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It’s mock season as the 2016 NFL Draft draws closer by the day and teams scramble to vet their potential future employees. Everyone likes to consider themselves an expert, but, as the mocks clearly demonstrate, not everyone gets it right. In fact, many opinions are all over the map when it comes to predicting which franchise will land whom.
Thanks to the good people at SB Nation, who aggregated a slew of close to 60 mocks nationwide, we can get an overview of where everyone stands in their prognostications. Of those mock drafts, 20 SEC players make an appearance as first-round selections, including eight who show up on in least 80 percent of the faux drafts.
Here is a look at where those eight SEC players fall in the draft, according to their average placement on the 57 mocks we analyzed.
LT LAREMY TUNSIL, OLE MISS
Average draft slot: No. 1.3, Tennessee Titans
Predicted pick range: 1-11
Notable picks at No. 3: The Big Lead, The Score, Metro U.S.
Skinny: How sure are the pundits that Tunsil will go to the Titans with the first overall pick? The Ole Miss left tackle appears as the No. 1 choice on all but four of the 57 mocks we surveyed. The most common non-No. 1 pick has Tunsil going at No. 3 to the San Diego Chargers, but Pro Football Focus, apparently, isn’t sold on the idea of Tunsil in Nashville protecting Marcus Mariota. The stat-crunching website, instead, likes Tunsil to slide all the way to the Chicago Bears at No. 11.
CB VERNON HARGREAVES III, FLORIDA
Average draft slot: No. 9.4, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Predicted pick range: 5-25
Notable picks at No. 5: Rivals, Atlanta Journal Constitution, 247Sports, NFL.com (Charles Davis)
Skinny: Hargreaves is considered one of the top defensive backs, but where he lands is disputed. The Florida cornerback can go anywhere between Nos. 5 and 25, but the consensus suggests he’ll fall to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at No. 9. Only one mock — College Spun’s — didn’t list Hargreaves in the first round.
WR LAQUON TREADWELL, OLE MISS
Average draft slot: No. 14.2, Oakland Raiders/Los Angeles Rams
Predicted pick range: 4-27
Notable picks at No. 6: USA Today, Pro Football Focus, Draft Kings
Skinny: The wide receiver position isn’t a pressing issue for Oakland, which already has Amari Cooper, but adding Treadwell could give up-and-coming Raiders quarterback Derek Carr two of the most dynamic pass-catchers in the game. No experts actually picked the Ole Miss wide receiver to join the Raiders, so, we’ll say Treadwell slides one more spot to the Los Angeles Rams at No. 15 — based on the averages.
We’d be surprised, however, if the top receiver in the draft slid that far. Going to Baltimore at No. 6 was the preferred landing spot among those who tabbed Treadwell as a top-10 pick.
DL A’SHAWN ROBINSON, ALABAMA
Average draft slot: No. 15.4, Los Angeles Rams/Detroit Lions
Predicted pick range: 9-29
Notable picks at No. 11: NFL.com (Charles Davis), NFL.com (Lance Zierlein), Pro Football Weekly, NESN
Skinny: Robinson looks to be the Alabama player taken, appearing on all but four mocks. Throwing out an average draft spot of 15.4, Robinson appears destined to go at No. 11 or 12 to the Chicago Bears or Saints, respectively, per the 21 mocks that listed him heading to one of those franchises.
OLB REGGIE RAGLAND, ALABAMA
Average draft slot: 18.1, Indianapolis Colts/Buffalo Bills
Predicted pick range: 8-28
Notable picks at No. 17: Fox Sports, CBS Sports (Pete Prisco), Rivals
Skinny: Georgia outside linebacker Leonard Floyd might make a better pick at No. 18 with Indianapolis looking for an edge rusher, but the Colts could do worse by going with Ragland. He falls here by the averages, but it’s more likely that Ragland finds a home in the AFC East a pick or two later at No. 19 or No. 20 with the Buffalo Bills or New York Jets. That is, if the Atlanta Falcons don’t snag him at No. 17, as 14 pundits seem to think.
DL ROBERT NKEMDICHE, OLE MISS
Average draft slot: 21.2, Washington/Houston Texans
Predicted pick range: 3-31
Notable picks at No. 19: Sports Illustrated, CBS Sports, SB Nation, Real Football Network
Skinny: No one seems to know where Nkemdiche will be selected. It could be anywhere between picks No. 3 and 31 or not at all, according to the prognosticators. Removing the averages from the equation, most experts see him heading to Rex Ryan’s lair in Buffalo with the No. 19 overall selection. That’s not far off the national mock average of 21.2.
DL JARRAN REED, ALABAMA
Average draft slot: 22.3, Houston Texans
Predicted pick range: 12-31
Notable picks at No. 21: USA Today, CBS Sports, Rivals, San Diego Times Union
Teams seeking defensive line help certainly have Reed on their radar, although, it’s likely that he joins the logjam of his pass-rushing peers and is drafted somewhere in the 20s. The averages suggest Houston at No. 22, providing the Texans with another defensive weapon. Reed is a popular pick at No. 21 to Washington. There’s a small group of five mocks that think New Orleans will take him at No. 12.
OLB LEONARD FLOYD, GEORGIA
Average draft slot: 22.3, Houston Texans/Minnesota Vikings
Predicted pick range: 9-29
Notable picks at No. 9: Draft Kings, Walter Football
Floyd strangely earns the same average draft position as Reed (No. 22.3), but appears on seven fewer mocks, giving the edge to the Alabama defensive lineman.
Floyd, however, is a hot commodity as an outside edge presence and could fit plenty of teams’ needs, such as the Jets’ at No. 20 — the most popular destination among pundits. He appears to be a late first-round pick, but, according to some experts, could be stolen at No. 9 by Tampa Bay.
THE REST
TE HUNTER HENRY, ARKANSAS
Predicted pick range: 25-31, 17 mocks
DE JONATHAN BULLARD, FLORIDA
Predicted pick range: 17-30, 12 mocks
C RYAN KELLY, ALABAMA
Predicted pick range: 18-31, 8 mocks
OT SHON COLEMAN, AUBURN
Predicted pick range: 26-31, 7 mocks
DT CHRIS JONES, MISSISSIPPI STATE
Predicted pick range: 12-31, 5 mocks
RB DERRICK HENRY, ALABAMA
Predicted pick range: 22-31, 5 mocks.
OL VADAL ALEXANDER, LSU
Predicted pick range: 23-31, 3 mocks
CB RASHARD ROBINSON, LSU
Predicted pick range: 25, 1 mock
LT JERALD HAWKINS, LSU
Predicted pick range: 28, 1 mock
S KEANU NEAL, FLORIDA
Predicted rick range: 29, 1 mock
DB CYRUS JONES, ALABAMA
Predicted pick range: 30, 1 mock
OL GERMAIN IFEDI, TEXAS A&M
Predicted pick range: 31, 1 mock
Chris Wuensch is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers South Carolina and Tennessee.
