The pro day season has ended for many major colleges and universities. Now the teams must go over the films and scouting reports of every player they are interested in before they hand in their pick at the 2012 NFL Draft. All the Florida teams have picks in the top eight of the draft, so special attention will be paid in the Sunshine State.
For the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the thought was that Morris Claiborne of LSU would be a slam dunk for them. But in the most recent SBNation mock draft, Claiborne is selected at No. 3 by the Minnesota Vikings. Which would leave the Buccaneers at No. 5 to draft running back Trent Richardson of Alabama.
If Kalil were still available here, the Buccaneers would have a tough decision to make. They have a left tackle in Donald Penn, who signed a six-year deal in 2010. On the other side, they have Jeremy Trueblood who is terrible and entering the last year of a two-year contract extension. Ultimately, I doubt Kalil gets this far down the board. His talent might lure a team up, like the Rams, to the fourth spot if he falls past Minnesota. But Richardson is not a bad pick at all here, and gives Tampa's offense an excellent running game to complement the addition of Vincent Jackson as their top receiver.
Not a bad choice of players, Richardson is a great running back and can make the adjustment to the NFL right away. And while a pick on the defense would certainly help the Buccaneers improve under first year coach Greg Schiano.
For Jacksonville Jaguars, the question is simple. Do you build the offensive line to help protect whoever leads the offense, or give the leader a new weapon? This mock draft states that the Jaguars will draft Oklahoma State wide receiver Justin Blackmon.
The Jaguars signed Laurent Robinson, but with just one productive year, he could be primed for disappointment or the top bargain in free agency. Either way, adding a second receiver helps their offense and whatever quarterback ends up ostensibly running it, Blaine Gabbert or Chad Henne.
If the Jags are going to try and build around Gabbert, an offensive line choice would be the safe pick, but drafting a wide receiver could provide the Jaguars some more offensive firepower to expand their offense.
As for the Miami Dolphins there are a lot of directions they could go in selecting their newest player. The SBNation Mock Draft has them selecting North Carolina defensive end Quinton Coples.
After dealing away Brandon Marshall, Miami may be forced to give Michael Floyd some consideration here. Drafting Coples gives their defense, which is making the switch to a 4-3, another pass rusher on the outside.
Coples has a lot of ability and the Dolphins could use another rusher off the edge.
The NFL Draft is scheduled to begin on Thursday April 26 on ESPN.
For more on the Jacksonville Jaguars, visit Big Cat Country. For more on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, visit Bucs Nation. For more on the Miami Dolphins, visit The Phinsider. For more on all of the Florida teams, stay tuned to SB Nation Tampa Bay.