Mocking the Draft Live Mock Draft- NFC South Recap!

It was an interesting draft weekend. Trades, reaches, and steals, oh my! The NFC South made six trades, and only ended up picking 20 players between the four. Tampa Bay made no trades, with the other 3 teams each making two deals. Carolina had the least amount of picks, with four, while Tampa had the most, at six. After the jump, I’ve listed all the trades and picks within the division, as well as my own analysis of how each team did.

*There were rules on trades. Only draft picks could be traded, from this year and next, with the exception being that a team that drafted a player ON THAT SAME DAY could trade said player for other draft picks. The St. Louis Rams drafted Robert Griffin III, and then dealt him to Washington, as they could not agree to terms of a trade before the Rams were forced to pick. Also, any trades had to be within 200 points on a Draft Pick Value chart.

Tampa Bay:

1.5 Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama

2.4 Orson Charles, TE, Georgia

3.5 Brandon Boykin, CB, Georgia

5.5 Tank Carder, ILB, TCU

6.4 Dan Herron, RB, Ohio State

7.5 Jacory Harris, QB, Miami

Richardson is being brought in as a replacement/upgrade to Legarrette Blount. It will be interesting to see him go up against his former teammate, and fellow running back, Mark Ingram twice a year. Charles is a big-bodied, athletic tight end. He was named a team captain in his junior year, and should be a good backup for Kellen Winslow. Boykin is small, at 5’10, but seems to be a great kick return specialist. He is second all-time in the SEC in return yardage, with 2663 yards. Carder was the Mountain West defensive player of the year for the second straight year, and a first team All-MW selection. Herron surprisingly dropped to the 6^th round, possibly due to an ankle injury that kept him out of the team’s first six games this year. A solid back, he was named a team captain and MVP as well. Harris won’t see any time outside of Josh Freeman being injured, although he was a solid 3 year starter at Miami. Compiled a 65 percent completion percentage and 152.8 QB rating this season.

Carolina:

1.13 Melvin Ingram, DE, Southern Carolina

1.24 Devon Still, DT, Penn State

6.10 Terrell Manning, OLB, NC State

7.9 Mycahl Kendricks, OLB, California

Trades:

Carolina #9->Arizona #13, #82

Carolina #40, #82, #105, #136-> Pittsburgh #24

Carolina traded away most of there draft in order to move up back into the first, and draft Still. Both Ingram and Still are good defensive linemen, though as that is the strength of the Panther defense, the picks were called a waste by other fans. Manning and Kendricks will both be looked at to provide depth behind oft-injured Thomas Davis.

Atlanta:

3.2 Cam Johnson, DE, Virginia

3.13 Jamell Flemming, CB, Oklahoma

5.22 Michael Egnew, TE, Missouri

6.22 Donnie Fletcher, CB/S, Boston College

7.22 Danny Coale, WR, Virginia Tech

Trades:

Atlanta #55->Philadelphia #77, #100

Atlanta #86, #100, 2013 5^th->Rams #66

Not having a selection until pick number 66, the Falcons were really looking for depth in this draft. Cam Johnson is a very good defensive end, who could be able to replace John Abraham if he leaves. Flemming will provide depth, and may push for a starting spot if Brent Grimes signs elsewhere. Egnew is a solid tight end, who will get a chance to learn from the GOAT at his position. Fletcher is there for more depth at the Corner and Safety positions. Coale will replace Harry Douglas.

New Orleans

2.27 Travis Lewis, OLB, Oklahoma

3.1 Jerel Worthy, DT, MSU

4.27 Akiem Hicks, NT, University of Regina

5.2 James Brown, OT, Troy

6.9 Greg Childs, WR, Arkansas

Trades:

New Orleans #91, #155, #219, 2013 2^nd/4^th-> Indianapolis #65, #193

New Orleans # 167, #193->Denver #130

Travis Lewis is one of the best OLB in the draft. Brought in to push incumbent starter Scott Shanle for his position. Jerel Worthy is a potential first-round pick, and when he was still available on the start of day 2, I made sure to jump up and grab him. The Rams GM told me he had a deal with the Falcons in place, and when I couldn't get him to trade the pick to me instead, I started talking to Indianapolis. I made the deal with them, jumped the Falcons and got Worthy. It was later revealed that the Falcons GM made his trade to try and get Jerel Worthy as well. Akiem Hicks was just sitting there, waiting for me. I'll admit, his being Canadian definitely made me biased, but he looks like a great nose-tackle in the making. Brown was a depth pick, but he could push Zach Strief out of his starting spot. Jeff Fuller, the receiver I really wanted in the 6th round, got taken 6 picks ahead of me by the Minnesota Vikings. Luckily Childs, another big-bodied receiver, was still there. Could be a very good possession receiver in our offense, and would definitely reduce the sting of a departed Marques Colston.

So, to sum up, I'd say the Buccaneers had the best draft, followed closely by the Saints. The Panthers most certainly had the worst draft, as they traded most of it for Devon Still. With this draft, my predictions for the NFC South is as follows:

Saints 14-2

Falcons 9-7

Buccaneers 9-7

Panthers 5-11

Cam Newton suffers from a sophomore slump, the Bucs get better, the Falcons get worse, and our Saints win the Super Bowl. Homerism? Maybe, but I'll never admit it.

So what are your thoughts? How does my draft compare to the rest of the NFC South? Does our team get better, or worse next year? Is the Big Boy REALLY that good of a hamburger?...Seriously. We don't have Big Boy up here, and I'd really like to know.