The past week or so has had its fair share of ups and downs if you’re a fan of professional football. One moment we have the owners approving a ratified CBA that would end the lockout. Then we hear the players didn’t like some of the ratifications the owners slipped in and wouldn’t vote on it anytime soon. Then the word spreads that the players will vote on the new CBA on Monday and that if it’s approved the NFL league season can officially get under way. Who knows, the lockout might actually be over by the time you read this article?
For those of us following the lockout and who have taken a front row seat on this rollercoaster ride of emotions we’re either fully invested and need to be caught up on every single detail or we just want to focus on other aspects of our lives, either football or non-football related, as long as the words CBA, NFLPA* and lockout are nowhere in the discussion.
If you fall into the latter group then you’ve come to the right place, as GMEN HQ is proud to bring to you another installment of ‘This Week In Mock Drafts.’ I know you’ve been waiting near your computer, hitting the refresh button repeatedly on your web browser waiting to explode with excitement for this article to finally be featured at the top of the page. Well, keep on reading for your mock draft fix, as your agonizing wait is no more…
I’ve touched upon this before but it doesn’t hurt to keep mentioning that all these 2012 NFL mock draft prognosticators keep on linking the Giant’s 2012 NFL Draft war room to linebackers. This week’s mock draft comes to us from DraftTek.com and continues with the linebacker trend, making it the 5th out of 9th mock to select a linebacker for the Giants.
The way Draft Tek comes up with their Consensus Mock Drafts is by using a computer model to make picks. This program takes into account team needs, player rankings, reaches and values; kind of like a robot Jerry Reese.
The mock draft featured on Draft Tek right now is dated July 7, 2011 and is their second consensus mock draft. Their first one had the Giants picking at 23rd overall and taking Oklahoma linebacker Travis Lewis, a name familiar to GMEN HQ readers of this feature as he was profiled as a potential 2012 draft pick in a previous installment of ‘This Week In Mock Drafts.’
This time around the power rankings have shifted and the Giants find themselves moving up in the draft and picking at 22nd overall, good for second place in the NFC East. While the Giants are picking in a different spot in the updated Draft Tek draft order they’re still picking a player at the same position. The new face entering the ‘Which linebacker will be drafted by the New York Giants in the 2012 NFL Draft?’ pool is North Carolina track team member and senior OLB Zach Brown. Brown has a Draft Tek “Reach/Value” of +0, which means he’s neither a reach or value pick but more of a needs pick.
Draft Tek also included two alternative picks for each mock draft pick and those two players for the Giants were Alabama LB Courtney Upshaw and Clemson DT Brandon Thompson.
Brown comes in weighing 230 pounds, standing 6’2” and was once clocked running a 4.28 40-yard dash. Those are some pretty mouth-watering numbers, right?
Usually you want to use a first round pick on a player who’s going to contribute in a big way as soon as possible and with the possibility that Brown might not earn a starter’s role for the Tar Heels in 2011 he might not make much of an impact during his rookie season in the NFL other than playing special teams. Of course, the Giants can always use players on special teams but would they draft a special teamer in round one? Things could change though and Brown could blow up for North Carolina and do some pretty great things if given the chance to start all year round. In only five starts last season he made 72 total tackles and added three interceptions.
Butch Davis might get Brown NFL ready and he has been named to both the 2011 Butkus Award and Bronko Nagurski Trophy pre-season watch lists. So, some people are expecting big things from him next season. With every mock draft featured on this site we have to remember that we’re talking about a draft that doesn’t take place until next year based on college players who haven’t played a meaningful down this season yet. So, Brown might be in the mix or he might become the best player in college football season or get injured and hurt his draft stock. We just don’t know.