1st Round Mock Draft (feat. some trades)

[Raging Bull]

Here we go...

1. Miami- Jake Long, OT- I hear the Tuna's regime has already talked about contracts with the guy. Pretty easy to sign a draft pick before the draft when you pick first.

2. St Louis-Chris Long, DE- The Longs go back to back, mostly because St Louis needs an infusion of talent on the defense.

3. Atlanta-Glenn Dorsey, DT- Atlanta is a team still trying to find a foundation to build upon. While they have a laundry list of needs, they also have multiple draft picks which give them flexibility to play BPA. Dorsey gets the nod here.

4. Oakland-Darren McFadden, RB- DMack falls to Oakland and they are very happy to have him.

5. Kansas City-Ryan Clady, OT- The Chiefs could use a few linemen early in this draft, and their preference is Jeff Otah, however, if they could only find a trading mate it could be possible. With nobody interested in the area KC wants to trade down to, they pull the trigger on Clady (Of course, I hope this doesn't happen)

6. New York Jets-Vernon Gholston-DE- With one pick the Jets manage to fill a big need on defense, and at the same time, piss off their division rivals New England, who would love to snag him.

7. Denver (traded from New England)- Sedrick Ellis, DT- Ryan Clady is off the board, and with Cincy licking it's chops waiting for Ellis to fall, Denver trades it's pick to New England for, let's say, a 3rd or something like that. Remember, Denver traded up last year to get Jarvis Moss. Denver would like to get a LT, but they've also got some options to look at, and it isn't like they ever needed nice prospects on the line to move the ball well.

8. Baltimore- Matt Ryan, QB- With Matt Ryan somehow surviving 7 picks, the Ravens waste no time making their selection here. McNair is way past his prime and Boller isn't exactly Peyton Manning either.

9. Cincinnati- Keith Rivers, OLB- Right now Cincy couldn't hate New England and Denver more right about now, but they cut their losses, brush their shoulders off, and look to acquire another great need in linebacker, after losing yet another in Landon Johnson this offseason.

10. Arizona (Traded from New Orleans)-Dominique Rogers-Cromartie, CB- The Cards are apparently surprised no one's taken a CB yet, and which question marks in the secondary, they move up to get the best CB in the draft.

11. Buffalo-Leodis McKelvin, CB- There's no question the Bills are ailing at wide reciever, however, they couldn't possibly justify picking one at the spot they're at. No, they need an impact player immediately. A 2nd round WR will suffice.

12. New England (Traded from Denver)- Mike Jenkins, CB- New England didn't expect the run on CBs when they were trading down, as they certainly weren't expecting the Cards to leap up to 10. Jenkins will help patch up the loss of Asante Samuel. You could also consider OL here, but Dante's got the Midas touch with that unit, probably their strongest corps.

13. Carolina- Branden Albert, OG- I'm starting to think Albert just might be the perfect pick for us. We pick a flexible player here, who can play to the right of Wharton as a rook at LG, and maybe eventually bounce out to LT while Wharton moves to LG.

14. Chicago- Rashard Mendenhall, RB- Trading Thomas Jones was a bad move on their part. Realizing Cedric Benson might not be the cat's meow, Chi-Town takes the chance to get a solid RB.

15. Detroit- Derrick Harvey, DE- The Lions love that Harvey has dropped a little to them, and pounce on that pick quickly.

16. New Orleans (Traded from Arizona)- Kenny Phillips, S- The Saints are pissed. They were expecting Arizona to pick Mendenhall from under Chicago's nose. Nevertheless, they get some secondary help right here with Kenny Phillips, who has a great chance of thriving in the NFL.

17. Minnesota- Phillip Merling, DE- Minny's thinking about DE's here, and Merling looks to be good value at their pick.

18. Houston- Chris Williams, OT- Houston's looking for a lineman here, preferably a LT, as the safety and CB value here aren't that great.

19. Philadelphia- Jeff Otah, OT- Both of Philly's starting tackles are in their 30s, so they add another big mauler up front in Otah. He's comparable in size to Runyan, just what Philly wants in a lineman.

20. Tampa Bay- Devin Thomas, WR- The first WR comes off the board as the Bucs take Thomas. They have some really big question marks at reciever, with Joey Galloway the only one really bringing the bacon, and he's 37.

21. Washington- Calais Campbell, DE- While he is definately not the best value for the pick, Campbell can fill a need at DE for the Skins, who could use a better pass rush.

22. Dallas- DeSean Jackson, WR- Terry Glenn cannot be relied on and TO is, well, 35 this year. Crayton is a promising guy but the Cowboys take some time to fill a need and get an explosive wideout. CB would've been considered but I think Pacman is going to play in Dallas this season, so all things considered, this is the pick to make.

23. Pittsburgh- Gosder Cherilus, OT- With the Pitt losing Alan Faneca, they'll need to pick up a solid olineman here, even if it isn't a guard. They'll probably be praying for Albert to fall here but with him off the board the Steelers snag the best tackle left.

24. Tennessee- Anton Cason, CB- Again, assuming Pacman is traded, CB pops up as a bigger need.

25. Seattle- Limas Sweed, WR- The Seahawks could use some reciever help as they lost DJ Hackett, Bobby Engram is old and Branch is really the only guy that is solid.

26. Jacksonville- Lawrence Jackson, DE- The Jags look to improve the pass rush here.

27. San Diego- Reggie Smith, DB- The Chargers take a DB to help the secondary with the departure of McCree. Smith will most likely play alongside Eric Weddle.

28. Dallas- Jonathan Stewart, RB- Stewart's fall ends right about here. With the quickness of Marion Barber, their new no.1 guy, they draft someone to take the role of pounder.

29. San Francisco- Kentwan Balmer, DT- SF can use a little more help on the defensive side of the ball. The hope here is that Balmer can free up Willis to make more plays.

30. Green Bay- Brian Brohm, QB- The departure of Favre leaves Green Bay's future as a contender much in doubt. With Brohm falling right to their laps, they pick the guy that just might be their future signal-caller.

31. New York Giants- Dan Connor, OLB- With the loss of Kawika Mitchell and Reggie Torbor, and Kiwanuka coming off a broken leg, I can't see how the Giants don't pick Connor if he falls here. He'll improve the unit immediately.

Thoughts?

[nagai]

definitely an interesting draft. here are my thoughts:

1. if the chiefs prefer otah, they'll draft him at 5. even if everyone screams reach. if that's the guy you want (and he fits the scheme better than clady), then that's what they should do.

2. personally, i don't like the keith rivers pick. they've drafted defense every year with (dare i say it) no evident improvements. i think if they do pick defense, they have to look at a D-lineman like harvey. DE is a glamor position now in the nfl and definitely an important one.

3. tenessee don't need a CB. that group flew under the radar last year but played really well. consider changing it to a WR.

4. i'm not sure merling will go to the vikings. yes, they need a DE but only because they need a pass rusher. merling's OK in that department but that's not what he strives on. they need o-line help quite badly (despite the misconceptions) so i think they'll take otah.

5. bills wouldn't think twice about reaching. last year they took lynch who was projected to go on the 20's when the pick was in the 10's. the year before that they made a MAJOR reach picking donte whitner. both player have worked out very well for them. if they want a WR, they'll get one regardless of the reach. they need someone to help young edwards out with his development.

[Panthro]

WR is a deep position this year. Me thinks the Bills will wait till Rd 2-3 to draft a tall one

[Lonestar13]

I agree w/ nagai if you have your chance to get the player you want you take him

Tenn. needs a WR more than a CB imo, there D was good last year w/no Pacman

Gholston seems to be rising on boards and could push for...dare I say it 2nd pick in the draft

Minn is a QB away from being a really scary team

Mendenhall landing in the windy city is a good match

teams such as Dal, Hou, Det, need a RB also and w/ the exception of Dal who i think will take a RB 1st rd. Hou and Det can find a solid one in rd 2-3

all in all, your mock is really good and if it goes that way could you tell me what the lotto #'s are going to be

[Jackofalltrades]

Word is that Long doesn't want to play in Miami and the Fins are discussing contracts with 3-4 different players, so I wouldn't pencil JL in just yet.

I like the Albert pick, he's one of the 4-5 guys at 13 I would love to land.

[Lonestar13]

after reading the newest mock by nfldraftcountdown and how I suggested that Gholston could push for the 2nd pick in addition to how my original mock had Albert in the first round and before that I had not seen him by any other mock as a first round selection, because I'm a attention whore and I'm bored I'm temporarily changing my name to Lonestradamus

[goodlay]

I still don't think the Chiefs will reach on Clady, I think they'll take the versatile lineman in Albert. Though, I think it's funny how people still have Kenny Phillips still going mid-first round and Calais Campbell going in the first round, period. Campbell doesn't have a chance in hell to go in the first after his pathetic pro-day workout, unless someone is retarded.

[Raging Bull]

Originally Posted by goodlay

I still don't think the Chiefs will reach on Clady, I think they'll take the versatile lineman in Albert. Though, I think it's funny how people still have Kenny Phillips still going mid-first round and Calais Campbell going in the first round, period. Campbell doesn't have a chance in hell to go in the first after his pathetic pro-day workout, unless someone is retarded.

many a prospect that put forth good combines/pro days ultimately became busts in the league.

Those kinds of things are just complementary measuring tools, they're not the ultimate measuring tool.

[jramsey4]

Originally Posted by Raging Bull

many a prospect that put forth good combines/pro days ultimately became busts in the league.

Those kinds of things are just complementary measuring tools, they're not the ultimate measuring tool.

Just about every team has reached for a player because of there combine numbers. Take last year I was really following Chris Henry he had less then 500 yards of total offense in college. But he was 6'2 and ran under 4.4 forty had an excellent vertical and broad jump. Before the combine he was predicted to be a late 2nd day pick (after the 5th round). He went 2nd round to the titans. How can you give up a 2nd round pick for a RB who had less then 500 yards running total in hes college career? GM's look way to much into those workout wonders and not at what really matters, which is how they play the game of football.

[Mintal]

Originally Posted by Jackofalltrades

Word is that Long doesn't want to play in Miami and the Fins are discussing contracts with 3-4 different players, so I wouldn't pencil JL in just yet.

I like the Albert pick, he's one of the 4-5 guys at 13 I would love to land.

Word is that, but I haven't seen any confirmation of that theory. Chris Long said in an interview the other day that Miami hasn't contacted his crew at all and you have to think that if they are talking to 3 or 4 players, they'd be talking to him...

Nice work RagingBull! Thorough and with logical reasons for each pick. I may not agree with every one but who does?

[goodlay]

Originally Posted by Raging Bull

many a prospect that put forth good combines/pro days ultimately became busts in the league.

Those kinds of things are just complementary measuring tools, they're not the ultimate measuring tool.

Um, you can quote me on this, Calais Campbell will NOT be successful in the NFL.

[DaveThePanther2007]

Originally Posted by goodlay

Um, you can quote me on this, Calais Campbell will NOT be successful in the NFL.

I concur. I have heard he is lazy and overweight. That would equate to eventual failure.

Go Panthers