No. 27 Pick in 2011 Reader Mock: Falcons on the Clock

[Walter]

Voting for the No. 27 pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. Who will be the pick?

Results and some comments will be posted here.


http://walterfootball.com/draft2011reader.php


1. Panthers - Blaine Gabbert, QB, Missouri
2. Broncos - Marcell Dareus, DT, Alabama
3. Bills - Cam Newton, QB, Bengals
4. Bengals - A.J. Green, WR, Georgia
5. Cardinals - Von Miller, DE/OLB, Texas A&M
6. Browns - Patrick Peterson, CB, LSU
7. 49ers - Prince Amukamara, CB, Nebraska
8. Titans - Nick Fairley, DT, Auburn
9. Cowboys - Tyron Smith, OT, USC
10. Redskins - Julio Jones, WR, Alabama
11. Texans - Robert Quinn, DE/OLB, North Carolina
12. Vikings - Da'Quan Bowers, DE, Clemson
13. Lions - Anthony Castonzo, OT, Boston College
14. Rams - Aldon Smith, DE, Missouri
15. Dolphins - Mark Ingram, RB, Alabama
16. Jaguars - Ryan Kerrigan, DE, Purdue
17. Patriots - Cameron Jordan, DE/DT, California
18. Chargers - J.J. Watt, DE/DT, Wisconsin
19. Giants - Mike Pouncey, G, Florida
20. Buccaneers - Justin Houston, DE, Georgia
21. Chiefs - Phil Taylor, NT, Baylor
22. Colts - Gabe Carimi, OT, Wisconsin
23. Eagles - Jimmy Smith, CB, Colorado
24. Saints - Corey Liuget, DT, Illinois
25. Seahawks - Jake Locker, QB, Washington
26. Ravens - Cameron Heyward, DE/DT, Ohio State



Adrian Clayborn
Randall Cobb
Brandon Harris
Mikel Leshoure
Brooks Reed
Kyle Rudolph
Derek Sherrod
Torrey Smith
Nate Solder
Aaron Williams

[KyleCleric]

In this scenario, if Derek Sherrod is available at 28, he will be the New England Patriots pick. Otherwise, Nate Solder.

[Falconsfan]

No way the Falcons pick Clayborn. Dimitroff and Smith have been obsessing over adding explosiveness all season. The main knock on Clayborn is that he is not an explosive pass rusher. They already have a lot of bigger ends who are solid against the run but offer little pass rush(Sidbury, Jamaal Anderson, Chauncey Davis). Why would they take another one? The pass rushers they are interested in are Houston, Kerrigan and Da'Quan Bowers. If Bowers falls to 19 look for them to trade up ahead of the Bucs to snag him. They might have an interest in Brooks Reed, but word is that he'd fit better as a 3-4 OLB. I could not vote for Jabaal Sheard as he was not an option but I could see the team taking him. So if the pass rushers they like are not there look for the them to add explosiveness on the offensive side. They have shown an interest in Randall Cobb, Jernell Jernigan and Torrey Smith. I voted for Smith. It's too high for Jernigan and Cobb might remind them too much of Harry Douglas. So they add the tall downfield burner in Smith, a high character guy which the team loves. The Falcons have nothing in terms of downfield receivers, as good as Roddy White is he is not an intermediate receiver. The best intermediate receiver in the game though. Their longest pass play last season was 45 yards. Voting for Clayborn is so illogical, people just see DE and do it because of the perception that the Falcons will take any defensive end available.

[whooligun]

An extra run blocker, a replacement for Gonzo and someone to take the double and triple teams off Roddy....Rudolph is the pick here.

[Falconsfan]

The Falcons will not draft Adrian Clayborn. Ignorance towards a team that is not often in the media spotlight is what is fuelling the voting for him.

[Manu Ginobli's Bald Spot]

I'll throw a curveball in here: Randall Cobb.

The Falcons do need an upgrade acrosss from Roddy White. Cobb would help stretch the field for Matt Ryan, and in a division where all the teams have secondary issues, that helps greatly.

[BobLoblaw]

Gonzalez has at most one year left in him, and the Falcons have the luxury of finding his replacement here in Rudolph.

[Tom]

Torrey Smith. The Falcons need someone other than White to throw the ball to, and Smith is the best receiver on the board and a good value. Cobb has apparently been moving up in teams' boards too, but he's the kind of all purpose talent that the Falcons aren't looking for. They have a return game and a run game. Smith is more of a pure receiver who will help make White a bigger threat. With the way Gonzales looked at the end of last season, I could also see Rudolph here. I don't know if TEs need a lot of grooming time, so maybe they'll wait another year for their starter.

If the Falcons want a dominant rusher here, they're not in a good spot. Houston and all the other high values are gone. Clayborn is another big body, but won't rack up sacks. Reed will need some coaching and may not have the ideal bulk for a 4-3 end. At least not at this spot. Sheard may be a better fit, but he's even more of a reach. Even if the Falcons consider DL their top need, they've got to react to the board in front of them.

[RazorStar]

I went with Nate Solder, but I think his value is just plain higher than everyone else seems to think. One of the few good Left Tackles in this draft, he could easily replace Sam Baker on that offensive line. There are quite a few options for the Falcons though, they've always been a Sum of their Parts kind of team.

[aaah]

Green Bay expose their corners as a weakness. Brandon Harris, CB, Miami

[Ragnarok]

I think they go with Rudolph. Gonzalez has said he is retiring soon and they need to give Ryan another good throwing option. Rudolph is better value than the WRs available.

[stevenlourie]

Brooks Reed. pass rushers often go higher than they "should" in the first round and other than receiver, defensive end is their biggest need, and i can't see them reaching for a receiver like torrey smith here. reed has the motor and the character that the falcons love in a player. clayborn doesn't. he's also not as good of a pass rusher, which is what they really need. they have kroy biermann for non-passing downs, but they need a pass rushing compliment for him and a future replacement for john abraham.

[Phatal]

If the Patriots keep both second rounders, one is going to be used on offense and the other on defense. I went with Pouncey at 17 and would give them Reed here, but since they went defense at 17, I am going to vote for Derek Sherrod here.

[miamidolphin4life]

If the Patriots keep both second rounders, one is going to be used on offense and the other on defense. I went with Pouncey at 17 and would give them Reed here, but since they went defense at 17, I am going to vote for Derek Sherrod here.

You know the Falcons are on the clock right?

[Phatal]

You know the Falcons are on the clock right?

I fail. I would go with Clayborn then. Walter, can you change my pick?

[Classic Silver and Black]

Since taking Matt Ryan three years ago, the Mike Smith regime has always gone with defensive physical specimen in the first round (Peria Jerry in 2009, Weatherspoon in 2010).
I see it happening again. Their offensive line is OK and most of the skills players available here in this mock can be considered reaches, particularly considering what will be available in late round 2. Surely a nr 2 WR is the Falcons biggest need, but why reaching for Torrey Smith or Randall Cobb when you can get Leonard Hankerson or Jonathan Baldwin or Jerrel Jernigan 32 picks later?
Kyle Rudolph may look like an intriguing option, but I think the Atlanta front office will consider that no other team picking late in the 1st or early in the 2nd round needs a TE (many are mocking him to the Broncos, but they forget that John Fox dislikes receiving TEs) and so they could trade down about 15 spots, get another 2nd or 3rd rounder, and still take him.
So, in the end I think they will go defense once again. The BPA approach would suggest Adrian Clayborn and he is a physical specimen indeed, in some ways I would be surprised that he'll be still available here in the real life draft. But is he a safe pick, considering his Erb's palsy and his hit on the racist cabbie? I ain't sure he fits what Smith looks for in a first rounder, making the pick No 27 a real crap shoot.