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Mel Kiper NFL Mock Draft 2016: Notable Picks from ESPN Guru's 3-Round Mock

Published by Bleacher Report on Tue, 19 Apr 2016


As the 2016 NFL draft draws closer, ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. released his most comprehensive mock yet Tuesday, as he projected every pick over the first three rounds.Kiper acted as the general manager for all 32 teams in his latest ESPN.com mock draft, and attempted to piece together the opening two days of the 2016 draft in Chicago. While many of the early picks were fairly obvious, there were plenty of shockers that could shake up the draft landscape significantly if they come to fruition.Here is a complete rundown of Kiper's three-round mock, along with further analysis regarding the teams that came away with the greatest abundance of talent.Cleveland BrownsThe Cleveland Browns haven't reached the playoffs since 2002, but if Kiper's mock selections for the organization come to fruition, a big step toward ending that drought could be taken.After mocking California's Jared Goff to the Los Angeles Rams at No. 1, Kiper gave Cleveland the other top signal-caller in Carson Wentz of North Dakota State. Wentz is viewed as a player who has all the tools needed to be a star at the next level, but the fact that he played FCS ball creates some concern regarding whether he can make the leap.As seen in this chart courtesy of Pro Football Focus, though, he excelled in areas of the field that suggest he has a skill set that should translate well to the NFL:One person who is especially impressed with Wentz is Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson, according to Les Bowen of thePhiladelphia Inquirer:If you haven't spent time with a guy like [Wentz], it's hard to evaluate him, given that North Dakota State is an FCS school and plays against less-than-top competition.When you finally get him and get him in your building, get your hands on him, have a chance to visit with him and just break it down, this kid's pretty impressive. I'm excited to see where he goes, and then excited to kind of follow his career. ...You dive into him as a person, his work ethic, his off-the-field attitude ... how he handles his teammates, puts him in kind of an elite status when it comes to quarterbacks.With veterans Robert Griffin III and Josh McCown on the roster, Cleveland is fortunate in the sense that it can allow Wentz to develop and it doesn't have to play him until he is truly ready.In terms of a more immediate impact, Kiper gave the Browns Alabama defensive tackle Jarran Reed in the second round and Ohio State wide receiver Braxton Miller in the third.Reed is a fantastic run-stuffer who could easily land in the latter part of the first round, and he would be a great fit for the Browns along with the mountainous Danny Shelton up front.Cleveland is also in desperate need of playmakers on offense, and Miller proved to be precisely that at both quarterback and wide receiver with the Buckeyes.He doesn't have a ton of experience as a wideout, but former Pro Bowl pass-catcher Chad Johnson recently revealed that he is set to work with the explosive prospect:Regardless of who starts at quarterback for the Browns this season, they need additional options in the passing game aside from Gary Barnidge, especially with Travis Benjamin no longer in the fold.Miller may need more development in terms of route running, but he's extremely dangerous with the ball in his hands and would give Cleveland a home run threat.Dallas CowboysWhile the 2015 season was a nightmarish one for the Dallas Cowboys due largely to quarterback Tony Romo being on the shelf for most of the campaign, a return to the playoffs in 2016 isn't out of the question depending upon how well the draft goes.Dallas has multiple needs on the defensive side of the ball, but Kiper sees the franchise addressing its issues in the secondary by taking Florida State cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who is arguably the best all-around prospect in the entire draft.In fact, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported that there are teams high up in the draft that value Ramsey more highly than any other player:It isn't yet known if the Cowboys are among those teams, but with Morris Claiborne failing to establish himself as a quality corner and Dallas coming off a season that saw it rank 30th in the league with just eight interceptions, a player of Ramsey's ilk is undoubtedly needed.An even bigger coup, however, may be Kiper's second-round selection of Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott to the Cowboys.While Kiper labeled Elliott falling to No. 34 as "unrealistic," he doesn't believe that using a first-round pick on a rusher would represent great value.Dallas may very well end up with Elliott, but it could be forced to strike as early as No. 4 in order to do so, per NFL Network's Albert Breer:The Cowboys were at their best two seasons ago when DeMarco Murray was a true workhorse who wore down opposing defenses. While Darren McFadden was solid last season, he didn't bring that same presence.Elliott could potentially be Murray-esque, as evidenced by this impressive stat courtesy of Pro Football Focus:It seems likely that a team will leap at the chance to select Elliott in the first round, but landing him in the second would certainly be a dream scenario for Dallas.Add in some additional cornerback depth with the third-round selection of Georgia Tech's D.J. White, and Kiper put the Cowboys in position to make some major improvements in 2016.New York GiantsThe New York Giants are set to begin a new era with Ben McAdoo replacing Tom Coughlin as head coach, and a strong 2016 draft could go a long way toward making them contenders in the wide-open NFC East once again.While the G-Men will have no shortage of options with the No. 10 overall pick, Kiper sees them addressing the offensive side of the ball with Ole Miss wide receiver Laquon Treadwell. New York already boasts one of the league's best pass-catchers in Odell Beckham Jr., but Treadwell would provide a potentially perfect complement for quarterback Eli Manning to utilize.Veteran Victor Cruz's status remains uncertain, and with Rueben Randle leaving for the Philadelphia Eagles, receiver is certainly a position of need.Treadwell put up big numbers last season with 82 catches for 1,153 yards and 11 touchdowns, but he believes there are even bigger things ahead after being hampered by an injury in 2015, according to ESPN.com's Matt Bowen:"I wasn't 100 percent the whole year. I basically played in the SEC on one leg. And to see the things I did on just natural ability and competing at a high level ... that's unbelievable to me."While Treadwell would give an offensive guru like McAdoo even more options on an already talented offense, Kiper's second-round pick of Eastern Kentucky linebacker Noah Spence to the Giants is equally exciting.New York made big improvements on the defensive side of the ball this offseason by signing Olivier Vernon, Damon Harrison and Janoris Jenkins, but Spence could be a true X-factor due to his ability to get to the quarterback.Spence could team with Vernon and Jason Pierre-Paul to give New York once of the most fearsome defensive fronts in the NFL, but it remains unclear how much teams value Spence.He certainly appears to be a first-round talent, but character concerns could remain stemming from him getting dismissed from Ohio State in 2014 due to positive drug tests.Despite that, Spence insists he is fully committed to the game of football:The Eastern Kentucky standout also believes he has turned the corner and changed for the better as a person, per Tom Pelissero ofUSA Today:I just have to stay how I am now. I won't get in any [trouble]. This whole process has been a blessing for me. I didn't think I would ever be back, getting talked about in the first round. I just want to be an inspiration to people, anybody who is going through something, and just show them that it ain't the endas long as you keep God first and change yourself.Don't think that youre going to stay the same person and have different stuff happen to you.Kiper's third-round selection of Louisiana Tech running back Kenneth Dixon to the Giants could slip under the radar after a pair of big names in the first two rounds, but he scored 72 rushing touchdowns during his four-year career with the Bulldogs.Dixon could potentially push for playing time right away, and that would truly bring together what could be a franchise-changing draft class for New York.Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.
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