will be a star in the NFL is Cameron Hayward who got drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the 31st pick.

First Round Draft Picks:
1. Carolina Panthers- Cam Newton QB
2. Denver Broncos- Von Miller LB
3. Buffalo Bills- Marcell Dareus DT
4. Cincinnati Bengals- AJ Green WR
5. Arizona Cardinals- Patrick Peterson DB
6. Atlanta Falcons (from Cle)- Julio Jones WR
7. San Francisco 49ers- Aldon Smith LB/DE
8. Tennessee Titans- Jake Locker QB
9. Dallas Cowboys- Tyron Smith OT
10. Jacksonville Jaguars (from Wash)- Blaine Gabbert QB
11. Houston Texans- J.J. Watt DE
12. Minnesota Vikings- Christian Ponder QB
13. Detroit Lions- Nick Fairley DT
14. St. Louis Rams- Robert Quinn DE
15. Miami Dolphins- Mike Pouncey OG
16. Washington Redskins- Ryan Kerrigan DE
17. New England Patriots- Nate Solder OT
18. San Diego Chargers- Corey Liguet DT
19. New York Giants- Prince Amukarma
20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Adrian Clayborn DE
21. Cleveland Browns- Phil Taylor DT
22. Indianapolis Colts- Anthony Castonozo OT
23. Philadelphia Eagles- Danny Watkins OG
24. New Orleans Saints- Cameron Jordan DE
25. Seattle Seahawks- James Carpenter OG
26. Kansas City Cheifs- Jonathan Baldwin WR
27. Baltimore Ravens- Jimmy Smith DB
28. New Orleans Saints (from NE)- Mark Ingram RB
29. Chicago Bears- Gabe Carimi OT
30. New York Jets- Muhammand Wilkerson DT
31. Pittsburgh Steelers- Cameron Hayward
32. Green Bay Packers- Derrek Sherrod OT

* 12 defensive lineman were taken in the first round, it was an NFL draft record.

NFL Mock Draft 2011

NFL Mock Draft Picks 1-15

1.Carolina Panthers- CB Patrick Peterson….They most likely will not take him with the number one pick but if you are Carolina how could you not let Jimmy Clausen develop and become a good quarterback. Taking Blaine Gabbert or Cam Newton just really does not make sense when the best player in the draft, Peterson, is already an NFL corner.

2.Denver Broncos- DT/DE Marcell Dareus….Denver needs pass rushing help along the front lines as they did fire both of their defensive tackles this past off-season. Dareus will be the perfect fit for John Foxes defense as he could play defensive tackle or defensive end and get pressure on the quarterback no matter where he lines up.

3.Buffalo Bills- QB Cam Newton….The Bills need to draft on defense with this pick but with current quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick being as shaky as he is as a starter the Bills will most likely go quarterback and draft the reigning Heisman winner.

4.Cincinnati Bengals- WR AJ Green….With Terrel Owens one hit wonder season not working out they will need to have a counterpart to Chad Ochocinco and also give Carson Palmer another threat….if Palmer remains a Bengal.

5.Arizona Cardinals- QB Blaine Gabbert….The Cardinals need a quarterback in the worst way as last year going through three quarterbacks who produced not winning football means it time to start over and they are hoping Gabbert is here if not then they will go defensive.

6.Cleveland Browns- LB Von Miller….Miller is widely considered as the best pass rusher in the draft and the Butkus award winner has been proving it in the combines as his quickness and lateral speed is hard to come by with any NFL linebacker. If Cleveland is lucky and Miller lands here then this could be the biggest steal of the draft.

7.San Francisco 49ers- CB Prince Amukamarma….San Francisco needs cornerback help and with Patrick Peterson going to be taken as the top pick in the draft then expect them to take Prince here who by many experts is not even a top 10 player in this draft.

8.Tennessee Titans- DE Robert Quinn….Yes Quinn has had problems in college, let alone has not played in a year but there is not a better defensive end that could fit the Titans 4-3 scheme than Quinn, the only other player would be Bowers and taking QB Locker here is too far of a reach.

9.Dallas Cowboys- OT Tyron Smith….Cowboys offensive line is awful and could not protect the Quarterback Tony Romo at all last year so this is an easy pick for the Cowboys but don’t be surprised if Jerry Jones goes defensive here and get DT Fairly.

10.Washington Redskins- DT Nick Fairly….The Redskins do need offensive help but with a talent like a Fairly here at number 10 is by far more than the Redskins could ask for. They need defensive line help and they could move Fairly out to an end and eat up blockers to run Orakpo free. Remember Albert Haynesworth is not happy in D.C. and most likely will be leaving.

11.Houston Texans- DE Daquan Bowers…The Texans defense has been the achilles heel for this team for the past couple of years so expect them to go defense and look for them to help out Mario Williams and Bowers although does have knee problems is the best player available here.

12.Minnesota Vikings- DE Cameron Jordan…Vikings just like about every other team in the top 15 could use a quarterback but they also need a nice compliment to Jared Allen on the outside. If they took Locker or Mallet here they could have wasted the pick.

13.Detroit Lions- OT Anthony Castonzo….The Lions want to keep Matthew Stafford upright and the only way to do that is to solidify the offensive line and with Castonzo the Lions are getting a nasty player who will get down and dirty and work hard.

14.St. Louis Rams- WR Julio Jones….Quickly name someone on the Rams receiving squad….exactly Sam Bradford needs help and Julio Jones gives him the playmaker he needs.

15.Miami Dolphins- RB Mark Ingram….With the Dolphins getting rid of the Ricky and Ronnie tandem they need a top flight runningback and there is none better in this draft than the 2009 Heisman Trophy Winner.

Potential Steals of the draft:

WR Jonathon Baldwin- Tall receiver and freakish athlete
WR Randall Cobb- the best all-purpose player in the draft
QB Ryan Mallet- the best arm in the draft
LB Quan Strudivant- led the NCAA in solo tackles two years ago
WR Courtney Smith- tall strong possession receiver
LB Mark Herzlich- ACC defensive player of the year three years ago