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The 2015 Niners Nation community mock draft continues as we move on to picks four, five and six. The draft got off to a surprising start when Marcus Mariota went No. 1 overall. If that happened in real life, there is a good chance the Titans make a trade with somebody who wants Jameis Winston. We are not allowing trades here in part because it is not a complete draft. I prefer keeping things at least relatively simply.
Things settle down a little bit today with Winston coming off the board. The most logical of picks today is probably Kevin White to the Raiders. They desperately need receivers for Derek Carr, and White has emerged as a favorite of many. On to the picks!
1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon
2. Tennessee Titans - Leonard Williams, DT, USC
3. Jacksonville Jaguars - Dante Fowler, Jr., OLB/DE, Florida
With the fourth pick of the NN community mock draft, Mark Balliet and the Oakland Raiders select...Kevin White, WR, West Virginia
Alternative: WR Amari Cooper, QB Jameis Winston
Understanding the Raiders severe lack of talent at WR and an inability to trade down, it was always going to come down to White or Cooper. Winston falling into my lap at four was intriguing as I believe he is a much more polished and NFL ready QB than Mariota, but I believe Derek Carr showed enough potential in his first year in the NFL as well as his game tape from College (He was my top ranked QB last year).
White is a supremely gifted athlete with great hands and a fire under him that I can't help but love. He's big at 6'3, fast as he ran a 4.35 forty-yard dash, and reminds me very much of Julio Jones. He confidently catches the ball away from his body and uses his huge body to shield off defenders from making a play on the ball. White's unique ability to go up for the ball packaged with his willingness as a blocker and good instincts in the open field make White a great prospect and one that the Raiders should not pass up on.
Two things that concerned me while watching White's tape were his inability to fight through the jam of a bigger CB and his lack of polish in his route-running. Despite his huge body and size, White sometimes struggled to accelerate off the line while being jammed and that could be a problem when he faces the CB's in the AFCW such as Aqib Talib, Marcus Cooper and Sean Smith. He also occasionally runs sloppy routes and relies too much on his natural ability rather than on technique.
With the fifth pick of the NN community mock draft, TopFlightSecurity and Washington select...Vic Beasley, OLB, Clemson
I must admit this pick is based off my view of team needs for Washington which are OLB, OL, S as well as other needs but those being the biggest I see by looking over the depth chart. What makes this pick work is that they have an established guy like Kerrigan on the other side . And have a rundown player in Murphy. So Beasley gets the Aldon smith treatment the first year rush the passer while he learns the ropes.
Alternative pick in no order:
Amari Cooper, WR, Alabama - They don't need a WR but one of the best in the draft is on the board u never know)
Brandon Scherff, OT, Iowa - They need help all over the line and this guy can play Tackle or Guard)
Shane Ray, DE, Missouri - Was a tossup between ray and Beasley and I went with the longer track record of production . I could see them going in either direction because they are getting better and better at corner . And there is talk hall maybe a Safety soon that might save them an early pick on one because this year class is bare.
With the sixth pick of the NN community mock draft, Roy_from_Israel and the New York Jets select...Jameis Winston, QB, Florida State
Alternates: Amari Cooper, Shane Ray, Randy Gregory
Going into the draft as the Jets mock GM I thought I would probably have to decide between pass rushers where I targeted Vic Beasley and Shane Ray, and wide recievers where I wouldn't mind taking either Kevin white or Amari Cooper. I was also ready for the scenario where Mariota is still available. I would have a tough time to decide whether I give another shot to Geno Smith or not since I pesonally don't believe taking QBs who never played under center with a high pick is worth the risk. Had this scenario happened I would've pick Vic Beasley to shore up a pretty scary defensive front after taking care of the secondary in free agency and have a truly fearsone defense.
But then came the true draft and I couldn't believe what I'm seeing. The best player in the draft is still available at pick number 6??? I actually went to wash my eyes because and check my already mediocre eyesight. Unlike Mariota, Winston has played under center throughout his college career and could be an immidiate and huge upgrade over Geno Smith. So, for a good reason, I threw away my plans and snagged Winston right away. If Winston is available at 6 in the real draft the Jets FO would turn their pick within 5 seconds and start a Macy's parade.