Mock Draft 1.0

by Schrum

All the Super Bowl dust has settled and it’s time to get serious. Here is my Mock Draft 1.0. Please comment on what you think. I’m not including stats or 40 times because I don’t think they matter that much and the combine has not started yet.

I’m only going up to pick 11, because everyone else after the Bills I could care less about.

1. Detroit Lions: Matt Stafford, QB, Georgia. Sam Bradford is an idiot. I don’t care how bad you want to redeem yourself and win a National Title. It’s not guaranteed. First overall NFL draft pick money is guaranteed. The Lions have to take a QB. Kitna is not the answer. They have the WR’s to make some noise in the bad NFC Norris. Stafford is better than Sanchez and beyond that I’m not too sure if anyone is worth a #1 pick.

2. St. Louis Rams: Eugene Monroe, OT, Virginia. The Rams are in trouble. They need a lot of help on both sides of the ball. It wouldn’t surprise me if they took Crabtree because of the success of Larry Fitzgerald and ‘Tonio Holmes. But I think they should take Monroe here. Solidify your Tackle position first. You have a good not great QB and an almost great RB locked up for a few years. Give them more time and the offense will be a lot better than last year. Plus Orlando “Pankcake” Pace is old and injured.

3. Kansas City Chiefs: Aaron Curry, LB, Wake Forest. With Pioli running the show, I think they go D here. Curry is a stud and reminds me of a better Jerod Mayo, who Pioli took last year with NE. They do need a QB but I don’t think Mark Sanchez is the answer. Tyler Thigpen didn’t look that bad last year. And let’s face it; a new QB will not take this team to the promise land in 1 year. Wait for 2010 for a guy like McCoy or Bradford. Pioli allegedly found 2 studs in Brady and Cassel in late rounds, so I don’t see him grabbing an unproven QB at the 3 spot.

4. Seattle Seahawks: Michael Crabtree, WR, Texas Tech. This guy is a true gamer. Don’t think so? Look at his game against Texas this year. His route running is good and he has excellent strength and speed after the catch. He can go over the middle because of his size. He reminds me of Calvin Johnson, just without the major hype. The Seahawks have no WR’s really so why not. The defense is decent and Hasselbeck is a good QB. The running game is terrible but there is no RB that good to take this early.

5. Cleveland Browns: Michael Jenkins, CB, THE Ohio State. The Browns secondary is weak. Jenkins is an instant impact guy. The offense will come, if they ever figure out who they want at QB. The WR and TE spot is fine too. Some scouts say he will be converted to a safety because his speed with his back to the ball isn’t that great, but his ball breaking speed is excellent. We will wait and see but he’s got to be a better option than Eric Wright or Brandon McDonald.

6. Cincinnati Bengals: Andre Smith, OT, Alabama. I think it’s obvious that the Bungals need an OT. Since Monroe is off the board it’s got to be Andre Smith. Michael Oher has a rep for a shaky pass block and Jason Smith from Baylor isn’t as good as Andre. I don’t know too much about him other than he played in the SEC for a top 5 team. He’s battle tested and a monster. The Bengals do need to revamp their terrible defense but Stacy Andrews is a free agent and probably won’t resign with them so Smith is a safe pick.

7. Oakland Raiders: Michael Oher, OT, Ole Miss. This years draft is loaded with OT’s. Last year Oher was a top 5 pick, but he decided to stay at Ole Miss (God only knows why). The Raiders have Run DMC and a young QB in Russell. If they can get these two college standouts going the Legion of Doom could cause problems in the embarrassing AFC West. Cable is an OL coach so I think Oher is a good choice.

8. Jacksonville Jaguars: Jason Smith, OT, Baylor. Three OT in a row? I know. I don’t like it one bit, but the fact of the matter is the Jag’s OL stinks. Girard led the league in picking himself off the turf last year and his INT’s went up 10 in just one year. The INT’s aren’t his entire fault. He needs more time. Smith gives him that time. The Jag’s spent money last year to vamp up their WR’s. If Smith can create time to get the ball to them, the Jags are a team that could be a force next year. Remember, they beat Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh in 2007 in a wild card game.

9. Green Bay Packers: Everette Brown, OLB/DE, Florida State. I would love for him to be at 11, but I just don’t think he will be. GB is moving to a 3-4 and last year their pass rush was pathetic. All this means is that they need to find another OLB and someone to play outside of DE Aaron Kampman. Brown is their guy. Brown might be a bit small with his hands on the ground but he played DE and LB at FSU which should lead to an easy transition to an OLB in the NFL. He has great speed and is just a beast.

10. San Francisco 49’ers: Mark Sanchez, QB, USC. Let’s face it, Alex Smith was a bust. They need a QB. Shaun Hill, J.T. O’Sullivan and Jamie Martin are not NFL starting QB’s. Sanchez is the next best QB. That took a lot for me to say that. I’m getting sick actually say that. Singletary is a defensive guy but we all know Patrick Willis is a beast, he’s a dog, he’s a mutha f**king problem; so they can address any D problems in rounds 2-7. Take Sanchez, teach him to hand it off to Frank Gore or hit Davis in the flat.

11. Buffalo Bills: Brian Orakpo, DE, Texas. Nobody circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills, and no one runs 20 yards past the QB pocket like our DE’s. We need a pass rushing monster DE. I’d like to address this need through a State Penitentiary. Sign some dude on death row that has nothing to live for. But that’s not possible so Orakpo will do. He is very fast off the snap and can fly around lager and slower OT’s. He has a unique blend of size, strength and athleticism. This should be a no brainer if he is on the board. We can’t draft a TE at 11 can we?

The Bills have a lot of needs. We need a pass catching TE, pass rush DE, back up QB, possibly an OT because we all know Peter’s is holding out again and Kirk Chambers sucks and a LB because who knows if we’ll land Suggs. If Brandon Pettigrew, TE, Oklahoma State is for real as all the scouts say he is, trade up and grab him late in the first. Or if Orakpo is gone at 11, trade down, scoop up some draft picks and take him later in the first. I wouldn’t mind drafting a backup QB in the 5^th. A guy like Drew Willy from Buffalo would be just fine. If Crowell is healthy and I doubt other NFL teams are drooling over him, sign him to a low salary incentive laced deal. That way we don’t need to address LB so early in the draft.

Who knows what our GM (if that’s what we should call him) Russ Brandon will do. DJ is lost when it comes to draft days, well just in general. Odds we throw money at some FA’s are worse than odds of me marrying Heidi Klum.