Seven Round Mock Draft

Here it is my yearly attempt at a seven round mock draft. It’s a lot of fun but certainly it consumes a lot of time as several factors are taken into consideration with each and every pick. Factors such as team needs, depth of a certain position in the draft, strength of a franchise structure (to take a player who may have a red flag when it comes to character), past draft selections (they might have someone waiting in the wings to replace a player), and connections to various schools or coaches such examples include Chan Gailey and Georgia Tech, Pete Carroll and USC, Bill Belichek and Pat Hill, Bill Parcells and Al Groh. While I don’t predict trades in any mocks I am expecting some if not all of the moves listed below to happen which will in turn change the landscape of the order and team needs.

1. Jason Campbell to be traded to possibly the Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars, or Carolina Panthers.
2. Flozell Adams to sign with either the Washington Redskins, Chicago Bears, Buffalo Bills or Seattle Seahawks
3. Marshawn Lynch to be moved possible to the San Diego Chargers, Seattle Seahawks or Baltimore Ravens.
4. T.O. to land somewhere before the draft (maybe the Chicago Bears or Carolina Panthers)

Make sure to check out the radio show this week as we'll have former Miami Dolphins and Notre Dame center, Tim Ruddy, Jacques McClendon OG Tennessee and Aaron Morgan OLB from Louisiana-Monroe

Round 1

1 (1) St. Louis: Sam Bradford QB Oklahoma…The Rams can’t pass on Matt Ryan, Mark Sanchez and Sam Bradford in three straight years can they? Bradford has to be the pick here nothing else makes sense.

1 (2) Detroit: Ndamukong Suh  DT  Nebraska…Just imagine plugging Suh in on the same line with Kyle Vanden Bosch and Corey Williams.   Detroit’s defense will be immensely improved this season.

1 (3) Tampa Bay: Gerald McCoy  DT  Oklahoma…besides the Rams no team was happier to see Bradford’s Pro Day then the Buccaneers as they knew McCoy or Suh would land in their lap.  They will run the card to the podium to get McCoy into the fold.

1 (4) Washington: Russell Okung  OT  Oklahoma State….this former Oklahoma State Cowboy is about to become a Redskin.  Fills a huge hold and makes the move of adding McNabb look even better.  

1 (5) Kansas City: Bryan Bulaga  OT  Iowa…. It is well documented the friendship between Iowa HC, Kirk Ferentz  and KC GM Scott Pioli, so this is a safe pick and instant starter for Kansas City.  

1 (6) Seattle: Eric Berry FS  Tennessee…Getting the playmaker and leader for his defense will be Pete Carroll’s first step in his plan to rebuild the Seahawks.   

1 (7) Cleveland: Joe Haden  CB  Florida…The Browns can add Haden with newly acquired Sheldon Brown and see a significant improvement in their pass defense this season.

1 (8) Oakland: Bruce Campbell  Maryland….While film studying and experience dictate there are other offensive tackles ahead of Campbell, remember this is the Raiders we are speaking about and they put more weight into Pro Days and combine then all the other teams combined.    Campbell was a combine freak who hopefully can turn the dial up a few notches and warrant such a high selection.

1 (9) Buffalo: C.J. Spiller  RB  Clemson…..Should the first round fall like this I can see the Bills jumping at adding Spiller to the fold (heard Chan loves him) and then shipping Marshawn Lynch out of town to maybe San Diego or Seattle for a day three (which used to be day two) draft pick.

1 (10) Jacksonville:  Taylor Mays  FS  USC….While some fans and media might want Tim Tebow with this selection that would be a colossal error (not that the Jaguars are above that) instead Del Rio grabs a fellow Trojan to patrol the middle of the field and be his enforcer.

1 (11) Denver (from Chicago):  Rolando McClain  ILB Alabama…Some think the recent trading of Brandon Marshall means welcome Dez Bryant to Denver but that’s six of one, half a dozen of another.   Grabbing McClain fills a need with a much safer selection than taking the controversial Bryant.

1 (12) Miami: Sergio Kindle  OLB  Texas.  Need to replace Joey Porter and Kindle provides that and potentially more.   Player with great motor and a high ceiling.

1 (13) San Francisco: Trent Williams  OT  Oklahoma…significant upgrade is needed on the line and the athletic Williams gives the 49’ers that quick footed linemen who will help all phases of the offense.

1 (14) Seattle (from Denver): Derrick Morgan  DE  Georgia Tech…..with the retirement of Patrick Kearney this makes getting Morgan that much more vital as they’ll need to upgrade and address the pass rush.

1 (15) N.Y. Giants:  Jason Pierre-Paul  DE  South Florida…The G-Men are looking to retool the defense and are starting with the defensive line.  Pierre-Paul provides a great start as they look to re-establish the Super Bowl caliber defense.

1 (16) Tennessee:  Everson Griffen  DE  USC…… With Vanden Bosch in Detroit the Titans biggest need is defensive end and Griffen has been impressive in workouts and is poised to make an instant impact for the team that grabs him in round one.

1 (17) San Francisco (from Carolina): Kyle Wilson  CB  Boise State…top two priorities going into round one were to protect the QB done with the drafting of Williams and now getting a shut down quality corner is done by grabbing the ever improving Kyle Wilson.  Great start for the 49’ers.

1 (18) Pittsburgh: Mike Iupati OG  Boise State….The Steelers (or at least the Rooneys) want to get back to smash mouth Steelers football but they realize they need the big boys upfront to accomplish that and Iupati is a Steelers kind of guy who should start early and keep the spot for twelve years.

1 (19) Atlanta: Maurkice Pouncey  C  Florida….After addressing the top need of the team when they added Dunta Robinson this off-season they can turn to add an anchor for their offensive line in Pouncey.  Often mentioned when I asked SEC defensive linemen who was the best player you faced in college the answer usually was “Maurkice Pouncey”.

1 (20) Houston: Kareem Jackson  CB  Alabama….Priority one is to replace the void created by the loss of Robinson to Atlanta and getting a guy like Jackson, who has played for Nick Saban’s defense the past few years, is a great start and should allow them not to nearly miss a beat.

1 (21) Cincinnati:  Jermaine Gresham  TE  Oklahoma…Most glaring need for the offense was the lack of a threat at the tight end position. Rumor has it they offered this pick during the season to Dallas for Martellus Bennett. Regardless, now they get to add the talented and fully healthy Gresham.

1 (22) New England:  Dez Bryant  WR  Oklahoma State….The Patriots have several holes to fill on the defense but grabbing Bryant this late as the eventual replacement to Randy Moss is a no-brainer.  The chances of a Bryant meltdown reduces significantly adding him to a team with the structure in place as the Patriots.

1 (23) Green Bay:  Devin McCourty  CB  Rutgers. Two biggest area of needs are offensive line and adding youth to the corners.  With all of the top tier offensive line gone by this point the Packers look at McCourty who has the makings of a very talented player and should contribute almost immediately.

1 (24) Philadelphia: Brandon Graham OLB  Michigan…The face of the franchise has changed in Philadelphia with the trade of McNabb to Washington but the fact they need to significantly upgrade the defense has not changed.    Graham stood out at the Senior Bowl and seemed almost unstoppable against top senior class talent.  Brandon will be a welcome addition as Philly looks to establish themselves again at a top defense.

1 (25) Baltimore: Dan Williams  DT  Tennessee….They’ve addressed the offense this off-season so far but now need to continue to add talent to the already impressive defense.  Tight end might have been a nice selection here but no one still on the board rates nearly as high as big Dan Williams.

1 (26) Arizona: Carlos Dunlap  DE  Florida…No team is in a bigger transition this off-season than the Cards who are going from the Warner years to uncertainty.   As they look to retool several position the first spot on the list is filling the void of Bertrand Berry and grabbing Dunlap this late will certainly help with that plan. 

1 (27) Dallas: Earl Thomas  FS  Texas…Jerry wanted to go into the draft with no obvious glaring needs but switched gears once he cut Ken Hamlin and Flozell Adams making pretty obvious what the Cowboys two biggest needs are going into the draft.   Thomas is higher rate on my board than any of the remaining offensive tackles so taking a Texas player for the Cowboys makes sense over grabbing Anthony Davis.

1 (28) San Diego: Ryan Matthews  RB  Fresno State…Sproles needs help and unless they make the trade for Marshawn Lynch like I think this is their best move. 

1 (29) NY Jets: Brian Price  DT  UCLA…Big clog up the middle that is needed for Ryan’s defense to fully succeed.  Price is a steal at this point of the draft and should push for a starting spot in camp.

1 (30) Minnesota: Chris Cook  DB  Virginia…..If I were more daring I would say Jimmy Clausen but I’m not sure Minnesota can take that risk and have a player sit and learn for the future as their future is now and Chris Cook is the player who can fill a lot of holes depending what direction they want to use him.   Playing for Al Groh you know he’s fundamentally sound and with his size will be a great addition.

1 (31) Indianapolis: Jerry Hughes OLB/DE  TCU…The Colts need another pass rusher on the roster as they’ve relied too long on Dwight Freeney and it might have cost them a ring.  Hughes has moved up on several teams’ board and is the perfect player for the Colts to add this late in round one.

1 (32) New Orleans: Sean Weatherspoon  OLB  Missouri..Payton’s crew had one of the most impressive offenses in the past several years but still have some glaring needs on defense and with the first being upgrading the linebackers and Weatherspoon will become an instant starter and contender for defensive rookie of the year. 

Round Two      Round Three    Round Four

Round Five       Round Six        Round Seven

Combine: Day One News & Notes

-- The 2009 NFL Draft featured 42 players who were selected (256 players total were picked) that were not chosen to participate in last year's NFL Scouting Combine... last year's draft had the most non-combine players selected since 2003 when a total of 43 players were taken who failed to receive invites to Indianapolis.

-- NFL evaluators have been told that Notre Dame junior quarterback Jimmy Clausen and Tennessee junior defensive back Eric Berry, a pair of possible Top-10 selections, may come up "Short" when it comes to the weigh-in portion of the NFL Combine... Clausen may be under 6030 while Berry could be below 5110.

-- With many of the top signal callers opting not to workout because of injury or opting to wait for their Pro Days the quarterbacks who could benefit the most this weekend are Cincinnati senior quarterback Tony Pike, West Virginia senior quarterback Jarrett Brown, Mississippi junior quarterback Jevan Snead and Troy senior quarterback Levi Brown.

-- Teams will be paying close attention to the weight of Georgia Tech junior running back Jonathan Dwyer... those who are highly interested in his abilities hope to see a leaner 225-230 pound range back show up to
Indianapolis... if he were to be too much north of 235 pounds it will create some questions about his work ethic and ability to be an every-down guy at the next level.

-- Wayne State senior running back Joique Bell has big expectations for his workout... according to several sources close to the Harlon Hill Award winner he hopes to break the 4.5 mark at nearly 225 pounds. Others that could surprise with eye-opening 40-times at the running back position include; Fresno State's Lonyae Miller, North Dakota State's Pat Paschall, Marshall's Darius Marshall and Virginia fullback Rashawn Jackson.

-- Notre Dame junior wide receiver Golden Tate could post one of the fastest 40-times amongst this year's crop of wide outs... Ohio U. senior wide receiver Taylor Price, South Florida junior wide receiver Carlton Mitchell, Clemson senior wide receiver Jacoby Ford and Connecticut senior wide receiver Marcus Easley could all easily break the 4.4 barrier on at least one of their 40-yard dash attempts... however, LSU all-purpose back/receiver Trindon Holliday or Kansas State wide receiver/return man Brandon Banks should
battle for 40-yard dash supremacy at about 4.28.

-- Meanwhile, several area scouts expect one of Oklahoma State junior wide Dez Bryant, Illinois junior wide receiver Arrelious Benn, Kansas junior wide receiver Dezmon Briscoe or Tulane senior wide receiver Jeremy Williams to run slower-than-expected times in the 40-yard dash.

-- Hillsdale senior offensive tackle Jared Veldheer, Maryland junior offensive tackle Bruce Campbell, Iowa junior offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga, West Virginia senior offensive tackle Selvish Capers and Virginia Tech
offensive tackle Ed Wang are all capable of running below 5.00 and as fast as 4.90 in the 40-yard dash and each will weigh over 300 pounds.

-- Abilene Christian senior offensive tackle Tony Washington may have the most crucial interviews of any prospect attending this week's NFL Combine as the 6060, 305 pound, Division II All-American was unable to attend any of the post-season all-star games due to the numerous restrictions surrounding a past conviction that has yet to be completely identified by members of all 32 teams... he has 2nd or 3rd round talent, but he has his work cut out for him this week as more than a few teams are unsure how or if he can fit into
their future plans because of the lengthy restrictions that could follow him for the rest of his life.

-- Idaho senior offensive lineman Mike Iupati has a chance to post one of the top numbers in terms of total reps of 225 pounds in the bench press portion of the workout... sources close to the standout linemen say he
should hit in the high-30's without maximum effort.

-- Last year former Florida tight end Cornelius Ingram dropped to the Philadelphia Eagles in the 5th round (#153 overall) because he was coming off a pair of knee injuries... he suffered another major knee injury this
past summer and some believe that evaluators will take a very close look at Oklahoma tight end Jermaine Gresham's medical file and that he will likely be asked to come back to the medical re-check in early April so that all 32 teams can get as sure a read on the status of his right knee... he is expected to fully participate in the on-field workouts and aiming for 4.70 range in the 40-yard dash at 6060, 258 pounds.

-- USC junior defensive lineman Everson Griffen, Michigan defensive end Brandon Graham and Murray State defensive end Austen Lane, each expect to run 4.65 or better in the 40-yard dash... keep an eye on Louisiana-Lafayette senior defensive lineman Hall Davis and Nevada junior defensive end Kevin Basped who could both move into 3rd-4th round consideration with impressive workouts this weekend.

-- With all the DT talk surrounding Ndamukong Suh vs. Gerald McCoy, a number of others could push their way up the draft board based on their workouts this weekend... expect to see strong performances from Central Florida senior defensive tackle Torell Troup, UCLA junior defensive tackle Brian Price, Purdue senior defensive tackle Mike Neal and LSU nose tackle Al Woods

-- TCU linebacker Daryl Washington has the potential to outshine morehighly-acclaimed players like Alabama's Rolando McClain and Florida's Brandon Spikes when he times in the 4.5 range in the 40-yard dash.

-- Texas junior defensive back Earl Thomas has the ability to come out of the NFL Combine as a sure-fire Top-20 draft choice and by next week could be right on the heels of Tennessee junior defensive back Eric Berry and Florida junior cornerback Joe Haden for the title of first defensive back selected come April's draft.

-- Florida State senior cornerback Patrick Robinson almost certainly will post solid workout numbers, but keep a close eye on his positional workout as many evaluators are not in love with his instincts, foot-work and ability to find the ball when it is in the air.

-- Alabama senior cornerback Javier Arenas and Kentucky senior cornerback Trevard Lindley are two highly-acclaimed veteran defenders who may struggle with their 40-times... however, if he is 100% and able to workout expect to be impressed by the workout numbers turned in by Maryland senior cornerback Nolan Carroll and UTEP senior cornerback Cornelius Brown, who should run in the 4.4 range with 40" vertical at 5110, 195 pounds.

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