This article is part of our NFL Draft series.
Trades:
-ATL trades No. 6, No. 37, 2015 1st-round pick and 2015 4th-round pick to HOU for No. 1
-NYJ trades No. 18 and No. 80 to DET for No. 10
-SF trades No. 30, No. 56 and No. 77 to TEN for No. 11
-TEN trades No. 30 and No. 56 to PIT for No. 15
-CLE trades No. 26 and No. 35 to DAL for No. 16 and No. 78
-DEN trades No. 31, No. 131 and No. 207 to NO for No. 27
1. Atlanta Falcons (from HOU) – Jadeveon Clowney*, DE, South Carolina (6-5, 266)
Clowney is the best player in the draft. Be it Houston or Atlanta, whoever has the first pick should take him.
2. St. Louis Rams (from WAS) – Greg Robinson*, OT, Auburn (6-5, 332)
Jake Long (ACL) is uncertain for St. Louis in both the short and long term.
3. Jacksonville Jaguars – Johnny Manziel*, QB, Texas A&M (6-0, 207)
I suspect it's Manziel or Sammy Watkins for Jacksonville. I'd go with the QB.
4. Cleveland Browns – Sammy Watkins*, WR, Clemson (6-1, 211)
Cleveland reportedly explored trading Josh Gordon even in the midst of his breakout season. Watkins offers similar talent with less suspension risk. Cleveland will get their QB later in the round.
5. Oakland Raiders – Khalil Mack, DE/OLB, Buffalo (6-3, 251)
Reggie McKenzie is scrambling to put together a competitive Oakland team so that he might save his job. Mack isn't enough,
Trades:
-ATL trades No. 6, No. 37, 2015 1st-round pick and 2015 4th-round pick to HOU for No. 1
-NYJ trades No. 18 and No. 80 to DET for No. 10
-SF trades No. 30, No. 56 and No. 77 to TEN for No. 11
-TEN trades No. 30 and No. 56 to PIT for No. 15
-CLE trades No. 26 and No. 35 to DAL for No. 16 and No. 78
-DEN trades No. 31, No. 131 and No. 207 to NO for No. 27
1. Atlanta Falcons (from HOU) – Jadeveon Clowney*, DE, South Carolina (6-5, 266)
Clowney is the best player in the draft. Be it Houston or Atlanta, whoever has the first pick should take him.
2. St. Louis Rams (from WAS) – Greg Robinson*, OT, Auburn (6-5, 332)
Jake Long (ACL) is uncertain for St. Louis in both the short and long term.
3. Jacksonville Jaguars – Johnny Manziel*, QB, Texas A&M (6-0, 207)
I suspect it's Manziel or Sammy Watkins for Jacksonville. I'd go with the QB.
4. Cleveland Browns – Sammy Watkins*, WR, Clemson (6-1, 211)
Cleveland reportedly explored trading Josh Gordon even in the midst of his breakout season. Watkins offers similar talent with less suspension risk. Cleveland will get their QB later in the round.
5. Oakland Raiders – Khalil Mack, DE/OLB, Buffalo (6-3, 251)
Reggie McKenzie is scrambling to put together a competitive Oakland team so that he might save his job. Mack isn't enough, but it's a start.
6. Houston Texans (from ATL) – Blake Bortles*, QB, UCF (6-5, 231)
They'd rather have Manziel, but Bortles makes plenty of sense at six for Houston.
7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Mike Evans*, WR, Texas A&M (6-5, 232)
Evans and Vincent Jackson would provide a similarly strong duo to what Josh McCown had in Chicago with Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery.
8. Minnesota Vikings – Aaron Donald, DT, Pittsburgh (6-1, 285)
Donald will give Minnesota a strong three-man rotation at tackle with Sharrif Floyd and Linval Joseph, and Donald can even move to end occasionally.
9. Buffalo Bills – Jake Matthews, OT, Texas A&M (6-5, 307)
Cordy Glenn is a good left tackle, but the Bills have a void on the right.
10. New York Jets (from DET) - Odell Beckham*, WR, LSU (5-11, 198)
The Jets have Eric Decker to serve as the workhorse wideout, and Beckham would give them a threat to take the top off the defense.
11. San Francisco 49ers (from TEN) – Anthony Barr, (3-4) OLB, UCLA (6-5, 255)
Barr looks like the next Jevon Kearse. The 49ers could use one of those with Aldon Smith's future uncertain.
12. New York Giants – Zack Martin, OT/G, Notre Dame (6-4, 308)
Whether they need him at guard or left tackle, Martin looks like a winner for the Giants.
13. St. Louis Rams – Justin Gilbert, CB, Oklahoma State (6-0, 202)
Cortland Finnegan was a bust and Janoris Jenkins hasn't quite proven himself.
14. Chicago Bears – Taylor Lewan, OT, Michigan (6-7, 309)
Jordan Mills might be a better fit as a backup, and Lewan would present a sizable upgrade at right tackle for the Bears.
15. Tennessee Titans (from PIT) – Teddy Bridgewater*, QB, Louisville (6-2, 214)
Ken Whisenhunt had the most success of his coaching career when he had a starting quarterback who wore gloves and stood at 6-foot-2, 214 pounds. If Bridgewater stays in the first round, he owes Kurt Warner a 'Thank You' card.
16. Cleveland Browns (from DAL) – Derek Carr, QB, Fresno State (6-2, 214)
With Bridgewater off the board, the Browns need to urgently move upward to secure one of their coveted QB prospects.
17. Baltimore Ravens – Ha Ha Clinton-Dix*, S, Alabama (6-1, 208)
HHCD's steadiness would be a welcome complement to Matt Elam's wild nature.
18. Detroit Lions (from NYJ) – Eric Ebron*, TE, North Carolina (6-4, 250)
Ebron would give Matt Stafford another big red-zone target when Calvin Johnson gets double/triple-teamed.
19. Miami Dolphins – Ryan Shazier*, OLB, Ohio State (6-1, 237)
Despite all three possessing fresh contracts, Philip Wheeler, Dannell Ellerbe and Koa Misi didn't come through sufficiently for Miami last year.
20. Arizona Cardinals - Calvin Pryor*, S, Louisville (5-11, 207)
Tyrann Mathieu's knee issue makes an already significant safety need an urgent one for Arizona.
21. Green Bay Packers – Ra'Shede Hageman, (3-4) DE, Minnesota (6-6, 310)
Hageman has rare size/athleticism dimensions and has rare upside for a pick in this range.
22. Philadelphia Eagles – Kyle Fuller, CB, Virginia Tech (6-0, 190)
Fuller has the length and man-to-man/zone versatility that fits well at outside corner in Philly.
23. Kansas City Chiefs – Brandin Cooks*, WR, Oregon State (5-10, 189)
An upgrade over Donnie Avery isn't much to ask.
24. Cincinnati Bengals - Ja'Wuan James, OT, Tennessee (6-6, 311)
James fits at a position of need for Cincinnati and has the SEC pedigree the Bengals prefer.
25. San Diego Chargers – Darqueze Dennard, CB, Michigan State (5-11, 199)
Shareece Wright might be an answer at one corner spot for San Diego. Otherwise...
26. Dallas Cowboys (from IND via CLE) – Xavier Su'a-Filo*, G, UCLA (6-4, 307)
If Dallas is to win now with Tony Romo, keeping him free from back and collarbone injuries should be a high priority.
27. Denver Broncos (from NO) – C.J. Mosley, MLB, Alabama (6-2, 234)
A 'win now' team like Denver can afford to take on Mosley's questionable long-term durability.
28. Carolina Panthers – Austin Seferian-Jenkins*, TE, Washington (6-5, 262)
Cam Newton averaged more yards per target toward Greg Olsen last year than Steve Smith. Get him another big target.
29. New England Patriots – Kareem Martin, DE, North Carolina (6-6, 272)
The Patriots would like a DL who can play inside and out, and Martin has similar size/athleticism dimensions to Chandler Jones.
30. Pittsburgh Steelers (from SF via TEN) - Kelvin Benjamin*, WR, Florida State (6-5, 240)
When Jerricho Cotchery leads your offense with 10 touchdowns, it's time to wake up and realize you need some height at wideout.
31. New Orleans Saints (from DEN) – Marcus Martin*, C, USC (6-3, 320)
Brian de la Puente is gone, and Martin boasts big upside on the interior line.
32. Seattle Seahawks – Joel Bitonio, G/OT, Nevada (6-4, 306)
The Seahawks might not know whether they want Bitonio at guard or tackle, but he can probably start at either one.
