JACKSONVILLE – The end is surging into view.
Maybe that's why there was a bit of a giddiness and goodwill on Day 12 of the 2013 jagaurs.com reader mock draft, or maybe it was just a case of the reader mockers choosing to get along.
Whatever the case, it was a pleasant day to be mocking.
It was an efficient day, too.
We got through another five selections, moving quickly from Nos. 16-20, which means we now have two days until we close this process with the Jaguars' selection at No. 33, the top of the first round.
That means we'll wrap it Wednesday, the middle day of Head Coach Gus Bradley's veteran minicamp next week.
That minicamp is expected to be an energetic, enthusiastic time, what with Bradley and his coaching staff getting their first opportunity to coach Jaguars players on the field.
Day 12 of the reader mock had enthusiasm, too, with the reader mockers not only giving good feedback on selections 11-15, but accepting the ramped-up format, and seemingly forgiving the senior writer for picking up the pace from the original one-selection-a-day format.
At least, that's the way it seemed as the readers generally agreed with a surprising number of his projections. (He'd like to think the readers just like his wit and wisdom or respect his football acumen, but probably he just got lucky).
Whatever the reason, Nos. 16-20 went off the board like this:
*No. 16, St. Louis: Tavon Austin, wide receiver, West Virginia. This was the senior writer's selection, and he's far from alone. The speedy receiver is a popular projection to the Rams at this spot in many mock drafts, and the reader mockers had no problem following suit. Brian L. Jones called it a "proverbial no-brainer," with Anthony J. Ceithamer adding, "Austin won't make it past the Rams here."
*No. 17, Pittsburgh: Bjoern Werner, defensive end, Florida State. There wasn't nearly the consensus for Werner as there was for Austin. In fact, there was no consensus at all. Werner got a vote or two more than the rest, and the senior writer went that direction at least in part because he had offered Werner up here the day before. "Pick makes sense for a team that needs an injection of youth on defense," Bryan Geiger wrote.
*No. 18, Dallas: Sheldon Richardson, defensive tackle, Missouri. Another one for the senior writer, and this was close to a consensus. Brian L. Jones projected quarterback Geno Smith of West Virginia here, and there was a small smattering for Texas safety Kenny Vaccaro. "Vaccaro makes sense here too, but the youngest starter on the Cowboys new 4-3 line is 29-year-old Anthony Spencer," J. School Corby wrote. "They need some youth there."
*No. 19, New York Giants: Manti Te'o, linebacker Notre Dame. This wasn't the senior writer's selection, and in fact the original offering, right tackle D.J. Fluker of Alabama, actually received more votes. But the more you think about Te'o, the more the Giants make sense. "They need a leader in the LB group," Onemanarmychaos wrote.
*No. 20, Chicago: Alec Ogletree, linebacker, Georgia. "Goodbye Urlacher, hello Ogletree," Jones wrote. Indeed.
The senior writer has to admit a certain amount of smug self-satisfaction with a rare day on which he hit four out of five. He fought the tendency to channel his inner Sally Field – "You like me, you really like me!" – before realizing there may have been a certain about of pity involved. Or maybe he's just that good.
Whatever the case, after 20 selections the jaguars.com reader mock looks like:
1.Kansas City | Luke Joeckel, OT, Texas A&M
2.Jacksonville | Dion Jordan, DE/ LB, Oregon
3.Oakland | Sharrif Floyd, DT, Florida
4.Philadelphia | Eric Fisher, OT, Central Michigan
5.Detroit | Dee Milliner, CB, Alabama
6.Cleveland | Ziggy Ansah, DE, Brigham Young
7.Arizona | Lane Johnson, OT, Oklahoma
8.Buffalo | Cordarrelle Patterson, WR, Tennessee
9.New York Jets | Barkevious Mingo, DE/LB, LSU
10.Tennessee | Chance Warmack, OG, Alabama
11.San Diego | Jonathan Cooper, OG, North Carolina.
- Miami | Xavier Rhodes, CB, Florida State.
- Tampa Bay | Desmond Trufant, CB, Washington.
- Carolina | Star Lotulelei, DT, Utah.
- New Orleans | Jarvis Jones, LB, Georgia.
- St. Louis | Tavon Austin, WR, West Virginia.
- Pittsburgh | Bjoern Werner, DE, Florida State.
18, Dallas | Sheldon Richardson, DT, Missouri.
- New York Giants | Manti Te'o, LB, Notre Dame.
20, Chicago | Alec Ogletree, LB, Georgia.
That brings us to Nos. 21-26, and a day closer to the finish. Time to offer up the selections, and the senior writer's suggestions are as follows:
No. 21, Cincinnati (D.J. Fluker, offensive tackle, Alabama); No. 22, St. Louis (Kenny Vaccaro, safety, Texas); No. 23, Minnesota (Sylvester Williams, defensive tackle, North Carolina); No. 24, Indianapolis (Johnathan Hankins, defensive tackle, Ohio State); No. 25, Minnesota (Keenan Allen, wide receiver, California); No. 26, Green Bay (Tyler Eifert, tight end, Notre Dame).
We're thinking there will be debate, and we're thinking no way things go as smoothly for the senior writer as they did in Day 13. There is no way you get two of those days in one year. We shall see.
Have at it.
