The 2011 NFL Draft is just over three weeks away, which means 2011 NFL Mock Drafts are being produced at a fast and furious pace. Todd McShay released his latest mock draft via video and somehow he once again has LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson falling to the 49ers at pick number seven. I won't quibble with that kind of fall, but it baffles me that a guy many consider the best overall player in the draft is slipping this far. Here is your top six leading to Peterson at seven.
1. Carolina Panthers - Cam Newton, QB
2. Denver Broncos - Marcell Dareus, DT
3. Buffalo Bills - Von Miller, OLB
4. Cincinnati Bengals - A.J. Green, WR
5. Arizona Cardinals -
Blaine Gabbert, QB
6. Cleveland Browns - Robert Quinn, OLB/DE
One guy who could potentially rise up to that Cleveland pick is North Carolina OLB/DE Robert Quinn. I say this because of the injury concerns about Da'Quan Bowers. There are a lot of different reports about him, but it sounds like he could potentially fit in as a defensive in a 4-3, which is the Browns new defense. He might be a little undersized, but maybe he plans on beefing up a bit at the next level. There's some concern about the tumor he had removed after high school, but it hasn't been a physical issue since then.
The more players that can get considered by the top six, the better chance some impressive talent (namely Patrick Peterson) could fall to the 49ers. There's always the potential for trades from outside the top six. However, for now we might just see PP dropping just enough.