Three days from now, the 2014 NFL Draft will finally be here after two extra weeks of mock draft season. Draft week, however, means we will have plenty of mock drafts coming out to give us all sorts of different looks at how the first round could unfold this Thursday. Earlier today, we posted our Phinsider Community Mock Draft, adding our own entry to the mock draft mania. Continuing with our #MockMonday coverage, we now take a look at the latest 2014 NFL Mock Draft from SB Nation's Mocking the Draft.
This week, they changed it up a little bit, with Ryan Van Bibber, not Matthew Fairburn or Dan Kadar, making the selections. Van Bibber starts exactly where we would expect, with the Houston Texans selecting defensive end Jadeveon Clowney and the St. Louis Rams adding offensive tackle Jake Matthews. That's as far as we make it before the fun starts.
Van Bibber projects a trade at the third overall selection, with the Atlanta Falcons jumping up from the sixth spot to grab outside linebacker Khalil Mack in the spot originally held by the Jacksonville Jaguars. After the Cleveland Browns pick offensive tackle Greg Robinson and the Oakland Raiders add wide receiver Sammy Watkins, the Jaguars come back on the board to grab quarterback Johnny Manziel.
The next trade becomes one that is important for the Miami Dolphins, despite it not including them. Van Bibber jumps the San Francisco 49ers from the 39th position all the way up to the eighth spot, swapping picks with the Minnesota Vikings, to grab wide receiver Odell Beckham, Jr.
Why is that move important for Miami? Simple - with the 19th pick, the Vikings select quarterback Blake Bortles. Huh? Van Bibber continues the craziness that we will probably see on Thursday night by having the Vikings trade the pick they received from the 49ers, the 30th, to the Dolphins, so Minnesota comes back on the clock in the middle of the round to get the quarterback they want.
(And, on a side note, the pick of Bortles at 19 actually matches the confusing mock draft selection from Omar Kelly over the weekend in which the Dolphins land the UCF signal caller. Same pick, different team.)
Finally on the clock with the 30th selection, the Dolphins address the offensive line, as most people expect them to do during this week's Draft, but not on the edge of the line. Instead, the team looks to add an inside option, bringing UCLA guard Xavier Su'a-Filo to South Florida. Of the selection, Van Bibber explains:
I think I might have more confidence in Ryan Tannehill than anyone else in the media. But I can understand the disbelief for a guy who's already been sacked 93 times in his first two seasons. Fix the offensive line. The Dolphins could use a right tackle too, but there's more value here landing the top guard in the draft compared to any of the tackles still on the board.
Without a second round in the mock, there's no way to see exactly what the Dolphins received from the Vikings to move back from 19 to 30, but with the selection, I cannot really argue against picking Su'a-Filo. He is the top guard in this class (assuming you count Zack Martin as a tackle), and he is a great addition to the Miami offensive line. With the assumption that the Dolphins added at least another second round pick in the deal, the selection of a guard here means Miami can address tackle in the second, as well as the flexibility to go after another need - or even a luxury pick like a wide receiver or cornerback.
What do you think of Miami dropping back 11 spots, and selecting a first round guard? Would you be okay with that move on Thursday?