First of all, I would like to thank Rob Harley for inviting me to be a contributing member on his blog. We cover quite a bit of football and it's nice to be able to speak to someone that has a pretty good idea of what's going on during the orchestrated chaos known as Football. So thank you again Rob!!
In the coming days and weeks, I will be analyzing the NFL draft needs for all 32 teams. I will offer opinions and insight, along with my dream scenario for my beloved Cleveland Browns. I will cover my current mock draft with 2 picks a day over the course of the next 16 days, and then I'll post a mock draft the day before the 1st day of the NFL draft on Thursday, April 22nd. (Gotta take into account the happenings between now and then!)
I'm sure everyone has seen mock drafts out there, some detailed and with sound logic, and some that look like the author just drew names out of a hat. I will offer my own mock draft on here with my reasoning and I look forward to feedback.
The draft process is a very fluid and dynamic adventure. Teams are working on their draft boards year round, with scouts visiting campuses across the nation throughout the year. Once the season is over, the 'Draft Season' kicks into overdrive with the Combine and individual Pro Days garnering the largest audiences.
Prospects can slide up and down a teams' chart very easily, sometimes something as small as .2 seconds on a 40-yard dash can mean the difference of a top-10 pick and a 2nd rounder.
Now that Free Agency has come and (mostly) gone, the Combine is over, and a decent amount of the Pro Days have been completed, it's time to really look at the 1st round. I do want to note that the recent trade of Donovan McNabb from the Philadelphia Eagles to the Washington Redskins has the potential to completely shake up the top 1/2 of the draft.
With that being said, here are my picks:
1.) St. Louis Rams - Sam Bradford, QB Oklahoma.
The writing is on the wall with this pick now that the Rams have jettisoned Marc Bulger. The Rams have passed on Matty Ice and the San-chise in recent years, deciding to go with D-line and O-line help. 3rd Time's the charm for St.Louis as they look to put a face on the franchise. Sam Bradford was hit twice last season - both times causing him to miss time; the 2nd time knocking him out for the season. Despite injury concerns, I believe St.Louis takes the gunslinger and decides to drop the astronomical sum of cash that the number 1 pick will demand on a QB as opposed to another D-lineman like Suh or McCoy.
2.) Detroit Lions - Ndamukong Suh, DL Nebraska.
The Lions would LOVE to trade out of this pick if they could, but I don't think it's going to happen. They had to pay Matthew Stafford quite a pretty penny last year as the number 1 pick and they would love to trade down for economic reasons. Ndamukong Suh has been praised as the best DL prospect since Warren Sapp. Under Coach Schwartz's tutelage, Suh will instantly make every level of the Lions' defense better. He is practically unblockable at times. He causes havoc against the run, and teams will be hard-pressed to have a offensive lineman that can handle him one-on-one in passing situations.
I'll be back tomorrow with picks 3 and 4.
"You're not, you're not good, Al. You stink."
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