Boston College in the 2011 NFL Draft: Mock Update 2
By Joe Micik
A little over two weeks ago, we took our first look at the mock NFL drafts for 2011. We learned, amongst other things, that Anthony Castonzo is virtually a guaranteed first-rounder and furthermore that Mark Herzlich is likely to get himself a job in the NFL (but unfortunately, the NFL having a season is more of an issue).
We know that the offensive line is a need for the New York Giants, and is one that they are likely to address at some point. If the Giants go in this direction in the first round, they will select either Castonzo or Mike Pouncey of Florida. We also know, however, that the hometown New England Patriots are also interested in Castonzo, and like the Giants, they sent their offensive line coach to BC’s pro day to run drills with him. New England has the #17 overall pick, while the Giants have #19. The popular pick has been for Castonzo to end up with Big Blue, but there is a real possibility that Belichick will take him off the board before they get the chance. As you will see shortly, however, the Giants are no longer the trendy choice.
As for Herzlich, he is on the shortlist of best linebackers available, but his recovery from cancer has predictably harmed his draft status. Had he not fallen ill, I have no doubt he would have been a first-rounder in a previous draft, but he’s in this one, and he won’t be a first-rounder. He should, however, get picked.
Current prominent mock drafts have BC players being selected as follows:
Anthony Castonzo, OT
WalterFootball.com: Round 1, Pick 19 – New York Giants
Chad Reuter, CBS Sports: Round 1, Pick 13 – Detroit Lions
Rob Rang, CBS Sports: Round 1, Pick 20 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
MyNFLDraft.com: Round 1, Pick 22 – Indianapolis Colts
DraftTek: Round 1, Pick 15 – Miami Dolphins
DraftSite: Round 1, Pick 17 – New England Patriots
Draft Countdown: Round 1, Pick 19 – New York Giants
NFL Draft Dog: Round 1, Pick 28 – New England Patriots
Mark Herzlich, OLB
WalterFootball.com: Round 5, Pick 32 (163) – Green Bay Packers
DraftTek: Round 4, Pick 5 (102) – Cleveland Browns
Draftsite: Round 4, Pick 28 (125) – New England Patriots
Alex Albright (DE), Thomas Claiborne (OG), Wes Davis (S), DeLeon Gause (CB), and Rich Lapham (OT) all go undrafted.
The only mock draft site that seems to have a (relatively) low opinion of Castonzo is NFL Draft Dog, who had him at #29 last time but moved him up to Foxboro with #28. You will notice, however, that there is a lot more variety and a lot less consensus that Castonzo will end up on the Giants or Patriots. The Detroit Lions at #13 seem to be interested in taking an offensive lineman, and since one of their tackles, Boston College product Gosder Cherilus, keeps getting his knee injured, they just might take him before either Belichick or Coughlin do. This would seem to be a cruel fate for Castonzo, in spite of the fact that the Lions are building up.
There is also more consistency with Mark Herzlich’s selections. In the first update article, he was anywhere from Rounds 3-6. Now, he is in either Rounds 4 or 5. Using this as a guide, we can hopefully expect Herzlich to come off the big board early on Saturday April 30.
Unfortunately, things have also stayed remarkably consistent for the other five Eagles in the draft. At this point I wouldn’t count on any of them getting a pick, but you never know.