2013 NFL Mock Draft

The 2013 NFL Draft. 

   As soon as the Lombardi Trophy is handed to the Superbowl victors I am shifting my sports focus to the upcoming NFL Draft and eagerly awaiting the first Mock draft from ESPN, Sports Illustrated, you name it. I love the buildup to the NFL Draft. The anticipation, the hope, the reward of a franchise player to be...or the disgust of the can't miss player who eventually does just that...misses. Having lived in Louisiana for the first 24 years of my life and the in Dallas, TX. the following 11, I have witnessed some major draft steals, busts, and head scratching moments from the New Orleans Saints and the Dallas Cowboys. Thankfully the people of Dallas and Cowboys fans everywhere are treated to Draft day drama every year due to the unimaginable yet irresistible Jerry Jones. 

   The Dallas Cowboys have had serious highs under Jones, from his teaming with Jimmy Johnson and the drafting of the eventual Cowboys Superbowl dynasty of the 90's, to the years of ash and dust in the 00's, most notably 2009 where all 12 draft picks are no longer on the Cowboys roster.  2013 is no different for the Cowboys in terms of importance. Every draft year in Dallas is do or die because Dallas fans and media know all too well how Jones can knock the wind out of everyone's collective sails with a critical trade up or trade down...and trading up or down is what Jerry is known for (for better or worse). Well, that and trading precious #1 picks for worthless wide receivers but that is for another time. In Dallas, we hold our breath as we wait for GM Jerry to either sit tight with the 18th pick (not likely) trade down for an extra pick  while building much needed depth (the sensible thing to do) or betting the farm and trading up for that "Can't miss" prospect (if this happens, Jerry is officially Al Davis) It should be as maddening as always on Draft Thursday...and all through the weekend. 

   Enough about the Cowboys, lets talk about the draft. 

   The 2013 NFL Draft has been criticized for lacking "Star Power" Translation- No franchise Quarterbacks, Wide Receivers, or Running Backs. What this draft does have though is depth. Serious team building depth. If your team has and makes the right picks. There are some quality offensive and defensive linemen to be had as well as solid safeties. In my opinion, after the top 5 in the 1st round, there is not much of a talent drop off all the way through the 2nd round. If my team was a team that had multiple picks in either round I would be an excited fan. Fans of offensive firepower, do not fret. 2014 will be loaded with future stud QB's and skill players.

   The consensus #1 pick in most Mock Drafts is Luke Joeckel, the talented offensive tackle out of Texas A&M. There is a chance that Eric Fisher out of Central Michigan could sneak into the top spot but my money is still on Joeckel. Just those two names alone signify that offensive line will be the big position in the 1st round. The top 5 picks this year could very well have 3 offensive tackles taken. It is also not out of the realm of possibility that Chance Warmack the guard out of Alabama sneaks into the top 5 as well... but, I doubt it. Another position of great depth in this year's draft is defensive tackle. That will get tricky though as teams will draft according to the defensive schemes they run, as many of the defensive tackles in this draft may project better as nose tackles in a 3-4 defense. But, there is talent and depth to be had. 

   Below you will see my 1st Round Mock Draft. With any Mock Draft, take it with a grain of salt and expect much of this to be blown up after teams start trading up and down.  

#1 Kansas City - OT Luke Joeckel, Texas A&M

#2 Jacksonville- QB Geno Smith, West Virginia 

#3 Oakland- DT Sharrif Floyd, Florida

#4 Philadelphia- DE Dion Jordan, Oregon

#5 Detroit- OT Eric Fisher, Central Michigan 

#6 Cleveland- CB Dee Milliner, Alabama

#7 Arizona- OT Lane Johnson, Oklahoma 

#8 Buffalo- WR Cordarrelle Patterson, Tennessee  

#9 New York Jets- G Chance Warmack, Alabama

#10 Tennessee- S Kenny Vaccarro, Texas

#11 San Diego- G Jonathan Cooper, North Carolina 

#12 Miami- DL Ezekiel Ansah, BYU

#13 New York Jets- DE/LB Barkevious Mingo, LSU

#14 Carolina- DT Star Lotulelei, Utah

#15 New Orleans- LB Arthur Brown, Kansas State

#16 St. Louis- LB Jarvis Jones, Georgia 

#17 Pittsburgh- WR Deandre Hopkins, Clemson

#18 Dallas- OT/G DJ Fluker, Alabama

#19 New York Giants- DE Bjoern Werner, Florida State

#20 Chicago- LB Alec Ogletree, Georgia

#21 Cincinnati- RB Eddie Lacy, Alabama 

#22 St. Louis- WR Keenan Allen, California 

#23 Minnesota- DT Sheldon Richardson, Missouri

#24 Indianapolis- OL Larry Warford, Kentucky

#25 Minnesota- CB Xavier Rhodes, Florida State

#26 Green Bay- LB Kevin Minter, LSU

#27 Houston- WR Tavon Austin, West Virginia 

#28 Denver- DE Demontre Moore, Texas A&M

#29 New England- DT Jesse Williams, Alabama 

#30 Atlanta- DE/LB Alex Okafor, Texas 

#31 San Francisco- S Eric Reid, LSU

#32 Baltimore- LB Manti Te'o, Notre Dame 

Quick Hits- 

16 of my #1 picks are from the SEC. 5 from Alabama, 3 from LSU, 2 from Georgia, 2 from Texas A&M, and 1 each from Florida, Tennessee, Missouri, and Kentucky. The Big 12 is 2nd with six 1st round picks. Texas and West Virginia have 2 each.  

10 Years ago the #1 pick in the 03 NFL Draft was QB Carson Palmer out of USC who was picked by the Bengals. 

20 Years ago the #1 pick in the 93 NFL Draft was QB Drew Bledsoe out of Washington State who was picked by the New England Patriots. 

30 Years ago the #1 pick in the 83 NFL Draft was none other than Hall of Famer QB John Elway out of Stanford who was selected by the Indianapolis Colts and later traded to the Denver Broncos. 

And last but not least... 40 years ago the #1 pick in the 73 NFL Draft was Sloth from the Goonies! Yes you read that right. John Matuszak out of Tampa College was selected #1 overall by the Houston Oilers. He would become a Superbowl Champion and staple with the Oakland Raiders. He died in 1989 from a prescription drug overdose.

   Get ready to boo Roger Goodell and have a great time watching the 2013 NFL Draft. 

Spring football report. 

As many spring football camps wind down and the doldrums of Summer knock at the door, we college football fans still have a few things to look forward to before the 2013 season kicks off. (1) The NFL Draft which begins Thursday. (2) The release of the always much anticipated pre-season magazines that will attempt to predict everything from the next BCS Champ to the coach who sits on the hottest seat. Below I will attempt to look into my somewhat cloudy crystal ball and predict how everything will shake out. From the BCS title game, to the upcoming early big college games. Here we go.... 

2013 will begin with the possibility of history being made. The Alabama Crimson Tide could make it 3 straight BCS titles and 4 in the past 5 years. Make no bones about it Nick Saban has created a dynasty down in Tuscaloosa. The Tide will be tested very early on though as they travel down to College Station to face Johnny Football and the Aggie team that nearly derailed the Crimson Tide's BCS hopes last November. 

My early prediction: 

Alabama goes into College Station and gets revenge on Johnny Heisman while exposing the very weak A&M defense. Alabama 31 Texas A&M 20

The Clemson Tigers will get a shot at proving they are ready for the BCS stage when they go to Georgia to square off against a Bulldogs team that has suffered heavy defensive losses like Texas A&M and like the Aggies the Bulldogs return their superstar Quarterback in Aaron Murray. A win by Clemson goes a long way to being a worthy BCS title game contender. A loss assures the Tigers of more noses turned up at the thought of the ACC sending a BCS title game representative. 

Prediction: 

Clemson rides it's Chick fil-A Bowl momentum to an incredible early classic in 2013. 

Clemson 24 Georgia 21

The 2013 Cowboys Classic gives us an SEC/Big 12 match-up between two teams that could both either contend for a BCS bowl berth this season or get a lower tier bowl invite. LSU and TCU will feature two traditional strong defensive teams that like to play smash mouth football. TCU will return a good amount of players from a 2012 team that was inconsistent at best. LSU was also an inconsistent team in 2012 with an offense that never got it going. After losing 10 Jr's to the NFL draft, the Tigers will have a tall task ahead in trying to rebuild the defense. But, like all major college football powerhouses, LSU doesn't rebuild, they reload. New offensive coordinator Cam Cameron hopes to bring some imagination...any imagination to the Tiger's offense. 

Prediction: 

Both teams will be hyped to play in Cowboys Stadium and trade points early on. In the end LSU's depth and speed pull away from TCU shortly after halftime and force the Horned Frogs to make more mistakes than a Gary Patterson team is used to. 

LSU 38 TCU 17  

Alabama also plays a big opening weekend game against Virginia Tech. As much as I would like to say it will be a good game... it won't. 

Prediction: 

Alabama comes out and hits Va. Tech early and often. 

Alabama 30 Virginia Tech 10 

The 2013 college football season will be the return of the Big 10. Well...Ohio State anyway. The Buckeyes went undefeated in 2012 and look to carry on with a chip on their shoulder in 2013. Going undefeated and not getting to play in a bowl game due to sanctions really hurts and don't think the 2013 Buckeyes won't use that as motivation. Urban Myer is building a very strong program in Columbus that looks to stand on even ground with the SEC in a few years. Sorry Buckeye fans it won't be in 2013. I fully expect the Buckeyes to win the Big 10 and go undefeated in 2013. But, it ends there. 

My Early BCS Title Game Prediction for 2013: 

Alabama 37 Ohio St. 13

Yes...Bama will threepeat. 

My early top 5: 

1- Alabama

2-Ohio St. 

3- Texas A&M

4- Oregon

5-Clemson

But....there are about 4 months between now and the start of the college football season. Many things can and probably will change between now and then.