2014 NFL Mock Draft: Updated Outlook for Rounds 4-7

With a wild first two days already under the belt of the 2014 NFL draft, over half of the event's proceedings still sit in front of us. 

Saturday features Rounds 4-7, and although the guys who will be selected in these rounds are not nearly as well known as the players who went before them, these selections are still vital for each team. 

Finding players who can contribute in the later rounds is key to a team's success. These guys will be locked into cheap contracts, and if they can develop into starters, it will create salary-cap freedom for their franchise going forward.

At any rate, here is how I see Saturday playing out:

Pick	Overall	Team	Player	Position	School
1	101	Philadelphia Eagles (From Houston)	Pierre Desir	CB	Lindenwood
2	102	Washington Redskins	Ed Reynolds	S	Stanford
3	103	Atlanta Falcons	Kelcy Quarles	DT	South Carolina
4	104	New York Jets (from Tampa Bay)	Trevor Reilly	DE/OLB	Utah
5	105	New England Patriots (from Jacksonville)	Victor Hampton	CB	South Carolina
6	106	San Francisco 49ers (from Cleveland)	Yawin Smallwood	ILB	Connecticut
7	107	Oakland Raiders	DaQuann Jones	DT	Penn State
8	108	Seattle Seahawks (from Minnesota)	Jackson Jeffcoat	DE/OLB	Texas
9	109	Buffalo Bills	Chris Smith	DE	Arkansas
10	110	St. Louis Rams	AJ McCarron	QB	Alabama
11	111	Seattle Seahawks (from Detroit)	Christian Kirksey	OLB	Iowa
12	112	Tennessee Titans	Lache Seastrunk	RB	Oregon
13	113	New York Giants	E.J. Gaines	CB	Missouri
14	114	Jacksonville Jaguars (from Baltimore)	Ka'Deem Carey	RB	Arizona
15	115	New York Jets	Robert Herron	WR	Wyoming
16	116	Oakland Raiders (from Miami)	Terrance Mitchell	CB	Oregon
17	117	Chicago Bears	Jordan Zumwalt	LB	UCLA
18	118	Pittsburgh Steelers	Antonio Richardson	OT	Arkansas
19	119	Dallas Cowboys	Craig Loston	S	LSU
20	120	Arizona Cardinals	Jared Abbrederis	WR	Wisconsin
21	121	Green Bay Packers	Daniel McCullers	NT	Tennessee
22	122	Tennessee Titans (from Philadelphia)	Mike Davis	WR	Texas
23	123	Cincinnati Bengals	Terrance West	RB	Towson
24	124	Kansas City Chiefs	Anthony Steen	OG	Alabama
25	125	Miami Dolphins (from San Diego)	Bruce Ellington	WR	South Carolina
26	126	New Orleans Saints	Zach Mettenberger	QB	LSU
27	127	Cleveland Browns (from Indianapolis)	Michael Sam	DE/OLB	Missouri
28	128	Carolina Panthers	Ross Cockrell	CB	Duke
29	129	San Francisco 49ers	Devonta Freeman	RB	Florida State
30	130	New England Patriots	Josh Mauro	DE	Stanford
31	131	Denver Broncos	Christian Jones	LB	Florida State
32	132	Seattle Seahawks	Brandon Thomas	OG	Clemson
33	133	Detroit Lions (compensatory)	Rashaad Reynolds	CB	Oregon State
34	134	Baltimore Ravens (compensatory)	Ahmad Dixon	S	Baylor
35	135	Houston Texans (compensatory)	Ryan Grant	WR	Tulane
36	136	Detroit Lions (compensatory)	Jordan Tripp	LB	Montana
37	137	New York Jets (compensatory)	Aaron Murray	QB	Georgia
38	138	Baltimore Ravens (compensatory)	Arthur Lynch	TE	Georgia
39	139	Atlanta Falcons (compensatory)	Dion Bailey	S	USC
40	140	New England Patriots (compensatory)	James Hurst	OT	North Carolina

AJ McCarron's Slide Will End

Two-time national-championship-winning quarterback AJ McCarron is still on the board, but he won't slide past the St. Louis Rams' selection at No. 110. 

The Rams have Sam Bradford to handle starting duties, but entering his fifth year in the league, Bradford has still yet to convince anyone that he is the kind of quarterback a franchise should be content with. 

McCarron would give the Rams a quarterback to develop, as either a stop-gap guy or a permanent starter, which would allow the Rams to let Bradford walk.

McCarron doesn't have the strongest arm, and he won't beat teams with his feet, but he has solid accuracy and brings elite experience.  

Pick	Overall	Team	Player	Position	School
1	141	Philadelphia Eagles (from Houston)	Andre Williams	RB	Boston College
2	142	Washington Redskins	Chris Davis	CB	Auburn
3	143	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Lamin Barrow	ILB	LSU
4	144	Jacksonville Jaguars	Adrian Hubbard	OLB	Alabama
5	145	Minnesota Vikings (from Cleveland)	TJ Jones	WR	Notre Dame
6	146	Detroit Lions (from Oakland through Seattle)	Caraun Reid	DT	Princeton
7	147	Atlanta Falcons	Bryan Stork	OC	Florida State
8	148	Minnesota Vikings	Prince Shembo	OLB	Notre Dame
9	149	Buffalo Bills	Nevin Lawson	CB	Utah State
10	150	San Francisco 49ers (from Detroit through Jacksonville)	Deion Belue	CB	Alabama
11	151	Tennessee Titans	Antone Exum	CB	Virginia Tech
12	152	New York Giants	Charles Leno Jr.	OT	Boise State
13	153	Buffalo Bills (From San Diego)	Devin Street	WR	Pitt
14	154	New York Jets	Justin Ellis	NT	Louisiana Tech
15	155	Miami Dolphins	James Wilder Jr.	RB	Florida State
16	156	Chicago Bears	James White	RB	Wisconsin
17	157	Pittsburgh Steelers	Carl Bradford,	OLB	Arizona State
18	158	Dallas Cowboys	Morgan Breslin	OLB	USC
19	159	Jacksonville Jaguars (from Baltimore)	Jeff Janis	WR	Saginaw Valley State
20	160	Arizona Cardinals	George Uko	DT	USC
21	161	Green Bay Packers	Jon Halapio	OG	Florida
22	162	Philadelphia Eagles	Kenny Ladler	S	Vanderbilt
23	163	Kansas City Chiefs	Marcel Jensen	TE	Fresno State
24	164	Cincinnati Bengals	Jalen Saunders	WR	Vanderbilt
25	165	San Diego Chargers	David Fales	QB	San Jose State
26	166	Indianapolis Colts	James Gayle	DE/OLB	Virginia Tech
27	167	New Orleans Saints	Bennett Jackson	CB	Notre Dame
28	168	Carolina Panthers	Joe Jon Duncan	TE	Dixie State
29	169	New Orleans Saints (from New England via Philadelphia)	Ed Stinson	DE	Alabama
30	170	San Francisco 49ers	Tom Savage	QB	Pitt
31	171	Miami Dolphins (from Denver through San Francisco)	Seantrel Henderson	OT	Miami (FL)
32	172	Seattle Seahawks	Ronald Powell	OLB	Florida
33	173	Pittsburgh Steelers (compensatory)	Vinnie Sunseri	S	Alabama
34	174	New York Giants (compensatory)	Ricardo Allen	CB	Purdue
35	175	Baltimore Ravens (compensatory)	Ryan Carrethers	DT	Arkansas State
36	176	Green Bay Packers (compensatory)	Brandon Coleman	WR	Rutgers

Antone Exum: A Talented Player with Something to Prove

As you can see, I have Virginia Tech cornerback Antone Exum going No. 151 to the Tennessee Titans. He has the talent to go much higher, but the fact that he is still available heading into Day 3 is understandable. He was able to play in just two games last season after a slow recovery from an ACL tear. 

Exum is just under 6'0", but he checks in at over 200 pounds. He is a physical player who knows how to use his hands to disrupt receivers.

Besides his injury issues keeping him off the field, there is also the concern that they have stripped him of the athleticism needed to play corner.

If he reaches his potential, however, he could be a No. 1 corner in the NFL.  

Pick	Overall	Team	Player	Position	School
1	177	Houston Texans	Antonio Andrews	RB	Arizona State
2	178	Washington Redskins	Brandon Linder	OG	Miami
3	179	New England Patriots (from Jacksonville)	Isaiah Lewis	S	Michigan State
4	180	San Francisco 49ers (from Cleveland)	Tyler Larsen	OC	Utah State
5	181	Houston Texans (from Oakland Raiders)	Kevin Norwood	WR	Alabama
6	182	Atlanta Falcons	Marion Grice	RB	Arizona State
7	183	Chicago Bears (from Tampa Bay)	Marqueston Huff	S	Wyoming
8	184	Minnesota Vikings	Tyler Gaffney	RB	Stanford
9	185	Tampa Bay (from Buffalo Bills)	Cassius Marsh	DE	Boston College
10	186	Tennessee Titans	J.C. Copeland	FB	LSU
11	187	New York Giants	Brett Smith	QB	Wyoming
12	188	St. Louis Rams	Matt Patchan	OT	Boston College
13	189	Detroit Lions	Brent Urban	DE	Virginia
14	190	Miami Dolphins	Kasim Edebali	OLB	Boston College
15	191	Chicago Bears	Michael Campanaro	WR	Wake Forest
16	192	Pittsburgh Steelers	Rob Blanchflower	TE	UMass
17	193	Kansas City Chiefs (from Dallas)	Shamar Stephen	DT	Connecticut
18	194	Baltimore Ravens	Russell Bodine	OG	North Carolina
19	195	New York Jets	Jay Prosch	FB	Auburn
20	196	Arizona Cardinals	Rajion Neal	RB	Tennessee
21	197	Green Bay Packers	Alden Darby	S	Arizona State
22	198	New England Patriots (from Philadelphia)	Aaron Lynch	DE/OLB	USF
23	199	Cincinnati Bengals	Josh Stewart	WR	Oklahoma State
24	200	Kansas City Chiefs	Devekeyan Lattimore	LB	USF
25	201	San Diego Chargers	Deandre Coleman	DT	Cal
26	202	New Orleans Saints	Jemea Thomas	S	Georgia Tech
27	203	Indianapolis Colts	DeAnthony Thomas	RB/WR	Oregon
28	204	Carolina Panthers	Cody Hoffman	WR	BYU
29	205	Jacksonville Jaguars (from San Francisco)	Khairi Fortt	OLB	Cal
30	206	New England Patriots	L'Damian Washington	WR	Missouri
31	207	Denver Broncos	Denicos Allen	OLB	Michigan State
32	208	Seattle Seahawks	Bene Benwikere	CB	San Jose State
33	209	New York Jets (compensatory)	Corey Linsley	OC	Ohio State
34	210	New York Jets (compensatory)	Taylor Hart	DE	Oregon
35	211	Houston Texans (compensatory)	Howard Jones	OLB	Shepherd
36	212	Cincinnati Bengals (compensatory)	Kadeem Edwards	OG	Tennessee State
37	213	New York Jets (compensatory)	Jeremiah George	ILB	Iowa State
38	214	St. Louis Rams (compensatory)	Andre Hal	CB	Vanderbilt
39	215	Pittsburgh Steelers (compensatory)	Jerick McKinnon	RB	Georgia Southern

Will the De'Anthony Thomas' Highlight Reel Transfer to the NFL?

Don Ryan/Associated Press

Oregon running back De'Anthony Thomas is still on the board after three rounds, and it's not all that surprising.

He is just 5'9" and well under 200 pounds. He also posted a slower-than-expected 40-time (4.50) at the combine and saw his production decline in college as his career progressed. 

Still, I have him going 203rd to the Colts, and I have no doubts that he will produce a big play or two in the NFL. ESPN New York's Rich Cimini offered up this take on Thomas: 

"

One of the most intriguing weapons in the draft is Oregon running back De'Anthony Thomas, a Darren Sproles-like talent. Even though his production dipped in 2012 and 2013, he still finished his career with an average of 7.8 yards per rush, including 5.4 yards before initial contact. 

"

Thomas' quickness and ankle-breaking moves are worth a sixth-round selection.  

Pick	Overall	Team	Player	Pos.	School
1	216	Houston Texans	Richard Rodgers	TE	Cal
2	217	Washington Redskins	Calvin Barnett	DT	Oklahoma State
3	218	Cleveland Browns	Jacob Pedersen	TE	Wisconsin
4	219	Oakland Raiders	Aaron Colvin	CB	Oklahoma
5	220	Atlanta Falcons	Kevin Pierre-Louis	LB	Boston College
6	221	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Jonathan Brown	LB	Illinois
7	222	Jacksonville Jaguars	Dontae Johnson	FS	North Carolina State
8	223	Minnesota Vikings	Andrew Jackson	ILB	Western Kentucky
9	224	Buffalo Bills	Jay Bromley	DT	Syracuse
10	225	Carolina Panthers (from N.Y. Giants)	John Urschel	OG	Penn State
11	226	St. Louis Rams	Storm Johnson	RB	UCF
12	227	Seattle Seahawks (From Detroit)	Ethan Westbrooks	DE	West Texas A&M
13	228	Tennessee Titans	Connor Shaw	QB	South Carolina
14	229	Dallas Cowboys (from Chicago)	Tevin Reese	WR	Baylor
15	230	Pittsburgh Steelers	Shaquelle Evans	WR	UCLA
16	231	Dallas Cowboys	Tyler Starr	OLB	South Dakota
17	232	Indianapolis Colts (from Baltimore)	Spencer Long	OG	Nebraska
18	233	New York Jets	Xavier Grimble	TE	USC
19	234	Miami Dolphins	Jordan Najvar	TE	Baylor
20	235	Oakland Raiders (from Arizona)	Ryan Hewitt	FB	Stanford
21	236	Green Bay Packers	Ryan Groy	OG	Wisconsin
22	237	Philadelphia Eagles	Tre Boston	S	North Carolina
23	238	Dallas Cowboys (from Kansas City)	Lavelle Westbrooks	CB	Georgia Southern
24	239	Cincinnati Bengals	Kerry Hyder	DT	Texas Tech
25	240	San Diego Chargers	Justin Britt	OT	Missouri
26	241	St. Louis Rams (from Indianapolis)	Hakeem Smith	S	Louisville
27	242	Denver Broncos (from New Orleans through San Francisco)	Carrington Byndom	CB	Texas
28	243	San Francisco 49ers (from Carolina)	Trey Millard	FB	Oklahoma
29	244	New England Patriots	Wesley Johnson	OT	Vanderbilt
30	245	San Francisco 49ers	Eathyn Manumaleuna	DT	BYU
31	246	Denver Broncos	Max Bullough	ILB	Michigan State
32	247	Oakland Raiders (from Seattle Seahawks)	Charles Sawyer	CB	Ole Miss
33	248	Dallas Cowboys (compensatory)	Avery Williamson	ILB	Kentucky
34	249	St. Louis Rams (compensatory)	Kevin Pamphile	OT	Purdue
35	250	St. Louis Rams (compensatory)	Jake Murphy	TE	Utah
36	251	Dallas Cowboys (compensatory)	Zach Fulton	OG	Tennessee
37	252	Cincinnati Bengals (compensatory)	Blake Annen	TE	Cincinnati
38	253	Atlanta Falcons (compensatory)	Lonnie Ballentine	S	Memphis
39	254	Dallas Cowboys (compensatory)	Will Smith	OLB	Texas Tech
40	255	Atlanta Falcons (compensatory)	Chandler Jones	WR	San Jose State
41	256	Houston Texans (compensatory)	Quincy Enunwa	WR	Nebraska

Will Connor Shaw Make it in the NFL? 

Connor Shaw is too short (6'0") and has less-than-average arm strength. I've mocked him to the Titans in Round 7, but there is a chance he may go undrafted. 

What he does have is a winning record and good accuracy. He went 27-5 as a starter at South Carolina while throwing for 6,074 yards and 56 touchdowns. As a senior, he threw 24 touchdowns and just one interception. He also has good mobility and can make plays with his feet. 

Another knock on Shaw has been his inability to stay healthy, and it is hard to see that improving in the punishing NFL. 

Still, Shaw has the look of a valuable backup in the NFL, and he is definitely worthy of a late-round selection.