The Jacksonville Jaguars need a cornerback, and can't get enough of South Carolina's Stephon Gilmore, according to Sports Illustrated's Peter King.
King dropped his mock draft Friday and forecast the Jags selecting Gilmore at No. 7 (with LSU's Morris Claiborne going to the Bucs at No. 5): "Jacksonville has a major hole at cornerback, and I hear the Jags like Gilmore a ton," King wrote. NFL Network's Mike Lombardi said on Friday's "Path to the Draft" that the Jaguars have a higher grade on Gilmore than Claiborne.
Other action from King's mock:
• The Minnesota Vikings roll with USC offensive tackle Matt Kalil, per King, but he suggests Claiborne should be the guy at No. 3: "I don't get it," he wrote. "I know the Vikes want to protect Christian Ponder from eternal damnation (and a boatload of sacks), but they have six games a year against Aaron Rodgers, Jay Cutler and Matthew Stafford."
• Mississippi State's Fletcher Cox falls to the Panthers at No. 9, and we side with King on this one. As good as this offense was, the defense crumbled last season, and Ron Rivera would like nothing more than a massive defensive tackle to plug the middle.
• King has South Carolina linebacker Melvin Ingram falling to the Seattle Seahawks at No. 12, but he backed what we heard from 'Hawks general manager John Schneider on Thursday -- if Texas A&M quarterback Ryan Tannehill's still around, he's their guy.
• Big day for the Browns, per King. Along with their No. 4 (Alabama running back Trent Richardson) and No. 22 (Stanford offensive tackle Jonathan Martin), King has the Browns trading back into the first round to take Oklahoma State signal-caller Brandon Weeden at No. 27. According to NFL Network draft guru Chad Reuter, 13 teams have selected three players in the first round since the common draft started in 1967. One of those teams had four first-rounders: the Jets in 2000, when they took defensive ends Shaun Ellis and John Abraham, quarterback Chad Pennington and tight end Anthony Becht.
