To say we have a LONG WAY to go before the draft is an understatement and my mock and ggippo's mock drafts will change a lot over the coming months as free agency plays out, so keep that in mind as I put up my 1st initial Miami Mock Draft.

1) Clay Matthews Jr, OLB, 6'3, 245 lbs, Southern Cal-   Active non stop motor and is a great blitzer/pass rusher with very good strength.  Very intense, competive and tough and sometimes is a little to intense.  Considered a tweener, but has good football IQ and great football bloodlines being the son of former All Pro Clay Matthews of the Cleveland Browns.

2) Ron Brace, NT/DT, 6'3, 328 lbs, Boston College-  Jason Ferguson is winding down a productive career and Paul Solairi was suspended 3 times last year, and while he did show potential last year can you really count on Paul right now.  Brace is a big, powerful DT/NG that can collapse a pocket and shows the ability to shoot the gap and penetrate at times.  As with most big men indurance is an issue and the motor can be a little inconsistent, but finding competent NT in a 3-4 scheme is essential and this guy can be a big addition to the team.  It may be a little higher than you would like, but he will not get past Atlanta and to Miami with there 2nd pick in the 2nd round.

2) Michael Hamlin, S, 6'3, 205 lbs, Clemson-  Tough, physical and reliable tackler with good hand and ball skills.  Had 14 career interceptions at Clemson, 6 in his senior year.  Not a burner at 4.55 and hip flexibility could be better, but he has the size and ability you like and Parcells has had success with Clemson safety, aka Terry Kinard.

3) Domonique Johnson, CB, 6'2, 200 lbs, Jackson State-  The trifecta has shown they will go anywhere for talent and you can find plenty of talent at the predominately black small colleges as they did last year with Kendall Langford from Hampton.  A big corner that is physical with long arms and very good speed at 4.4 40, and a burst to recover.  Good tackler, good fluid hips and ball skills and is confident in his ability.  There are some character issues as he started out at Missouri as well as some durability issues to look at.  Had a very solid Senior Bowl and would be a nice fit at CB for Miami.

4) Cornelius Lewis, OT/OG, 6'4, 325 lbs, Tennessee State-  Cornelius has the versatility to play both guard and tackle, but his best position may be guard.  He did have a strong showing at the East/West game at tackle.  He has long arms and is very physical and aggressive, perhaps a little to aggressive.  Cornelius started out at FSU, so I am familiar with him as he was kicked off the team for breaking team rules.  His versatility and ability to move and play with power gives him the edge over Jason Watkins to me.  ggippo, time to do some homework there.

5) Ramses Barden, WR, 6'6, 227 lbs, Cal-Poly-  Excellent athleticism, great strength and physical with great ball skills.  Decent blocker and intelligents and dominated at his level.  Career number were 206 catches, 4,203 yards at a 20.4 yard per catch average and 50 career TD.  Not great timed speed, not sudden and did have some problems getting off the bump at the Senior Bowl.  With a good WR coach that can be worked out and he can be an excellent red zone guy for Chad.  Some have compared him to James Hardy, but this kid does not come with the baggage that Hardy came with.  The trifecta talked with Barden at the Senior Bowl, so you know they are intrigued by his potential and this would be a good spot to take him.

7) Jasper Brinkley, ILB, 6'2, 270 lbs, South Carolina-  Has great size and surprising speed for a man his size as well as good movement skills.  Had 7.5 career sacks and 3 intercpetions for his career,which was shortened his junior year by a knee injury in the LSU game and he came back from that injury this past season.  Big, physical and a good tackler, he may drop to this point because of the knee injury from his junior season.  Brandon Siler was a kid I never thought would get to the 7th round, but he did.  If Jasper is here, snatch him, quickly.

7) Demetrius Byrd, WR, 6'3, 200 lbs, LSU- Nice size with very good speed, smooth with very good hands and will work the middle of the field and is good gettng off of jams at the line of scrimmage and has big upside.  The negatives are that he is not a great route runner and will drop some passes and is not a good blocker down field and has limitied experience.

7) Terence Moore, SS, 6'2, 218 lbs, Troy-   Big, physical safety with career 9 interceptions from a program that has produced some nice DB's.  Leodis McElvin, the CB from Buffalo is from Troy.