drpatriot

It absolutely disgusts me that I am using trades already.

Ah well. Enjoy this week's Early Mock. I suppose there will be a little controversy over the Patriots' two picks this week, but I think that it could very well happen in this scenario.

1 Detroit: Brady Quinn, QB, Notre Dame: The Lions still need a quarterback of the future, and Brady Quinn is one of the consensus best quarterbacks in the draft.

2 Oakland: JaMarcus Russell, QB, LSU: Word has it that this talented quarterback is coming out early and the Raiders could use some excitement on the offensive side of the ball.

3 Houston (from Tampa Bay): Joe Thomas, OT, Wisconsin: The Buccaneers can get a player they need lower in the draft, and the Cardinals will select Thomas if the Texans don’t trade up. The Buccaneers receive Houston’s third-round pick and fourth-round pick.

4 Arizona: Leon Hall, CB, Michigan: With the best offensive tackle off the board, the Cardinals select an excellent cornerback prospect to strengthen their pass defense.

5 Tampa Bay (from Houston): Gaines Adams, DE, Clemson: The Buccaneers get the player they wanted and two extra picks later in the draft.

6 San Francisco (from Washington): Calvin Johnson, WR, Georgia Tech: With Johnson falling this far, and Washington not seeing any great value at a position of need, San Francisco trades up for this elite prospect. The Redskins receive San Francisco’s third-round pick.

7 Cleveland: Alan Branch, DT, Michigan: The Cleveland Browns run defense needs help, and Alan Branch is a staunch presence up the middle.

8 St. Louis: Paul Posluszny, OLB, Penn State: The Rams need a linebacker that actually helps their defense more than hurts it.

9 Washington (from San Francisco): Darrelle Revis, CB, Pittsburgh: The Redskins need a good cornerback to shore up their despicable pass defense.

10 Green Bay: Adrian Peterson, RB, Oklahoma: With the biggest surprise in the draft, the Packers pick up Peterson all the way down at #10.

11 Minnesota: Jeff Samardzija, WR, Notre Dame: Though perhaps not the most athletically gifted receiver available at this position, the Vikings hope that Samardzija will give Tarvaris Jackson a target that can actually catch the ball.

12 Carolina: Laron Landry, FS, LSU: Mike Minter isn’t getting any younger and the Panthers need more youth in the secondary.

13 Miami: Quinn Pit****, DT, Ohio State: Though the defensive tackle spot isn’t thought of as a place of need for the Dolphins, Keith Traylor isn’t getting any younger and the Dolphins could use more depth.

14 Pittsburgh: Jake Long, OT, Michigan: The Steelers select one of the best pass-blockers in the draft to help protect Big Ben’s backside.

15 Buffalo: Levi Brown, OT, Penn State: The Bills need more help on their line, and Brown is the best player available at this point in the draft.

16 Tennessee: Ted Ginn, WR, Ohio State: The Titans will be ecstatic to give Vince Young one of the most electrifying targets to come out of the college ranks in a while; hopefully he will be able to prevent his case of the dropsies.

17 Atlanta: Michael Griffin, S, Texas: Griffin will help upgrade Atlanta’s aging safeties and could start immediately.

18 New York Jets: Turk McBride, DE, Tennessee: Played both end and tackle at Tennessee and should give the Jets an elite 3-4 DE prospect for years to come.

19 San Diego (from Philadelphia): Dwayne Jarrett, WR, USC: The Chargers, worried that they will miss out on this deep threat from USC, trade up with Philadelphia. Philadelphia receives the Charger’s third- and fifth-round picks.

20 Kansas City: Sam Baker, OT, USC: Not to be outdone, the Chiefs select a prospect that should help their blundering offensive line improve to its old level of play.

21 Denver: Reggie Nelson, S, Florida: The Broncos use their first-round pick on their next great free safety, with the hope that John Lynch will assist him in learning how to play the position in the NFL.

22 New York Giants: Marshawn Lynch, RB, UCLA: With Tiki’s impending retirement, the Giants could use another running back to complement Brandon Jacobs’ tough but not by any measure gamebreaking running ability.

23 New England (from Seattle): Patrick Willis, ILB, Ole Miss: The Patriots hope that the Butkus-award winner can help bring some youth into the linebacking corps.

24 Dallas: Justin Blalock, OG, Texas: The Cowboys select a guard prospect that will add strength and power to their offensive line.

25 Jacksonville: Brandon Siler, LB, Florida: The Jaguars look for a local prospect to help improve the weakest part of their strong defense.

26 Cincinnati: Amobi Okoye, DT, Louisville: Mel Kiper is giving this guy so much hype, you could choke on it.

27 New Orleans: Zach Miller, TE, Arizona State: Zach Miller will give Drew Brees the tight end threat he has been missing since he left San Diego and Antonio Gates.

28 New England: Lamarr Woodley, OLB, Michigan: The Patriots select their second linebacker in as many picks to help bring youth to their linebackers. It is likely that only one of these players will start come opening day of 2007.

29 Baltimore: Troy Smith, QB, Ohio State: I’m sticking with this pick for the Ravens. Troy Smith will add speed, strength and toughness as the future franchise QB of the Baltimore Ravens.

30 Indianapolis: Antoine Cason, CB, Arizona: The Colts need a cornerback who can actually cover the ball. Actually, the Colts need quite a few cornerbacks who can cover the ball.

31 Chicago: Tony Ugoh, OT, Arkansas: The Bears select a raw prospect to develop into their future franchise left tackle.

32 Philadelphia (from San Diego): Buster Davis, LB, Florida State: Philadelphia selects a player that could play any of the linebacker positions for their defense to round out the first round.

Big Risers: Jeff Samardzija (+20), Sam Baker (+12), Reggie Nelson (+8), Ted Ginn (+7), Brandon Siler (+6)

Big Fallers: Antoine Cason (-21), Amobi Okoye (-7), Lamarr Woodley (-6), Adrian Peterson (-5), Laron Landry (-5)

New On The Board: JaMarcus Russell (#2), Turk McBride (#18), Tony Ugoh (#32)

Fallen Off: Brandon Meriweather, Quentin Moses, Brian Brohm

__________________
"Nobody in the game of football should be called a genius. A genius is somebody like Norman Einstein." - Joe Theismann

rookBoston

Nice work. Very thoughtful mock.

__________________
"We want to build a big, strong, tough, smart, fast, disciplined football team that will consistently compete for a championship."
-- Scott Pioli, from the Patriots scouting manual

DaBruinz

With as high as the Chargers are on Vincent Jackson and Malcolm Floyd, why do you believe they will add a WR? Particularly if they are trading up. Wouldn't they consider Woodley or Willis for themselves? Steve Foley's status is up in the air. Donnie Edwards and Randall Godfrey aren't getting younger.

Poll

What do you guys think of Paul Williams?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOyYVnN4bTs

carolinatony

I like it. Now Lets hope BB does too!

drpatriot

That's certainly a good point. Though Jackson and Floyd are good receivers, neither is a future #1 and McCardell is getting older. I think that the Chargers could use a good deep threat for their offense, and Dwayne Jarrett could certainly fill this role

The Chargers wouldn't take Woodley, they have their stud SLB already, and Woodley wouldn't be suited for WLB duty. They could end up taking Willis, but I believe that they will wait another year before making this move.

__________________
"Nobody in the game of football should be called a genius. A genius is somebody like Norman Einstein." - Joe Theismann

The Gr8est

Jake Long OT announced he is returning to Michigan, not coming out this year.

Remix 6

hes a 3rd-4th rounder. hes raw as a WR but his size/speed combo will get keep his draft status a bit higher. he can also contribute on ST but when he learns to catch consistently and run routes he can be really good

Poll

I like his potential. He's a bit like Jonathan Orr (speed and size) but he isn;t playing for Tennessee at the moment.

Will Pat Hill have a positive or negative influence?

SNL

I hope the Patriots use one of their picks on S Meriweather. I feel two LBs in the first round isn't going to happen.