I went a little crazy with trades. I think there will be quite a few, but I don't really have any idea from where (though I do like my Denver/Houston scenario).
1. Oakland Raiders – JeMarcus Russell, QB: The right pick here would be Johnson…but it’s the Raiders, so enamored by the mythic arm, they make a mistake and take Russell.
2. Tampa Bay Bucs (from DET) – Calvin Johnson, WR: Gruden mortgages the farm to get his man, but DET would have taken less. They’re dying to get out of this spot where the only smart thing to do is take (another) WR. IMO, Millen should stay put and take Johnson.
3. Cleveland Browns – Adrian Peterson, RB: Yeah, the injury news isn’t good. But, they have Lewis to help ease Peterson into the game—he won’t be asked to carry the load by himself for a year or two.
4. Detroit Lions (from TB) – Gaines Adams, DE: Quinn is tempting, but Beck (a tailor-made QB for Martz) should be there in rd.2.
5. Arizona Cardinals – Joe Thomas, OT: please, please, please don’t take Levi Jones ahead of Thomas. Please?
6. Washington Redskins – LeRon Landry, S: Wow. The ‘Skins have quite a safety duo.
7. Minnesota Vikings – Amobi Okoye, DT: Seems like the Vikings have been building a dline forever, doesn’t it?
8. Atlanta Falcons – Levi Brown, OT: The Falcons lose out on Landry, but get a starter on their already pretty good OL. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Brown play a couple of years at RT before moving to the left.
9. Miami Dolphins – Brady Quinn, QB: Cameron inherited a mess at QB. Can Culpepper be the same player he was 3 years ago? Who knows. But I do know that Quinn seems sorta similar to Brees. I think the ‘fins weren’t planning on Quinn being here for them, but are counting their blessings.
10. Denver Broncos (from HOU) – Adam Carriker, DE: Houston needs help on offense, and there just isn’t much value on that side of the ball. Denver needs DL help badly, and Shanny is making moves to get better now.
11. San Francisco 49ers – Leon Hall, CB: Clement and Hall are in place with Boldin and Fitz in mind. How great is it that other teams in our division need to design their team to try to match-up with ours?
12. Buffalo Bills – Patrick Willis, LB: I think this kid is going to be a great LB. We’re going to look back years from now and think he’s a steal at #12.
13. St. Louis Rams – Darrelle Revis, CB: Another NFC West team loading up on guys so they can match up with our WRs, and another pretty good tandem with Revis and Hill.
14. Carolina Panthers – Alan Branch, DT: When the Panthers were scary, their defensive play started with great DT play. They’re fortunate to have Branch at this point in the draft.
15. Pittsburgh Steelers – Reggie Nelson, S: Who is Ryan Clark? He’s the starting FS for the Steelers. Not anymore.
16. Green Bay Packers – Marshawn Lynch, RB: A nice fit, I think. I also don’t think there’s a mock draft out there that doesn’t have Lynch going to GB.
17. Kansas City (from JAX) – Ted Ginn, WR: They need both a return man and a WR and wanted to be sure they got them both in Ginn.
18. Cincinnati Bengals – Jamal Anderson, DE: Good value and fills a need with the departure of Justin Smith.
19. Tennessee Titans – Paul Posluszny, LB: Much like the Panthers, when the Titans were playing their best football, it started with the defense. Time to get back to it. I think Posluszny is a Fisher-type guy.
20. New York Giants – Jon Beason, LB: The Giants LB corps needs help.
21. Houston Texans (from DEN) – Dwayne Jarrett, WR: The next Rod Smith? Regardless, a nice compliment to Andre Johnson.
22. Dallas Cowboys – Dwayne Bowe, WR: They wanted Jarrett, but Bowe might be better.
23. Jacksonville Jaguars (from KC) – Charles Johnson, DE: Great value here, especially considering they moved back for him.
24. New England Patriots (from Seattle) – Chris Houston, CB: IMO, could end up being the best CB in the draft. Tons of ability—something the Pats have been without on the corners for a while.
25. New York Jets – Justin Blalock, OT/OG: The Jets have a couple of holes that could be filled by the versatile Blalock. For his sake, I hope they use him at G—I think he’ll be better there than at T in the NFL.
26. Philadelphia Eagles –Justin Harrell, DT: Harrell and Paterson could be a very imposing force in the middle of that D.
27. New Orleans Saints – Aaron Ross, CB: Fred Thomas? Please.
28. New England Patriots – Robert Meecham, WR: Another of NE’s seeming magic tricks is consistently winning with very little at WR. I think they’re due to shore up this position.
29. Baltimore Ravens – Anthony Spencer, DE: I think this guy has “Ravens” written all over him, ala Terrell Suggs.
30. San Diego Chargers – Michael Griffin, S: The Chargers just need help on D. They get passed on too easily.
31. Chicago Bears – Greg Olsen, TE: In the passing game when the Bears were most effective it’s when they were utilizing Des Clark. If they can make the TEs even more effective, their offense will get better and give Grossman a better chance for success.
32. Indianapolis Colts – Joe Staley, T: A nice joining of BPA and need. That line isn’t getting any younger.
[FONT="]
[/FONT]Cards Draft
I’ve kept my Cards’ mock pretty consistent the last couple of times I’ve looked at it. I didn’t try to come up with the best-case scenario for the Cards, but rather something I thought was pretty realistic. I just have a feeling our Warroom isn’t going to be hitting on all cylinders this year as maybe the Bidwills and Graves try to stretch their legs a bit without DG in the room. That’s nothing but a gut feeling, but I’m going with it on this mock.
1. Oakland Raiders – JeMarcus Russell, QB: The right pick here would be Johnson…but it’s the Raiders, so enamored by the mythic arm, they make a mistake and take Russell.
2. Tampa Bay Bucs (from DET) – Calvin Johnson, WR: Gruden mortgages the farm to get his man, but DET would have taken less. They’re dying to get out of this spot where the only smart thing to do is take (another) WR. IMO, Millen should stay put and take Johnson.
3. Cleveland Browns – Adrian Peterson, RB: Yeah, the injury news isn’t good. But, they have Lewis to help ease Peterson into the game—he won’t be asked to carry the load by himself for a year or two.
4. Detroit Lions (from TB) – Gaines Adams, DE: Quinn is tempting, but Beck (a tailor-made QB for Martz) should be there in rd.2.
5. Arizona Cardinals – Joe Thomas, OT: please, please, please don’t take Levi Jones ahead of Thomas. Please?
6. Washington Redskins – LeRon Landry, S: Wow. The ‘Skins have quite a safety duo.
7. Minnesota Vikings – Amobi Okoye, DT: Seems like the Vikings have been building a dline forever, doesn’t it?
8. Atlanta Falcons – Levi Brown, OT: The Falcons lose out on Landry, but get a starter on their already pretty good OL. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Brown play a couple of years at RT before moving to the left.
9. Miami Dolphins – Brady Quinn, QB: Cameron inherited a mess at QB. Can Culpepper be the same player he was 3 years ago? Who knows. But I do know that Quinn seems sorta similar to Brees. I think the ‘fins weren’t planning on Quinn being here for them, but are counting their blessings.
10. Denver Broncos (from HOU) – Adam Carriker, DE: Houston needs help on offense, and there just isn’t much value on that side of the ball. Denver needs DL help badly, and Shanny is making moves to get better now.
11. San Francisco 49ers – Leon Hall, CB: Clement and Hall are in place with Boldin and Fitz in mind. How great is it that other teams in our division need to design their team to try to match-up with ours?
12. Buffalo Bills – Patrick Willis, LB: I think this kid is going to be a great LB. We’re going to look back years from now and think he’s a steal at #12.
13. St. Louis Rams – Darrelle Revis, CB: Another NFC West team loading up on guys so they can match up with our WRs, and another pretty good tandem with Revis and Hill.
14. Carolina Panthers – Alan Branch, DT: When the Panthers were scary, their defensive play started with great DT play. They’re fortunate to have Branch at this point in the draft.
15. Pittsburgh Steelers – Reggie Nelson, S: Who is Ryan Clark? He’s the starting FS for the Steelers. Not anymore.
16. Green Bay Packers – Marshawn Lynch, RB: A nice fit, I think. I also don’t think there’s a mock draft out there that doesn’t have Lynch going to GB.
17. Kansas City (from JAX) – Ted Ginn, WR: They need both a return man and a WR and wanted to be sure they got them both in Ginn.
18. Cincinnati Bengals – Jamal Anderson, DE: Good value and fills a need with the departure of Justin Smith.
19. Tennessee Titans – Paul Posluszny, LB: Much like the Panthers, when the Titans were playing their best football, it started with the defense. Time to get back to it. I think Posluszny is a Fisher-type guy.
20. New York Giants – Jon Beason, LB: The Giants LB corps needs help.
21. Houston Texans (from DEN) – Dwayne Jarrett, WR: The next Rod Smith? Regardless, a nice compliment to Andre Johnson.
22. Dallas Cowboys – Dwayne Bowe, WR: They wanted Jarrett, but Bowe might be better.
23. Jacksonville Jaguars (from KC) – Charles Johnson, DE: Great value here, especially considering they moved back for him.
24. New England Patriots (from Seattle) – Chris Houston, CB: IMO, could end up being the best CB in the draft. Tons of ability—something the Pats have been without on the corners for a while.
25. New York Jets – Justin Blalock, OT/OG: The Jets have a couple of holes that could be filled by the versatile Blalock. For his sake, I hope they use him at G—I think he’ll be better there than at T in the NFL.
26. Philadelphia Eagles –Justin Harrell, DT: Harrell and Paterson could be a very imposing force in the middle of that D.
27. New Orleans Saints – Aaron Ross, CB: Fred Thomas? Please.
28. New England Patriots – Robert Meecham, WR: Another of NE’s seeming magic tricks is consistently winning with very little at WR. I think they’re due to shore up this position.
29. Baltimore Ravens – Anthony Spencer, DE: I think this guy has “Ravens” written all over him, ala Terrell Suggs.
30. San Diego Chargers – Michael Griffin, S: The Chargers just need help on D. They get passed on too easily.
31. Chicago Bears – Greg Olsen, TE: In the passing game when the Bears were most effective it’s when they were utilizing Des Clark. If they can make the TEs even more effective, their offense will get better and give Grossman a better chance for success.
32. Indianapolis Colts – Joe Staley, T: A nice joining of BPA and need. That line isn’t getting any younger.
[FONT="]
[/FONT]Cards Draft
I’ve kept my Cards’ mock pretty consistent the last couple of times I’ve looked at it. I didn’t try to come up with the best-case scenario for the Cards, but rather something I thought was pretty realistic. I just have a feeling our Warroom isn’t going to be hitting on all cylinders this year as maybe the Bidwills and Graves try to stretch their legs a bit without DG in the room. That’s nothing but a gut feeling, but I’m going with it on this mock.
- Joe Thomas, OT - I think Thomas WILL be there for the Cards as the “sexier” picks come off the board first. A fortuitous intersection of need and BPA.
- Quentin Moses, DE – A CB such as Eric Wright out of UNLV is likely very tempting here, but I think Moses could tempt the ex-steeler coaches and Pendy because of his versatility: he could move to LB in a 3-4 or be effective as a down lineman in the 4-3.
- Tanard Jackson, CB – The Cards get into a bit of bind by not taking a LB or CB in the second. Both are areas of need, but I think we’ll see a lot of LBs come off the board in the second, so the best intersection of need and BPA here is CB.
- Matt Spaeth, TE – Not an exciting pass-catcher, but efficient. Good size and a decent blocker. IMO, a nice compliment to Pope and the running game.
- Rory Johnson, OLB –I would rather see a guy like Beason in the second or DeOssie in the third, but damnit, we need to draft a LB in this draft somewhere, right?
- To NE (B. Gorin) – was it the 6th or the 7th? I forget…
- Brandon Frye, OT – Insurance.
Last edited:
