No way were we going against the majority two consecutive days.
It may not be an age-old reader mock draft adage – are there such things? – that moderators better never, ever override the wishes of the readers on back-to-back selections, but if it's not an adage it's still generally speaking a pretty good credo.
And on Day 18 of the jaguars.com 2012 reader mock, it seemed a darned good one.
To review, quickly:
On Day 17 of the 2012 reader mock Wednesday, we offered up cornerback Stephon Gilmore of South Carolina as the selection to the Cincinnati Bengals – that despite some pretty strong sentiment elsewhere from the reader/mockers.
Our reason was not only that Gilmore's stock is rising, and that he may actually go a bit earlier than this, but that considering the need at the spot there was no way the Bengals would pass a cornerback who some believe is as good as any in the draft.
Not that all readers were buying it. They didn't appreciate the override, either – and a day later, support still was strong for Boston College middle linebacker Luke Kuechly.
"Ugh, silly moderators overriding our votes!" Matt wrote. "Still say that we won't see Gilmore go before Kuechly, but hey...moving on I guess."
Silly or not, we were indeed moving on.
What we moved on to was a day with the San Diego Chargers on the clock at No. 18. Because of the Chargers' 3-4 defensive scheme, we got little support for Kuechly, but the focus still remained largely on the defensive side of the ball for much of the day.
We had offered up here Alabama outside linebacker Courtney Upshaw, who seemed like a logical selection because he appears to be the best available 3-4 outside 'backer remaining.
"If Upshaw's here, he's headed to San Diego," J-School Corby wrote. "He's a perfect fit as a 3-4 rush linebacker. . . . The need and the talent are just coming together too well at this pick."
He's particularly good considering South Carolina defensive end/linebacker Melvin Ingram – widely considered the best 3-4 outside linebacker – is gone in this draft, and considering that pass rusher is considered a huge need for San Diego.
Brian L. Jones employed the curious strategy of not only ripping the moderator, but supporting his selection at the same time.
"They need corners as well and have done nothing in FA or a trade to address this," Jones wrote. "But since we just went through the four corners fiasco, I don't dare offer up another corner. I still love Mark Barron, but I have to go with a different Crimson Tide Alum: Courtney Upshaw with the 18th pick. "
The four-corners fiasco in this case was not a 1970s college basketball stall tactic. Rather, it was the fact that this mock has selected four corners through 17 selections and not one pure linebacker. As far as Upshaw is concerned, just how much he will fill a pass rushing need is one question, but another – perhaps more pressing – issue for the day was whether that pass-rushing need is big enough for the Chargers to take Southern California end Nick Perry off the board.
Gary Cislo thought it was, and thought Denver's recent signing of Peyton Manning was a reason.
"The Bolts want to make Manning regrets his decision to play in the AFC West, so with the 18th pick the San Diego Chargers select Nick Perry out of USC," Cislo wrote. "Whitney Mercilus had one great season and the Chargers missed on Larry English, so I think (depending on personal workouts and interviews) Perry will be the selection. Perry played DE at USC racking up 29.5 tackles for a loss and 21.5 sacks in three seasons, and he can transition to an OLB in a 3-4 defense.
"Whatever position he does play, he will be explosive, rack up stats and hopefully for the Chargers' sake, stop Manning."
Solid points, but considering the plummeting nature of Perry's stock in some circles he seems like a reach here, and besides, there were plenty of reader mockers who thought that the Chargers' target might actually be on the other side of the line.
That brought us to a player who hadn't had much mention in the reader mock – until Day 18, that is.
"The Chargers select Cordy Glenn," James from Jacksonville wrote. "The Super Chargers' offensive line is going through a transition right now and drafting a lineman at 18 adds a valuable piece to the puzzle."
Wrote Joshua, "Cordy Glenn here for me as well. Glenn should have gone to the Bengals at 17th overall. But he'll go to San Diego here instead at 18th overall."
Is that too high for the second guard taken behind David DeCastro of Stanford? Probably, but the readers seem to feel differently, and on this day of all days, that was enough, so after 18 selections the 2012 reader mock draft looks like this:
1.Indianapolis | Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford
2.Washington | Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor
3.Minnesota | Matt Kalil, OT, Southern California
4.Cleveland | Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama
5.Tampa Bay | Morris Claiborne, CB, Louisiana State
6.St. Louis | Riley Reiff, OT, Iowa
7.Jacksonville | Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma State
8.Miami | Michael Floyd, WR, Notre Dame
9.Carolina | Quinton Coples, DE, North Carolina
10.Buffalo | David DeCastro, G, Stanford
11.Kansas City | Dre Kirkpatrick, CB, Alabama
12.Seattle | Melvin Ingram, DE, South Carolina
13.Arizona | Ryan Tannehill, QB, Texas A&M
14.Dallas | Janoris Jenkins, CB, North Alabama
15.Philadelphia | Fletcher Cox, DT, Mississippi State
16.New York Jets | Jonathan Martin, OT, Stanford
17.Cincinnati | Stephon Gilmore, CB, South Carolina
18.San Diego | Cordy Glenn, G, Georgia
That brings us to No. 19 and Chicago. We'll throw out Illinois defensive end Whitney Mercilus because he has to come off the board here soon, and Chicago makes a whole lot of sense. And whether we'll have the guts to overriding the majority this time . . . well, only time will tell.
Have at it.
