NFL Mock Draft 1.0

Between my duties as a teacher, basketball coach, and husband-to-be, I have struggled to find the time that I usually devote to two of my late winter/early spring passions -- the NCAA tournament and the NFL Draft. My NCAA bracket is all but busted. I still have my entire Final Four -- Pittsburgh, Connecticut, North Carolina, and Michigan State -- but I suffered too many early round losses. For the record, I picked VCU, Northern Iowa, and Utah State to do some early damage and all three lost by a combined 7 points. Not good. Hopefully, with the extra month I have to prepare for the Draft, my performance will improve. This is the first of (hopefully) three mock drafts. 1. Detroit Lions: Matthew Stafford, QB, Georgia The Lions need help everywhere. 2. St. Louis Rams: Jason Smith, OT, Baylor It must be nice to have the opportunity to replace Orlando Pace, a future Hall of Fame left tackle, with such an impressive prospect like Smith. 3. Kansas City Chiefs: B.J. Raji, DT, Boston College Scott Pioli always had success drafting interior defensive lineman while he was with the Patriots. If Raji develops like Richard Seymour, Ty Warren, or Vince Wilfork, the Chiefs will have drafted themselves a Pro Bowl nose tackle. 4. Seattle Seahawks: Aaron Curry, LB, Wake Forest Curry is the top rated linebacker in the draft and he would be a nice fit alongside Lofa Tatupu. 5. Cleveland Browns: Brian Orakpo, LB, Texas Mangini hopes that he will find more success in drafting a pass rushing specialist in the Top 10 in 2009 than it did in 2008. 6. Cincinnati Bengals: Eugene Monroe, OT, Virginia Michael Crabtree would be a nice addition for the Bengals but does it matter who they have to catch the ball if Carson Palmer doesn't have time to throw? 7. Oakland Raiders: Michael Crabtree, WR, Texas Tech By adding Crabtree to an offensive nucleus that includes Darren McFadden, the Raiders are sending a message to QB JaMarcus Russell ... start making plays or start looking for a new employer. 8. Jacksonville Jaguars: Michael Oher, OT, Ole Miss The Jaguars lack of an offenisve line destroyed all of their Super Bowl dreams in 2008. Oher, the subject of Michael Lewis' fantastic book "The Blind Side," has enormous potential. 9. Green Bay Packers: Rey Maualuga, LB, USC A.J. Hawk is not capable of carrying the Packers defense by himself. 10. San Francisco 49ers: Everette Brown, DE, Florida State Guys who can rush the passer are always in demand. 11. Buffalo Bills: Jeremy Maclin, WR, Missouri Adding Maclin to a receiving corps that features T.O. puts serious pressure on the defensive backfields in Foxboro, Miami, and the Meadowlands. 12. Denver Broncos: Malcolm Jenkins, CB, Ohio State The McDaniels-Cutler saga aside, the Broncos really need to improve their defense to get back to playing football in January. 13. Washington Redskins: Aaron Maybin, DE, Penn State With Albert Haynesworth eating up blockers inside, Maybin could get some easy looks at the quarterback this fall. 14. New Orleans Saints: Darius Heyward-Bey, WR, Maryland The Saints are a team filled with offensive weapons and are sorely lacking on defense. Giving Drew Brees another target makes more sense than trying to put a band-aid on the defense. 15. Houston Texans: Chris Wells, RB, Ohio State The Texans have built a very good young defense. Giving the offense a running back with the potential to move the chains and give that defense a rest makes sense. 16. San Diego Chargers: Andre Smith, OT, Alabama Smith's workouts have killed his chances of being a Top 10 pick but the Chargers can afford to gamble on the All-American left tackle. 17. New York Jets: Brian Cushing, LB, USC Finding a quarterback might be a priority for new coach Rex Ryan but the versatile Cushing would be a nice fit for the "Gang Green" defense. 18. Chicago Bears: Mark Sanchez, QB, USC The Bears lack of a quality quarterback cost this team a chance to win Super Bowl XLI and stay competitive in the NFC. Sanchez will need time to develop but he has the makings of a solid pro. 19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Eben Britton, OT, Arizona The Bucs have need at quarterback but it's always nice to invest in a left tackle. 20. Detroit Lions: Clay Matthews, LB, USC The Lions get a promising linebacker to help rebuild their defense. I also just realized that I have projected four Trojans to go in the first 20 picks. 21. Philadelphia Eagles: Knowshon Moreno, RB, Georgia Brian Westbrook is a perennial Pro Bowler but he always finds a way to get hurt and miss a few games. Moreno would be a nice fill-in for Westbrook both short-term and in the long-run. 22. Minnesota Vikings: Percy Harvin, WR, Florida Harvin is a dynamic threat on offense and he could help take some of the pressure off of Adrian Peterson. 23. New England Patriots: Connor Barwin, LB, Cincinnati Barwin fits into the Patriots need at linebacker and he seems to be a "Belichick guy." He is athletic (4.60 in the 40-yard dash), has good size (6-4, 260), and he is versatile (he played tight end, defensive end, and linebacker for the Bearcats). On paper, he is a young Mike Vrabel. 24. Atlanta Falcons: Brandon Pettigrew, TE, Oklahoma State Matt Ryan's development will be made easier with a pass catching tight end. 25. Miami Dolphins: Larry English, LB, Northern Illinois English would be a nice fit as an outside linebacker in the Dolphins 3-4 defense. He could possibly be another Jason Taylor (pass rusher from a small school). 26. Baltimore Ravens: Vontae Davis, CB, Illinois After losing Chris McAllister, Samari Rolle, and Jim Leonhard, the Ravens need help in the secondary. 27. Indianapolis Colts: Perria Jones, DT, Ole Miss The Colts have succeeded with an undersized defenisve line for a long time but they have a serious need for a large, run stuffing tackle. 28. Philadelphia Eagles: Jermaine Gresham, TE, Oklahoma The Eagles window to win a Super Bowl with Donovan McNabb and Westbrook is closing quickly. Gresham is playmaker at tight end. 29. New York Giants: Hakeem Nicks, WR, NC State With the future of Plaxico Burress up in the air, Eli Manning needs as many guys who can catch the ball as possible. 30. Tennessee Titans: Alex Mack, C, California Adding a quality offensive lineman at this point is a bonus for the Titans. 31. Arizona Cardinals: Ron Brace, DT, Boston College The Cardinals need to be able to stop the run to get back to the Super Bowl. 32. Pittsburgh Steelers: William Beatty, OT, UConn Replenishing an already solid offensive line is one of the peks of being the defending champions. Additionally, here are some players that I feel could be potential targets of the Patriots: Sean Smith, CB, Utah Jarron Gilbert, DL, San Jose State Darius Butler, CB, UConn William Moore, S, Missouri Louis Delmas, S, Western Michigan Duke Robinson, OL, Oklahoma James Laurinaitis, LB, Ohio State