With the first round knocked out, I return with my second installment of my 2011 NFL mock draft. For a quick recap of the first round, we saw Cam Netwon go to Carolina, Patrick Peterson to Buffalo, Blaine Gabbert to Tennessee, Robert Quinn to San Francisco, and Prince Amukamara to Minnesota. With the first 32 picks knocked out, the most talented players left on the board include Brooks Reed, Akeem Ayers, Aaron Williams, Cam Heyward, and Brandon Harris. Early in the second round there are a bunch of teams who could be looking at quarterback upgrades, as Buffalo, Cincinnati, Arizona, Washington, Minnesota, and San Francisco all could/should be looking to address this area of need and have a prime selection early in round two. Now that we have this out of the way, we'll get back to the grind:
New England (33): Akeem Ayers, DE/OLB, UCLA
- Still in desperate need of some pass-rushing reinforcements for their front seven, New England is forced to use a second high draft pick on pass rush personnel. Even if both Cameron Jordan and Ayers pan out, the Pats have filled the need for a second outside linebacker and for a defensive end to upgrade over Gerard Warren. However, Mike Wright is injury prone and Ty Warren won't be around forever, and with an abundance of draft picks the Pats very well might triple-dip in pass rushers with this draft class.
Buffalo (34): Kyle Rudolph, TE, Notre Dame
- Shawn Nelson has been a terrible disappointment for Buffalo. They've got a lot of holes to fill but Rudolph has first-round talent at tight end. Since I'm a believer in Ryan Fitzpatrick, they might as well surround him with some good toys to play with before moving on from him.
Cincinnati (35): Andy Dalton, QB, TCU
- Since Carson Palmer doesn't plan on playing for the Bengals ever again, they need a contingency plan. I could have given them Blaine Gabbert in round one, but with the looming departures of Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco, AJ Green's talent was simply too much to pass up. Now they have to come back with an accurate West Coast-style passer to build the offense around. Dalton has really good accuracy and nice mobility to go with it, and given Green, Cedric Benson, Jermaine Gresham, and Jordan Shipley as weapons, Dalton will help a lot of Bengals fans forget the name Carson Palmer.
Denver (36): Cam Heyward, DE, Ohio State
- Despite Elvis Dumervil returning to the starting lineup next season, the Broncos really need to make improvements to their pass rush and add depth to their front seven. Injury concerns drop Heyward into the early second round, but despite the elbow he is too talented for Denver to pass up.
Cleveland (37): Brooks Reed, DE, Arizona
- Cleveland, in need of 4-3 personnel, is lucky to find Arizona's Brooks Reed here. His stock has been rising and it's starting to look like he could go in the first round. Cleveland didn't have a bad defense last year and has a lot of solid building blocks, but they still need to improve at getting to opposing quarterbacks.
Arizona (38): Aaron Williams, CB, Texas
- The Cardinals need multiple offensive line upgrades, but their defense gave up the third-most yards in the league last year. Their front seven needs most of the help and will enjoy the addition of Von Miller, but the Cards could use reinforcements at corner as well. Texas' Aaron Williams should not disappoint.
Tennessee (39): Marcus Cannon, G, TCU
- The Titans got their new quarterback in Round One with Blaine Gabbert, now they need to start giving him protection and weapons. Having Kenny Britt and Chris Johnson will be a big help, so they should pursue an offensive line upgrade before getting another receiver or tight end for Gabbert to work with. Cannon is currently the top talent on the board at guard, an area where the Titans could use some help.
Dallas (40): Ben Ijalana, T, Villanova
- The Cowboys need a bunch of upgrades on defense and on the offensive line. They got JJ Watt to bolster their defensive front seven and now seek to improve Tony Romo's protection with a new right tackle. Next up they'll have to address holes in their secondary, regardless of whether or not Jerry Jones sees it as a position of need.
Washington (41): Jake Locker, QB, Washington
- Once considered a first round prospect, Jake Locker threw his draft stock off the cliff after the season he had in 2010. Still, there's not much in terms of surefire quarterback talent this year, so the Redskins will start a mini-run on the position here by taking the top name off the board.
Houston (42): Brandon Harris, CB, Miami
- After giving up a league-worst 267.5 passing yards per game last year, the Texans badly need help in their secondary. Brandon Harris, like Aaron Williams, is a borderline first-round talent who falls to round 2 out of circumstance and provides Houston a nice option to pair alongside former first round pick Kareem Jackson.
Minnesota (43): Christian Ponder, QB, Florida State
- It's time to move on from Brett Favre, and Tarvaris Jackson just isn't the answer. The Vikings have to find a guy to be their next starting quarterback, and Ponder is the best option to go with. With Sidney Rice (assuming he is re-signed), Percy Harvin, Visanthe Shiancoe, and Adrian Peterson in place, any potential new QB for the Vikings is coming in to a pretty good situation, so there will be no excuses for failure.
Detroit (44): Bruce Carter, OLB, North Carolina
- The Lions have had a really nice youth movement as of late led by Louis Delmas and Ndamukong Suh, but there is still plenty of work left to be done. Particularly, the team needs some help at linebacker and to groom a replacement for Julian Peterson. Bruce Carter should be a beast on the outside and will help "restore the roar" to the Lions defense.
San Francisco (45): Ryan Mallett, QB, Arkansas
- Mallett may not have great character, but boy can he throw a football. For a desperate franchise like San Francisco, they need to take a look and hope that he can become a great quarterback despite his obvious downsides. Being able to take him in round two and after other elite quarterback prospects is a huge plus because it will mean less of a financial commitment in case Mallett follows in the footsteps of superbusts Ryan Leaf and Matt Leinart.
Denver (46): Joseph Barksdale, T, LSU
- Luckily for the Broncos they have the second overall pick and two early second rounders to address their many holes. Cam Heyward and Marcel Dareus represent much-needed upgrades to the front seven, and now they need to focus on the offensive line. I thought about Danny Watkins, who is ready to be an impact blocker right now, but because of his age (27) I feel many teams will back off him more than they should. Instead they end up with Joseph Barksdale of LSU, who will hopefully be the upgrade Denver needs at right tackle.
St. Louis (47): Leonard Hankerson, WR, Miami
- Q: Why did Sam Bradford struggle so much at times last year? A: He has no help at receiver. The Rams need another playmaker on offense and at 47 Leonard Hankerson is a steal.
Oakland (48): Davon House, CB, New Mexico State
- For some reason, the Raiders decided they didn't want the best cornerback in the game on their roster anymore. Nnamdi Asomugha's contract was voided for not getting enough interceptions (it's hard to get a lot of them when you're the least-thrown-at-defensive back in the game), and while the team may try to bring him back they certainly can't count on it. Davon House is the best cornerback on the board and they pretty much have to take him unless they can find some other contingency plan.
Jacksonville (49): Rahim Moore, S, UCLA
- After ranking second-to-last in passing defense last year, the Jaguars have a ton of improvements to make in order to get their defense to an acceptable level. Moore will be a big boost to the secondary but even after this pick the Jags will need another safety and a cornerback.
San Diego (50): Jerrel Jernigan, WR, Troy
- The Bolts have almost no chance of retaining Vincent Jackson and Malcolm Floyd, so to keep their offense in tip, top shape they'll need to add a wide receiver. Jernigan is the top wide out left on the board and his stock is after the rise after a nice Pro Day.
Tampa Bay (51): Jabaal Sheard, DE, Pitt
- The Bucs need a bunch of help at defensive end even with their first round selection of Muhammad Wilkerson. Sheard has better talent than his draft stock indicates and should fill in nicely in the starting lineup for Tampa.
New York Giants (52): Ryan Williams, RB, Virginia Tech
- With Ahmad Bradshaw in the fold, the Giants don't necessarily need Williams, but it can never hurt to take the best player on the board. Besides, with Bradshaw an upcoming free agent, it is possible that he could leave the team. If Bradshaw does leave, no one in the Giants organization would be comfortable using Brandon Jacobs in an every-down role. Williams would make for a very good replacement, sooner or later.
Indianapolis (53): Quinton Carter, S, Oklahoma
- After releasing the oft-injured Bob Sanders, the Colts are going to have to look for a new safety who can step in and take over the role. Carter is the top safety left on the board and has demonstrated some very nice ability in coverage.
Philadelphia (54): Tyler Sash, S, Iowa
- Like Indy, the Eagles are need of a few upgrades to their secondary with their top needs including a replacement at safety and depth at cornerback. After the Colts nabbed Quinton Carter and no prospects currently worth taking at corner, the Eagles are left to go with Iowa's Tyler Sash.
Kansas City (55): Christian Ballard, DE, Iowa
- Kansas City's only big pass-rush threat at the moment is Tamba Hali, and this needs to change if the they expect to make more playoff runs (or even win a playoff game) in the future. Ballard is worth a look as a defensive end, though this will still leave the Chiefs with a need to upgrade over Mike Vrabel. Still, there's no way Ballard can be any worse than Tyson Jackson, making him an instant upgrade.
New Orleans (56): Drake Nevis, DT, LSU
- The Saints need a long term solution at defensive tackle because Shaun Rogers will be little more than a stopgap. Nevis is a big, quick, disruptive tackle and as long as he can keep his size under control he should be a serviceable player for the Saints.
Seattle (57): Marvin Austin, DT, North Carolina
- Even more so than the Saints, the Seahawks need help up front with their defensive line. Austin is even more physically gifted than Drake Nevis, but the problem is that there are issues with Austin's work ethic. However, as we've seen with his gambles on LenDale White and Mike Williams, this isn't a big deal for Pete Carroll, who is too desperate for defensive help to be picky.
Baltimore (58): Curtis Brown, CB, Texas
- He may not be the fastest corner prospect in this draft class, but Curtis Brown had a nice 39.5-inch vertical and is not afraid to dish out some hard hits. Is it just me, or is that Baltimore-style football? With multiple cornerbacks set to reach free agency, this is a big area of need for the Ravens, and as the best cornerback prospect left on the board Brown seems like a natural fit to me.
Atlanta (59): Stefen Wisniewski, OL, Penn State
- Wisniewski's draft stock currently pegs him as a middle-second round pick, so it's a bit of a miracle for Atlanta that he's fallen this far. The Falcons could use an offensive line upgrade to improve protection for Matt Ryan, and while they have a bigger need at offensive tackle, Wisniewski has the flexibility to play center or guard and certainly couldn't hurt Atlanta's offensive line. Matty Ice will appreciate all the extra blocking help he can get.
New England (60): Mikel Leshoure, RB, Illinois
- It may not be very Belichickian to take a big-time running back, but it is Belichickian to take a big value pick. Mikel Leshoure is one of the best running backs in this draft class and could easily be taken much earlier in the second round. Also, despite the emergence of both BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Danny Woodhead last year, having a three-down back in the fold would go a long ways in helping the offense as it wouldn't telegraph what sort of play to expect for the defense. The Pats are actually expected to take a running back in the draft this year, and this seems like the best spot for them to do it.
San Diego (61): James Carpenter, T, Alabama
- Carpenter isn't the most athletic guy at tackle, but has excelled as a run blocker and would fill a positional need for the Chargers.
Chicago (62): Danny Watkins, G, Baylor
- Just like Matt Stafford with the Lions, it isn't the front office that is paying the price for having a bad offensive line, it's the quarterback. Jay Cutler may have been able to lead the Bears to the Super Bowl last year, but we have no idea what would have been because terrible blocking allowed the Packers to pound him to the turf until he couldn't play anymore. Teams will likely back off of Danny Watkins a little bit because he's 27, but he's ready to start right now and should be an impact blocker. Chicago needs to find out if he's as good as advertised.
Pittsburgh (63): Rodney Hudson, G, Florida State
- There's a possibility the Steelers won't be bringing back Willie Colon, so he will need to be replaced. Rodney Hudson has been a great run-blocker and Rashard Mendenhall will love all the open rushing lanes that Hudson will create for him.
Green Bay (64): Sam Acho, DE/OLB, Texas
- I originally would have given the Packers a guard here like Orlando Franklin or Will Rackley, but since Johnny Jolly has been arrested again it's time for the Packers to move on and find somebody else. Sam Acho will provide another pass rusher across the field from Clay Matthews, which is always a plus when you face Matthew Stafford and Jay Cutler twice a year.