Alshon Jeffery | The Penalty Flag

Tag Archives: Alshon Jeffery

2012 NFL draft: 3 first round players that will fall to the second

April 20, 2012 AFC, NFC, NFL

We have all seen it happen during the NFL draft coverage as young players sit and wait for their name to be called.

Players surrounding them are picking up the phones, hugging their parents and putting on hats. Instead of doing the same they continue to sit as their fate lies in the shape of a small note card read by the NFL commissioner.

It even happens to the great ones as Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers was once in the same position and now uses the feeling as motivation.

Here are three players that will free-fall during the 2012 NFL draft.

Throw the Flag & Read More

2012 NFL draft: Possible selections for the Houston Texans

March 6, 2012 AFC, AFC South, Houston Texans, NFL

The Houston Texans tenth NFL season was the first time they have earned a playoff berth and Houston’s first home NFL playoff game since 1993.

Throw the Flag & Read More

2012 Mock Draft: AFC South edition

February 29, 2012 AFC South, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, NFL, Tennessee Titans

The mock draft journey in the NFL lands us in the AFC South today where things took a turn that nobody saw coming. The Indianapolis Colts have dominated the AFC South for a long time but thanks to Peyton Manning’s neck, found themselves almost going 0-16 before turning it around and finishing 2-14. Not only did the Colts finish 2-14, but they also cleaned house as they fired Bill Polian and Head Coach Jim Caldwell. They are now ready to go in a new direction under new General Manager Ryan Grigson and new Head Coach Chuck Pagano, all led by Andrew Luck. The Jacksonville Jaguars had a ok season but they got a new Owner during the season which is leaving some to speculate if they are going to move to Los Angeles. The Tennessee Titans under first year coach Mike Munchak had a pretty good year finishing 9-7 and coming close to a playoff spot. The big winner of it all, the Houston Texans finished 10-6, and not only hosted a playoff game but also won their first playoff game before losing to the Baltimore Ravens in the Divisional Round. How can each team look to build or rebuild off last season?

Indianapolis Colts

Round 1, Pick 1: Andrew Luck QB Stanford: The Colts did their best this past season, it sure had to be tough beating the Titans & Texans late in the season but hey they lost to Jacksonville and secured the # 1 pick in the 2012 Draft. Just how ironic is this, last year Peyton Manning advised Luck to stay at Stanford for another year and what do you know, Luck is about to be drafted by the Colts. Luck is the best QB prospect to come out since well, Peyton Manning and no doubt will be replacing Manning as the Colts look to start a new era in Indy. Out of all the times for the Colts to struggle, it just happens when Peyton has neck surgery, maybe Peyton should have advised Luck to stay in school for another year once again.

Jacksonville Jaguars:

Round 1, Pick 7: Whitney Mercilus DE Illinois: The Jaguars love drafting defensive lineman, in fact they have drafted defensive lineman every other year in the first round since 2008. So since they took Blaine Gabbert last year, it’s time for another defensive lineman. Whitney Mercilus will be this year’s Aldon Smith and shoot up the draft boards by April. Whitney led the nation in sacks and forced fumbles last season with 16 and had 22.5 tackles for loss, and that will upgrade the Jaguars pass rush and improve the defensive line.

Tennessee Titans

Round 1, Pick 20: Devon Still DT Penn State: Still is currently BPA for the Titans at the moment as they get lucky he falls to them. The Titans haven’t had a real force on their defensive line since Albert Haynesworth. Still ended the season with 55 tackles and 4.5 sacks as he was a true dominant force on Penn State’s defensive line. Standing at 6’5, Still has amazing power and speed to be a true play maker in the NFL and the Titans are lucky he drops to 20 in my mock.

Houston Texans

Round 1, Pick 26: Alshon Jeffery WR South Carolina: There were so many concerns about Jeffery heading into the combine that he was one of the players guaranteed to have a draft night fall. His slide ends at 26 as he gets to go play opposite of Andre Johnson in Houston. Jeffery had a down year compared to his 2010 season but is ready to show teams that he can be a number one receiver in the NFL. The Texans offense gets much better with the pick of Jeffery at the bottom of round one and should make Matt Schaub one happy quarterback.

Sign up for TPF’s Daily Newsletter and enter to win a TPF T-Shirt

Mike Presley is a NFL Featured Journalist for The Penalty Flag. He is a graduate of the Carolina School of Broadcasting and hosts a weekly NFL show on the schools radio station 89.3 The Storm entitled “The Front Seven.” Mike also writes for the racing website www.hardcoreracefans.com. Follow him on Twitter @mikepresley64.

2012 Mock Draft: NFC North edition (thepenaltyflagblog.com)
2012 Mock Draft: AFC North edition (thepenaltyflagblog.com)
2012 Mock Draft: AFC East edition (thepenaltyflagblog.com)

Throw the Flag & Read More

2012 NFL Mock Draft: Top 10 Picks

January 14, 2012 AFC, NFC, NFL

The 2012 NFL Draft Order is set, the only thing left is to order the remaining playoff teams and Draft season will be in full swing. The Indianapolis Colts won the Andrew Luck sweepstakes and hold the number one pick. It is guaranteed that they will be taking Andrew Luck to be Peyton Manning’s successor in Indianapolis. Jeff Fisher will have a tall task in St. Louis as he looks to be the next coach to take on the task of rebuilding the Rams, while Leslie Frazier’s first year in Minnesota didn’t quite go well. Mike Holmgren has the Cleveland Browns once again picking in the top ten but thanks to the trade with Atlanta, he will have an extra pick to help the Browns try to compete in the competitive AFC North. Meanwhile in Tampa Bay, the Buccaneers are going from a ‘youngry’ Raheem Morris to a coach who has yet to be named and will look to turn Tampa back into the team who won ten games in 2010. From there, the Jaguars, Redskins, Panthers, Dolphins and Bills round out your Top Ten draft order heading into the off-season.

Plenty of teams inside the top ten who need a QB, and with Matt Barkley and Landry Jones returning that will throw a wrench into the plans for those teams. Will that cause teams to trade ahead of Cleveland, who would most certainly take Robert Griffin in order to take Griffin before he falls to Cleveland. Some are going to have new coaches while others will have new General Managers. So I present to you, a Mock Draft covering the Top ten teams and project who they could draft in April.

1. Indianapolis Colts- Andrew Luck QB Stanford: This is a no brainer right here, Luck is going to be the future of Indianapolis. The only question that remains is what happens to Peyton Manning, will he be traded or will he stay and tutor Luck for a year or two before giving way to the Andrew Luck Era.

2. St. Louis Rams- Matt Kalil OT USC: Jeff Fisher’s very first task as the Head Coach of the Rams should be ensuring Sam Bradford doesn’t catch the David Carr syndrome. They have tried to fix the offensive line but with no prevail, Matt Kalil is a Franchise Left Tackle who can come in and protect Bradford for the next decade or so.

3. Minnesota Vikings- Justin Blackmon WR Ok. State: In 1998 the Vikings said hello to Randy Moss who was drafted 22nd overall and became a star player right away. In 2012, the Vikings say hello to their new Randy Moss, Justin Blackmon. Christian Ponder needs a legit number one receiver and with Blackmon on board joining Adrian Peterson, the Vikings offense should be much better next year.

4. Cleveland Browns- Robert Griffin III QB Baylor: Colt McCoy right now is doing nothing to show he can be a franchise quarterback. He was drafted in the third round so the Browns don’t have much invested in him and with a rookie wage scale, they can afford to draft Griffin. Now the question will be, will Griffin finally stop the quarterback carousel in Cleveland and finally provide them a franchise quarterback.

5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Morris Claiborne CB LSU: Cornerback is the big issue for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers heading into the off-season. Ronde Barber will turn 37 before the Draft and is a Free Agent. Aquib Talib is one more offense away from being suspended from the league and has a court date in March, a month before the Draft. Claiborne is not only the best player available but he also fills a need. Tampa’s young defense gets better with the addition of Claiborne.

6. Washington Redskins- Alshon Jeffery WR South Carolina: To whomever will be the Redskins QB in 2012, I give you a present in the form of Alshon Jeffery. Now of course I do expect Washington to try to trade up for Robert Griffin but I don’t do trades this early. So assuming they stay at six, they get a weapon for either Grossman or Beck and whoever the franchise quarterback ends up being.

7. Jacksonville Jaguars: Quinton Coples DE UNC: Jacksonville loves drafting defensive lineman early and unfortunately they have drafted busts which leads to the more permanent fix in Coples. Coples has the perfect size, speed and athleticism to be a force for the Jaguars on defense. Coples ended the season with 7.5 sacks and in a division where you face Matt Schaub and Peyton Manning or Andrew Luck twice a year, you have to get to the Quarterback and Coples certainly will do that.

8. Miami Dolphins: Trent Richardson RB Alabama: This could be the first shocker here, but Richardson is the best player available here at eight. I know they drafted Daniel Thomas last year but with it being a two back league, Richardson can come in as the starter with Thomas and Bush taking over for Richardson on third downs or in goal line situations.

9. Carolina Panthers: Dre Kirkpatrick CB Alabama: The Panthers must work on their defense to make sure Newton doesn’t have to do everything. Carolina was ranked dead last against the pass and must do something to slow down other teams from beating them in the air. This is a good young team who I expect to be a playoff contender couple years down the line but must improve their defense in order to do so.

10. Buffalo Bills: Jonathon Martin OT Stanford: This is the best scenario for the Bills come Draft night. When the Bills suffered injuries to their offensive line and had to move players around, the offense suffered and so did Ryan Fitzpatrick. Demetrius Bell is not a franchise Left Tackle, while Jonathon Martin is. Martin can solidify the offensive line and ensure Ryan Fitzpatrick stays up right and the Bills can get back to the team who was 5-2.