It is never too early for a look at the NFL Draft. Our newest scout Brian Higgins brings us his early look at the 2011 NFL Draft!2011 NFL Mock Draft:
*Predicted order of finish for 2010 NFL season*
1 Jacksonville Marcell Dareus DE Alabama
Easily one of the worst defenses in the league, desperately need D-line help
2 Cleveland Robert Quinn DE North Carolina
Same as Jax, the Browns have such a great need on their defensive line
3 St. Louis A.J. Green WR Georgia
2010 #1 overall Bradford will have a tough time with no one to throw to all year
4 Kansas City Jake Locker QB Washington
Hard to pass up Locker if available, can’t hurt to challenge Matt Cassel a bit
5 NE (f. Oak) Julio Jones WR Alabama
Randy Moss’ age and Wes Welker’s tough return from knee surgery make this an easy pick
6 Buffalo Andrew Luck QB Stanford
A glaring need they ignored in the 2010 draft.
7 Arizona Anthony Castonzo OT Boston College
Defense won’t fall as far as many think, but offense doesn’t have many playmakers
8 Tampa Bay Patrick Peterson CB LSU
It’s all about defense for TB, so they’ll be looking for BPA
9 Seattle Ryan Mallett QB Arkansas
Seattle has too many needs as a team. But when QB is a need, that is priority
10 Carolina Marvin Austin DT North Carolina
Needs a bruiser at DT, has a few to pick from at this pick
11 Chicago Gabe Carimi OT Wisconsin
Bears will hope a quality OT is around at #11 so they can help Cutler survive at QB
12 Denver Adrian Clayborn DE Iowa
BPA Pick. Easily the best player available for the Broncos
13 Detroit Aaron Williams CB Texas
Jim Schwartz has the Lions defense very close to consistency, and only needs a few more pieces
14 Tennessee Ras-I Dowling CB Virginia
Titans have had a rough few years on defense, and can use help in the secondary
15 Philadelphia Joseph Barksdale OT LSU
It will be a tough first year with Kevin Kolb as starter, and they’ll grab a solid OT in Barksdale
16 NY Giants Cameron Heyward DT Ohio State
DT from Ohio State falls a bit farther than expected, and the Giants can’t pass him up
17 Pittsburgh Jonathan Baldwin WR Pitt
The homegrown WR from the U of Pitt would be a great fit for the Steelers and their aging receivers
18 Washington Michael Floyd WR Notre Dame
Floyd is an explosive receiver who would be a great fit with QB McNabb
19 Cincinnati Mark Ingram RB Alabama
If Cedric Benson continues to cause trouble off the field, this could be a great safety net down the road
20 Houston Deunta Williams FS North Carolina
Williams should have an fantastic year as a senior at UNC
21 Atlanta Allen Bailey DT Miami (FL)
One of the weakest parts of the Falcons team is their defensive line
22 San Francisco Prince Amukamara CB Nebraska
This 49ers team is almost there, and just needs a bit more impact on defense
23 Minnesota Jurrell Casey DT USC
Need to find a replacement for Pat Williams
24 Miami Bruce Carter OLB North Carolina
They will be getting a lot of talent at outside linebacker with Carter
25 New England Greg Romeus DE Pitt
A hardworker with a lot of upside and great IQ for the game
26 New Orleans Sam Acho DE Texas
Acho is a very physical DE, should add a lot of dimension to their pass-rush
27 NY Jets Jack Crawford DE Penn State
The Jets will be adding a versatile lineman to their already dynamic defense
28 Indianapolis Mike Pouncey OC Florida
Pouncey could be a possible replacement to Jeff Saturday, who is getting up there in age
29 Dallas Clint Boling OT Georgia
Clint Boling might just be the BPA for the Cowboys at this spot in the draft
30 Baltimore Brandon Harris CB Miami (FL)
Ravens should get a lot of value out of Harris at the end of the first round
31 Green Bay Rashad Carmichael CB Virginia Tech
If Carmichael lives up to potential and comes out a year early, the Packers secondary needs the help
32 San Diego Terrance Toliver WR LSU
This pick could all depend on how the Vincent Jackson situation plays out


































































































































































I can say without reservation that Marcel Dareus is the real deal on the defensive line. He’s the very definition of a “hybrid.” He fits the mold of the prototypical 3-4 right defensive end, but also has the skills to dominate as a one-gap tackle in the 4-3. Either way, when’s he’s not manhandling O-linemen at the point of attack, he’ll be shooting into the backfield for TFLs. As a die-hard Alabama fan who lives only about 35 minutes from Tuscaloosa, I think I’ve seen enough of this guy to give a pretty reputable assessment of his abilitites.
*when he’s not manhandling* You have to love inadvertent apostrophes.