NFL Mock Draft 2.0 – Rounds 4-7

Round 7

216.) Texans: G Kadeem Edwards, Tennessee St (6’4, 309)  – Long armed guard who helped his stock at the Senior Bowl, but didn’t show much athleticism at the combine. Will give the Texans some interior line depth in the short-term and has starter potential if he can improve his technique.

217.) Redskins: ILB Khari Fortt, California (6’2, 246) – Better athlete than football player at this point, but has a very good speed / strength ratio and could eventually become a solid 3-4 ILB or 4-3 WILL. The Redskins re-signed ILBs Perry Riley and Darryl Sharpton, but they could use some depth. Fortt should be a solid special teams player while he improves his technique at linebacker.

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218.) Browns: WR Michael Campanaro, Wake Forest (5’10, 191) – Classic slot receiver with good hands, surprising strength and elusiveness on underneath routes. Campanero could give the Browns what they thought they were getting when they signed Devone Bess.

219.) Raiders: CB Bene Benwikere, San Jose St (5’11, 195) – Good cover guy with solid instincts and ball skills, but a liability against the run and can be dominated physically by bigger receivers. Benwikere can contribute in sub packages off the bat, but it will probably take a season or two before he is ready for anything more than that.

220.) Falcons: QB Jeff Matthews, Cornell (6’4, 223) – Tall, cerebral QB who has a similar skill-set to Matt Ryan. Matthews has ideal size, a big arm, he’s accurate, and has good leadership potential (3-time captain). The main problems are that he’s a statue in the pocket and hasn’t played against anything close to NFL competition coming from the Ivy league.

221.) Buccaneers: G Kevin Danser, Stanford (6’5, 312) – Good size, decent lateral movement and a mean streak. There were times on tape that I liked him more than linemate David Yankey (2nd round pick). The Bucs need as much depth at guard as they can get in case Nicks can’t recover as planned or they have another staff infection outbreak.

222.) Jaguars: TE Colt Lyerla, Oregon (6’5, 250) – Troubled tight-end who left Oregon during the season for “personal reasons” and then got arrested for cocaine possession. Lyerla has legitimate first round talent, but concern about his maturity and off-field problems could keep him out of the draft all together. Without much talent at TE on the roster it might make sense to take to take a risk on the talented Lyerla. If he can get his head on straight he could be an All-Pro. If not he could be out of the league in a year or two. It’s a big gamble, but that’s what the 7th round is for. Lyerla impressed physically at the combine finishing near the top in every workout except the bench, but most rumors about his interviews were negative.

223.) Vikings: WR Ryan Grant, Tulane (6’0, 199) – Might have the best hands in the draft, but choked at the combine dropping multiple passes in the receiver drills. Grant doesn’t have great speed or athleticism, but he’s strong and can catch anything near him. His combine performance dropped his stock a round or two but I still think he will be a solid possession receiver in the NFL.

224.) Bills: OLB Denicos Allen, Michigan St (5’11, 220) –  If Allen were a few inches taller and 10-15 pounds heavier he’d be a day 2 pick. He’s a heck of a football player. Allen is very fast for an LB (4.5ish), has great instincts, and is a sure tackler despite his small frame. He’s also a violent blitzer and good in coverage. Allen is never going to get any taller, but he’s about the same size as former Broncos LB Wesley Woodyard (6’0, 230) who has been an excellent weak side linebacker. Allen would make an ideal back-up for Kiko Alonzo at WLB in the Bills new 4-3 scheme and will be a demon on special teams.

225.) Giants: S Sean Parker, Washington (5’10, 193) – The Giants lost strong safety Ryan Mundy to the Bears in the off-season and grab a depth replacement in Parker. He’s undersized but strong in run support and has had some highlight reel hits during his college career. His height limits his coverage ability but he has good hands if he can get to the ball (11 Ints last 3 seasons). Parker should be a solid gunner on special teams and could surprise on defense if given the chance.

226.) Rams: DE Zach Moore, Concordia (6’5, 269) – Small school prospect with great physical tools, but raw technique. Moore has an intriguing combination of size, agility and strength but would be making a big jump up in competition from DII Concordia University. Moore had 33 sacks in 33 games in his college career and flashed natural pass rush ability while being a solid run stopper. Moore needs a lot of technique work and needs to get stronger, but has more upside than most of the D-lineman taken on day 3 of the draft. The Rams upgraded their DT depth with the signing of Alex Carrington and now they get some depth at DE.

227.) Lions: K Chris Boswell, Rice (6’2, 185) – David Akers was a disaster for the Lions last year. He had the 3rd lowest accuracy on field goal attempts despite the fact that the Lions play indoors and he was perfect on his 50 yard+ kicks (3-3). Akers also lost kick-off duties to punter Sam Martin. It’s time for a change and the Lions grab the #1 kicker in the draft in Boswell. Boswell has a big leg, he made 13 field goals of over 50 yards and three of those were over 55 yards.

228.) Titans: RB Damien Williams, Oklahoma (5’11, 222) – Had the best “Speed Score” at the combine and that should be enough to get Williams drafted since their has been some positive correlation between the Football Outsiders stat and NFL success. Williams doesn’t have the vision to be a between the tackles runner, but he is dangerous outside and has flashy moves in space. He’s also a good receiver out of the backfield and would be a nice complement to Shonne Green.

229.) Cowboys: WR Cody Latimore, Indiana (6’2, 215) – Fits the WR profile (6’2, 200) that the Cowboys target in drafts. Big receiver who was productive as a junior (72, 1096, 9) but probably should have stayed in school one more year to improve the finer points of his game. Lattimer has good (not great) speed and has shown great hands at times but also drops some easy ones. His route-running needs work.

230.) Steelers: RB Storm Johnson, UCF 6’0, 209) – Good size, agility, toughness, vision, hands… Underrated back whose main flaw is that he’s a little slow (4.6). He also needs work as a pass blocker, but Johnson could be a very productive NFL back if he ends up in the right scheme. Johnson gives the Steelers a backup for Bell with more upside (and better durability) then Isaac Redmond.