2011 NFL Mock Draft: Detroit Lions Fan Version

Here is my "I Out-Kipered-Mel Kiper" mock draft. There will be several trades (especially at the No. 5, 9, 13, 17 spots), but this mock draft will be based on no trades.

Pick No. 1 - Carolina Panthers (QB - Cam Newton)

Newton will be the pick and I hate it.  Cam lacks the intangibles of the great QBs.  I would think Carolina is doing everything they can do move down from this pick, but cannot imagine any team wanting to be in this spot.  Stanford's Andrew Luck stuck Carolina good this year.

Pick No. 2 - Denver Broncos (DT - Marcel Dareus) 

John Fox is the new head coach in Denver and loves to use his top picks on the D-Line.  Perfect fit for Dareus to anchor the defensive line.  

Pick No. 3 - Buffalo Bills (OLB - Von Miller) 

I personally would take Patrick Peterson with this pick, but the Bills land a very good player with Miller.  Quarterback also could be an option here, but all accounts say they are happy with Fitzgerald.  Von Miller is an absolute beast of a player and if he can play as good as he looked in the Senior Bowl and the combines, the Bills have a Pro Bowler on their hands.

Pick No. 4 - Cincinnati Bengals (WR - AJ Green) 

Carson Palmer is not bluffing; he will retire.  This organization desperately needs a QB, but this is the Bengals and they continue to choose flash over solid FOOTBALL players.  I am not knocking Green, I think he is an amazing talent. I just feel this is an organization (Mr. Brown) that fails to realize you need to build football teams from the inside out.

Pick No. 5 - Arizona Cardinals (CB - Patrick Peterson) 

Arizona is ecstatic that the top rated player in the draft falls to them at No. 5.  This team is not far from the Super Bowl team they were two years ago.  When the NFL mess is cleared up, look for a strong move from the Cards on Kevin Kolb to fill their QB situation.

Pick No. 6 - Cleveland Browns (WR - Julio Jones) 

Tough pick for me. Their is a good possibility they jump ahead of the Bengals at the No. 3 spot and snag A.J. Green.  The trade makes sense because the Bills could likely still draft Von Miller at this spot.  Trades aside, they settle for the second best WR and select Julio Jones. 

Pick No. 7 - San Francisco 49ers (QB - Blaine Gabbert) 

Jim Harbrough tried to make Gabbert a Stanford Cardinal four years ago. This time, he gets him. Great pick for a great organization that essentially is starting over.  Mark my words: Gabbert will be the best QB in this draft class.

Pick No. 8 - Tennessee Titans (DT - Nick Fairly)  

New coach Mike Munchak sprints to the podium to make Fairly their pick that will anchor their aging defensive line. The consensus was that Fairly was a top-two pick just a month ago and is an absolute steal at No. 8.

Pick No. 9 - Dallas Cowboys (OT - Tyron Smith) 

If the reports are true that they like Castonzo and Solder as much as Tyron Smith, I GUARANTEE they will trade out of this pick.  I don't believe some mock drafts that Amukamara falls to No. 13, so I see the Detroit Lions as a good trade partner. Jerry Jones has NEVER taken an offensive tackle in the first round, but ask Romo how that has been working out.

Pick No. 10 - Washington Redskins (DE - Robert Quinn) 

Robert Quinn is the best pass rusher in this draft.  If it were not for his NCAA ban last year, Quinn would be a top-three pick. Envision a Orakpo/Quinn combo coming off each end...Eli Manning, Tony Romo and Michael Vick shudder.

Pick No. 11 - Houston Texans (CB - Prince Amukamara) 

As I stated earlier, Amukamara is a top-10 talent.  Houston is desperate to solidify a defense that finally gets them into the playoffs. They have spent three of their last six No. 1 draft picks on the defensive line.  Drafting Amukamara takes the pressure off last year's NO. 1 CB pick Kareeem Jackson and solidifies their secondary for the next five years.

Pick No. 12 - Minnesota Vikings (DE - Daquan Bowers) 

If it were up to me, Jake Locker would be the pick here.  The kid is extremely talented, personable and will the first and last guy to be at work.  The Vikings have lacked that leadership under center for a very long time, the NFL is a passing league and QB roulette no longer works.   Yet, Bowers has been the consensus No. 1 pick during the entire offseason. I am not a doctor, but my sense is that all the knee rumors are overblown and the Vikings are ecstatic.

Pick No. 13 - Detroit Lions (DE - Aldon Smith) 

My beloved Lions...No doubt they are desperate for linebackers and defensive backs.  Just as all Lions fans know, rarely does the moon and stars lineup for us—there are no LBs or CBs worthy of pick No. 13.  Some buzz about Jimmy Smith being the pick here and I don't buy it.  The Ford family still pulls the strings and this kid has too many flags.  The BPA (best player available) system has been consistent the last few years. Aldon Smith looks and plays a lot like Julian Peterson...a trade up to No. 9 for Amukamara is possible, or a trade-down to Np. 17 to grab the best OT.

Pick No. 14 - St.Louis Rams (DE - JJ Watt) 

Have to admit, this pick is where you could throw a dart at several players.  The Rams desperately need help at receiver, safety and running back.  There are no worthy picks at this spot for any of these three positions.  Doubtful they have enough ammo to move high enough to draft WRs Green or Jones, so a trade down is likely here...Spagnuolo loves D-line depth, so Watt is my top rated DE left on the board.

Pick No. 15 - Miami Dolphins (RB - Mark Ingram)

Just about every one of the thousand mock drafts out there has this same pick.  Dolphins need a running back and the best running back in this class is Mark Ingrim = perfect match.

Pick No. 16 - Jacksonville Jaguars (DE - Ryan Kerrigan) 

Jags ranked 28th in the league in defense; they are woeful in both the secondary and pass rush.  It has been reported that Del Rio is under the gun to make the playoffs this year, so the defense must be improved.  Ryan Kerrigan is a perfect fit for this team, an aggressive high-motor guy to come off the edge.   

Pick No. 17 - New England Patriots (DE - Cameron Jordan) 

For the NFL draft dorks out there, Jordan is a perfect fit for New England's five technique 3-4 defense.  For those that have lives, Jordan fits in perfectly in New England's LB/DE system where the player can either rush the passer or drop into coverage depending on the situation.  I still expect New England to use the multiple picks that they have to move up in the draft if there is a specific player they covet, likely in the 10-14 range (possibly Bowers slips).

Pick No. 18 - San Diego (DE - Adrian Clayborn) 

The run on defensive ends continues.  Chargers DE's Castillo and Cesaire do not install a whole lot of confidence in me in getting to the QB.  The NFL game has changed dramatically, you need two things: 1) A Franchise QB on offense and 2) guys to sack the franchise QB. San Diego has half that equation.

Pick No. 19 - NY Giants (C/G - Mike Pouncey) 

As much as this breaks the hearts of Steelers Nation, baby bro goes to the Giants and all the talk of the Steelers moving up to this pick is just a fun conversation.  Giants' interior line is aging and the Giants need to upgrade their interior line to stay a run-first offense.

Pick No. 20 - Tampa Bay (OT - Anthony Castonzo)

Tampa is desperate for rush end help, but the run on DEs locks Tampa out on any quality DEs. Both OG Joseph and OT Trueblood are free agents and it's not likely the Bucs can sign both players, which will create a big void in protecting QB Josh Freeman.  Castonzo is the most NFL ready lineman in the draft.

Pick No. 21 - Kansas City (OT - Nate Solder) 

No secret here, Brandon Albert is NOT a left tackle; he's a very good lineman, but just not the right skill set to protect the left side. By drafting Solder, who is a classic LT—6'7" and monster wing span with great feet—you can move Albert to the right side.   Check back in three years and it will be easy to say the Chiefs have the best tackle combo in the NFL.

Pick No. 22 - Indianapolis Colts (OT - Gabe Carimi) 

Possibly the biggest no-brainer pick of the draft, the Colts have not had a left tackle since 2006.  I was fortunate enough to be with Joseph Addai during the 2007 draft day, when the Colts drafted Tony Ugoh in the first round to be replace Tarik Glenn. I told Joe they drafted Ugoh; he responded "Who"? 

Pick No. 23 - Philadelphia Eagles (CB - Jimmy Smith) 

A top-10 talent that slides down to No. 23.  Andy Reid has never been afraid of character issues and the Eagles is a good fit for an extremely talented/troubled player like Jimmy Smith.  

Pick No. 24 - New Orleans (DT - Cory Liuget) 

Saints continue their draft pattern of trying to upgrade their front seven.  Liuget is the fastest "draft riser" since the combine.  A great fit for a fast/aggressive defense.  The Saints could also go outside the box and take an offensive talent such as TE Kyle Rudolph or RB Mikel Leshoure.

Pick No. 25 - Seattle (QB - Jake Locker) 

Maybe it's just too good of a story to actually happen, but I think the home-grown boy stays home. As I have stated before, Gabbert will be the best QB of this class, but Locker will be the steal of the draft.      

Pick No. 26 - Baltimore Ravens (CB - Brandon Harris) 

Both Ravens CBs are free agents and neither Carr or Wilson were all that good last year. Brandon Harris is an aggressive tackler and fits the "U" (Miami) model.

Pick No. 27 - Atlanta Falcons (DE - Cameron Heyward) 

John Abraham is aging, and the Falcons have yet to find anyone to replace him.  I feel that Heyward is a bit of a reach here; just have this feeling that Heyward is going to be a bust.  If I were drafting for the Falcons, I would reach a little here and go with WR Torrey Smith.  

Pick No. 28 - New England (LB - Martez Wilson) 

Wilson is the perfect hybrid LB that Patriots covet.  Martez has a similar skill-set to Jarrod Mayo, who the Patriots love.  Wilson can play any of the four LB spots for the Patriots' 3-4 defense.  He is a solid inside tackler or just as capable of rushing the QB or covering a RB-TE.

Pick No. 29 - Chicago Bears (DT - Derek Sherrod)  

Mike Martz was fired three years ago from the Lions, and on his way out of town he was classless as usual and claimed that the Lions' offensive line was the reason that the Lions failed.  Martz then moves to San-Fran and fails with another brutal O-line and now coordinates ANOTHER awful line with the Bears.  Jay Cutler was sacked 52 times in 15 games last season, more than anyone in the NFL.  Let's hope that Lovie is in charge of this pick and realizes Martz is clueless.

Pick No. 30 - NY Jets (DT - Phil Taylor) 

The scouting report on Taylor is "Pro Bowl potential as a 3-4 nose tackle or two-gapper." Again, for those that aren't NFL dorks reading this, that means that Taylor is perfect to take up alot of space in the middle of the D-line so the other DTs and LBs can roam the field to make tackles.  A perfect fit for "Sexy Rexy."

Pick No. 31 - Pittsburgh (Muhammad Wilkerson) 

Sorry Lew, a month ago I thought Pouncey might land here...it ain't happening.  The good news is that Wilkerson is versatile and can play anywhere on the defensive line.  He's a very disruptive/aggressive player that pushes the pocket. As usual, the Steelers get a perfect fit for their system...Bow down to LeBeau.

Pick No. 32 - Green Bay (Akeem Ayers) 

Akeem Ayers was, at one time, a mid first-round selection. He has since dropped even out of the first round in some recent mocks.  Even so, the Packers need a rushing linebacker opposite Clay Matthews. If they do not find someone to compliment Matthews, teams will overload the strong side and double or even triple team Matthews rushing off the edge.