1 Houston Texans Jadeveon Clowney OLB South Carolina The Texans could use a QB but none of this year's guys are in Andrew Luck's league. Houston had a very good running game and its defense was tremendous a year agobut their pass rush has fallen a bit. Clowney is the most dynamic player in this draft and the Texans should make the right call here.
2 Saint Louis Rams Jake Matthews OT Texas A&M Saint Louis knows they can trade back a couple of spots but most teams are looking to gain second and third-round picks this year so they stay put and nab Matthews who will start on the right side until Jake Long gets hurt again. After the Jason Smith debacle, taking the safer Matthews over Robinson makes sense.
3 Jacksonville Jaguars Blake Bortles QB UCF The Jaguars end up with their pick of QBs and go for the guy with the most upside. Bortles will need some time to develop and the Jaguars have Chad Henne as their bridge.
4 Cleveland Browns Sammy Watkins WR Clemson The Browns are willing to wait rather than reach for a QB and with a receiving corps this dynamic with Watkins, Josh Gordon and Jordan Cameron. Brian Hoyer may be able to hold down the fort at QB until a developmental guy has time to get ready.
5 Oakland Raiders Derek Carr QB Fresno State The Quartebacks are tricky this year. Oakland can't really afford to trade back if they like Carr with Minnesota right around the corner, and they want more picks so trading back in to the end of Round one isn't very feasible either.
6 Atlanta Falcons Greg Robinson OT Auburn Sam Baker has injury issues and Atlanta found out the hard way what happens when you don't protect Matt Ryan. The Falcons are moving to a 3-4 this year so Khalil Mack is incredibly tempting but they need to protect the franchise. There should also be some good OLB candidates at theri Round 2 selection.
7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Anthony Barr OLB UCLA Smith and Frazier add a true playmaker to the Tampa defense in the versatile Barr. Khalil Mack was a possibility, but he's better suited to a 3-4.
8 Minnesota Vikings Teddy Bridgewater QB Louisville The Vikings are in a similar position to Oakland, there's a number of teams who need Quarterbacks picking higher than they are in Round 2, making it easier/cheaper for those teams to move in to the end of Round 1. The Vikings also can't afford to keep giving away multiple picks each draft when they need numbers as well as talent. Bridgewater is the most pro-ready QB in this class and may have the least downside of any of the top QB prospects this year.
9 Buffalo Bills Mike Evans WR Texas A&M In the first big surprise Buffalo grabs the dynamic, 6'5" pass catcher to line up with EJ Manuel and Robert Woods, potentially forming a formidible passing attack for the near future.
10 Detroit Lions Darquez Dennard CB Michigan State The Lions went to free agency to find a #2 receiver to pair with Calvin Johnson and fixing the defensive backfield isn't exactly a disappointment.
11 Tennessee Titans Khalil Mack OLB Buffalo Ray Horton takes the reigns of the Tennessee defense and Mack's the perfect guy to bring in for the transition.
12 New York Giants CJ Mosely LB Alabama The Giants grab the plug-and-play linebacker.
13 Saint Louis Rams Ha'Sean Clinton-Dix S Alabama Saint louis continues to stockpile talent with a new sheriff to patrol the defensive backfield.
14 Chicago Bears Calvin Pryor S Louisville A bit of a surprise as Pryor comes off the board in the top 20 after coming in 3" short at the combine but the guy's a playmaker and the Bears Safeties Still Suck. Their only free agent signing at safety was MD Jennings.
15 Pittsburgh Steelers Taylor Lewan OT Michigan The Steelers are the kings of staying put and taking whomever falls to them. In this case, it also happens to be one of their biggest needs. Lewan's stock took a bit of a hit with his December arrest, but he's had plenty of time to explain in interviews and he's too talented to slide very far.
16 Dallas Cowboys Cyrus Kouandjio OT Alabama Doug Free is not good. The Cowboys wanted to replace him last year with an Alabama Tackle (DJ Fluker) who ended up in San Diego. They'll try again this year with a guy who's more athletic but less consistent than his predecessor.
17 Baltimore Ravens Marquise Lee WR USC Ozzie Newsome re-signed Eugene Monroe so he can nab the best player on the board who also happens to fill a need.
18 New York Jets Johnny Manziel QB Texas A&M The Jets aren't sold on Geno Smith, nor should they be. In a draft this deep they can fill needs at WR and OG later but Manziel is a unique talent and he, Smith and Michael Vick are all cut from a similar athletic mold so the offense can be sculpted and run consistently. Manziel needs to learn how to lead receivers and throw to spots, which will take some time.
19 Miami Dolphins Aaron Donald DT Pittsburgh The Dolphins have been on a free agent spending spree but have need of onterior defensive linemen. Donald is a penetrating DT suited for one-gap, attacking schemes up front vs. the stand-your-ground Soliai and Starks of the recent past. Donald's height is a concern, and he showed better in workouts and in All-Star games vs. more cohesive opposition on tape, but there's no doubting his motor or potential.
20 Arizona Cardinals Eric Ebron TE North Carolina The Cardinals continue to build an impressive collection of pass catchers to compete in what has become the toughest division in football.
21 San Francisco 49ers (from Green Bay) Justin Gilbert CB Oklahoma State *TRADE* The 49ers start the draft with 11 picks and not a lot of holes and when a talent like Gilbert falls this far they aggressively move up to get him. Green Bay gets picks #30 and #61 while San Fran retains pick # 56 they received in the Alex Smith trade last year.
22 Philadelphia Eagles Jason Verrett CB TCU The Eagles offense appears to be in solid shape with most of their pending free agents already re-signed. The defense, however, needs more speed and athleticisim. Corner isn't the biggest need, but Verrett offers the best value here.
23 Houston Texans Jimmy Garoppolo QB Eatern Illinois ***TRADE*** Houston gives up their second, fourth and swap third-rounders with KC in order to move ahead of Cleveland and get Garoppolo.
24 Cincinnati Bengals Kyle Fuller CB Virginia Tech The Bengals are able to stay put and grab one of the last of the first-round CBs.
25 San Diego Chargers Bradley Roby CB Ohio State And with that, the first-round CBS are gone.
26 Cleveland Browns Louis Nix DT Notre Dame The Browns are stuck in no-man's-land a bit with their needs not matching up to value. However, Nix is a very good value here and drafting him would allow the Browns to cut Ahtyba Rubin's $7 million salary and get more athletic in the middle.
27 New Orleans Saints Dee Ford OLB Auburn Rob Ryan did a nice job with a bunch of mis-matched parts coverting to a 3-4 last year but the Saints need a dynamic pass rusher outside. Ford's a bit of a one-trick pony right now, but he has an amazing burst off the edge and can but used situationally at first.
28 Carolina Panthers Zack Martin OT/OT Notre Dame Jordan Gross' retirement comes at a bad time for Carolina. Supposedly Byron Bell is in the mix at Left Tackle for Carolina but Martin may take the job. If Bell does look good enough at LT, Martin slides inside to Guard.
29 New England Patriots Jace Amaro TE Texas Tech New England simply drafts the best player available and grabs a potentially dynamic TE to pair with Healthy Gronk and start in place of unhealthy Gronk.
30 Green Bay Packers (from San Fran) Kyle Van Noy LB BYU The Packers are able to trade back and still get one of the guys they wanted. Green Bay needs to add athleticism and speed to their front-seven and Van Noy is a natural linebacker and more verstaile than Carl Bradford. Van Noy can line up inside in "base" packages and anywhere in the end/linebacker arch in sub packages.
31 Denver Broncos Kony Ealy DE Missouri Yes, they brought in DeMarcus Ware, but he'll only be around for a season or two and being able to rotate your pass rushers is a very good thing.
32 Seattle Seahawks Ra'Shede Hageman DT/DE Minnesota Red Bryant is a Free Agent and not nearly as explosive as Hageman. There are consistency issues with him but Pete Carroll is a good motivator and not many guys Hageman's size have his suddenness.