NFL Mock Draft

By Dalton Del Don – Senior Writer

Like last year, this draft is star-powered and full of intrigue. With many potential blockbuster trades legitimately in the works, this weekend should be plenty watchable. I’m not going to humor anyone into thinking I can predict the unpredictable, so I’ll just take a stab at the top 10 picks. I’m already excited just imagining Mel Kiper and Mel Kiper’s hair getting irate over an egregious fifth-round pick.

1. Oakland Raiders – Calvin Johnson, WR Georgia Tech

All signs seem to point to JaMarcus Russell. During a lengthy tongue-lashing delivered to Art Shell on Jan. 5, Al Davis accused Shell of persuading Davis to bypass Matt Leinart with the seventh pick of last year’s draft. “You set this franchise back 10 years. Now I have to fix it,” Davis said. Quarterback may be their most glaring need, but smart franchises draft for value and get their needs through free agency. Obviously, no one is going to confuse Oakland with a smart franchise, but they can’t be dumb enough to pass on a once-in-a-lifetime prospect such as Johnson, can they? Coach Lane Kiffin calls Johnson “basically perfect.” Remember, Davis hasn’t used a first-round pick, let alone the top pick, on a quarterback since the Raiders selected Todd Marinovich in 1991. Look for the Raiders to address the QB position either by acquiring Daunte Culpepper and/or drafting a Trent Edwards type later in the draft.

2. Arizona Cardinals (via Detroit Lions) – Joe Thomas, LT Wisconsin

That’s right, I’m already predicting a trade. I’m not going to get into details, but the Lions move down into the Cardinals’ No. 5 spot. If the Raiders pass on Johnson and take Russell, all bets are off, as numerous teams will slobber over moving up to nab the Georgia Tech toker. Arizona has its defensive needs, but the offensive line is the more glaring of the two. With the skill positions set, Thomas is brought on board in hopes of opening the first hole Edge James has seen since he signed in the desert.

3. Cleveland Browns – Adrian Peterson, RB Oklahoma

Brady Quinn is another strong possibility here, but coach Romeo Crennel and GM Phil Savage are worried about their jobs, and Peterson will have the greater immediate impact. QB is a serious position of need and more important than running back, but that doesn’t make Peterson a bad pick. After all, he is a special talent.

4. Tampa Bay – Gaines Adams, DE Clemson

Jon Gruden has selected offense in each of his three first-round picks with Tampa Bay. He finally relents and lets his defense take the draft’s top pure pass rusher.

5. Detroit Lions (via Arizona Cardinals) – Patrick Willis, LB Ole Miss

The Lions traded down in hopes of getting Gaines, but they’ll have to settle for Willis instead. He’s nearly 240 pounds and ran a 4.37 forty at the Ole Miss pro day. He’s going to be good, although in my opinion, linebacker is the most fungible position on the football field.

6. Miami Dolphins (via Washington Redskins) – Brady Quinn, QB Notre Dame

With only one pick in the first four rounds, Washington needs to stockpile as many extra picks as possible to work on much-needed depth. As such, the Dolphins make a splash (pun intended) by moving up three spots to take their quarterback of the future.

7. Minnesota Vikings – JaMarcus Russell, QB LSU

Coach Brad Childress would be admitting that last year’s trade of two third-round picks for Tarvaris Jackson was a mistake, but it’s better late than never. Russell is too tough to pass up at this spot, especially with what Childress has done in the past regarding quarterback development.

8. Atlanta Falcons – LaRon Landry, FS LSU

If Calvin Johnson starts slipping, an Atlanta move up to pair the local product with running back Michael Vick isn’t out of the question. Still, a team in desperate need of safety help, Landry is a perfect fit for the Falcons.

9. Washington Redskins (via Miami Dolphins) – Amobi Okoye, DT Louisville

The Nigerian Nightmare, part deux.

10. Houston Texans – Levi Brown, LT Penn State

While this may be somewhat of a slight reach, the Texans are in dire need of a left tackle. His agility should fit Gary Kubiak’s zone-blocking scheme quite well.


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11 responses to “NFL Mock Draft”

  1. Robby Avatar
    Robby

    I heard the Raiders at looking at Trent Edwards at #1 overall. He perfected the all-important quick kick with Stanford this year.

  2. Keith Avatar
    Keith

    Too bad Trent’s no Kwame, otherwise he’d be a steal…anyway, I hope the Raiders are dumb enough to reach for Russell at #1, because I’ll be glued to the TV wanting to find out what happens with Johnson. Unfortunately, I haven’t heard much talk of the ‘9ers trading up, but I genuinely think WR is a bigger position of need than anything else. They obviously need help on D, but if you can get a legit #1 WR, just spend the rest of your picks on D and hope a couple of them hit, and their offense would be downright scary in a year.

    Todd Marinovich…I love it. Anyone who gets arrested for surfing stoned and naked is my kind of guy (and even moreso, the Raiders kind of guy).

  3. sir boss hog outlaw III Avatar
    sir boss hog outlaw III

    first of all FUNGIBLE???? i dont want to have to go to dictionary.com to read this site, next the raiders are an organization of pure genius, for 30 plus years they were the winningest team in all pro sports (the three that matter anyway), not to mention you can thank the great Al Davis for the AFL-NFL merger, a hall of fame member, the guy is nothing but pure class, white track suits and all…there D is legit with one of the best backfields in football and overall an underrated Defense (how long were they on the field last year 45 minutes? a game)…i do agree however that Russell would be a terrible pick, you know how I feel about that kind of QB Culpepper gits that bill too…I am still hoping for a moss for rodgers trade on draft day…hopefully they dont pass on sir boss hog outlaw johnson…… DDAAAAAAAAAAAAAA RAIDERZZZZZZZZZZ

  4. JPru Avatar
    JPru

    The game passed Al Davis by years ago, that’s why they’ve sucked the last decade. The AFC West can look at games against the Raiders and mark off two easy wins.

  5. RotoScoop Avatar
    RotoScoop

    Robby – Makes sense, the quick kick figures to be a much-needed aspect in the Raider offense this year.

  6. RotoScoop Avatar
    RotoScoop

    Keith – Agreed about the 9ers. Antonio Bryant obviously isn’t reliable, but he had his uses, and the WR hole is bigger without him. Once Battle gets hurt, they’ll be extremely thin. I’m probably wrong – and the Raiders will draft Russell – and then the free for all for Johnson should be good stuff. I’m guessing SF thinks they have too many holes to fill to move up, but I’m on board with the idea.

    I just want to see Matt Millen pass on him just b/c his past WRs failed. That will be fun.

    Marinovich is the man.

  7. RotoScoop Avatar
    RotoScoop

    Bosshog – The Oakland D is legit, no doubt about it. They’d be even better with a bad not terrible offense, like you pointed out. Moss is going to GB, no doubt about it. And let me apologize for insulting the great Al Davis.

  8. RotoScoop Avatar
    RotoScoop

    JPru – Are we entirely sure Al Davis is even alive? I wouldn’t be surprised if someone is pulling a Weekend at Bernie’s stunt on us with him.

  9. mithtur tintle Avatar

    The Raiders will trade with TB, acquire a buttload of picks, and draft JaMarcus without having to pay him #1 overall money.

  10. maddendude Avatar

    As somewhat of a Raiders fan, I really want them to get Russell, it gives us fans something to really be optimistic about. If we get Johnson, he’s great, but Walter still isn’t great. The O-line has been improved, but we have yet to see exactly how much better it is. Walter rarely shows flashes of being a good QB, his best moments are always in pre-season. Culpepper still has issues, is he as good as he used to be? He’s still not 100%, when will he be? Etc. Green isn’t a long term option, he’s way too fragile. I think this is a good opportunity for them to start over. We’ve seen franchises get destroyed by high QBs, but we’ve also seen franchises be made by them.

  11. RotoScoop Avatar
    RotoScoop

    Well, it looks more and more like Oakland is going to go w/ Russell. And obviously QB is more important than WR and an extreme team need. I agree, Walter and Culpepper aren’t the answer. I’m not saying Russell doesn’t have the potential – he clearly does – but C. Johnson is the more “can’t miss” prospect. And Russell is a few years away from truly contributing, even if he does turn into a franchise QB. He’s certainly not a bad pick – but I’d personally go w/ Johnson.

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