Brooks' first corner off the board is Oklahoma State's Justin Gilbert, at No. 11 to Tennessee.
His college coach might have concerns about his work habits, but South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney has too much talent to pass up with the No. 1 overall pick, says NFL Media draft analyst Bucky Brooks.
In his latest mock draft, Brooks says Houston "passing on a mercurial talent like Clowney could be hard to justify down the road."
Brooks has quarterbacks going with the Nos. 3-5 overall picks: Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel to Jacksonville, Louisville's Teddy Bridgewater to Cleveland and UCF's Blake Bortles to Oakland. He has Texas A&M offensive tackle Jake Matthews going second, to St. Louis.
Offensive tackle and wide receiver are Brooks' positions of choice in the first round, with five of each appearing in his mock draft. He also has four cornerbacks going in the first round.
Brooks has two offensive tackles in the top six -- Matthews and Auburn's Greg Robinson -- and he has Clemson's Sammy Watkins as the first wide receiver, going 10th to Detroit. (The speedy Watkins opposite Calvin Johnson? Brooks just gave defensive coordinators in the NFC North heart palpitations.) Brooks' other four wide receivers go at picks 17, 18, 22 and 23: in order, Texas A&M's Mike Evans, USC's Marqise Lee, Oregon State's Brandin Cooks and LSU's Odell Beckham Jr.
Brooks' first corner off the board is Oklahoma State's Justin Gilbert, at No. 11 to Tennessee.
Brooks has three tight ends going in the first round, including North Carolina's Eric Ebron at No. 9 to Buffalo. The others are Washington's Austin Seferian-Jenkins at No. 20 to Arizona, a selection that Brooks says would keep defenses honest in the middle and open up the outside for Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd; and Texas Tech's Jace Amaro to New England at No. 29. Amaro's 2013 campaign was perhaps the most productive season ever for a college tight end, with 106 receptions for 1,352 yards and seven TDs.
Brooks has two outside linebackers in the first round, and he has them going back-to-back: UCLA's Anthony Barr to Tampa Bay at No. 7 and Buffalo's Khalil Mack at No. 8 to Minnesota.
Brooks has three defensive ends, three defensive tackles and two free safeties going in the first round. He also has an inside linebacker (Alabama's C.J. Mosley at No. 31 to Denver) and a guard (Stanford's David Yankey at No. 32 to Seattle) as first-rounders, but no running back.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
