Tavon Austin, WR, West Virginia
Ideally, D.J. Fluker would be available and this pick would be easier. Safety is a need but drafting one of the remaining safeties with one of their two second round picks makes more sense for the Bengals than a reach pick here. Running back falls into the same area; any RB picked in the first round will be a bigger reach than Mark Ingram. Alec Ogletree is a logical option at this point but character issues such as his pending DWI will move him down the board. That leaves the best player on the board, Tavon Austin.
Austin is tiny by NFL standards. He's only 5-foot-8 and 174 pounds. Austin is in many ways like Darren Sproles in size and ability. Austin was a running back in high school but was moved to wide receiver at West Virginia, He was named All-Big East for his three starting seasons. In 2012, he led the entire country by gaining 198 all-purpose yards per game. He can change gears and blow by others seemingly at will. He can play any running back or wide receiver position which makes his versatility very valuable.
The Bengals have a decent offense with Andy Dalton throwing to A.J. Green and Jermaine Gresham. BenJarvus Green-Ellis is ok at RB. Adding Tavon Austin to the mix makes this offensive much more dangerous and explosive than Eddie Lacy could. In reality, Austin will not fall this far. If he falls to the 15th pick I foresee a Saints/Vikings trade so they can steal Austin from the Rams.
Thanks to all the CSC members who participated in this year's community mock draft. Without your help, none of this would be possible.
Below are the complete results from our community mock draft.
Catch up with all of the mock draft selections in our 2013 CSC Community Draft Section.
Pick | Team | Selection | Team Representative | Approval Rating |
1 | Kansas City Chiefs |
OT Luke Joeckel - Texas A&M |
Hans Petersen | 77% |
2 | Jacksonville Jaguars |
QB Geno Smith - West Virginia |
Dragon Ninja Warrior | 48% |
3 | Oakland Raiders |
CB Dee Milliner - Alabama |
Ralph Malbrough | 42% |
4 | Philadelphia Eagles |
OT Eric Fisher - Central Mich. |
Aburton531 | 78% |
5 | Detroit Lions |
DE Dion Jordan - Oregon |
ShadowFlash | 50% |
6 | Cleveland Browns |
DE/OLB Ezekiel Ansah - BYU |
Fan since the Aints | 54% |
7 | Arizona Cardinals | OT Lane Johnson - Oklahoma |
Joseph Williams Stern | 94% |
8 | Buffalo Bills | G Chance Warmack - Alabama |
aburton531 | 52% |
9 | NY Jets | S Kenny Vaccaro - Texas |
organictallman | 33% |
10 | Tennessee Titans | G Jonathan Cooper - UNC |
cajuncommando58 | 67% |
11 | San Diego Chargers | DT Sharrif Floyd - Florida |
lostastic | 55% |
12 | Miami Dolphins | DT Star Lotulelei- Utah | Ralph Malbrough | 59% |
13 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | CB Xavier Rhodes - Florida St. | jeff.l.b | 77% |
14 | Carolina Panthers | CB Desmond Trufant - Washington | Stilljreming | |
15 | New Orleans Saints | DE/OLB Barkevious Mingo - LSU | Dave Cariello | |
16 | St. Louis Rams | OLB Jarvis Jones - Georgia | caomhin | |
17 | Pittsburgh Steelers | WR Cordarrelle Patterson - Tennessee | aryanspecial | |
18 | Dallas Cowboys | OT D.J. Fluker - Alabama | SAINTMANUMIT | |
19 | NY Giants | DT Sheldon Richardson - Missouri | BlackandGold4ever | |
20 | Chicago Bears | ILB Manti Te'o - Notre Dame | MobileSaint | |
21 | Cincinnati Bengals | WR Tavon Austin - West Virginia | Fan since the Aints | |
22 | St. Louis Rams (from Washington) | Kevin Held | ||
23 | Minnesota Vikings | cajuncommando58 | ||
24 | Indianapolis Colts | Legatron Morstead | ||
25 | Minnesota Vikings (from Seattle) | Fan since the Aints | ||
26 | Green Bay Packers | caomhin | ||
27 | Houston Texans | TeeThaKingSaint23 | ||
28 | Denver Broncos | aburton531 | ||
29 | New England Patriots | ShadowFlash | ||
30 | Atlanta Falcons | Dave Choate | ||
31 | San Francisco 49ers | BlackandGold4ever | ||
32 | Baltimore Ravens | NawlinsOriole |