JACKSONVILLE – Blink and you may miss it.
And if a reader or two – or many multiples of two – wouldn't have minded missing parts of the jaguars.com 2013 reader mock draft, rest well knowing this: during this process we have become accustomed not only to hearing critics, but to flexing and flourishing despite their presence.
Well, perhaps we haven't always flourished.
And maybe no one really wants to see the senior writer flexing, but wherever you fall on the issue, we are now oh-so-tantalizingly close to the end.
That comes in two days, when we'll announce this mock's selection for the Jaguars at No. 33 overall. We expect a big day that day – after all, this is a Jaguars-oriented website. The Jaguars will be on the clock with that selection on Tuesday, so we'll look forward to that, too.
We'll also announce selections No. 27-32 Tuesday, so it's a busy early part of the week, one that will be over before we realize – along with this year's reader mock.
But before we get started this week, let's pause for a reader mock tradition – and, indeed, a staple of this year's process.
We speak, of course, of competing emails discounting our work to date.
"Lots of ridiculous falls in this reader mock," Brian Shane Plyler wrote, forgetting perhaps that the real NFL draft annually is a place of ridiculous, unforeseen falls.
More constructive input came from Rodney, who made it past security on Day 13 in time to wonder what in the world had happened in this mock to West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith.
"I highly doubt this mock draft's scenario would play out in two weeks because Geno's not having a slide this far," Rodney wrote. "I don't think he gets past the Jets."
A lot of people don't think Smith will slide this far, and the senior writer isn't convinced he will, either. The problem is there really hasn't been a compelling argument for any particularly team. For now, at least – foreshadowing! – Smith remains available.
There was a little of the expected debate over Smith's availability in Day 13 – and of course, over who the top quarterback should be in this draft – but for the most part as the end of the process neared the readers stayed on task.
That meant rolling through Selection Nos. 21-26, and after a bit of debate, those selections came off the board as follows:
*No. 21, Cincinnati Bengals: D.J. Fluker, offensive tackle, Alabama. Fluker is a guy some believe should have been gone earlier in this mock. He hasn't gone yet. He is now. "I don't see the Bengals having any other needs that are worth using a first-round pick on, and since Fluker is probably the best offensive linemen still available, he's the pick here," Matt B. wrote.
*No. 22, St. Louis Rams: Kenny Vaccaro, safety, Texas. "The Rams are ecstatic that he actually made it this far," Fred Barnes wrote.
*No. 23, Minnesota Vikings: Keenan Allen, wide receiver, California.
*No. 24, Indianapolis Colts: Johnthan Banks, cornerback, Mississippi State. "The Colts face a surprisingly decent number of wide receivers in the AFC South six times a year," Anthony J. Ceithamer wrote. "If they want to compete with the Texans for a division title they'll need some help in their secondary."
*No. 25, Minnesota Vikings: Geno Smith, quarterback, West Virginia. "THE SLIDE ENDS HERE," CDon wrote.
*No. 26, Green Bay Packers: Eddie Lacy, running back, Alabama. "It's about time the Packers get their running back," Fred Barnes wrote.
This marks a tough day for the senior writer, who had his day or two early this process, but who has since settled into familiar, mediocre territory. While he hit on Fluker and Vaccaro he missed elsewhere. But what was a tough day for some was, at last, a decent day for Smith in this draft. As we said, the gut feeling on the part of a lot of those mocking here is that he will go somewhere in the first round, probably a lot sooner than this. But for this day he's at No. 25 to Minnesota, which means the jaguars.com 2013 reader mock draft after 13 days 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.
- Dallas | Sheldon Richardson, DT, Missouri
- New York Giants | Manti Te'o, LB, Notre Dame
- Chicago | Alec Ogletree, LB, Georgia
21.Cincinnati | D.J. Fluker, OT, Alabama
- St. Louis | Kenny Vaccaro, S, Texas
- Minnesota | Keenan Allen, WR, California.
- Indianapolis | Johnthan Banks, CB, Mississippi State
- Minnesota | Geno Smith, QB, West Virginia
- Green Bay | Eddie Lacy, RB, Alabama
That brings us to No. 27-32, with the senior writer offering up the following selections: 27, Houston (DeAndre Hopkins, wide receiver, Clemson); 28, Denver (Tank Carradine, defensive end, Florida State); 29, New England (Jonathan Cyprien, safety, Florida International); 30, Atlanta (Jamar Taylor, cornerback, Boise State); 31, San Francisco (Matt Elam, safety, Florida); 32, Baltimore (Kevin Minter, inside linebacker, Louisiana State).
That brings us to within a day of the end of this thing. The Jaguars will be on the clock. Don't blink.
