DC's Fearless First-round Projection (Plus all Card picks)

[DaisyCutter]

I've been waiting for the '08 draft guides to come out, but I guess it'll be another week or so. That being said, here's my Mock Draft.

Also, trades are unpredictable. I'll note when a team is interested in trading, but I'm not going to say it's a fait accompli.

1. Miami Dolphins - Matt Ryan, QB, BostonCollege. Bill Parcells desperately tries to sell this pick to the Atlanta Falcons, but they're not willing to part with their 2nd round pick and next year's #1. Parcells isn't willing to invest #1 overall money on any player other than a quarterback.

2. St. Louis Rams - Jake Long, OT, Michigan. This might be the most predictable pick in the draft. Long will start at LG this season, and take over for Orlando Pace next year. The safest pick, perhaps, in the entire draft.

3. Atlanta Falcons - Glenn Dorsey, DT, LSU. After Ryan goes off the board, the Falcons try and unload this choice, but no one wants it. People want it even less after Long goes off the board. In a loaded draft, the weakest position is arguably DT. The Falcons released Rod Coleman after the 2007 and Grady Jackson during it. Dorsey will help to re-build the Falcons' defense.

4. Oakland Raiders - Chris Long, DE, Virginia. Al Davis is thrilled to draft this player, and will be more than happy to pay him whatever he wants. Oakland doesn't necessarily need help along the DL, but Howie's boy is welcome in the Silver and Black.

5. Kansas City Chiefs - Sedrick Ellis, DT, Southern Cal. Herm Edwards gets the disruptive three-technique DT that his Tampa-2 requires. The KC defense just got a lot better.

6. New York Jets - VernonGholston, DE/OLB, OhioState. After their free agency spending spree, the last thing the Jets want to do is exercise this pick. If the Dallas Cowboys are going to trade up to get Darren McFadden, they'll call New York. But Gholston can play across from Calvin Pace and provide the Jets with the best pass rushing duo in the AFC East. Also: Jets fans at the draft boo the choice.

7. New England Patriots - Rashard Mendenhall, RB, Illinois. The first real surprise of the draft. Belicheck wants to trade out of this choice, and may find a partner, though paying a lower price than the Trade Value Chart will suggest. That being said, the Patriots remember what Corey Dillion brought to their offense, and think that Mendenhall can do the same.

8. Baltimore Ravens - Ryan Clady, OT, BoiseState. Clady will require some polish perhaps, but the Ravens aren't going anywhere in 2008 anyway. Clady won't replace Jon Ogden, but he'll team with 2007 supplemental draft pick Jared Gaither to form the most promising tackle tandem in the NFL.

9. Cincinnati Bengals - Darren McFadden, RB, Arkansas. McFadden doesn't slide out of the Top 10, but he comes to the Bengals with a chip on his shoulder. Cincy wanted to draft defense, but they weren't happy with the two highest defensive players on their board: Derrick Harvey and Keith Rivers.

10. New Orleans Saints - Keith Rivers, OLB, Southern Cal. Two Trojans go in the Top 10. Rivers teams with former Jet Jonathan Vilma to suddenly make the Saints competitive on defense.

11. Buffalo Bills - Leodis McKelvin, CB, Troy. Fun Fact: The Buffalo Bills were 29th in the NFL in passing defense last season. McKelvin will help improve that ranking.

12. Denver Broncos - Derrick Harvey, DE, Florida. Denver doesn't really want to use this pick, but they'll continue to try and upgrade their pass rush.

13. Carolina Panthers - Dan Connor, LB, PennState. Carolina wanted a DL in this position, but that didn't come together for them. They may try and trade out of this position, but they'll be happy with Connor.

14. Chicago Bears - Chris Williams, OT, Vanderbilt. Bears fans are crying out to draft Jonathan Stewart, but this allows Jon Tait to move over to the right tackle position. Angelo loves to build his lines.

15. Detroit Lions - Aqib Talib, CB, Kansas. Who is even starting at cornerback for the Lions? There are more complete cornerbacks available here, but Talib is a perfect fit for the Tampa-2 that Rod Marinelli is trying to esablish.

16. Arizona Cardinals - Dominique Rogers-Cromartie, CB, Tennessee St. Jonathon Stewart is looking them right in the face, but the Cards can't pass on a talent like Rogers-Cromartie when they're so hurting at the CB position. The run on cornerbacks is officially on.

17. Minnesota Vikings - Phillip Merling, DE, Clemson. The Vikings know that they can't go anywhere if they can't manufacture a pass rush. They continue to invest high draft choices at the position.

18. Houston Texans - Jonathon Stewart, RB, Oregon. The Texans can't believe their luck. Gary Kubiak compares this to the Vikings getting Adrian Peterson at 7th overall in the 2007 draft.

19. Philadelphia Eagles - Malcolm Kelly, WR, Oklahoma. This isn't really the offensive help that Donovan McNabb was hoping for, but he'll take it.

20. TampaBay Buccaneers - Mike Jenkins, CB, South Florida. Ronde Barber isn't getting any younger. He's not a perfect fit for the Tampa-2, but he'll help.

21. Washington Redskins - CalaisCampbell, DE, Miami. Finally a Hurricane comes off the board. Campbell needs to help a pretty terrible DL.

22. Dallas Cowboys - Felix Jones, RB, Arkansas. Jerry Jones has to "settle" for the other Razorback 'back. Will team up with Marion Barber for a pretty nice 1-2 punch.

23. Pittsburgh Steelers - Jeff Otah, OT, Pittsburgh. And the Steelers keep chugging along. They know how to draft players. He can start at OG or RT.

24. Tennessee Titans - DeSean Jackson, WR, Cal. Even if he only catches 50 passes as a rookie, he'll create space for the running game and his other WRs for the Titans. A great value pick.

25. Seattle Seahawks - James Hardy, WR, Indiana. Mike Holmgren and Co. keep looking for a WR situation that can work for them. If a team like Atlanta or Miami is going to trade back into the 1st round to get QB Brian Brohm, this is a position where they’ll try.

26. Jacksonville Jaguars – Quentin Groves, DE, Auburn. The Jaguars see a lot of Osi Umeniyora in Groves. They need to upgrade their pass rush to compete in the AFC South.

27. San Diego Chargers – Limas Sweed, WR, Texas. The pieces are in place on defense. The offense needs to catch up. Sweed can be a downfield thread for QB Phillip Rivers.

28. Dallas Cowboys – Kentwan Balmer, DT, North Carolina. Balmer can play all three positions in Dallas’ 3-4 defensive line, and can be productive when motivated.

29. San Francisco 49ers (through Indianapolis Colts) – Branden Albert, OG, Virginia. The 49ers need to get better protection for their young quarterback and open holes for their running backs. Albert will help ease the pain of losing Justin Smiley in free agency.

30. Green Bay Packers – Kenny Phillips, S, Miami. The Packers continue to add to their young and promising defense. Phillips isn’t overly rangy, and isn’t a ball hawk, but he presents good depth in an aging defensive backfield for Green Bay.

31. New England Patriots - Forfeited for being cheaters
32. New York Giants – Brandon Flowers, CB, Virginia Tech. Flowers’s lack of top-end speed will be helped by the fierce Giant pass rush, and will add some youth to another aging cornerback group.

 

[DaisyCutter]

Cards' Draft:

16. Rogers-Cromartie, CB, Tennessee St. – See above.

50. Ray Rice, RB, Rutgers. – The Cards look at OT Carl Nicks, LB Jerod Mayo, and DT Trevor Laws here, but they promised themselves they were going to find a home-run back in the draft, and they don’t think they can afford to wait another round.

81. DeMario Pressley, DT, North Carolina St. – The Cards are thrilled that they picked a guy that they call “the next Darnell Dockett” right out of the gate. This team knows that they need to accumulate talent on defense.

112. Josh Johnson, QB, San Diego. – Everyone outside of the Cards’ front office believes that this is a luxury pick. The Cards were hoping that another cornerback would fall to them at this position, but DeJuan Tribble and Chevis Jackson are already off the board. John Lott can’t wait to get hold of Johnson, and Ken Whisenhunt sees the same things in Johnson that he saw in Ben Roethlisberger.

141. Jeremy Thompson, DE/OLB, WakeForest. – Signing Travis LaBoy gives the Cards the comfort to wait until Round 5 to pick up another pass rusher, but Thompson can develop into a player that can step in for Bertrand Berry or Chike Okeafor.

176. King Dunlap, OT, Auburn – At 6’9”, 310 lbs., King Dunlap has Russ Grimm salivating over what he can do with him. He’ll be able to develop on the bench and in spot time over the next two years of Mike Gandy’s contract. In 2009 training camp, though, he’ll push for playing time.

207. Jack Ikegwuonu, CB, Wisconsin – Maybe the riskiest pick in the Cards’ draft, but if he can come back, he’ll provide excellent value to the team in this spot. Either way, he’s going to be a warm body in a unit that has been noticeably absent of them for several seasons.

 

[cardsfanmd]

Great Job. I can tell you put a lot of work into that.

 

[PoolBoy]

same...im just wondering, not a slam, but how do you know they think about these guys, like the next d dockett?

 

[ItsInTheCards]

16. Rogers-Cromartie, CB, Tennessee St. – See above.

50. Ray Rice, RB, Rutgers. – The Cards look at OT Carl Nicks, LB Jerod Mayo, and DT Trevor Laws here, but they promised themselves they were going to find a home-run back in the draft, and they don’t think they can afford to wait another round.

81. DeMario Pressley, DT, North Carolina St. – The Cards are thrilled that they picked a guy that they call “the next Darnell Dockett” right out of the gate. This team knows that they need to accumulate talent on defense.

112. Josh Johnson, QB, San Diego. – Everyone outside of the Cards’ front office believes that this is a luxury pick. The Cards were hoping that another cornerback would fall to them at this position, but DeJuan Tribble and Chevis Jackson are already off the board. John Lott can’t wait to get hold of Johnson, and Ken Whisenhunt sees the same things in Johnson that he saw in Ben Roethlisberger.

141. Jeremy Thompson, DE/OLB, WakeForest. – Signing Travis LaBoy gives the Cards the comfort to wait until Round 5 to pick up another pass rusher, but Thompson can develop into a player that can step in for Bertrand Berry or Chike Okeafor.

176. King Dunlap, OT, Auburn – At 6’9”, 310 lbs., King Dunlap has Russ Grimm salivating over what he can do with him. He’ll be able to develop on the bench and in spot time over the next two years of Mike Gandy’s contract. In 2009 training camp, though, he’ll push for playing time.

207. Jack Ikegwuonu, CB, Wisconsin – Maybe the riskiest pick in the Cards’ draft, but if he can come back, he’ll provide excellent value to the team in this spot. Either way, he’s going to be a warm body in a unit that has been noticeably absent of them for several seasons.

while I'm ok with the DRC pick, there will be other faster backs that I'd think they think about before Rice....Johnson, Charles, etc

Josh Johnson isnt really the QB that I think about that would even remotely be somebody of interest to Whis....guys like Kevin O'Connell or Kyle Wright later in the draft make me think Roethlisberger much more

I dont know much about Jeremy Thompson, but LaBoy will be taking the spot of Berry according to Somers blog(with Bert spelling him from time to time in pure pash rushing situations), and Chillar if signed was going to compete with Chike, so anybody here would be competing with Okeafor

it'll be interesting to see if they're wiling to wait till 2009 for Ikegwuonu. He'll miss this year, and who knows what type of player he'll be post injury...maybe he'll be ok like McGahee, maybe not, but for a 7th what the hell I guess.....

I still would like to see them draft a speedy slot guy to really stretch the field, but they might still like Rector in that regard...

 

[Shzm13]

1. DRC over Mike Jenkins?? ?


You're smoking some baaaad granola, buddy!




2. Ray Rice is too small.. We can get better talent with this pick.



3. DT in the first three rounds?? Not too sure what you're thinking there when we still need to figure out how to play Branch Watson Smith and Dockett all together more often. We've got bigger needs than DT in the first 3.


4. Wow.. a scrambling QB??? Howbout we address WR instead??


5. Good pick, doubt he's available though.


6. Good pick.. Might be gone before 6.

7. This guy shredded his kneee.. Theres concerns on whether he'll even be able to play again. This is a straight up ******** pick. Why not give us a punter or a kicker instead?


Overall: D

 

[joeshmo]

3. DT in the first three rounds?? Not too sure what you're thinking there when we still need to figure out how to play Branch Watson Smith and Dockett all together more often. We've got bigger needs than DT in the first 3.

You just named the only 4 DL on the roster. We are greatly lacking depth and rotation. Especially at the DE spots with only Dockett and Smith manning those spots. Watson and Branch will help each other out in a rotation but who is going to give Dockett and Smith some rest throughout the game.

If the Giants proved anything with their season last year its that you need 5 or more DL to rotate in and out of each game and play at a high level. Plus not to mention Smith us on a 1 year contract only. Demarrio is not just a DT he is a DT/DE, something that is in fact a need.

 

[joeshmo]

DRC = Most overratted player in the draft.

 

[DaisyCutter]

same...im just wondering, not a slam, but how do you know they think about these guys, like the next d dockett?

They're predictions, not much more. I mean, every team says that they were surprised that each pick fell to them, and tries to sell their fan base/the media that they got players that they valued much higher than when we got them (Buster Davis is a great example--he was projected as a fourth-round pick in a lot of mocks).

while I'm ok with the DRC pick, there will be other faster backs that I'd think they think about before Rice....Johnson, Charles, etc

Josh Johnson isnt really the QB that I think about that would even remotely be somebody of interest to Whis....guys like Kevin O'Connell or Kyle Wright later in the draft make me think Roethlisberger much more

I dont know much about Jeremy Thompson, but LaBoy will be taking the spot of Berry according to Somers blog(with Bert spelling him from time to time in pure pash rushing situations), and Chillar if signed was going to compete with Chike, so anybody here would be competing with Okeafor

it'll be interesting to see if they're wiling to wait till 2009 for Ikegwuonu. He'll miss this year, and who knows what type of player he'll be post injury...maybe he'll be ok like McGahee, maybe not, but for a 7th what the hell I guess.....

I still would like to see them draft a speedy slot guy to really stretch the field, but they might still like Rector in that regard...

W/R/T speed at the RB positition: It's totally overrated. J.J. Arrington put up one of the best 40s at the Combine in his tryout, and look how he did. I like Ray Rice, I think he's more than a scatback, and I think that he has the ability to be just as good as Maurice Jones-Drew. When you're dealing with a prospect that has shown that he can take the pounding, I don't think your worry about the size. Rice is going to be a player.

W/R/T quarterbacks: I think you're right. Josh isn't a scrambling quarterback; he's a quarterback with some good athleticism to go along with his other attributes. Johnson needs to put on 15-25 lbs to take the pounding at the next level, but I think that he's a good prospect that you can work on. I also like Andre Woodson and Kevin O'Connell, but when I looked at the board with this pick, there weren't a lot of other places that I wanted to go.

W/R/T 4th OLB/DE: I don't think Chillar is coming here. He's looking for money; I'm not going to depend on him coming back to AZ. Looking at the roster now, I would like to bring a developmental DE/OLB in. Thompson isn't the pass rusher that LaBoy could be, but he'd help fans forget about Calvin Pace. He was 3rd among the participants in the 3-cone drill; he'll be able to pursue on the stong side and be an immediate contributor on special teams.

W/R/T WR/7th round picks: I really struggled with it. I'm not sure that it will really matter. I'd like to see the Cards add another cornerback, but it'll probably be a best available player choice. Heck, if the Cards don't take Johnson with their 4th round selection (and they probably won't), I'd love to see them take Matt Flynn. I think that he'd be just the kind of short-term fill-in QB that a lot of teams would want.

 

[DaisyCutter]

DRC = Most overratted player in the draft.

I'm right there with you. I'm worried to death about that pick. But Drew Boylhart really liked him. He stood out among the prospects at the Senior Bowl (not the game; during the week). Kiper has him among the Top 5 prospects in the Draft, which is ridiculous.

But the Cards have over-drafted players before (Levi Brown, for example). He's an intriguing prospect, and part of me just wants to see the team take a chance on a player that could be great. I think that even if he just turns out to be average, they'll be happy. He's like a super-rich man's Renaldo Hill.

No one thought Antonio Cromartie was going to work out for San Diego, either.

 

[DaisyCutter]

Oh, and I don't think that any of the WRs that the Cards would get in the later rounds would be significant improvements over Steve Breaston or Shaun Morey as #3 WRs. I think the Cards would rather flex out Patrick or Pope than invest another draft choice in a WR.

The Cards could still get speeder WRs like Drew Carter or Tim Carter or any number of adequate FA WRs for minimum-salary contracts. It's doubtful that any draft pick would be able to contribute at the WR position in 2008, anyway.

 

[Skkorpion]

Appreciate the work, Daisy.

 

[Stout]

Good effort, DC. My two big gripes are as follows. First, NE's pick will not be a RB. Bank on it. They have Faulk as their 3rd down/change of pace, and they recently drafted Maroney. They're not going RB there. Also, McFadden won't last until 9.

 

[Shogun]

Impressive.