NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock is not a big fan of doing mock drafts and that’s why he only does one a year. On Wednesday night, Mayock will be unveiling his first and only mock draft of the offseason during a televised special and already the first 15 picks have been released.
Mayock has the Pittsburgh Steelers selecting Virginia Tech cornerback Kyle Fuller with the 15th overall selection in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft and below is his reasoning for the pick.
The Steelers need to rebuild at cornerback, and Fuller and his physical style of play are a good fit for coach Mike Tomlin.
Mayock has driven the Fuller bandwagon all offseason and he currently has him as his top-rated cornerback. With that being said, Mayock still has Oklahoma State’s Justin Gilbert and Michigan State’s Darqueze Dennard coming off the board before Fuller.
Interesting enough, Mayock also has LSU wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. being drafted 13th overall. The only quarterback Mayock has coming of the board in the first 15 picks is Blake Bortles. If that were to happen, it could push a few players down the board to the Steelers in the second round.
Below are Mayock’s top 15 selections and you can watch the full first-round airing tonight on the NFL Network at 9 p.m. ET.
1. Houston: Jadeveon Clowney, DE, South Carolina
2. St. Louis: Greg Robinson, OT, Auburn
3. Jacksonville: Khalil Mack, LB, Buffalo
4. Cleveland: Jake Matthews, OT, Texas A&M
5. Oakland: Sammy Watkins, WR, Clemson
6. Atlanta: Taylor Lewan, OT, Michigan
7. Tampa Bay: Mike Evans, WR, Texas A&M
8. Minnesota: Justin Gilbert, CB, Oklahoma St.
9. Buffalo: Zack Martin, OT, Notre Dame
10. Detroit: Darqueze Dennard, CB, Michigan St.
11. Tennessee: Blake Bortles, QB, Central Florida
12. New York Giants: Eric Ebron, TE, North Carolina
13. St. Louis: Odell Beckham, WR, LSU
14. Chicago: Calvin Pryor, FS, Louisville
15. Pittsburgh: Kyle Fuller, CB, Virginia Tech