Hot on the heels of yesterday's Mel Kiper mock draft comes Wes Bunting's latest offering, mock draft version 3.0.
Bunting, of course, knows how to deliver a mock draft that gets people talking, and in his third iteration of his mock draft, he offers the third prospect for the Cowboys after having the Cowboys select David DeCastro in v 1.0 and Peter Konz in v 2.0. But what makes this third version highly auspicious is what happened last year:
After mocking Robert Quinn to the Cowboys in his mock v 1.0 and Prince Amukamara in v 2.0, he hit the nail on the head in v 3.0, mocking Tyron Smith to the Cowboys. Will Bunting be able to repeat that feat this year?
With the 14th pick in the 2012 draft, the Bunting has the Cowboys taking Dre Kirkpatrick. Bunting writes:
The Cowboys have to be thrilled with both Kirkpatrick and Stanford OG David DeCastro still on the board. However, I see them opting for the big corner because of the overall priority of the position.
So this year's mock 3.0 is doubly auspicious, not only because of last year's pick, but also because both Kirkpatrick and DeCastro are available for the Cowboys - and if those two drop that far, other prospects must have taken their place in the top 13. After the break, we look at who those players are.
Earlier this week, our own Tom Ryle took a look at how 12 different mock drafts averaged out and derived the following list of players that could be considered the 'consensus top 13'.
| Rank | Player | POS | School |
| 1 | Andrew Luck | QB | Stanford |
| 2 | Matt Kalil | OT | USC |
| 3 | Robert Griffin III | QB | Baylor |
| 4 | Morris Claiborne | CB | LSU |
| 5 | Justin Blackmon | WR | Oklahoma St. |
| 6 | Trent Richardson | RB | Alabama |
| 7 | Quinton Coples | DE | North Carolina |
| 8 | Riley Reiff | OT | Iowa |
| 9 | David DeCastro | OG | Stanford |
| 10 | Michael Brockers | DT | LSU |
| 11 | Dre Kirkpatrick | CB | Alabama |
| 12 | Johnathan Martin | OT | Stanford |
| 13 | Devon Still | DT | PSU |
In his conference call with media representatives yesterday, Mike Mayock said that "the first seven to eight picks are pretty solid, then after that comes some questions." Wes Bunting seems to agree, as he has also has the top eight players in the table above in his top 13. After that, the situation gets a little less clear.
Here's how Bunting's top 13 differs versus the consensus table above:
- At pick #9, the Miami Dolphins select Texas A&M QB Ryan Tannehill.
- At pick #11, the Kansas City Chiefs pick Ohio State OT Mike Adams
- At pick #12, the Seattle Seahawks draft Southern Cal DE Nick Perry
- And dropping out of Bunting's top 13 are Kirkpatrick, DeCastro and Stanford OT Johnathan Martin.
It seems like every year, the draft sees some late-rising QBs, OTs and DE's. Bunting's mock draft is an indicator that that may happen again this year, and that is a good thing. The Cowboys can only hope that more names rise and push some higher rated prospects their way. The names in the bullet list above will bear watching over the coming weeks and perhaps there will be enough movement in the top ten to even push Quinton Coples the Cowboys' way.