We expected Andrew Luck’s decision to stay at Stanford would drastically change the 2011 NFL mock draft landscape and it did just that on Thursday. With Luck, the consensus No. 1 pick, out of the draft, the first round looks like it had a bomb dropped on it. The domino effect is substantial, with quarterback Jake Locker benefiting the most.
Fanhouse released a mock draft shortly after Luck’s decision, updating their previous draft to reflect Thursday’s developments. Here are the biggest shakeups.
Georgia wide receiver A.J. Green is now the No. 1 pick in the draft, heading to Carolina. Green has the most talent, and is listed as the No. 1 prospect in the draft, but would’ve taken a backseat to Luck. That’s not longer the case.
Ryan Mallett is the first quarterback off the board in Fanhouse’s mock draft, going to the Buffalo Bills with the third pick. Quite the leap for a quarterback with plenty of questions, but a huge arm.
Cam Newton is now in the top-10, going to the San Francisco 49ers with the seventh pick. Previously, Newton was in the mid-upper first round, but gets a boost with Luck gone, as well.
Jake Locker goes to the Washington Redskins at No. 10. Washington needs a quarterback and Locker has the tools to impress in the upcoming combine. After Locker returned to the Washington Huskies for his senior year, his stock began to plummet from underwhelming performances. With no Luck, Locker shoots back into the top-flight quarterback discussion
Blaine Gabbert is off the board at No. 15, heading to the Miami Dolphins. That makes it four quarterbacks in the top-15 and, effectively, kills any chance the Seattle Seahawks have at a “name” quarterback.
It’s easy to see how Luck choosing to stay at Stanford has caused a major shakeup in the 2011 NFL Draft. We can now throw out everything we thought we knew, starting from scratch to build a draft without the Stanford quarterback. For the Seahawks, it’s likely bad news, as the depth at that position in the draft takes a serious hit, making finding a quarterback in the late first round a tough task.