Mock Draft .01: Big Night For Gators

Graphic: Scott MacCord/UAA Communications

Mock Draft .01: Big Night For Gators

Thursday, April 27, 2017 | Football, Scott Carter

The NFL Draft starts tonight and our Gator-themed mock draft might surprise you.

By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – In the era of mock drafts, my philosophy is much like that of Mike Mayock of NFL.com. I will admit Mayock has probably studied more video than I have and talked to more NFL general managers, but we both like to save our mock drafts until the very end.

Mayock released his Mock Draft 1.0 – Presented by Pizza Hut – on Wednesday night, less than 24 hours before the start of this year's NFL Draft. Please check out Mayock's selections and, just for fun (take this piece of advice seriously), compare them to mine. You will likely notice some discrepancies.

First, I failed to secure a sponsor. I tried a couple of Gainesville pizza shops, hoping to lock up a deal with Leonardo's or Five Star like Mayock did with Pizza Hut, but both balked at my offer of a pair of Gators sunglasses I found on the beach last year. The glasses are still in excellent shape, so whatever.

What's more surprising, Mayock doesn't have a UF player going in the first round. Not sure what to make of that other than he must be sleep-deprived. Tried to reach him by phone late Wednesday but his secretary said he was too busy to talk, something about studying more video of Division III players whom the Browns have interest in with the No. 1 overall pick.

If you are ready for mock draft season to end and the real one to start, I apologize. Hope you have time for at least one more.

Without further ado, let's get right to it.

CLEVELAND: The Gators have never had a player selected with the No. 1 overall pick. Well, that's about to change. The Browns need a quarterback and Austin Appleby – a native Ohioan for goodness sake – is available. This is a no-brainer after Johnny Football and RG3 misfired. Appleby doesn't even have a nickname and only drinks water on game day.
SAN FRANCISCO: New head coach Kyle Shanahan is known for his prolific offenses, but he witnessed firsthand last season in Atlanta what defensive players from Florida can do. Rookies Keanu Neale and Brian Poole fit right in for the Falcons on their way to the Super Bowl. Plus, the 49ers need to get tougher and Gators linebacker Jarrad Davis is their guy. Davis blew the 49ers away when during a private workout with the club, he bench-pressed Shanahan 97 times.
CHICAGO: Mayock finally gets one right here in Ohio State cornerback Marshon Lattimore. Is Lattimore as good as Gators cornerbacks Teez Tabor and Quincy Wilson? Of course not, but it's the Bears. They usually stay away from good players other than the rare exception (i.e. Jonathan Bullard).
JACKSONVILLE: Two in a row for Mayock. The Jaguars need help at running back and LSU bulldozer Leonard Fournette is a solid choice. I have Gators running back Mark Herndon above Fournette on my draft board, but this is about fit and according to sources, Fournette can't wait to get to Florida. He remains upset at missing a trip to the Sunshine State last season when the UF-LSU game was moved to Tiger Stadium.
CLEVELAND: The Browns trade up to select North Carolina quarterback Mitchell Trubisky according to Mayock's mock draft. Obviously we don't see eye to eye here. They won't need Trubisky after taking Appleby first overall. I have the Browns trading up as well to get the No. 5 pick, but I've got them picking Texas A&M's Trevor Knight as a potential backup to Appleby, who projects as the starter next season. The Browns struck out on Johnny Football, so you've got to figure the next Aggies quarterback they take is certain to pan out.
NEW YORK JETS: Mayock likes Alabama tight end O.J. Howard in this slot. The Jets would rather have Gators junior C'yontai Lewis according to my sources, but he is not available for another year. If Howard flops, look for them to take Lewis in the 2018 draft.
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS: Gators defensive tackle Caleb Brantley is headed to Hollywood. Mayock has the Chargers selecting Stanford defensive end Solomon Thomas at No. 7, but the Chargers need to make a bigger splash in their first year back in Los Angeles since 1960, and the 307-pound Brantley outweighs Thomas by more than 30 pounds.
CAROLINA: This will be a controversial pick and provide Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless days of barking material. Mayock has another talented player from Stanford, running back Christian McCaffrey, going to the Panthers. Not happening. Word from my sources is Carolina really likes – and this is going to surprise most of you – Florida's seldom-used Herndon with this pick. Behind Fournette, McCaffrey and Florida State's Dalvin Cook are the top running backs available. Still, Herndon's wind-blown 3.62 time in the 40-yard dash at a private workout at Cam Newton's house last weekend evidently sealed the deal. They also like that he doesn't have nearly the wear and tear on his body as McCaffrey and Cook.
CINCINNATI: The Bengals need defense and have decided to use the ninth overall pick on Gators cornerback Teez Tabor. While Tabor's stock dropped after his slower-than-expected time in the 40 at the NFL combine, sources have confirmed a Cincinnati scout was charged with the timing of Tabor's sprint. He inflated Tabor's time purposely at the insistence of head coach Marvin Lewis to scare off other teams. As everyone else dropped Tabor down their draft boards, the Bengals moved him to the top.
BUFFALO: According to Mayock, the Bills will pick Alabama linebacker Reuben Foster. Good luck to Foster if that's true. He will need it. Meanwhile, the UF players informed the Bills at the combine that if Buffalo selected them, they would refuse to sign and re-enter the draft next year.
NEW ORLEANS: There was late movement from the Saints on Thursday morning. While Mayock has the Saints selecting Missouri's linebacker Charles Harris – correctly, I might add, at the start of the day – a phone call to Chad Wilson, father of Gators cornerback Quincy Wilson, changed that plan a few hours ago. New Orleans had confused Quincy Wilson with FSU receiver Bobo Wilson in their draft files. Once they realized Quincy is not 5-foot-9, 189 pounds like Bobo, they called Chad Wilson to apologize for the mix-up and to tell Quincy he is headed for N'awlins.
TENNESSEE: Mayock projects the Titans to trade the fifth overall pick to the Browns for the 12th pick, which they will use to select Washington receiver John Ross. My father always encourages me to tell the truth, so I will: I have never heard of Ross or seen him play. Mayock could be right here. My guess is the Titans will select Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett, whom Mayock has going first overall to the Browns. Of course, I confirmed earlier he missed that one.
ARIZONA: Gotta give credit where it's due. Mayock nails this one with Alabama cornerback Marlon Humphrey going to the Cardinals. I bumped into Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban at a KISS concert in Biloxi a couple of weeks ago and he told me Arizona has been on Humphrey from the start. Nice work by Mayock.
PHILADELPHIA: As spot-on as Mayock is with the 13th pick, he's way, way off on the Eagles. He has them taking Clemson receiver Mike Williams. Continuing what is an amazing run for the Gators in the draft, linebacker Alex Anzalone returns home to Pennsylvania to start his NFL career. That makes seven Gators selected in the first 14 picks. Few see this coming tonight, but it's real folks.
INDIANAPOLIS: Mayock did his homework. The Colts plan to take Tennessee defensive end Derek Barnett, which is who my sources tell me they will pick. Starting to wonder if we have some of the same sources.
BALTIMORE: I can confirm in the last 15 minutes the Ravens will select Gators defensive end Bryan Cox Jr. Like Mayock, I had them taking Temple linebacker Haason Reddick with this pick. Some consider Reddick, a former walk-on, as the best story of the draft. Not me. I think it's Herndon. So did new Temple coach Geoff Collins, UF's defensive coordinator the past two seasons. He convinced the Ravens they should go with Cox, who also has a good story and can even play fullback.
WASHINGTON: Redskins coach Jay Gruden reportedly wants UCLA defensive end Takkarist McKinley. What really matters is what kind of mood owner Daniel Snyder will be in later tonight. Mayock has McKinley sticking at this pick. Thanks to that chance encounter with Saban at the KISS concert – I tweeted some photos of us holding up our lighters during "Beth" – I can confirm it's going to be Crimson Tide defensive end Jonathan Allen. If you ask me, this could be the steal of the draft behind Tabor.
TENNESSEE: Mayock projects USC cornerback Adoree' Jackson to the Titans. Not even on their radar according to sources. The Titans will take Western Kentucky offensive lineman Forrest Lamp. Best name in the draft and an aspiring country music star, so those in Nashville can't wait to welcome Lamp to town.
TAMPA BAY: The Bucs are definitely taking a defensive back with their first-round pick for the second consecutive year. It was Gators cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III last year. Gator fans are going to like this pick. Florida safety Marcus Maye is set to rejoin his former college teammate in Tampa based on my contacts. Mayock has them selecting Ohio State's Malik Hooker.
DENVER: Wisconsin offensive tackle Ryan Ramczyk is locked in as the Broncos' pick as Mayock predicts. I don't have a lot of sources in Denver, but I just saw it on Twitter so I know it's true.
DETROIT: Thoughts and prayers are with Western Michigan receiver Corey Davis. Once again, Mayock nails this one. The Lions are taking Davis and hopefully he'll have family and friends around tonight to help him get over the disappointment.
MIAMI: Another UF player goes off the board here. While Mayock has the Dolphins using the pick on Wisconsin linebacker T.J. Watt, the younger brother of J.J. need not worry about loading up on sunscreen. It's official based on my reporting that Gators offensive lineman David Sharpe will be Florida's final pick of the first round. That gives Florida 10 of the first 22 picks, and matches the school record for most players selected in a single draft.

As a first-time mock drafter, really look forward to watching the first round of the draft later as Gators fly off the board. Of course, this is just the first day of the three-day bonanza.

The second and third rounds are Friday and Rounds 4 to 7 on Saturday. Joey Ivie, Ahmad Fulwood and dental student-turned-kicker Neil MacInnes are other Gators who will hear their named called on Friday.

On second thought, maybe MacInnes has the best story of the draft.