NFL Draft 2008 - Let's make a mock-ery.

The Game Room
161

Now THAT is commitment to a pick.

Jacksonville Jaguars

For a team that had a successful season last year, the Jags have a few needs that need addressing. Defensive line, tackles, and wide receiver all need a serious upgrade. After passing on Phillip Merling in the first round (WHA???) and losing Stroud, McRae, Jackson, and, to injury, Hayward, the Jags need help on the defensive line. And, although end is more a need than inside, I think there’s one guy they’re happy to see has fallen and who is a solid 2nd rounder.

Jacksonville Jaguars select Trevor Laws, DT, Notre Dame.

162

Indianapolis Colts

After trading their first round pick last year, the Colts have to wait 59 picks to make their first. And they’re pretty lucky because this is a pretty deep draft. The Colts need to look at their defensive line. After injuries to Freeney and Mathis, they’re depth wasn’t that good, and they lost McFarland, DT, this offseason. With Keith’s arrest, Harrison’s injury, the Colts will also be looking for depth at the RB and WR positions. They could also go for a TE to replace Utecht (although they did resign Fletcher I think) . Also, I’m not sold on that Peyton Manning guy, so they need a QB. (Had to make sure someone was paying attention).

This spot is intriguing for the Colts, because there’s a couple of good backs (Charles, but especially Chris Johnson who catches well out of the backfield), a talented TE (Bennett), and a DE/OLB tweener with the speed that Dungy loves (Cliff Avril). I think they’ll count on Freeney and Mathis for one more year, and grab that depth later.

Indianapolis Colts select Chris Johnson, RB, East Carolina.

163

Green Bay Packers

A lot of what I said 4 picks ago still holds. They still need a CB, and DaJuan Morgan would be an upgrade at S. Jamaal Charles is also still available. But I think that they go with a guy who seems to be all over the draft boards, some I’ve seen have him a first rounder and others have him in the 3rd or even 4th. But he’s a big, strong CB, who may be a bit of a reach here.

Green Bay Packers select Patrick Lee, CB, Auburn.

164

Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys got two playmakers for the offense in the first round, Stewart and Hardy, despite the fact they were a top 10 offense last year. So now, they’re looking to bolster their defense. They could use some help in the secondary, but with the signing of PacMan, they may have taken a step. Roy Williams is overrated and they need some younger guys at FS to develop. Finally, they could look to grab some help on the D Line. Guys like Justin King, DaJuan Morgan, and Marcus Harrison should garner some interest.

And, oddly enough, I’m going to ignore everything I just said. I think Dallas has the luxury of being damn good, and so they don’t really NEED anything. And I think Jerry Jones is a big fan of talented players with huge upside. Against all logic and need:

Dallas Cowboys select Martelles Bennett, TE, Texas A & M

165

You know… mock drafts get as boring as the real one after the first two rounds.

Apart from Kevin Smith, I have to admit I’ve mostly been throwing out names based on what the pundits are saying since midway through Round 1.

I know all the corners, running backs and quarterbacks quite well, but that’s mostly it. And I watch a lot of mid-major and SEC football.

166

The Patriots select Marcus Howard, OLB, Georgia. My thoughts are that they desperately need youth at LB, they love versatile players, and Howard worked out with the DEs at the combine. That’s all I got.

The Giants could use some depth at safety, and as stated before they really like size at all positions and ever since the Will Allen experiment went tits up they’ve also looked for hands in the secondary. So with the final pick in the second round the Giants select Josh Barrett, SS, Arizona State. At 6’1" and 223 lbs, he’s got nice size. And his three picks in 2006 at least show potential hands. His 4.35 40 at the combine sure didn’t hurt either.

167

Here’s a csv of the first two rounds:


Rd,#,Team,Pos,Player,QB,RB,WR,TE,OT,OG,OC,DE,DT,OLB,ILB,S,CB
1,1,Dolphins,OT,Jake Long,,,,,1,,,,,,,,
1,2,Rams,DT,Glenn Dorsey,,,,,,,,,1,,,,
1,3,Falcons,DE,Chris Long,,,,,,,,1,,,,,
1,4,Raiders,RB,Darren McFadden,,1,,,,,,,,,,,
1,5,Chiefs,QB,Matt Ryan,1,,,,,,,,,,,,
1,6,Jets,DE,Vernon Gholston,,,,,,,,2,,,,,
1,7,Patriots,DT,Sedrick Ellis,,,,,,,,,2,,,,
1,8,Ravens,CB,Leodis McKelvin,,,,,,,,,,,,,1
1,9,Bengals,OLB,Keith Rivers,,,,,,,,,,1,,,
1,10,Saints,CB,Dominique Rodgers Cromartie,,,,,,,,,,,,,2
1,11,Bills,WR,Limas Sweed,,,1,,,,,,,,,,
1,12,Broncos,OT,Ryan Clady,,,,,2,,,,,,,,
1,13,Panthers,OG,Branden Albert,,,,,,1,,,,,,,
1,14,Bears,RB,Rashard Mendenhall,,2,,,,,,,,,,,
1,15,Lions,OT,Jeff Otah,,,,,3,,,,,,,,
1,16,Cardinals,CB,Aquib Talib,,,,,,,,,,,,,3
1,17,Vikings,QB,Joe Flacco,2,,,,,,,,,,,,
1,18,Texans,CB,Mike Jenkins,,,,,,,,,,,,,4
1,19,Eagles,WR,DeSean Jackson,,,2,,,,,,,,,,
1,20,Bucs,ILB,Jerod Mayo,,,,,,,,,,,1,,
1,21,Redskins,WR,Devin Thomas,,,3,,,,,,,,,,
1,22,Cowboys,RB,Jonathon Stewart,,3,,,,,,,,,,,
1,23,Steelers,OT,Gosder Cherilus,,,,,4,,,,,,,,
1,24,Titans,DE,Derrick Harvey,,,,,,,,3,,,,,
1,25,Seahawks,QB,Brian Brohm,3,,,,,,,,,,,,
1,26,Jaguars,OT,Chris Williams,,,,,5,,,,,,,,
1,27,Chargers,DT,Kentwar Balmer,,,,,,,,,3,,,,
1,28,Cowboys,WR,James Hardy,,,4,,,,,,,,,,
1,29,49ers,ILB,Dan Connor,,,,,,,,,,,2,,
1,30,Packers,DE,Phillip Merling,,,,,,,,,,,,,
1,31,Giants,CB,Antoine Cason,,,,,,,,,,,,,5
2,1,Dolphins,DE,Calais Campbell,,,,,,,,4,,,,,
2,2,Rams,OT,Sam Baker,,,,,6,,,,,,,,
2,3,Falcons,TE,Dustin Keller,,,,1,,,,,,,,,
2,4,Chiefs,CB,Brandon Flowers,,,,,,,,,,,,,6
2,5,Jets,RB,Felix Jones,,4,,,,,,,,,,,
2,6,Falcons,QB,Chad Henne,4,,,,,,,,,,,,
2,7,Ravens,OLB,Xavier Adibi,,,,,,,,,,2,,,
2,8,49ers,WR,Malcolm Kelly,,,5,,,,,,,,,,
2,9,Saints,WR,Mario Manningham,,,6,,,,,,,,,,
2,10,Bills,CB,Reggie Smith,,,,,,,,,,,,,7
2,11,Broncos,ILB,Jonathan Goff,,,,,,,,,,,3,,
2,12,Panthers,RB,Ray Rice,,5,,,,,,,,,,,
2,13,Bears,S,Kenny Phillips,,,,,,,,,,,,1,
2,14,Lions,ILB,Curtis Lofton,,,,,,,,,,,4,,
2,15,Bengals,WR,Andre Caldwell,,,7,,,,,,,,,,
2,16,Vikings,DE,Quentin Groves,,,,,,,,5,,,,,
2,17,Falcons,CB,Tracy Porter,,,,,,,,,,,,,8
2,18,Eagles,ILB,Tavares Gooden,,,,,,,,,,,,,
2,19,Cardinals,DE,Lawrence Jackson,,,,,,,,6,,,,,
2,20,Redskins,S,Tyrell Johnson,,,,,,,,,,,,2,
2,21,Bucs,WR,Jordy Nelson,,,8,,,,,,,,,,
2,22,Steelers,WR,Early Doucet,,,9,,,,,,,,,,
2,23,Titans,OG,Chilo Rachal,,,,,,2,,,,,,,
2,24,Seahawks,TE,Fred Davis,,,,2,,,,,,,,,
2,25,Packers,TE,John Carlson,,,,3,,,,,,,,,
2,26,Dolphins,RB,Kevin Smith,,6,,,,,,,,,,,
2,27,Jaguars,DT,Trevor Laws,,,,,,,,,4,,,,
2,28,Colts,RB,Chris Johnson,,7,,,,,,,,,,,
2,29,Packers,CB,Patrick Lee,,,,,,,,,,,,,9
2,30,Cowboys,TE,Martelles Bennett,,,,4,,,,,,,,,
2,31,Patriots,OLB,Marcus Howard,,,,,,,,,,3,,,
2,32,Giants,SS,Josh Barrett,,,,,,,,,,,,3,
168

New England Patriots

… nevermind…

169

Here’s Scouts Inc.'s draft here, including trades. It’s the first round only, but some of our picks (not many, to be honest) are right on.

170

That’s the thing with mocks, though. If one is wrong, the next 30 are liable to be.

171

Oh, no doubt unless someone reaches for Kevin Smith cough. But they’re also trying trades out as well.

172

Miami Dolphins

After picking a high mileage, weak legged player with questionable speed, who padded his stats against powerhouses like UAB, Tulsa, UTEP, and Louisiana Lafayette, the Dolphins are looking to shore up their interior defense, which gave up a ton of rushing yards and TDs last year. They’re also looking for a QB without the name Beck or Lemon. The problem is that the QB pool is nothing but projects (and not very good ones at that) and we’re getting into guys who may have talent, but have red flags. Miami will pick a guy who has the talent, but has question marks such as a drug charge and being stupid. But 76 tackles at DT and 10 balls batted down are hard to pass up.

Miami Dolphins select Marcus Harrison, DT, Arkansas.

173

And I didn’t list the 3rd round picks yet:

ROUND ONE

1 (1) Miami Dolphins - Jake Long, OT, Michigan
2 (2) St. Louis Rams – Glenn Dorsey, DT, LSU
3 (3) Atlanta Falcons – Chris Long, DE, Virginia
4 (4) Oakland Raiders – Darren McFadden, RB, Arkansas
5 (5) Kansas City Chiefs – Matt Ryan, QB, Boston College
6 (6) New York Jets – Vernon Gholston, DE/OLB, Ohio State
7 (7) New England Patriots (From 49ers) – Sedrick Ellis, DT, USC
8 (8) Baltimore Ravens – Leodis McKelvin, CB, Troy
9 (9) Cincinnati Bengals – Keith Rivers, LB, USC
10 (10) New Orleans Saints – Dominique Rodgers Cromartie, CB, Tenn. St.
11 (11) Buffalo Bills – Limas, Sweed, WR, Texas
12 (12) Denver Broncos – Ryan Clady, OT, Boise St.
13 (13) Carolina Panthers – Branden Albert, OG, Virginia
14 (14) Chicago Bears – Rashard Mendenhall, RB, Illinois
15 (15) Detroit Lions – Jeff Otah, OT, Pitt
16 (16) Arizona Cardinals – Aquib Talib, CB, Kansas
17 (17) Minnesota Vikings – Joe Flacco, QB, Delaware
18 (18) Houston Texans – Mike Jenkins, CB, S. Florida
19 (19) Philadelphia Eagles – DeSean Jackson, WR, California
20 (20) Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Jerod Mayo, ILB, Tennessee
21 (21) Washington Redskins – Devin Thomas, WR, Michigan State
22 (22) Dallas Cowboys (From Browns) – Jonathon Stewart, RB, Oregon
23 (23) Pittsburgh Steelers – Gosder Cherilus, OT, Boston College
24 (24) Tennessee Titans – Derrick Harvery, DE, Florida
25 (25) Seattle Seahawks – Brian Brohm, QB, Louisville
26 (26) Jacksonville Jaguars – Chris Williams, OT, Vanderbilt
27 (27) San Diego Chargers – Kentwan Balmer, DT, North Carolina
28 (28) Dallas Cowboys – James Hardy, WR, Indiana
29 (29) San Francisco 49ers (From Colts) – Dan Connor, LB, Penn State
30 (30) Green Bay Packers – Phillip Merling, DE, Clemson
31 (31) New York Giants – Antoine Cason, CB, Arizona
ROUND 2

1 (32) Miami Dolphins – Calais Campbell, DE, Miami
2 (33) St. Louis Rams – Sam Baker, OT, USC
3 (34) Atlanta Falcons (From Raiders) – Dustin Keller, TE, Purdue
4 (35) Kansas City Chiefs – Brandon Flowers, CB, Virginia Tech
5 (36) New York Jets – Felix Jones, RB, Arkansas
6 (37) Atlanta Falcons – Chad Henne, QB, Michigan
7 (38) Baltimore Ravens – Xavier Adibi, LB, Virginia Tech
8 (39) San Francisco 49ers – Malcolm Kelly, WR, Oklahoma.
9 (40) New Orleans Saints – Mario Manningham, WR, Michigan
10 (41) Buffalo Bills – Reggie Smith, CB/S, Oklahoma
11 (42) Denver Broncos – Jonathan Goff, ILB, Vanderbilt
12 (43) Carolina Panthers – Ray Rice, RB, Rutgers.
13 (44) Chicago Bears – Kenny Phillips, S, Miami
14 (45) Detroit Lions – Curtis Lofton, LB, Oklahoma.
15 (46) Cincinnati Bengals – Andre Caldwell, WR, Florida
16 (47) Minnesota Vikings – Quentin Groves, DE/OLB, Auburn
17 (48) Atlanta Falcons (From Texans) – Tracy Porter, CB, Indiana
18 (49) Philadelphia Eagles – Tavares Gooden, ILB, Miami (Fla.)
19 (50) Arizona Cardinals – Lawrence Jackson, DE/OLB, USC
20 (51) Washington Redskins – Tyrell Johnson, S, Arkansas St.
21 (52) Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Jordy Nelson, WR, Kansas St.
22 (53) Pittsburgh Steelers – Early Doucet, WR, LSU
23 (54) Tennessee Titans – Chilo Rachal, OG, USC
24 (55) Seattle Seahawks – Fred Davis, TE, USC
25 (56) Green Bay Packers (From Browns) – John Carlson, TE, Notre Dame
26 (57) Miami Dolphins (From Chargers) – Kevin Smith, RB, Central Florida
27 (58) Jacksonville Jaguars – Trevor Laws, DT, Notre Dame
28 (59) Indianapolis Colts – Chris Johnson, RB, East Carolina
29 (60) Green Bay Packers – Patrick Lee, CB, Auburn
30 (61) Dallas Cowboys – Martelles Bennett, TE, Texas A & M
31 (62) New England Patriots – Marcus Howard, OLB, Georgia
32 (63) New York Giants – Josh Barrett, SS, Arizona State

ROUND 3

1 (64) Miami Dolphins – Marcus Harrison, DT, Arkansas
2 (65) St. Louis Rams –
3 (66) Kansas City Chiefs
4 (67) Carolina Panthers (From Jets)
5 (68) Atlanta Falcons
6 (69) New England Patriots (From Raiders)
7 (70) Chicago Bears (From 49ers)
8 (71) Jacksonville Jaguars (From Ravens through Bills)
9 (72) Buffalo Bills
10 (73) Minnesota Vikings (From Broncos)
11 (74) Carolina Panthers
12 (75) San Francisco 49ers (From Bears)
13 (76) Detroit Lions
14 (77) Cincinnati Bengals
15 (78) New Orleans Saints
16 (79) Houston Texans
17 (80) Philadelphia Eagles
18 (81) Arizona Cardinals
19 (82) Minnesota Vikings
20 (83) Tampa Bay Buccaneers
21 (84) Washington Redskins
22 (85) Tennessee Titans
23 (86) Seattle Seahawks
24 (87) Detroit Lions (From Browns)
25 (88) Pittsburgh Steelers
26 (89) Jacksonville Jaguars
27 (90) Chicago Bears (From Chargers)
28 (91) Green Bay Packers
29 (92) Dallas Cowboys
30 (93) Indianapolis Colts
31 (94) New England Patriots
32 (95) New York Giants
33 (96) Washington Redskins (Compensatory selection)
34 (97) Cincinnati Bengals (Compensatory selection)
35 (98) Atlanta Falcons (Compensatory selection)
36 (99) Baltimore Ravens (Compensatory selection)

174

…and Texas (27 carries, 149 yards, #6 in the nation in rush defense), South Florida (#34), and NC State (#50-something, I think).

That’s it. I’ll say no more about Kevin Smith until after the draft.

175

St. Louis Rams

The Rams have already had a good draft, filling needs on both the O Line and D Line with guys who can probably help from day one. And here, in the third round, I think they’ll be looking for a guy to help out on offense. While they may want more depth on the O Line, I think they’ll want to find a replacement for Torry Holt. Of course, you’re not going to find a guy like Holt in the 3rd round, though. I think they’d like a speed guy who may develop further to take pressure off of Holt and Bennett. In my mind, it comes down between Donnie Avery and Dexter Jackson. Personally, I think Jackson is incredibly overrated because of his one great performance against Michigan. And Avery was in a pass happy offense in college. But I think Avery, once he polishes his route running and learns to find holes in the zones, he could be special.

St. Louis Rams select Donnie Avery, WR, Houston.

176

Kansas City Chiefs

Knowing now that they won’t have Jared Allen shouldn’t mess up this pick because I think they will probably try and find a replacement with the 17th pick though. With this pick, however, they simply have to do something about their offensive line. While Ryan and Flowers are good players and should contribute, in this case, I think need will dictate the pick. Their choices boil down to Duane Brown, Anthony Collins, Tony Hills, or Roy Schuening. I’m thinking that Brown, Collins, and Hills are all a bit of developmental projects, but I think Schuening could help improve the line from day one. While he’s not the most athletic guy, he is a bulldozer in the running game. And with the crap they have at QB, they’ll be a lot of focus on the running game.

Kansas City Chiefs select Roy Schuening, OG, Oregon State.

177

Hell, if the Chiefs’ offensive line holds up, they still do have Larry Johnson.

178

Carolina Panthers

The Panthers are getting old or gone in their trenches. Rucker retired, Kris Jenkins is a Jet, Peppers is, I think, in the last year of his contract and only had 2.5 sacks last year. They also need immediate starters at LT and WR, as well as a QB. Lots o’ needs. Brandon Albert will be an immediate help on the O Line, but he’s a dominant guard and a project at LT. I think with this pick, they have to look for a pass rusher. The problem is that there are quite a few tweeners, quite good tweeners, out there. But they’re tweeners. I think Carolina prefers good old fashioned DE’s. Which are hard to find nowadays. One guy pops out at me, Kendall Langford who is a stud … against lesser competition. If he gets good coaching, learns technique, and continues to develop, he could be an elite DE. Jeremy Thompson is also a chance.

Carolina Panthers select Kendall Langford, DE, Hampton.

179

But they don’t have Willie Roaf.

It will be interesting to see how LJ does this year if the Chiefs improve the line even just a bit. We could be having the “Sean Alexander owes everything to his O Line” discussion about LJ.

180

cough Garrett Wolfe cough

cough JJ Arrington cough

cough Darren Sproles cough

I’m sure Kevin will have a great career in the NFL. As a backup.