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Acme Packing Company's 2016 mock draft continues on with picks five and six in round one, as we release the first-round picks over the course of this week. The rules were simple: seven authors were assigned four or five teams apiece, and made the picks for each of those teams whenever they came up. We will pick the first three rounds of the draft.
Round 1, Pick 11: Chicago Bears select Vernon Hargreaves III, CB, Florida
Jake Hyman represents Ryan Pace and the Bears front office in this year's exercise. Here's his rationale for the selection:
If Hargreaves is on the board at pick No. 11, the "time remaining" clock on the ESPN draft broadcast will tick for only a few seconds. The draft pick will be in and the corner will land on a team with another young stud in Kyle Fuller. Unfortunately, Chicago's first-round pick last year, Kevin White, missed most of the season due to injury. Hopefully for the Bears, they get extra mileage out of Hargreaves so the corner can get acclimated to the pros.
Hargreaves isn't that physically imposing, as a 5'11", 195-pound cornerback, but is one of the more physical commodities lining up on the outside. Intensity and the ability to throw wide receivers off their routes will be pertinent to his ability to handle bigger wideouts. He had 10 interceptions in just three seasons at Florida, showcasing his ball hawk tendencies. There is top-5 upside with Hargreaves, but will have to shake off poor performances and have confidence to handle some of the league's best wide receivers every week.
Round 1, Pick 12: New Orleans Saints pick Sheldon Rankins, DT, Louisville
Jon Barnett makes the choice for the Saints, who will luckily not have too many salary cap implications to deal with due to the rookie wage scale:
New Orleans begins the Post-Rob Ryan Era for real now and starts rebuilding its defense. While New Orleans still has the means to put points on the board (second in the NFL in yards per game, eighth in points per game), the defense was one of the worst in the league. New Orleans starts building the the middle out as they add the best defensive tackle in this class.
The Saints went defensive early and often last year and this year they will look to increase the number of young, talented players in that defensive huddle. Last year Stephone Anthony and Hau'oli Kikaha went in the first two rounds. This year the Saints look to protect those young linebackers with strong defensive tackle play. The Saints just grabbed Nick Fairley in free agency and Rankins gives the Saints a strong presence who is great in run stopping and has the ability to collapse the pocket when needed. Getting to Cam Newton, Matt Ryan and Jameis Winston is going to be the plan of the draft.
Mock Draft Summary
Pick | Team | Player | Position | College |
1.1 | TEN | Laremy Tunsil | OT | Mississippi |
1.2 | CLE | Jared Goff | QB | California |
1.3 | SD | Jalen Ramsey | DB | Florida State |
1.4 | DAL | Joey Bosa | DE | Ohio State |
1.5 | JAX | Myles Jack | LB | UCLA |
1.6 | BAL | DeForest Buckner | DE | Oregon |
1.7 | SF | Carson Wentz | QB | North Dakota State |
1.8 | PHI (via MIA) | Ezekiel Elliott | RB | Ohio State |
1.9 | TB | Ronnie Stanley | OT | Notre Dame |
1.10 | NYG | Laquon Treadwell | WR | Mississippi |
1.11 | CHI | Vernon Hargreaves III | CB | Florida |
1.12 | NO | Sheldon Rankins | DT | Louisville |
1.13 | MIA (via PHI) | |||
1.14 | OAK |