We've done this before, but I thought it was time to bring it back - so welcome to our second FanSpeak.com "On The Clock" Mock Draft catch-all thread. If you haven't already found the FanSpeak site, it's an addictive way to mock the 2014 NFL Draft. Basically, it's a quick, easy, and fun way to simulate the Draft, with the capability to pick one team and conduct one to seven rounds of picks.
You can check out the On The Clock simulator right here.
There's also the option to use the Premium version of the simulator, which costs a one-time $4.95 fee, while giving you the ability to conduct trades throughout the mock, change or customize the big board you will use for your rankings, and more. The Premium site can be found here.
I used the premium option in my most recent exercise on the FanSpeak mock, specifically to take a look at trading back in the first round and grabbing some extra picks. I only mocked two rounds for the Miami Dolphins, but here's how they went:
Pre Draft:
Before the start of the first round, I had two trade options offered to me. The first was a move up the board to the 13th overall pick, sending the St. Louis Rams the Dolphins' first and second round choices. The other as from the Carolina Panthers giving Miami their first- and second-round picks in exchange for the 19th selection. I declined the Rams offer because I did not want to give up the second round choice.
I strongly considered the Panthers' offer, but in the end, did not pull the trigger simply because I wanted to see how the board fell before I made a decision on what I would do.
Round 1:
Here's a quick look at the first round picks, prior to Miami:
1. Houston Texans - Johnny Manziel, quarterback
2. St. Louis Rams - Jake Matthews, tackle
3. Jacksonville Jaguars - Anthony Barr, outside linebacker
4. Cleveland Browns - Blake Bortles, quarterback
5. Oakland Raiders - Khalil Mack, outside linebacker
6. Atlanta Falcons - Jadeveon Clowney, defensive end
7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Sammy Watkins, wide receiver
8. Minnesota Vikings - Teddy Bridgewater, quarterback
9. Buffalo Bills - Ha'Sean Clinton-Dix, safety
10. Detroit Lions - Greg Robinson, tackle
11. Tennessee Titans - Calvin Pryor, safety
12. New York Giants - Taylor Lewan, tackle
13. St. Louis Rams - Dee Ford, outside linebacker
14. Chicago Bears - Aaron Donald, defensive tackle
15. Pittsburgh Steelers - Zack Martin, tackle
16. Dallas Cowboys - Louis Nix III, defensive tackle
17. Baltimore Ravens - Mike Evans, wide receiver
18. New York Jets - Davante Adams, wide receiver
The board fell pretty much how I assumed it would, at least when it came to offensive linemen. The Dolphins sitting at 19 are looking to either reach for an offensive lineman they could theoretically get later in the Draft, or they need to consider some other position - especially with tight end Eric Ebron and linebacker C.J. Mosley still sitting on the board. Like I said at the beginning of this article, I was looking to trade back from the start, so I was not really worried about making a choice here.
At this point, I started looking for a trade partner. I first offered the Cleveland Browns the 19th pick for their 26th pick and either their second or third round picks. No deal. Tried the same thing with the San Diego Chargers. No deal for the 25th pick. The New Orleans Saints, however, were willing to deal, sending me their first (27th) and third round pick in exchange for the 19th selection.
Continuing the first round, now to the Dolphins' 27th pick:
19. New Orleans Saints - Darqueze Dennard, cornerback
20. Arizona Cardinals - Derek Carr, quarterback
21. Green Bay Packers - Eric Ebron, tight end
22. Philadelphia Eagles - Ryan Shazier, outside linebacker
23. Kansas City Chiefs - Kelvin Benjamin, wide receiver
24. Cincinnati Bengals - Lamarcus Joyner, safety
25. San Diego Chargers - Kyle Fuller, cornerback
26. Cleveland Browns - Justin Gilbert, cornerback
At this point, I'm very happy. Not only did I trade back and pick up an extra third round pick, but Mosley is still sitting on the board at 27. It did not take me long to decide to pull the trigger on that selection.
27. Miami Dolphins - C.J. Mosley, linebacker
The rest of the first round picks were:
28. Carolina Panthers - Brandin Cooks, wide receiver
29. New England Patriots - Timmy Jernigan, defensive tackle
30. San Francisco 49ers - Ra'Shede Hageman, defensive tackle
31. Denver Broncos - David Yankey, guard
32. Seattle Seahawks - Jordan Matthews, wide receiver
Round 2:
Without going pick through pick of the second round, we will jump to the Dolphins' 50th overall selection (to see the full draft picks, you can click here). When Miami came up on the clock again, I immediately started looking to trade again. This time, however, my goal was to use the two third round draft choices I had to add another second round pick. I was essentially looking to add some flexibility to the Draft, knowing I still had to address the offensive line somehow.
This time the Panthers were willing to play, giving me the 60th overall selection for the two third round picks. That meant, I now had both the 50th and 60th picks, and was on the clock for the first of those.
50. Miami Dolphins - Joel Bitonio, tackle
There were a couple of other options here, but I wanted to make sure I landed an offensive lineman here, filling that need. When the 60th pick rolled around, those options were still on the table, and I really considered selecting tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins or wide receiver Donte Moncrief here, but in the end, decided to take a flyer on a player who, a few weeks ago was considered a mid-first round pick until injury concerns popped up.
60. Miami Dolphins - Cyrus Kouandjio, tackle
Doubling up on offensive linemen in the first round would let the Dolphins slide Bitonio into a guard position, where he would likely have more success at the NFL level, and gives the team a tackle for the right side of the line. Kouandjio may take some development time, or may need to heal if his knees are still a concern (though Dr. James Andrews recently said they were fine), but picking him at 60 may be a steal.
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Now, it's your turn. You don't have to give nearly the details I did, but let's see what you can do for the Dolphins. You can do a one-round mock, or you can post a seven-round selection. Just leave a comment below with your results, and feel free to discuss my results, as well as each other's.
Enjoy.