NFL Draft Rumors: Lions, Browns, Stephon Gilmore, Ladarius Green, Dontari Poe, Eagles

Lions 

Tony Pauline of TFY Draft Insider reports that the Detroit Lions could be “surprise suitors” for Stanford OT Jonathan Martin. Pauline cites the injury to veteran OT Jeff Backus as the main reason why the Lions would consider taking Martin in the first-round. The fact that Gosder Cherilus will be a free agent at the end of the season could be another consideration for Detroit, according to Pauline.

Backus will be 35 just a few weeks into the season and his recent injury leaves him as a serious liability so grabbing an OT early on in the draft makes a lot of sense despite the fact that they also need a CB badly. Martin’s draft stock has been falling as of late but he still has first-round potential. Ohio State OT Mike Adams has also been mentioned as a possible option he might end up being a second-round pick.

We have the Lions taking Martin in our latest 2012 NFL Mock Draft.

Browns

Tony Pauline of TFY Draft Insider reports that there’s been some talk that Ole Miss OT Bobby Massie could “slide into the late part of round one.” Pauline adds that the Cleveland Browns will give consideration to Massie should they pass on Texas A&M QB Ryan Tannehill, but mentions that they would most likely use a second-round pick on him.

Two other possibilities could be the New York Giants and Pittsburgh Steelers, according to Pauline.

Massie is another rising OT prospect but it would definitely be surprising to see make his way into the first-round. He could end up being a good grab in the second-round for someone.

We actually have him going to the Chargers at #49 in the second-round of our latest 2012 NFL Mock Draft.

Stephon Gilmore

Tony Pauline of TFY Draft Insider reports that  South Carolina CB Stephon Gilmore has a shot at coming off of the board “in the top half of round one.” Pauline adds that many believe Gilmore will be the second CB taken.

Gilmore is another fast rising prospect that has great size and long arms to go with his quality tape. Mel Kiper is on board with Gilmore being a solid first-rounder and mentioned that he has “no glaring weaknesses in his game.“

We have him off of the board at #18 to the Chargers in our latest 2012 NFL Mock Draft.

Ladarius Green

Tony Pauline of TFY Draft Insider writes that “our feeling is Ladarius Green of Louisiana Lafayette will be selected much earlier than people presently predict.”

So far Green has visited with the Miami Dolphins and Cleveland Browns and Pauline mentions that they don’t expect him to be available to them in the third-round.

Miami has made it know that they would like to find a solid TE during the offseason and at this point, the draft figures to be their best bet. The Browns have too many TE’s so I can’t see them investing an early-round pick in the position, but I guess it’s possible.

We actually have him going to the Bears at #81 in the third-round of our 2012 NFL Mock Draft.

Draft Notes

• The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Memphis DT Dontari Poe was at the Eagles’ headquarters for a visit today.
• Scott Brown of DraftCountdown.com mentions that the negative talk surrounding Poe is unwarranted because he’s going to play NT and they’re not exactly know for leading the league in sacks. This was actually something I mentioned last week.

We’ll add more notes and news to this post throughout the remainder of the night.