NFL Draft 2014: Latest Expert Mocks and Predictions for Round 1

Pushing the NFL draft back by two weeks meant more speculation, more uncertainty and, of course, more mock drafts this year.

And why not? We all eat this stuff up, right?  

Below, you'll find the latest mock drafts from several experts (and one guy who lumped himself into that group) along with a breakdown of some of the more interesting picks and the latest buzz around this year's draft.

And yes, that buzz is starting to really crackle with the draft just a day away. Let's break it down. 

Note: The mocks chosen for this article were updated this week, so some well-known draft analysts may have been left out.   

Expert Picks

Pick	Team	Matt Miller (B/R)	Todd McShay (ESPN)	Daniel Jeremiah (NFL.com)	Timothy Rapp (B/R)
1	Houston Texans	Jadeveon Clowney	Jadeveon Clowney	Jadeveon Clowney	Jadeveon Clowney
2	St. Louis Rams (via WAS)	Sammy Watkins	Greg Robinson	Greg Robinson	Greg Robinson
3	Jacksonville Jaguars	Teddy Bridgewater	Sammy Watkins	Khalil Mack	Khalil Mack
4	Cleveland Browns	Johnny Manziel	Johnny Manziel	Johnny Manziel	Johnny Manziel
5	Oakland Raiders	Greg Robinson	Khalil Mack	Sammy Watkins	Sammy Watkins
6	Atlanta Falcons	Khalil Mack	Jake Matthews	Taylor Lewan	Jake Matthews
7	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Mike Evans	Mike Evans	Mike Evans	Mike Evans
8	Minnesota Vikings	Blake Bortles	Blake Bortles	C.J. Mosley	Blake Bortles
9	Buffalo Bills	Jake Matthews	Taylor Lewan	Jake Matthews	Taylor Lewan
10	Detroit Lions	Justin Gilbert	Darqueze Dennard	Justin Gilbert	Justin Gilbert
11	Tennessee Titans	Anthony Barr	Justin Gilbert	Kyle Fuller	Anthony Barr
12	New York Giants	Eric Ebron	Aaron Donald	Zack Martin	Eric Ebron
13	St. Louis Rams	Ha Ha Clinton-Dix	Odell Beckham	Calvin Pryor	Calvin Pryor
14	Chicago Bears	Aaron Donald	Ha Ha Clinton-Dix	Aaron Donald	Aaron Donald
15	Pittsburgh Steelers	Taylor Lewan	Kyle Fuller	Darqueze Dennard	Darqueze Dennard
16	Dallas Cowboys	Kony Ealy	Zack Martin	Anthony Barr	Ra'Shede Hageman
17	Baltimore Ravens	Zack Martin	Eric Ebron	Eric Ebron	C.J. Mosley
18	New York Jets	Odell Beckham	Brandin Cooks	Odell Beckham	Ha Ha Clinton-Dix
19	Miami Dolphins	C.J. Mosley	Morgan Moses	Ryan Shazier	Zack Martin
20	Arizona Cardinals	Derek Carr	Ryan Shazier	Blake Bortles	Derek Carr
21	Green Bay Packers	Jimmie Ward	C.J. Mosley	Austin Seferian-Jenkins	Louis Nix III
22	Philadelphia Eagles	Dee Ford	Calvin Pryor	Ha Ha Clinton-Dix	Odell Beckham Jr.
23	Kansas City Chiefs	Brandin Cooks	Marqise Lee	Brandin Cooks	Brandin Cooks
24	Cincinnat Bengals	Kyle Fuller	Jason Verrett	Bradley Roby	Kyle Fuller
25	San Diego Chargers	Darqueze Dennard	Anthony Barr	Jason Verrett	Timmy Jernigan
26	Cleveland Browns (via IND)	Cody Latimer	Cody Latimer	Marqise Lee	Cody Latimer
27	New Orleans Saints	Davante Adams	Dee Ford	Marcus Martin	Dee Ford
28	Carolina Panthers	Morgan Moses	Joel Bitonio	Morgan Moses	Marqise Lee
29	New England Patriots	Dominique Easley	Stephon Tuitt	Ra'Shede Hageman	Jace Amaro
30	San Francisco 49ers	Allen Robinson	Ra'Shede Hageman	Stanley Jean-Baptiste	Jason Verrett
31	Denver Broncos	Ryan Shazier	Xavier Su'a-Filo	Joel Bitonio	Ryan Shazier
32	Seattle Seahawks	Jason Verrett	Kony Ealy	Xavier Su'a-Filo	Allen Robinson

Matt Miller's mock can be found here via Bleacher Report.

Todd McShay's mock can be found here via ESPN Insider (subscription required).

Daniel Jeremiah's mock can be found here via NFL.com.

Surprises, Storylines and Latest Buzz

The mystery of Teddy Bridgewater continues. While Miller thinks he should go at No. 3 to Jacksonville—and has him as his top overall player in this draft—many folks think he could drop out of the first round altogether.

The latest buzz puts him in Cleveland (though not at the pick you might think), per Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com:

Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report thinks that interest is feigned, however:

In general, the quarterback position is a question mark, though interestingly enough, all of the above mockers (myself included) believe the Browns will select Johnny Manziel. The fact that Kyle Shanahan, the team's offensive coordinator, worked closely with Robert Griffin III in Washington makes Manziel an intriguing fit in Cleveland.

Of course, it's silly season, and rumors emerged on Wednesday that Manziel could possibly be selected by Jacksonville, per John McClain of the Houston Chronicle:

That could very well be true. The Jaguars could also be hoping that a team coveting Manziel will be willing to pay a steep price to jump ahead of the Browns to draft him. Who knows?

Meanwhile, the consensus in most mocks around the web is that Jadeveon Clowney will go No. 1 overall, but will he in fact be heading to Houston? It seems very possible a number of teams, most notably among them the Atlanta Falcons, could try to move up to that selection to draft the dynamic defensive end.

But if the Texans keep the pick, Clowney not only thinks he'll be selected there, but he's also excited by the prospect, per Dan Wetzel of Yahoo! Sports:

If the Texans indeed can't or decide not to move the pick go with Clowney at No. 1, what the St. Louis Rams do at No. 2 will shape the rest of Round 1 entirely. As usual with this team, don't be surprised if they trade out of the selection, as Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports points out:

In general, it seems most folks consider Clowney, Greg Robinson, Jake Matthews, Khalil Mack and Sammy Watkins to be the top five talents, in varying order. All five should be off the board in the first nine selections, at the very latest. 

As you go down the board, two things become clear—this is a very deep draft, and people begin to really disagree on which players deserve to be in the first round. Matt Miller has Kony Ealy going in the top 16 picks, and not only does he have Jimmie Ward going ahead of Calvin Pryor, but he also dropped Pryor out of the first round entirely.

Both McShay and Jeremiah think offensive linemen like Morgan Moses and Joel Bitonio will crash the first round. Jeremiah also thinks the New Orleans Saints will go with a center in the first round, USC's Marcus Martin (he also like Moses in the first round), while thinking the San Francisco 49ers will go after intriguing corner Stanley Jean-Baptiste in the first round.

To be clear, none of these are "bad" picks; they just veer a bit away from what you might see in the majority of mocks around the web right now. The actual NFL draft has a habit of doing that, too, as every team evaluates its own needs and the upside of prospects differently. 

The only certainty is, well, the uncertainty. It's going to be a very fun draft this year, that much is certain.