Dustin James' NFL Draft Guide: 16th Edition

It's officially draft season here at the Ultimate Football Blog and here is all the information you need to keep you up-to-date on all the latest happenings in the NFL.......

The Ultimate Football Blog: 

NFL Draft Guide

16th Edition

Mel Kiper's Grade "A" Mock Draft:

Every year, right before the NFL Draft, ESPN's Mel Kiper releases his "Grade A Mock Draft" which is basically a giant mock draft he writes with the intentions of picking the best available player for every team. It's a really novel concept and is one of the best pieces that Kiper writes on a yearly basis. You can read the entire column here (an ESPN Insider account is needed) or you can read a shortened version of the column by continuing to do exactly what you're doing already.....


1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers:

(Round 1) Jameis Winston. QB, Florida State
(Round 2) D.J. Humphries, OT, Florida
(Round 3) Mario Edwards, DE, Florida State

2. Tennessee Titans:

(Round 1) Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon
(Round 2) Jake Fisher, OT, Oregon
(Round 3) Trey Flowers, DE, Arkansas

3. Jacksonville Jaguars:

(Round 1) Leonard Williams, DE, USC
(Round 2) Tevin Coleman, RB, Indiana
(Round 3) P.J. Williams, CB, Florida State



4. Oakland Raiders:

(Round 1) Amari Cooper, WR, Alabama
(Round 2) Preston Smith, DE, Mississippi State
(Round 3) Paul Dawson, LB, TCU

5. Washington Redskins:

(Round 1) Dante Fowler, EDGE, Florida
(Round 2) Cedric Ogbuehi, OT, Texas A&M
(Round 3) A.J. Cann, OG, South Carolina

6. New York Jets:

(Round 1) Kevin White, WR, West Virginia
(Round 2) Eli Harold, EDGE, Virginia
(Round 3) Garrett Grayson, QB, Colorado State

7. Chicago Bears:

(Round 1) Breshad Perriman, WR, UCF
(Round 2) Owamagbe Odighizuwa, DE, UCLA
(Round 3) Henry Anderson, DL, Stanford

8. Atlanta Falcons:

(Round 1) Shane Ray, EDGE, Missouri
(Round 2)  Laken Tomlinson, OG, Duke
(Round 3) Justin Hardy, WR, East Carolina

9. New York Giants:

(Round 1) Brandon Scherff, OT, Iowa
(Round 2) Eric Rowe, S, Utah
(Round 3) Shaq Thompson, ATHLETE, Washington

10. St. Louis Rams:

(Round 1) DeVante Parker, WR, Louisville
(Round 2) T.J. Clemmings, OT, Pittsburgh
(Round 3) D'Joun Smith, CB, Florida Atlantic

11. Minnnesota Vikings:

(Round 1) Trae Waynes, CB, Michigan State
(Round 2) Dorial Green-Beckham, WR, Oklahoma
(Round 3) Jay Ajayi, RB, Boise State

12. Cleveland Browns:

(Round 1) Danny Shelton, DT, Washington
(Round 1) Todd Gurley, RB, Georgia
(Round 2) Devin Smith, WR, Ohio State
(Round 3) Brett Hundley, QB, UCLA

13. New Orleans Saints:

(Round 1) Randy Gregory, EDGE, Nebraska
(Round 1) Phillip Dorsett, WR, Miami
(Round 2) Tre Jackson, OG, Florida State
(Round 3) Senquez Golson, CB, Ole Miss
(Round 3) Daryl Williams, OT, Oklahoma

14. Miami Dolphins:

(Round 1) Nelson Agholor, WR, USC
(Round 2) Quinten Rollins, CB, Miami (OH)

15. San Francisco 49ers:

(Round 1) Arik Armstead, DL, Oregon
(Round 2) Benardrick McKinney, LB, Mississippi State
(Round 3) Stefon Diggs, WR, Maryland

16. Houston Texans:

(Round 1) Vic Beasley, EDGE, Clemson
(Round 2) Denzel Perryman, LB, Miami
(Round 3) Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, CB, Oregon

17. San Diego Chargers:

(Round 1) Malcolm Brown, DT, Texas
(Round 2) Devin Funchess, WR, Michigan
(Round 3) Ameer Abdullah, RB, Nebraska

18, Kansas City Chiefs:

(Round 1) Jaelen Strong, WR, Arizona State
(Round 2) Stephone Anthony, LB, Clemson
(Round 3) Damarious Randall, S, Arizona State
(Round 3) Gabe Wright, DT, Auburn

19. Buffalo Bills:

(Round 2) Bryce Petty, QB, Baylor
(Round 3) Ali Marpet, OG, Hobart

20. Philadelphia Eagles:

(Round 1) Landon Collins, S, Alabama
(Round 2) Tyler Lockett, WR, Kansas State
(Round 3) Ty Sambrailo, OG, Colorado State

21. Cincinnati Bengals:

(Round 1) Bud Dupree, EDGE, Kentucky
(Round 2) Donovan Smith, OT, Penn State
(Round 3) Tre McBride, WR, William & Mary
(Round 3) Jeff Heuerman, TE, Ohio State

22. Pittsburgh Steelers:

(Round 1) Kevin Johnson, CB, Wake Forest
(Round 2) Hau'oli Kikaha, LB, Washington
(Round 3) Derron Smith, S, Fresno State

23. Detroit Lions:

(Round 1) La'El Collins, OT, LSU
(Round 2) Jordan Phillips, DT, Oklahoma
(Round 3) Duke Johnson, RB, Miami

24. Arizona Cardinals:

(Round 1) Melvin Gordon, RB, Wisconsin
(Round 2) Eric Kendricks, LB, UCLA
(Round 3) Nate Orchard, EDGE, Utah

25. Carolina Panthers:

(Round 1) Andrus Peat, OT, Stanford
(Round 2) Sammie Coates, WR, Auburn
(Round 3) James Sample, S, Louisville

26. Baltimore Ravens:

(Round 1) Marcus Peters, CB, Washington
(Round 2) Maxx Williams, TE, Minnesota
(Round 3) Dezmin Lewis, WR, Central Arkansas

27. Dallas Cowboys:

(Round 1) Byron Jones, CB, UConn
(Round 2) Michael Bennett, DT, Ohio State
(Round 3) Jeremy Langford, RB, Michigan State

28. Denver Broncos:

(Round 1) Cameron Erving, OL, Florida State
(Round 2) Carl Davis, DT, Iowa
(Round 3) Lorenzo Mauldin, LB, Louisville

29. Indianapolis Colts:

(Round 1) Ereck Flowers, OT, Miami
(Round 2) Danielle Hunter, DE, LSU
(Round 3) Josh Shaw, CB, LSU

30. Green Bay Packers:

(Round 1) Jalen Collins, CB, LSU
(Round 2) Clive Walford, TE, Miami
(Round 3) Xavier Cooper, DT, Washington State

31. Seattle Seahawks:

(Round 2) Ronald Darby, CB, Florida State
(Round 3) Hroniss Grasu, OL, Oregon

32. New England Patriots:

(Round 1) Eddie Goldman, DT, Florida State

(Round 2) Chris Conley, WR, Georgia
(Round 3) David Johnson, RB, Northern Iowa
(Round 3) Alex Carter, CB, Stanford

My NFL Mock Draft

Here is the latest mock draft from yours truly.....

Updated as of April 12, 2015

1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Jameis Winston. QB, Florida State

2. Tennessee Titans: Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon

3. Jacksonville Jaguars: Dante Fowler, EDGE, Florida

4. Oakland Raiders: Leonard Williams, DE, USC

5. Washington Redskins: Vic Beasley, EDGE, Clemson

6. New York Jets: Amari Cooper, WR, Alabama

7. Chicago Bears: Kevin White, WR, West Virginia

8. Atlanta Falcons: Bud Dupree, EDGE, Kentucky

9. New York Giants: Brandon Scherff, OT, Iowa

10. St. Louis Rams: Trae Waynes, CB, Michigan State

11. Minnnesota Vikings: La'El Collins, OT, LSU

12. Cleveland Browns: Danny Shelton, DT, Washington

13. New Orleans Saints: Shane Ray, EDGE, Missouri

14. Miami Dolphins: DeVante Parker, WR, Louisville

15. San Francisco 49ers: Arik Armstead, DL, Oregon

16. Houston Texans: Breshad Perriman. WR, UCF

17. San Diego Chargers: Marcus Peters, CB, Washington

18, Kansas City Chiefs: Byron Jones, CB, UConn

19. Cleveland Browns: Randy Gregory, EDGE, Nebraska

20. Philadelphia Eagles: Dorial Green-Beckham, WR, Oklahoma

21. Cincinnati Bengals: Eli Harold, EDGE, Virginia

22. Pittsburgh Steelers: Landon Collins, S, Alabama

23. Detroit Lions: Malcolm Brown, DT, Texas

24. Arizona Cardinals: Jalen Collins, CB, LSU

25. Carolina Panthers: Andrus Peat, OT, Stanford

26. Baltimore Ravens: Jaelen Strong, WR, Arizona State

27. Dallas Cowboys: Todd Gurley, RB, Georgia

28. Denver Broncos: Ereck Flowers, OT, Miami

29. Indianapolis Colts: Jake Fisher, OT, Oregon

30. Green Bay Packers: Kevin Johnson, CB, Wake Forest

31. New Orleans Saints: Shaq Thompson, LB, Washington

32. New England Patriots: Eddie Goldman, DT, Florida State

NFL Draft Rumors

With the NFL Draft right around the corner, here are all the latest rumors we are hearing from around the National Football League.....


-USC wide receiver Nelson Agholor is shooting up draft boards everywhere. I originally had Agholor pegged as a potential mid-second rounder, but it appears he's going to go off the board much sooner than that. Some draft experts feel he has a real shot at getting drafted ahead of guys like Breshad Perriman and Jaelen Strong in the first-round because he's more NFL-ready and could likely start from day one.

-Long-time NFL writer Peter King mentioned this past week that it's highly unlikely that Melvin Gordon will get past the Baltimore Ravens in the first-round of the draft. He said that the Ravens are extremely high on Gordon and if he's still there when they are selecting with the 26th overall pick....there is a great chance they are taking him.

-Things appear to be quiet on the "Philadelphia Eagles/Marcus Mariota" trade talk, don't they? NOT SO FAST MY FRIENDS!!!! Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com is reporting something completely different:

"The real question is what happens at No. 2. That's where things get interesting. Again, I and others have reported for weeks there is a robust trade market for Mariota. TheRams, Eagles, Browns and Chargers have at least some interest in nabbing him (I wonder if the Saints wade in as well). Determining which club would go to the greatest length is difficult if not impossible. In fact, the best offer may not come in until the Titans actually are on the clock -- so sussing out the team that covets him most is not easy. But if any of them land the former Oregon star it would be no surprise in the scouting community.

No one believes Kelly is married to Sam Bradford and won't do anything within reason to land Mariota. The Browns and Saints are loaded with picks. The Chargers can't get Philip Rivers to entertain contract-extension talks, which leaves them little choice but to look into dealing their longtime QB. And the Rams are seen by many clubs as a very strong suitor, too."

-If the Eagles do miss out on drafting Marcus Mariota, another rumor has them potentially targeting Colorado State QB Garrett Grayson either in the second or third-round of the draft. It's no secret that the Eagles are potentially in the market for drafting a signal caller and they are reportedly pretty high on Grayson after he met with Philly officials this past week.