2015 Mock NFL Draft

Former Michigan commit Jake Fisher could go late in the first round

I won't claim to be an NFL expert, but as a big college and pro football fan, I like to take my shot at an NFL mock draft and see how I stack up against Mel Kiper, Todd McShay, Mike Mayock, and the like. So here's my 2015 mock NFL Draft. If any trades are announced before the beginning of the draft, I reserve the right to make some changes. Otherwise, I'm guessing roughly 27 of these picks will be 100% accurate.

1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers:
Jameis Winston - QB - Florida State
I don't like the idea of spending a #1 pick on someone with such character concerns, but it looks like that's the direction the Bucs will go.

2. Tennessee:
Marcus Mariota - QB - Oregon
There seems to be a good chance that someone trades into this spot to take Mariota. I think it's probably too high to take Mariota, but teams get desperate when looking for a quarterback.

3. Jacksonville Jaguars: 
Dante Fowler - OLB - Florida
Jacksonville went after a quarterback last year, so now it's time to shore up the pass rush.

4. Oakland Raiders:
Amari Cooper - WR - Alabama
Oakland is in need of a receiving threat. When's the last time they had a consistent wide receiver threat?

5. Washington Redskins:
Leonard Williams - DE - USC
Williams is a little bit inconsistent, so he would fit in well with the 'Skins.

Hit the jump for picks 6-32.

Ex-Wolverine Updates: Post-Bowl Edition

Oregon offensive tackle Jake Fisher was first team all-conference

The national championship game still remains for Gareon Conley at Ohio State and Jake Fisher at Oregon, but otherwise, the former Wolverines are finished with their college seasons. Here's a look at what former players, commits, and coaches accomplished during the 2014 season.

Former DT Richard Ash: Ash's Western Michigan Broncos lost to Air Force in the Idaho Potato Bowl by a score of 38-24. Ash made 2 tackles in the game, finishing the year with 42 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, 2 pass breakups, and 2 blocked kicks. The Broncos went 8-5 on the year.

Former TE commit Pharaoh Brown: Brown suffered a nasty knee injury in game ten, so he has missed a chunk of Oregon's run to the national championship game. He still put up pretty darn good numbers with 25 catches, 420 yards (16.8 yards/catch), and 6 touchdowns, and those were good enough to earn him First Team All-Pac 12 honors. He played too much of this season to get a medical redshirt, so he will presumably return to playing as a true senior in 2015 as long as his knee heals well.

Former CB Cullen Christian: Christian was declared academically ineligible for West Virginia's Liberty Bowl appearance against Texas A&M, which the Aggies won by a score of 45-37. The Mountaineers went 7-6 this season and didn't get much help from Christian, who made 5 total tackles on the year as a backup safety.

Hit the jump for the rest of the rundown.

Ex-Wolverine updates: Pre-Season Edition

This used to be Cullen Christian.

TE Chris Barnett: Barnett left Michigan shortly after arriving in 2011, and I have been unable to find any hard updates on him. He supposedly showed interest in playing for UMass this past winter, but he never enrolled there. He also talked about having interest in playing Division II as a middle linebacker.

CB Greg Brown: Brown had transferred to Findlay, but never played a game there in 2012. He has since left the football program and his whereabouts are unknown to me.

TE Pharaoh Brown: Brown is listed as a 6'6", 241 lb. tight end on Oregon's roster. He had 2 receptions for 42 yards in twelve games last season. Oregon has been talking about using more formations with two tight ends to get Brown on the field with Colt Lyerla.

CB Cullen Christian: After having 16 tackles and 2 pass breakups as a corner in 2012, Christian is now listed as a 6'0", 195 lb. backup free safety for the Pitt Panthers. The starter? Former Michigan free safety Ray Vinopal.

CB Gareon Conley: Conley is listed as a 6'2", 170 lb. cornerback on Ohio State's roster. He has been practice some with the starting unit while Bradley Roby has been demoted to a backup for his off-the-field transgressions.

CB Dallas Crawford: Crawford is listed as a 5'10", 196 lb. redshirt sophomore running back on Miami's roster. Last year he had an interception on a fake punt; offensively, he had 6 carries for 23 yards and was 1/2 passing for 29 yards. He will likely be the backup running back to starter Duke Johnson.

S Vladimir Emilien: Emilien is listed as a 6'1", 204 lb. safety for the Toledo Rockets. Last year he had 33 tackles and 1 interception for the Rockets. He will likely start this year at their strong safety/outside linebacker hybrid position.

OT Jake Fisher: Fisher is a 6'6", 291 lb. offensive tackle for Oregon. Last year he was the starter at right tackle, and he even scored a touchdown when De'Anthony Thomas fumbled into the endzone, where Fisher jumped on it.

K Matt Goudis: Goudis is listed as a 6'0", 172 lb. redshirt sophomore kicker for the Miami Hurricanes. Last year he had a 37-yard punt and two kickoffs that averaged 55.0 yards.

S Carvin Johnson: Johnson is listed as a 6'2", 205 lb. safety for Hampton University. Last year he had 57 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 10 pass breakups, and 3 fumble recoveries. He will likely start this fall.

LB Kellen Jones: Jones is listed as a 6'1", 225 lb. linebacker for Clemson. After leaving Michigan before his freshman season even began, he transferred to Oklahoma for the 2011 season, then sat out the 2012 year after transferring to Clemson, and will now be a backup inside linebacker for the Tigers.

WR Ricardo Miller: Miller is listed as a 6'4", 226 lb. tight end/wide receiver for UMass. With the starting tight end injured to begin the year, Miller will start at TE for the Minutemen.

DE Chris Rock: Rock is listed as a 6'4", 272 lb. defensive lineman for Ohio State after enrolling there in August 2012. Listed as a redshirt sophomore, he is not expected to be a heavy contributor this fall.

QB Kevin Sousa: Sousa is listed as a 6'3", 230 lb. redshirt sophomore quarterback for Wake Forest, but he not listed as one of the top three quarterbacks on the Demon Deacons' depth chart.

OG Caleb Stacey: Stacey transferred to the College of Mount St. Joseph during winter semester and intended to play football this fall. Their roster has not been released, so it's unclear if he's still on the team.

CB Anthony Standifer: Standifer is listed as a 6'1", 175 lb. cornerback on the Ole Miss roster. A blogger for the Rebels ranked him as the #57 most important player for the upcoming season. He had 3 tackles last year.

WR Je'Ron Stokes: Stokes is listed as a 6'0", 200 lb. wideout for Norfolk State, an FCS program. He joins younger brother Malik, a quarterback. Stokes played the last couple seasons at Bowling Green State University.

S Ray Vinopal: Vinopal is a 5'10", 200 lb. starting free safety for the Pitt Panthers. He had 14 tackles and 1.5 sacks as a redshirt sophomore in 2012.

CB Adrian Witty: Witty is listed as a 5'10", 187 lb. cornerback for the Cincinnati Bearcats. He had 25 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 4 pass breakups, and a forced fumble last year. It appears he's the front-runner for the starting free safety job this fall.

Ex-Wolverine Updates

The guy in black was Jake Fisher in high school.

Former Michigan TE/DE commit Pharaoh Brown: Brown had 1 catch for 26 yards as Oregon beat Tennessee Tech by a score of 63-14.  He has 2 receptions for 42 yards on the season.

Former Michigan CB commit Demar Dorsey: Dorsey and former Michigan LB commit Antonio Kinard are both on Western Arizona Community College's football roster.  Dorsey was supposed to head to Hawaii and Kinard was supposed to be at Miami by now, but both have run into academic and/or legal issues.  Western Arizona CC is a repository of former high school talent, including former USC wide receiver Markeith Ambles and former South Carolina quarterback Tanner McEvoy.

Former Michigan OT commit Jake Fisher: Fisher jumped on a De'Anthony Thomas fumble in the end zone after Thomas caught a pass at Tennessee Tech's 49-yard line and almost scored himself.  It was Fisher's first career touchdown, which is probably an obvious statement.

Former Michigan RB commit Dee Hart: Hart had 4 runs for 21 yards as Alabama beat Arkansas by a score of 52-0.

Former Michigan S Carvin Johnson: Johnson had 5 tackles and 2 pass breakups, but Hampton lost to Florida A&M by a score of 44-20.

Former Michigan DT commit DeQuinta Jones: Jones had just 1 tackle as Alabama ran over Arkansas, 52-0.

Former Michigan RB Sam McGuffie: McGuffie did not have a good day on Saturday, as he had 1 rush for -5 yards, 1 catch for -3 yards, and 2 kickoff returns for 25 yards.  Rice lost to Louisiana Tech by a score of 56-37.

Former Michigan WR/CB commit Dewayne Peace: Peace had 10 receptions for 103 yards, but Houston lost to UCLA by a score of 37-6.

Former Michigan WR Je'Ron Stokes: Stokes had 1 reception for 12 yards, but Bowling Green State lost to Toledo by a score of 27-15.  By the way, Denard Robinson's former teammate Cassius McDowell plays for Toledo now; he had 8 carries for 40 yards and 4 receptions for 40 yards for the Rockets.

Former Michigan S Ray Vinopal: Vinopal had 1 tackle in Pitt's 35-17 upset of Virginia Tech.

Ex-Wolverine Updates: The Class of 2011

Oklahoma's Kellen Jones (#52) and Tony Jefferson bring down Iowa C.J. Fiedorowicz in the endzone
(image via Greenwich Time)

Former Michigan cornerback Greg Brown left the program mid-season and has transferred to Findlay, a D-II school.

Former Michigan commit and current Miami Hurricane defensive back Dallas Crawford redshirted this past season.

Former Michigan commit and current Oregon Duck offensive tackle Jake Fisher played a backup role in 13 games this season.

Former Michigan commit and current Miami Hurricane kicker Matt Goudis redshirted this past season.

Former Michigan signee and current Oklahoma Sooner linebacker Kellen Jones played as a backup and special teamer in 11 games this past season, making 9 total tackles.

Former Michigan commit and current Wake Forest Demon Deacon quarterback Kevin Sousa redshirted this past season.

The future plans of former Michigan tight end Chris Barnett and former offensive lineman Tony Posada are unknown.  Both decided to leave the program after they were already enrolled at Michigan this past fall.

For recaps of these players and more, check out the Ex-Wolverine Encyclopedia.

Visitors for the Wisconsin Game

According to TomVH from MGoBlog, several 2011 prospects are headed for Ann Arbor on Saturday.  Among them are linebacker Antonio Kinard (maybe), offensive guard Chris Bryant (maybe), offensive tackle Jake Fisher, tight end Jack Tabb, linebacker/wide receiver Kris Frost, and outside linebacker Ryan Petro.

Petro is a new face on the Michigan recruiting scene from Winter Springs, FL.  He doesn't yet have an offer, but interest is picking up. He could be a weakside linebacker or Spur prospect down the road.  Here's some video on Petro:

2011 Offer Board Update

New Jersey offensive tackle Josue Matias

The 2011 Offer Board has been updated:

Kellen Jones (ILB) committed to Michigan.

Added Josue Matias (OT).

Terrell Chestnut (CB) committed to Pitt.

Justice Hayes (SB) committed to Notre Dame.

Trey DePriest (LB) committed to Alabama.

Renaldo Thomas (SS) committed to Tulane.

Ryan Kelly (OG) committed to Alabama.

Jake Fisher (OT) committed to Michigan.

Zach Debell (OT) committed to Georgia.

Marquis Williams (QB) committed to North Carolina.

Jake Fisher, Wolverine

Jake Fisher rips a guy's head off

On Sunday evening, Traverse City, MI, offensive tackle prospect Jake Fisher pledged his football services to the Wolverines. Fisher is a 6'7", 260 lb. lineman who has been playing tight end in high school. While he has the skills, hands, and athleticism to play tight end at the FBS level, he's headed for a position change.

Scout has him ranked as a 4-star and the #25 offensive tackle in the country. Rivals ranks him as a 3-star. It's unclear how accurate those rankings are, since the recruiting services are trying to project a tight end to a completely different position. However, Fisher's highlight video is a series of pancake blocks with an occasional sprinkling of Fisher running past linebackers and defensive backs to catch a few passes. Hooray for pancakes.

I like Fisher. He's a superb athlete for an offensive tackle, moves very well, and for being 6'7", he stays really low. This is not a player whose pad level needs to be questioned. He fits perfectly into Rich Rodriguez's zone blocking system and should be able to latch onto defensive ends and linebackers.

As with any high school lineman, he needs to add some weight. A redshirt is virtually guaranteed in 2011, and by then, both Perry Dorrestein and Mark Huyge will have graduated. Redshirt juniors Taylor Lewan and Michael Schofield will be the likely starters at tackle for 2012 and 2013. But that should leave an opening for Fisher to fight for a starting position in 2014 and 2015, likely at left tackle.

Welcome to the Wolverines, Jake.