Second City Mock 3.0

[Catalyst]

We now know Rivera is staying. No GM yet, but I have a sense whoever we hire is going to want to try and recoup that 3rd round pick and possibly a late rounder as well by trading down. Here I go that route with my 3rd mock.

I'll assume the Colts trade up to 14th overall to get Jonathan Hankins and we get their 25th overall pick along with their 3rd rounder and a 6th round pick.

1st (f/IND): Jesse Williams, NT, Alabama - This guy is a beast. He's played at the highest level in the SEC and dominated on the best defense in college football. He doesn't have the hype some of the other d-tackles do, but he's every bit as good and could even be better. A day one starter at nose tackle for us.

2nd: Dallas Thomas, OG/OT, Tennessee - We could use help at both guard and tackle and Thomas has the ability to play both, though ideally he'd start day one at right guard.

3rd (f/IND): Phillip Thomas, S, Fresno State - We need someone who can come in day one and start and that's tough in the 3rd round. It's entirely possible Thomas is gone before this pick, but if he does last into the 3rd (which is also entirely possible) he's just that kind of player.

4th: Cameron Lawrence, OLB, Mississippi State - This pick will obviously depend on what happens with Jon Beason, but if he winds up being cut or traded we'll want to bring in some depth at outside linebacker and Lawrence is a big-time sleeper prospect who has the potential to surprise in the NFL.

5th: Philip Lutzenkirchen, TE, Auburn - He'd probably go a bit higher if he hadn't missed a lot of the season with a hip injury, but here's a guy who can be our #2 TE who already has established chemistry with Cam from their time together at Auburn.

6th (f/IND): Dustin Hopkins, K, Florida State - He's not Caleb Sturgis, but we can get him 1-2 rounds later and hopefully bring some long-term stability to the kicking game.

7th: Keenan Davis, WR, Iowa - It's unlikely we're going to find a long-term starter at WR this late, but we can take a shot at a guy with good size and solid production in college in Davis. What do we really have to lose this late in the draft?

[Bwood]

Je. Williams and P. Thomas are two of my favorite prospects. So well done.

I honestly think Thomas will fly up boards and be a high 2nd rounder, though.

[Catalyst]

Yeah, you may be right.

[JawnyBlaze]

I like it well enough. I just hate the idea of dropping 11 spots and just getting a 3rd and a 6th. Surely we could get a 2nd out of that big of a drop...teams will often give a 3rd or 4th just to move 3 or 4 spots to leap a team ahead of them that might take their guy.

[chknwing]

the better scenerio is trade with Dallas, get #18 and their 3rd.

[Dash Global]

im all for any trade down. esp if fisher is off the board before 14

[carolina-chuck]

Great thinking. Colts is a team who would jump over for Hankins. I love the Jesse and Dallas picks but not so much on Phillip. If Darrick Rogers or Patton is there in the 3rd, I'd take one of them over Phillip.

[Dash Global]

Rodgers and Patton over Phillip all day.

[Growl]

Williams is really getting a lot of looks as a 3-4 guy, if you're talking about in terms of getting the most out of him.

He's really not a threat to rush the pass either as has been well stated, so I really don't know how heavily we should pursue him. Without the ability to collapse the pocket that way, it's really hard to see him becoming a truly elite player in this league someday. Not in this division, not in this league, not in the year 2013.

The years of "better suited to playing for/against the run" have come and gone.

He's got a lot of talent, and will get some looks from some teams in the 1st roun because of it, largely 3-4 teams as stated above, but I don't think we should sell out for a guy who will likely never be truly elite for us, which is what your looking for at 14.

[Growl]

ah. Just paid attention and saw you moved down. I'd take him there. Not a fan of who we get after that with the picks but okay.

[Catalyst]

Williams is really getting a lot of looks as a 3-4 guy, if you're talking about in terms of getting the most out of him.

He's really not a threat to rush the pass either as has been well stated, so I really don't know how heavily we should pursue him. Without the ability to collapse the pocket that way, it's really hard to see him becoming a truly elite player in this league someday. Not in this division, not in this league, not in the year 2013.

The years of "better suited to playing for/against the run" have come and gone.

He's got a lot of talent, and will get some looks from some teams in the 1st roun because of it, largely 3-4 teams as stated above, but I don't think we should sell out for a guy who will likely never be truly elite for us, which is what your looking for at 14.

Thing is, we've already got three good pass rushers in Johnson, Hardy, and Dwan Edwards. What we need is a big run-stuffer to occupy blockers and free those guys up in passing situations.