Brandt projects Joeckel as No. 1 pick, Cowboys to take Central Michigan OT with 18th pick in NFL Draft

Former Texas A&M offensive tackle Luke Joeckel, the 2012 Outland Trophy winner and an Arlington High School graduate, projects to be the first pick in the 2013 NFL Draft based on a mock draft released today by NFL.com analyst Gil Brandt, the Dallas Cowboys’ former vice-president of player personnel.

Brandt’s mock drift is expected to be tweaked multiple times before the NFL Draft in April, based on players’ performances at the NFL Combine and in individual workouts. But in the first installment, Brandt projects Joeckel (6-foot-6, 310 pounds) to be taken No. 1 overall by the Kansas City Chiefs, with the Cowboys to use the 18^th pick on Eric Fisher (6-8, 305), an offensive tackle from Central Michigan.

Brandt projects five players from colleges in Texas to go in the first round, with former A&M defensive end Damontre Moore _ another junior who opted for early entry in April _ to be taken with the sixth overall pick by Cleveland. Moore and Joeckel are the only local players projected among the top 10 picks, with the others being Baylor receiver Terrance Williams (No. 14, Carolina), Texas safety Kenny Vaccaro (No. 15, New Orleans) and Texas defensive end Alex Okafor (No. 24, Indianapolis).

Brandt projects four players from Alabama, the two-time defending BCS national champs, to go in the first round: offensive guard Chance Warmack (No. 4, Philadelphia), cornerback Dee Milliner (No. 5, Detroit), offensive tackle D.J. Fluker (No. 13, Tampa Bay) and running back Eddie Lacy (No. 16, St. Louis), with two quarterbacks taken among the top 10 picks: West Virginia’s Geno Smith (No. 3, Oakland) and USC’s Matt Barkley (No. 7, Arizona).

A link to Brandt’s mock draft is below:

 

http://www.nfl.com/draft/2013/mock-drafts/gil-brandt/155116

 

_ Jimmy Burch