JACKSONVILLE – Al … most … there …
And in fact, by the time we reconvene the jaguars.com 2014 reader mock draft Monday, we will be all but done. But first things first:
Pat yourself on the back, reader mockers …
You're done with Round 1.
For better or worse? In sickness or in health? Some other silly, wedding-related cliché?
All were in full form as Day 13 turned into Day 14 in this reader mock, but however we got through it, got through it we did, with the end result being that after roughly three weeks the reader mockers and the senior writer negotiated a wild, oft-antagonistic terrain.
And at the end of that process, we picked 32 players in 32 slots.
We won't say we're none the worse for wear. Because maybe we are in fact a little worse for wear, and maybe some of us involved (you know who you are) are a little scarred by what we've seen, done and said in this space since early April.
Just maybe.
But before we celebrate, we must push on and review what got us to the end of Round 1: a whirlwind Day 14 in which seven selections went off the board.
"This is too many picks for one day!" reader/mocker hallraptor wrote. "Mind hurting..."
Alas, pain aside, we pushed through, and whether it was laziness or a neat sense of camaraderie, the senior writer found himself being agreed with early, with Virginia Tech cornerback Kyle Fuller going to the Cleveland Browns at No. 26 and Auburn defensive end Dee Ford going to the New Orleans Saints at No. 27.
Ford to the Saints was a pretty overwhelming selection, and Fuller to the Browns was, too, but with the debate pretty close between Oregon State wide receiver Brandin Cooks and Virginia offensive tackle Morgan Moses for Carolina at No. 28, the nod went to Cooks just sort of because.
"With so many WRs still on the board, the Panthers practically get their pick of the litter," reader/mocker Fred Barnes wrote.
The reader mockers liked Notre Dame defensive tackle and Jacksonville guy Louis Nix III to the Patriots at No. 29, and with nothing close to a consensus for the San Francisco 49ers at No. 30, Florida State wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin squeezed into the selection there.
Louisville safety Calvin Pryor went off the board at No. 31 to Denver because as one reader mocker noted, it feels he should have been off the board a while before. With nothing close to rhyme nor reason remaining, the readers mocked UCLA guard Xavier Su'a-filo, forcing the senior writer to Google and recheck his name more than would have been ideal so late in the process.
But Google and recheck, he did, and after that was done, we had our Round 1, which meant after 14 days and 32 selections the jaguars.com 2014 reader mock looks like:
- Houston | Blake Bortles, QB, Central Florida
- St. Louis | Jadeveon Clowney, DE, South Carolina
- Jacksonville | Khalil Mack, LB, Buffalo
- Cleveland | Johnny Manziel, QB, Texas A&M
- Oakland | Sammy Watkins, WR, Clemson
- Atlanta | Jake Matthews, OT, Texas A&M
- Tampa Bay | Mike Evans, WR, Texas A&M
- Minnesota | Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Louisville
- Buffalo | Greg Robinson, OT, Auburn
- Detroit | Justin Gilbert, CB, Oklahoma State
- Tennessee | Anthony Barr, OLB, UCLA
- New York Giants | Taylor Lewan, OT, Michigan
- St. Louis | Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, S, Alabama
- Chicago | Aaron Donald, DT, Pittsburgh
- Pittsburgh | Darqueze Dennard, CB, Michigan State
- Dallas | Timmy Jernigan, DT, Florida State
- Baltimore | Zack Martin, OT, Notre Dame
- New York Jets | Eric Ebron, TE, North Carolina
- Miami | Cyrus Kouandjio, OT, Alabama
- Arizona | Derek Carr, QB, Fresno State
- Green Bay | C.J. Mosley, LB, Alabama
- Philadelphia | Odell Beckham, Jr., WR, Louisiana State
- Kansas City | Jace Amaro, TE, Texas Tech
- Cincinnati | Ryan Shazier, LB, Ohio State
- San Diego | Bradley Roby, CB, Ohio State
- Cleveland | Kyle Fuller, CB, Virginia Tech
- New Orleans | Dee Ford, DE, Auburn
- Carolina | Brandin Cooks, WR, Oregon State
- New England | Louis Nix III, DT, Notre Dame
- San Francisco | Kelvin Benjamin, WR, Florida State
- Denver | Calvin Pryor, S, Louisville
- Seattle | Xavier Su'a-filo, G, UCLA
And that takes us to the beginning of Round 2 – a reader mock bonus Pick Six, if you will. We'll pick the first six selections of Round 2, with the self-serving goal of getting to the No. 39 selection, which happens to belong to the Jaguars.
We'll offer up Penn State wide receiver Allen Robinson to the Houston Texans at No. 33, Texas Christian cornerback Jason Verrett to the Washington Redskins at No. 34, Southern California wide receiver Maquise Lee to the Cleveland Browns at No. 35, Northern Illinois quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to the Oakland Raiders at No. 36, Auburn running back Tre Mason to the Atlanta Falcons at No. 37 and Moses to the Buccaneers at No. 38.
That should make for interesting, scattered mocking over the weekend. Enjoy and …
Have at it.
The Reader Mock Draft is presented by Turner Pest Control.
Register to attend the Jaguars' 2014 Bud Light Draft Party presented by PRI here.
