Final NFL Mock Draft

	#	Team	Player	Position	School	Comment	Other Option
	1	Indianapolis	Andrew Luck	QB	Stanford	The Colts have already made it known this will be their selection.	-
	2	Washington	Robert Griffin III	QB	Baylor	It's a roll of the dice by the Redskins, but the high reward could be worth it.	-
	3	Minnesota	Matt Kalil	OT	USC	Kalil had been the solid pick here for weeks, but there's been a recent buzz that the Vikings might go a different route.  I think they will think of AP's knees and go with Kalil.	Claiborne
	4	Cleveland	Trent Richardson	RB	Alabama	I had put Blackmon in this slot but not to the Browns and a few people who know things (Mel Kiper) are saying that he is a lock to the them now.  I think that the value of a receiver with their second pick allows Cleveland to take Richardson instead.	Blackmon
	5	Tampa Bay	Morris Claiborne	CB	LSU	I had projected Richardson here until my change of mind with the Browns pick, so the domino effect causes the Bucs to take the best player on their board, and possibly one of their highest needs with one old corner and one possibly going to jail.	Richardson
	6	St. Louis	Justin Blackmon	WR	Oklahom State	The Rams make out like bandits as they get the player that they most need, while adding a bevy of picks from the Redskins.	Claiborne
	7	Jacksonville	Melvin Ingram	DE	South Carolina	It's safe to say that the Jaguars will go defensive front 7, but I am very unsure about which player of that group they will go with.  I'm going to lean towards Ingram but it very well could be Cox.	Cox
	8	Miami	Ryan Tannehill	QB	Texas A&M	The Dolphins have been contemplating trading up to assure that they get Tannehill, but I think they will be safe just waiting for him at 8.  Now the real question is whether or not he is worth the high pick; I don't think so, but I guess we will see as he should get an early chance at starting.	-
	9	Carolina	Luke Kuechly	LB	Boston College	Keuchly has just moved up and up on the draft board as there seems to be no real weakness.  Many have Fletcher Cox or Dontari Poe going here (including my previous mock) but I think the Panthers are happy with the two DT's they have no, and will go best available.	Cox
	10	Buffalo	Stephon Gilmore	CB	South Carolina	With Ingram gone, I think the Bills will look at another big need and fill it with Ingram's Gamecock Teammate.  Gilmore is a burst of energy and will add depth to a secondary that has to face Tom Brady twice a year.	Barron
	11	Kansas City	Mark Barron	S	Alabama	It was only a few days ago that Barron was a lock to go to Dallas, but then word crept out that the Chiefs are most likely taking him.  I don't agree with the pick, as DeCastro would be a better fit and Kansas City already has Eric Berry, but I think they will still go this route.	DeCastro
	12	Seattle	Quinton Coples	DE	North Carolina	Seattle is one of the most active shoppers as they look to trade down and still take Coples.  As much as he scares most teams, Pete Carroll routinely took guys with Coples' work ethic and turned them into studs at USC.	Jones
	13	Arizona	Riley Reiff	OT	Iowa	Arizona is going to go O-Line, and while it had been DeCastro, they seem to be leaning more towards Reiff now that he will probably still be there.	DeCastro
	14	Dallas	Fletcher Cox	DE/DT	Mississippi St.	This would be a monster steal for the Cowboys, as Cox would probably be the best player on the board since pick 7 for a lot of teams.  If he slides, the slide stops here.  If he is taken then it will be Brockers.	Brockers
	15	Philadelphia	Michael Brockers	DT	LSU	The slide of Cox will also help the Eagles land a top DT.  If neither of them is there at 15, then the Eagles will almost certainly trade back.	Gilmore
	16	New York Jets	Michael Floyd	WR	Notre Dame	While Upshaw is still an option here, I think the Jets will want to add a weapon to their over-rate receiving core.	Courtney Upshaw
	17	Cincinnati (Oak)	Dre Kirkpatrick	CB	Alabama	I've thought the Bengals will go corner all along, but with the current domino effect, the second best corner on their board falls to them at 17.  If he's not there, then DeCastro slide stops.	DeCastro
	18	San Diego	Whitney Mercilus	DE/OLB	Illinois	San Diego is looking for a pass rusher, and with Coples gone they settle for the next best available on their board, whether it's Mercilus, Upshaw or Jones.  I think they will take Mercilus.	Jones
	19	Chicago	Chandler Jones	DE	Syracuse	Possibly the highest riser since the post combine workouts, Jones will help rejuvenate an aging defense.  With the addition of Brandon Marshall, the WR need is not as big, and the only other thing needed by the Bears is health.	Upshaw
	20	Tennesee	David DeCastro	OG	Stanford	DeCastro's slide finally stops in Tennessee, as he will be able to help a depleted line.  Chris Johnson will have a new ridiculous goal to go after.  Should he not be available, I think the Titans take the titan Poe.	Poe
	21	Cincinnati	Cordy Glenn	OG/OT	Georgia	Cincinnati looks to go best available and will wait until the expected string of running backs in the second round.	Wright
	22	Cleveland (Atl)	Kendall Wright	WR	Baylor	With the selection of Richardson, the Browns will look wide receiver here and I think they have Wright higher than Hill.  Cleveland will look to have weapons in place so that after they let Colt McCoy get his brain scrambled all year, they can draft Barkeley at number 1 next year.	Hill
	23	Detroit	Jonathon Martin	OT	Ohio State	The Lions need some offensive line help so that maybe they can keep a back healthy for a whole game.  Martin has good value at 23.	Doug Martin
	24	Pittsburgh	Dont'a Hightower	ILB	Alabama	Just like in every mock I've seen recently, the Steelers get the prototypical Steeler linebacker fall right into their laps.  If Hightower is gone, I think they will take Poe and stash him on the bench to develop.	Poe
	25	Denver	Dontari Poe	DT	Memphis	I've thought the Broncos will go DT all along, but it's just changed as the stock of different players has changed.  Poe is raw, but possibly the best athletic specimen in the draft.	Reyes
	26	Houston	Stephen Hill	WR	Georgia Tech	I'm going to keep Hill slotted to Houston.  They desperately need a compliment to Andre Johnson and Hill's combination of size and speed give them that.	Fleener
	27	New England (NO)	Courtney Upshaw	OLB	Alabama	I wouldn't be surprised if New England traded down and got more picks, but if they stay, and Upshaw is available, they will most definitely take him.  If he's not available, they will look at the Boise backer McClellin.	McClellin.
	28	Green Bay	Shea McClellin	OLB	Boise State	McClellin has steadily climbed up draft boards and he provides a compliment to Clay Matthews.	Worthy
	29	Baltimore	Kevin Zeitler	OG	Wisconsin	I think the Ravens are looking O-Line and am undecided between Zeitler and his Badger teammate Konz, but I think they will pick Zeitler.	Konz
	30	San Francisco	Amini Silatolu	OG	Midwestern State	Silatolu is a late bloomer in both his development and his draft stock.  Apparently many teams knew about him but were trying to keep it on the down-low, but I think he sneaks into the first round.  If not, then the 49ers probably go with Fleener.	Fleener
	31	New England	Harrison Smith	S	Notre Dame	I don't know if the Patriots are just completely messing with everyone or what, but their two picks appear the most locked down selections outside of the top 3 quarterbacks.
	32	New York Giants	Doug Martin	RB	Boise State	With the release of Jacobs, the defending champions will need to replace him and Martin is a good all-around back to do it.  I have a sneaking suspicion they might reach on LaMichael James though.	James

U.S. Olympic Basketball, Sans Dwight Howard

With the back injury to Dwight Howard possibly sidelining him for the Olympics, the United States team could be in disarray now.  What was once the defensive anchor in the middle that gave the U.S. a distinct advantage will not be traveling the London and Jerry Colangelo and Mike Krzyewski have their work cut out for them.  Here is my take on how they should build the roster to bring back the gold.

MORTAL LOCKS

Lebron James, Kevin Durant, Kevin Love, Dwyane Wade

Barring a catastrophic injury in the playoffs, all four of these guys will be suited up and playing significant minutes in London.  Love will probably get a good portion of Dwight Howard’s newly freed minutes as he is the best rebounder on the planet not named Dwight.  His ability to stretch the floor and get the fast break going will ignite the other three on this list to fill the lanes for monstrous dunks. 

LOCKS, BARRING FURTHER INJURY

Kobe Bryant, Derrick Rose, Chris Paul

I can’t remember the last time Kobe wasn’t injured, but he is probably closer to the top group than this one.  Bryant will want to get another gold medal to add to his resume as he chases Kareem (scoring) and Jordan (titles).  Rose has missed a third of the shortened season with a variety of injuries, but most significantly his back.  While his absence would be a detriment to the U.S. gold medal hopes, point guard is the deepest position of the roster candidates.  The real question with this group besides their health is who Coach K will tab as the starter, Paul or Rose.

SAFELY ON THE TEAM DUE TO RECENT HAPPENINGS

Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler

Melo is having the best stretch of his career right now as he is scoring and rebounding at will.  Using his big body to bang on the boards will help him get minutes for the suddenly small U.S. squad.  Chandler would have most likely made the team even if Dwight had not have gotten hurt, but he is a safe bet now.  He is the best defensive (American) center outside of Howard and he can finish the U.S.’ most used and go-to play, an alley-oop.

THE OTHER CANDIDATES

Current pool: LaMarcus Aldridge (injured), Chauncey Billups (injured), Chris Bosh, Rudy Gay, Eric Gordon, Blake Griffin, Andre Iguodala, Lamar Odom, Russell Westbrook, Deron Williams

Possible injury additions: Anthony Davis, Andrew Bynum, Rajon Rondo, Al Jefferson, Stephon Curry, Josh Smith

With the injuries to Howard, Aldridge and Billups, there are a few spots in the talent pool left.  Andrew Bynum will definitely get one of them and Rajon Rondo should get another.  The last spot for the pool is completely up for grabs.  Bill Simmons noted that the shooter of the bench might be out of play this year, so Curry is probably out, and he believes that the Unibrow should get the spot.  However, I would be more apt to Jefferson or Josh Smith as Anthony Davis is still too raw and skinny to really defend against the Gasols or the Brazilian bigs.  While Jefferson is the better overall player, especially offensively, I think Josh Smith should get a look.

So then that leaves the last three roster spots from these 11 players.  With only one center and one power forward on the roster you’d think that backups at each position would be a must.  Coach K likes to have three point guards so I’m guessing Gay, Gordon and Iguodala are all out of the running.  Let’s start with the bigs.

Chris Bosh is a decent player having a decent season, but with this team assembled already, a jump-shooting finesse power forward is not needed.  There is enough scoring already with the big names, and Bosh doesn’t play enough defense to earn the spot.  Bynum should be a lock now that Howard is out, but you never know when he is going to start doing Andrew Bynum-things like sulk on the bench or take out an opposing foreign player that is a foot shorter and 150 pounds lighter.  If he can get his mind right then he should be a viable addition.  He can provide the big body that Dwight Howard did for when the U.S. plays Spain with Pau/Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka. 

With the matchup against that team in mind, I think I’m going with Josh Smith for the last spot.  That thought comes with a side note though: only if Coach K can get him to not shoot beyond 12 feet.  Smith is a phenomenal defensive player and matches up perfectly with Ibaka.  So should Spain go big with all three of their big guys on the floor, the U.S. can match with a Chandler-Bynum-Smith front court.  While he may not be quite as long as Davis or as good of a shooter, I think his experience guarding the bigger, more mature and muscular big men in the NBA is a greater asset.  Now should Smith start pulling up for 3’s during the training camp I’d have no problem with Davis or Jefferson getting the nod.

That leaves the last spot, which will presumably be a point guard.  With Paul and Rose being somewhat injury prone, I think this spot needs to be someone who could conceivably run the show for almost the entire game.  While it may seem like a homer pick, I think Deron has to get this spot over Westbrook and Rondo.  The Lakers/Thunder game from yesterday solidifies my stance even more.  Westbrook does not know when to let the alpha dog be the alpha dog yet, and he would be playing with the 8 or 9 biggest alpha dogs in the world.  While his athleticism and speed would be an asset, Deron’s court vision and leadership would be more valuable.  I almost think him starting would be the better fit and the All-Star game somewhat showed that.  He scored when he needed to, but he knew when to give it to LeBron or Carmelo if they needed to get a bucket to stay involved. 

For the starting lineup, I think Coach K should be flexible with it.  If they are playing Great Britain with no legitimate NBA-talented big mean, he go start with a Deron-Kobe-Durant-LeBron-Chandler lineup, or if they are playing the aforementioned Spain who is lacking a legitimate point guard, he can go with Kobe-Durant-LeBron-Bynum-Chandler.  Either way by picking Williams over Westbrook, and a non-jump-shooting Smith over the other contenders, the U.S. will have much more flexibility and depth when they are in London.

MLB Outlook

N.L. East

Phillies 92-70

Nationals: 87-75

Marlins: 86-76

Braves: 84-78

Mets: 71-91

This, along with the A.L. East, is probably the best overall division races.  I could easily see any one of the top four winning the division and fully expect both wild cards to come from it.  With that said, the division is the Phillies’ to lose.  I know that they are without Ryan Howard until after the All-Star Break and the rest of their lineup is not exactly full of power, but when your first four rotation pitchers are Halladay, Lee, Hamels and breakout star Vance Worley, you are going to win a good amount of games. 

I think the Nationals will sneak past the Marlins as long as Strasburg stays healthy.  Bryce Harper is already terrorizing Triple-A and I expect him to be called up well before the break.  I think the Marlins will be able to snatch the last playoff spot which would create a great one game playoff if Josh Johnson and Strasburg face off.  The Braves have too many guys looking at regressions from statistical peaks last year and the Mets just suck.

N.L. Central

Reds: 91-71

Pirates: 84-78

Brewers: 83-79

Cardinals: 81-81

Cubs: 74-88

Astros: 50-112

In possibly the weakest division in baseball, I think the Reds will be able to pull it out.  The combo of Jay Bruce and the newly rich Joey Votto give the Reds arguably the best two hitters in the division.  Combine that with Mat Latos and Johnny Cueto anchoring their rotation and Arnoldis Chapman closing things out ala Neftali Feliz for the past two Rangers’ teams, I think they will pull away from the defending champions.  Speaking of the Cardinals, they will welcome Adam Wainwright back but the Chris Carpenter injury is troubling.  Without Pujols in the lineup, the lack of depth will truly be seen and the World Series run from last year will be noticed for what it really was: a fluke of streaky, timely hitting from replacement-level players (yes, I’m still bitter).

The Pirates are my surprise team of the N.L. as they will fight for that last wild card spot to the last weekend.  A.J. Burnett will have an “Eff You” turnaround year and lead the rest of the young rotation and Andrew McCutchen is going to put up MVP-quality numbers.  The Brewers will sorely miss Prince Fielder, and Ryan Braun (and vicariously my fantasy team) will miss him even more.  Without his protection, Braun is likely to come back down to Earth-especially if he is not “allegedly” as hyped up on testosterone.  The Cubs are starting to make some nice moves with the signing of Matt Garza and Ryan Dempster is still a top of the rotation guy, but they are still a year or two away from seeing the impact of Theo Epstein.  I think the Astros will challenge for the worst team in the history of baseball this year: and that’s all there is to say about them.

N.L. West

Diamondbacks: 88-74

Giants: 85-77

Dodgers: 81-81

Rockies: 78-94

Padres: 76-86

Something interesting I noticed about ESPN’s analyst predictions for this baseball season: sixteen of the fifty analysts picked Arizona to go to the World Series.  Now every one of those sixteen picked them to lose it, but that does tell me something.  If a third of baseball’s top analysts are picking them this year then they won’t surprise anyone.  I think this will cause an overall regression with the team, but they have a better team now.  With the addition of Trevor Cahill to Ian Kennedy and Daniel Hudson, their pitching rivals the Giants’ but the Giants don’t have a position player the quality of Justin Upton.  San Francisco could challenge for a wild card if Madison Bumgarner can avoid a slow start and Buster Posey can get back to pre-ankle-injury form.

The Dodgers still have the two best players in the division (arguably the league) in Clayton Kershaw and Matt Kemp but that’s about it.  I think those two will be even better this season and will L.A. to a .500 record.  The Rockies do not have a deep enough pitching staff to match the rest of the division and I think Dexter Fowler is due for statistical regression.  The Padres are a young and promising team that if they progress faster than expected could reach up to around .500.

A.L. East

Yankees: 91-71

Rays: 90-72

Blue Jays: 87-75

Red Sox: 86-76

Orioles: 62-100

I like the Yankees to win the toughest division in the Bigs.  Adding the criminally underrated Hiroki Kuroda and Michael Pineda gives them a deeper rotation than any team not named the Angels or Rays, and their lineup is still power-packed with Cano-Granderson-Teixeira-Rodriguez-Swisher.  Mariano Rivera is a robot and will pick up another 40 saves.  I think the Rays will stay with the Yankees because of their phenomenal pitching staff.  Between David Price, Jeremy Hellickson, James Shields and Matt Moore the Rays have four of the top 10 or so pitchers in the league.  Evan Longoria should have a good bounce back season as well as B.J. Upton.  Should Desmond Jennings get back to the numbers he was putting up when he first was called up then this might be the most dangerous team in the majors, and if Michael Pineda’s injury is serious then I fully expect Tampa to take the division.

The Blue Jays will finally break the hold of the top-3 in this division.  Kyle Drabek and Brandon Morrow are both potential breakout stars to combine with Ricky Romero to give depth the Toronto rotation for the first time.  Jose Bautista will keep doing Jose Bautista-things with 40+ homers, 120+ RBI and an average around .300.  Brett Lawrie will steal the rookie of the year title away from Matt Moore/Yu Darvish.  The rest of the lineup is deep with Kelly Johnson at 2^nd, Colby Rasmus and Rajai Davis in the outfield and the powerful J.P. Arencibia behind the plate.  The Red Sox are already having internal issues with their new manager, not to mention injuries to Andrew Bailey and Carl Crawford (along with Dice-K but who really expects anything from him anymore?).  Josh Beckett is nowhere near what he once was so the rotation is basically Jon Lester.  Adrian Gonzalez will have another standout season, but Jacoby Ellsbury is due for some serious regression.  Their catcher is Jarrod Saltalamacchia for goodness sakes.  The Orioles are the unlucky team to have to play each of the other four in this division 18 times each.  And they have Chris Davis.  He strikes out. A lot.

A.L. Central

Tigers: 94-68

Royals: 82-80

Indians: 76-86

Twins: 74-88

White Sox: 73-89

I have a feeling this division well be settled shortly after the All-Star Break.  The Tigers have the best pitcher, best closer, and best two hitters in the division.  The addition of Prince Fielder gives the Tigers the most powerful 3-4 combo in all of the majors and I don’t see Verlander slowing down any time soon.  The rest of the division is weak so Detroit should run away pretty easily.  I think the Royals have a progressive year for the franchise.  They have built a solid core with Billy Butler, Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas (all under 26) to go along with the emergence of Alex Gordon and Lorenzo Cain.  If Jeff Francoeur can continue the hot streak he caught the second half of last season then this is a dangerous lineup.  The pitching staff is decent with Luke Hochevar, and the two Jonathans, Sanchez and Broxton.  If Joakim Soria can remain healthy, he and Greg Holland provide nice back of the bullpen stuff.  If one of the younger starters can emerge with 13 or 14 wins then this team could make a playoff push.

The Indians had breakout years from their core of Carlos Santana, Asdrubal Cabrera and Jason Kipnis.  I suspect all three will have regression years this season though.  Shin-Soo Choo and Travis Hafner cannot seem to remain healthy, and after Ubaldo Jimenez the pitching staff is very weak.  I still think the Indians have a better outlook than the Twins.  However, the Twins are the most unpredictable team in the American League.  I could see them winning 90 games and making the playoffs, or losing 100.  It’s all about the health and effectiveness of their stars, Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and Francisco Liriano.  The rest of their staff has potential with Carl Pavano, Jason Marquis and Nate Blackburn, but if the aforementioned trio are not at their All-Star level (which I don’t think all three will, maybe one) then this is a sub-.500 team.  Some people are high on the White Sox but I am not.  Adam Dunn, Alex Rios and Gordon Beckham should regress back and have better years, but Paul Konerko will go the opposite way.  Their pitching staff is highly over-rated to me with John Danks as the ace with a closer by committee being in place in the pen.  I’m not sold on any of it and don’t see them making a threat in the Central.

A.L. West

Rangers: 95-67

Angels: 94-68

Mariners: 70-92

Athletics: 63-99

As I previously have written, the Rangers have the edge at the plate and the Angels have the edge on the mound and I think it is truly a toss-up as to who will win the division, but I will give the slight edge to Texas.  I’ve said before that I think whoever has to face Felix Hernandez less will win the division and by my count, barring injury, he will most likely pitch once more against the Angels than the Rangers.  There’s not much more to be said about the division that I haven’t already besides that one of the wild cards will almost certainly come from it.  The weakness of the Mariners and Athletics give the Angels/Rangers a drastic advantage of the four teams in the East.  

PLAYOFF TEAMS

N.L. East: Phillies

N.L. Central: Reds

N.L. West: Diamondbacks

N.L. Wild Cards: Nationals and Marlins

A.L. East: Yankees

A.L. Central: Tigers

A.L. West: Rangers

A.L. Wild Cards: Angels and Rays

Playoffs:

NLDS: Phillies over the Nationals and Reds over the Diamondbacks

ALDS: Rangers over the Rays and Yankees over the Tigers

NLCS: Reds over the Phillies

ALCS: Rangers over the Yankees

World Series: Rangers over the Reds in 6

I know it looks like a homer pick, but I feel like the only team that can really beat the Rangers in a 7-game series (without the benefit of fluky, timely hitting which is unpredictable) is the Angels, and if they have to play the Rays in a one-game series I think I’d take Joe Madden to win it for Tampa Bay.  Either way, I like the Reds and see them putting up a fight, but in the end, the third time will be the charm.

AWARDS

N.L. MVP: Matt Kemp, Dodgers; Runner-up: Andrew McCutchen, Pirates

I think Kemp will continue what he started last year when he should have won it, and even if it is a close race, writers will remember his season last year too.  McCutchen is poised to show that he truly is a five-tool center fielder and I think he makes the jump into super stardom.

A.L. MVP: Robinson Cano, Yankees; Runner-up: Ian Kinsler, Rangers

Cano is poised for another great year and if he stays healthy then I think he will have the best numbers of any American League hitter.  Kinsler has been driving the ball more in the spring and if he can get his batting average up to go with his 30/30 potential and plus defense, he is a viable MVP candidate.

N.L. Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers; Runner-Up: A.J. Burnett, Pirates

I typed Kershaw’s name without any thought to another pitcher.  He is that good.  Then with Burnett, I know the Phillies’ foursome have better odds of being in the top two, but that’s too easy.  I truly think Burnett will bounce back with a great year in a weak division, bloating his numbers.

A.L. Cy Young: Justin Verlander, Tigers; Runner-up: Colby Lewis, Rangers

I don’t see anyway matching last year’s MVP from the mound and suspect he will easily win it again.  The runner-up was harder to choose when you think about the top 3 Angels’ pitchers, the loaded East’s top hurlers and Felix Hernandez, but I refuse to pick an Angel so I went with Colby Lewis.  His contract is up at the end of this season and he will be looking for big money as possibly the second best starter available.  Take away the distraction that a number one starter usually gets because of Yu and Neftali, coupled with the dominant offense and Colby will have a superb year.

N.L. Rookie of the Year: Bryce Harper, Nationals

I think Harper is a shoe-in for the award should he be called up before the break.  If not then the Diamondbacks’ Trevor Bauer will most likely get it.

A.L. Rookie of the Year: Brett Lawrie, Blue Jays

This is the toughest of the awards as both Yu Darvish and Matt Moore are looking like they will have phenomenal seasons.  However, I think post-season awards are easily won by hitters, and Yu and Moore will split each other’s votes.