The NFL Draft is still a few months away, but the Mock drafts continue to pour in. The latest is from Alex Groberman of Opposing Views. He has the Tampa Bay Buccaneers taking LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne with the fifth overall pick.
This probably the purest match you’ll see early in the 2012 NFL Draft. The Bucs clearly need someone in light of Aqib Talib being Aqib Talib and Ronde Barber’s battle with time, and nobody in this draft is better at shutting down his opponents than Claiborne.
Next are the Jaguars, and Groberman has them taking pass rush extraordinaire Quinton Coples from North Carolina.
The Jags have too many holes to count. Fortunately, the blueprint for winning in the AFC South has been created by the Houston Texans. Fill the holes on the defensive line, have young and athletic guys who can pressure the Peyton Manning/Andrew Lucks of the world, and then build your offense through free agency. Coples fills a major need, he’ll be a good piece to build around for years to come, and he’ll most likely fall right into this team’s lap at No. 7.
Finally the Dolphins, and offensive tackle Riley Reiff from Iowa.
The Dolphins need a number of things too, but they don’t need them as desperately as the Jags do. There is a lot of talk about Miami doing something crazy in an effort to move up to No. 1 and nab Andrew Luck but, at this point, it’s all rumor. Given how disastrous the squad currently is at right tackle, shoring up the offensive line seems to make a lot of sense.
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