NFL Draft: Ben Natan’s Post Free Agency Three Round MockBy Ben Natan - Apr 17th, 2014 at 10:56 pm
As Free Agency has wound down and teams make their rounds of players’ pro day, we begin to get a better picture of what teams need in the upcoming NFL draft. This mock is a reflection of my own board applied to my views of the teams’ needs and how I see the player fit. 1.Houston Texans- Teddy Bridgewater (QB, Louisville): Despite having an opportunity to take a talent like Jadeveon Clowney, The Texans would be smart to instead take one of the better quarterback prospects of the past few years. Bridgewater is a mentally advanced passer who could have an Andrew Luck or Russell Wilson type affect and win immediately for the Texans. Think about it this way, the Texans had the best defensive player in the NFL last year and won two games… Take the quarterback! 2.St. Louis Rams (From Washington) - Jadeveon Clowney (DE, South Carolina): I suspect a trade come draft day, but seeing that I am not doing trades, I will stand pat and take the rare defensive player. Clowney is an absolute freak who, despite dominating the college level, has so much more room to grow. Adding him to a defensive front with Robert Quinn, Chris Long and Michael Brockers would make that group absolutely terrifying and finally give the Rams a serious advantage in the arms race of the NFC West. 3.Jacksonville Jaguars- Khalil Mack (OLB, Buffalo): Jaguars are incredibly lucky to end up with one of the most dynamic defensive players in this draft. Mack wins from all over the field and I suspect Gus Bradley’s defense would deploy him from all over the place, allowing him to wreak havoc and allow the Jaguars to use multiple looks with him in the formation. 4.Cleveland Browns- Derek Carr (QB, Fresno State): Cleveland has had a need at Quarterback for what seems like the entire century and Carr brings one of the brightest upsides of any of the 2014 quarterbacks. Carr is a great athlete with a cannon arm and is a very good decision maker. He needs to be more consistent in his mechanics and be a little more comfortable in the pocket, but landing with Cleveland gives him a talented supporting cast in which he grow with Josh Gordon, Jordan Cameron, Ben Tate, Joe Thomas and Alex Mack surrounding him. If Carr can develop, he has a chance to be one of the best in this class. 5.Oakland Raiders- Jake Matthews (OT, Texas A&M): Despite a free agency period that make the Raiders look more like a retirement home than a football team, adding Austin Howard and Donald Penn, the Raiders could still use talent along the trenches. Matthews could step in anywhere along their front and be an immediate upgrade. He is a great technician who moves well in space and if he adds a bit more strength, could be a stud. He might be viewed as a “safe” pick, but if the Raiders need one thing it is a steady football player. 6.Atlanta Falcons- Eric Ebron (TE, UNC): With the departure of Tony Gonzales, the Falcons are in desperate need of his replacement and Ebron would fill that hole immediately. Ebron is a dynamic receiver with game breaking speed and size. He is also an underrated blocker, but I doubt he would be used that way very much. Just picture Matt Ryan passing to Julio Jones, Roddy White and Eric Ebron. That is pretty terrifying.
7.Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Xavier Su’a Filo (OG, UCLA): Whoever is under center to start the 2014 season, they are going to need to be protected. Su’a Filo is an athletic presence in the interior of a line who can help sure up a unit in no time. Be it Josh McCown, Mike Glennon, or a rookie starting, the offensive will run much smoother with Su’a Filo in the trenches. 8.Minnesota Vikings- CJ Mosley (LB, Alabama): The Vikings defense was horrible last year at almost every level, but luckily it is also a very young unit with a ton of upside. Mosley can step in and immediately quarterback the young unit. His down hill ability will fix a previously porous front seven but his incredible coverage ability will serve the unit well in locking down the middle of the field. Mike Zimmer is going to love Mosley. 9.Buffalo Bills- Ha Ha Clinton Dix (S, Alabama): With the departure of Jairus Byrd in free agency, the Bills would have to go into next year depending on second year player Duke Williams and adding Clinton Dix would give the Bills a lot more options at safety. Clinton Dix is the kind of talent that can win from all over the field; deep safety, in the slot, playing as an extra linebacker in the box and his overall versatility would continue to allow the Bills to give multiple looks in the secondary. 10.Detroit Lions- Mike Evans (WR, Texas A&M): As indicated by the player ranking, this is a bit of a reach, but this fit is just too good to pass up. Mike Evans is very raw in the technical aspects of playing receiver but he has an insane natural ability in the most translatable and important area in the game: Dominating the catch point. His catching ability really allows Detroit to move him all around and allow him to use his huge catch radius to work with a big armed quarterback in Matt Stafford. A receiving corps of Calvin Johnson, Mike Evans, Golden Tate and Joseph Fauria gives Matt Stafford a bunch of large radius pass catchers and immediately upgrades the offense.38. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Jarvis Landry (WR, LSU) 
69. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Brett Smith (QB, Wyoming)
For the complete 3 round mock click here... http://withthefirstpick.com/2014/04/17/nfl-draft-ben-natans-post-free-agency-three-round-mock/?utm_source=FanSided&utm_medium=Network&utm_campaign=Around%20the%20Network
