This Week In Mock Drafts
It’s another Monday and that means you lucky readers are once again in for a treat as GMEN HQ is proud, hopefully, to present another installment of ‘This Week In Mock Drafts.’
We’ve got our first repeat in today’s installment, as I’ll be taking a look at NFL Mocks’ Reggie McColgan and his updated NFL 2012 Mock Draft. I guess you could call it his 2012 NFL mock draft 2.0.
In his first mock draft, dated June 29, 2011, McColgan had the Giants taking OLB Travis Lewis from Oklahoma with the 31st overall pick in the 2012 Draft. When it comes to his mock draft 2.0, he still has the Giants picking 31st but by the time the Giants pick, Lewis is off the board (27th to the Browns).
Not only does McColgan’s updated mock draft, dated July 15, 2011, have the Giants picking somebody different but he’s also expanded it to two rounds. Sure, that involves more writing by me but it’s all in the game, yo.
Are you ready for some 2012 NFL mock draft selections? I bet you are! Let’s do this…
With the 31st overall pick in the 2012 NFL mock draft, the New York Giants, according to McColgan, will be selecting offensive tackle Mike Adams out of the Ohio State University. This isn’t the first time Adams has made an appearance in the online world of ‘This Week In Mock Drafts’ here at GMEN HQ. All the way back in the June 6th edition of this feature, SI.com’s Andrew Perloff had the Giants taking Adams at 20th overall in his 2012 mock draft. Instead of me re-hashing the same thoughts about Adams, click on this link and it’ll take you to that article. Just don’t expect any tattoos out of the deal.
Since this version of McColgan’s mock draft is two rounds deep that means the Giants are on the clock once again; this time at the 62nd overall. So, who does McColgan have going to the Giants in the 2nd round of the 2012 draft? That would be another offensive lineman: Levy Adcock from Oklahoma State.
Other than linebacker, offensive line is the Giants biggest need, and that has been evident in the mocks I’ve featured as all the prognosticators making mock selections for the Giants have picked either a linebacker or an offensive lineman every time except once.
The current Giants offensive line is full of sturdy, reliable, talented and hard working players. But it’s also one that is aging. Other than Chris Snee, the bedrock of the line, there isn’t another starter on the O-Line who will be sticking around for a long time. And the back-ups are either unproven or injury-prone. So, of course you’d think the Giants would look to the future and start bringing in players high in the draft to be future anchors of the O-Line. But with Jerry Reese and the Giants it’s all about best player available, as evidenced with the selection of cornerback Prince Amukamara in the first round of this year’s draft.
What if things unfolded the way McColgan thinks they might and the Giants do go O-Line, O-Line in the first two rounds? We already know what they’d be getting out of Adams, who fell from 23 to the 31 between McColgan’s two mock drafts, but what about Adcock?
In Adcock, the Giants would be getting a 6’6, 322 pound, versatile player who could play either guard or tackle due to his ability to learn quickly. Going into the 2010 NCAA college football season Adcock had limited experience on the field but won a starting job on the offensive line for Oklahoma State during his Junior season and went on to start every game last season. Not only was he dependable but also pretty dominating, as he didn’t give up a single sack all season long. His outstanding 2010 campaign earned him first-team All-Big 12 honors from both the coaches and the AP and has already been named to the 2011 watch lists for both the Outland Trophy and Rotary Lombardi Award.
A player like that, with his size, skill set, and potential, from a relatively big school shouldn’t slip to the bottom of the second round though and it’s unlikely that Adcock will still be sitting at the bottom of the second round next season. However, some teams might pass on him based on only one year’s work. That’s why we still have to wait for both the NCAA and NFL seasons to be completed until we can really start to see what players being bandied about now will still be talked about as we get closer to the 2012 NFL Draft. Until then it’s just all fun and speculation.