ESPN's Todd McShay has just released his final mock draft of the year and has Wisconsin defensive end J.J. Watt going to the Cowboys:
Watt's size, strength, athletic ability and motor make him a good fit as a 5-technique in the Cowboys' 3-4 defensive scheme.
McShay's name and mock draft don't pack the punch that Gosselin's mock, Mayock's Mock or even Kiper's Mock do, but he makes up for that with a few surprises of his own. McShay writes that he continues to hear rumors and buzz about various teams and players mere hours before the draft, and his final mock accordingly has some surprises in store.
At No. 5 overall, McShay has the Cardinals taking Missouri OLB Aldon Smith, who had not cracked the top ten in a single mock draft prior to this. At No. 11, he has the Texans selecting LSU CB Patrick Peterson ... WHAAAAT? Peterson drops past the Cowboys? Surely, this is a clear sign of the coming apocalypse, no? Or a sign that McShay thinks the Texans will trade up tonight. I sure hope it's the latter.
In stark contrast to Gosselin, who has five QBs going in the first twelve picks, McShay has only two QBs, Newton and Gabbert, going in the first round. The full mock draft is behind a pay-wall, but the internet is full of enterprising souls who put out summaries of these things.