Two Mountaineers Featured in Fansided Mock NFL Draft

The guys over at the mother-site Fansided.com released their updated mock NFL draft this week. The NFL bloggers of Fansided ran through the mock draft based on the current projected draft order.

Two of West Virginia’s graduating seniors were selected in the first round of the mock NFL draft; QB Geno Smith and WR Tavon Austin.

Nov 10, 2012; Stillwater OK, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback Geno Smith (12) looks down field during the first quarter against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at Boone Pickens Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Richard Rowe-USA TODAY Sports

In the mock draft, Geno Smith was selected as the #1 overall pick by the Kansas City Chiefs. Here is what they had to say about Geno:

"The Kansas City Chiefs need to find a franchise signal-caller. There is no debating that. Unfortunately for Kansas City, this is a weak year to have the first-overall pick but they need to grab the top quarterback on the board in hopes of moving the franchise forward. In the 2013 NFL Draft class, the top quarterback is none other than Geno Smith."

Tavon Austin would have to wait until the bottom of the first round to hear his name called. He was picked with the 28th selection in the mock draft by Bill Belichick’s New England Patriots.

"November 17, 2012; Morgantown, WV, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers wide receiver Tavon Austin (1) carries the ball against the Oklahoma Sooners during the first quarter at Milan Puskar Stadium. The Oklahoma Sooners won 50-49. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports"

"When you look at Bill Belichick, he loves players like Tavon Austin. Austin is brilliant in small spaces and he has the deep speed to give the Patriots a deep threat they currently lack. Austin can also be moved all around the offensive backfield. New England would have a field day drawing up plays for the dynamic wideout."

The mock draft did not include any juniors as those players will wait until the end of bowl season to declare their draft intentions. West Virginia junior wide receiver Stedman Bailey is likely to appear in their mock draft if he should declare for the NFL draft this April.

For the rest of the mock draft, you can read the article here.