Conventional draft wisdom says to take the best player available, but sometimes a team needs something different. With that in mind, here’s how Onion Sports predicts the first 10 picks of the NFL Draft will go:
Houston Texans: DE Jadeveon Clowney. As college football’s best defensive end and most sensual lover, Clowney is the Draft’s consensus number-one pick
St. Louis Rams: OT Greg Robinson. Although easily the most talented player available at this pick, his ability to explode out of his stance and control the line of scrimmage may make him an odd fit in the Rams’ offensive scheme
Jacksonville Jaguars: LB Khalil Mack. With their inert offense, the Jags need a player exactly like Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel
Cleveland Browns: QB Johnny Manziel. Given his ability to extend plays with his gutsiness and determination to win at all costs, Manziel has all of the intangibles teams like the Browns never think to look for
Oakland Raiders: TE Eric Ebron. The Raiders organization lacks a long-term solution at quarterback, an effective defense, a competent coaching staff, and an ownership willing to invest in the team’s future, but a 21-year-old tight end should fix all of that
Atlanta Falcons: OT Jake Matthews. After a wildly disappointing 2013, selecting a tackle in the first round is the kind of sexy pick that will fire up fans again
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: WR Sammy Watkins. With a seemingly limitless upside, Watkins is a high caliber, game-changing pass-catcher who could easily transform the Bucs from a 4-12 team to a 5-11 team
Minnesota Vikings: DT Aaron Donald would be an excellent choice here, but the Vikings could easily choose to trade and move down several picks, which would really fuck up this mock draft because none of these selections take place in a vacuum. You should know that there’s just a lot of cause-and-effect in this whole process that we simply can’t predict, so take everything you’ve read here with a sizable grain of salt
Buffalo Bills: OT Taylor Lewan. Known as a mauler with a serious mean streak, the 6’7”, 309-pound tackle will be a natural fit in Buffalo’s bar scene.
Detroit Lions: CB Darqueze Dennard. This Big Ten standout is expected to make big contributions to the Lions’ defense for the 45 minutes or so it’s on the field every game
