The latest 2014 NFL mock draft from ESPN's Mel Kiper has the stocks of both quarterback Johnny Manziel and defensive end Jadeveon Clowney falling. Kiper projects linebacker Khalil Mack and offensive tackle Greg Robinson to be the first two picks in May.
Manziel's draft value continues to fall. In addition to reports indicating teams prefer other signal callers, Kiper is the latest analyst to list the former A&M quarterback as a mid-to-late top 10 pick.
Unlike Kiper's previous two drafts, which projected Manziel to be the first overall pick, Kiper's third draft has Manziel going No. 8 to the Minnesota Vikings.
"As I talk to teams, I get the sense there's a great deal of uncertainty around the quarterbacks in this draft. But there's a point where uncertainty turns into a reasonable bet, and Manziel at this point on the board is closer to the latter," Kiper wrote on Thursday. "... Manziel could be the solution and, drafted here, there's no question he'd come in with a chip on his shoulder."
Kiper's draft projects Manziel to be the third quarterback off the board, after UCF's Blake Bortles (No. 4 to Cleveland) and Louisville's Teddy Bridgewater (No. 5 to Oakland).
Clowney, widely considered to be the best athlete in the draft and once projected to be the No.1 pick, goes third overall to Jacksonville in Kiper's mock draft.
Mack, an outside linebacker out of Buffalo, leaped to Kiper's first overall pick. Kiper believes Mack would "excel in (Houston's system) as a pass-rusher and a player who can back up and make plays in space and to the edges."
Robinson remains as Kiper's No. 2 pick going to St. Louis.
The NFL draft begins on Thursday, May 8.
