2016 NFL Mock Draft 4.0: Round 1
26.) Seattle Seahawks – OT Taylor Decker, Ohio St (6’7 | 310 | 5.16)
Bradley Sowell, Terry Poole, J’Marcus Webb, and Garry Gilliam are the tackles projected to fight it out for a starting gig at not one, but both starting tackle spots for the Seahawks. Russell Wilson is fast, but his life may be in jeopardy with that group of mediocre blockers protecting the edges of the Seahawks o-line.
Decker is an underrated tackle prospect who I think has the ability to develop into a starting caliber tackle in the NFL, but it may take him a season or two before he’s ready. In the meantime he can be a successful guard, which would also fill a need for the Seahawks depleted o-line.
Decker has been a team captain for the Buckeyes and has all the tools necessary to start somewhere on an NFL offensive line. He’ll need to improve his footwork to play on the left-side and his strength to succeed on the right, but his nasty demeanor, polished technique, and overall football awareness should make him a solid starter at guard until he’s ready to move outside to tackle.
27.) Green Bay Packers – LB Reggie Ragland, Alabama (6’1 | 247 | 4.62)
I hope Ragland is drafted earlier than this and doesn’t end up in Green Bay. He’s a perfect fit for what the Packers need though and would allow them to move Clay Matthews back outside where he can go back to terrorizing QBs. Ragland is a classic run-thumper inside who should be able to step in as a rookie and improve the Packers run defense. Moving Matthews back outside will improve the Packers pass rush as well. The Packers will still need to find a replacement at nose tackle for the retired B.J. Raji, but this is a deep draft for d-linemen.
28.) Kansas City Chiefs – CB William Jackson III, Houston (6’0 | 189 | 4.35)
The Chiefs lost their big press corner Sean Smith in free agency to the Raiders this off-season but get a potential replacement in Jackson. He’s a very aggressive corner who uses his size well to disrupt receivers at the line of scrimmage and has the speed to recover if beat off the line. Jackson needs to improve his technique against double-moves, but has good ball skills (5 INTs, 23 pass breakups in 2015) and fits well into Kansas City’s press coverage scheme. The combination of Jackson and last year’s defensive rookie of the year Marcus Peters could give the Chiefs one of the best corner duos in the AFC over the next couple of seasons.
Next: Picks 29-32