Jim's Mock 1.1, Quick & dirty update

[SamBamsFan]

Bi- Monthly draft checkup

1. Oakland
JaMarcus Russell QB
My only mistake here is in trying to be logical.

2. Detroit
Joe Thomas OT
Matt Millen takes the most sensible route despite himself.

3t. Cleveland
Adrian Peterson RB
RAC has many needs, but Peterson belongs in this spot.

4. Tampa Bay
Calvin Johnson WR
Gruden gets his dream draftee.

5. Arizona
Gaines Adams DE
Many needs on OLine but no logical fit there. Adams is the best available given their needs. He can be the “difference maker they have lacked on their front 7.

6. Washington
Alan Branch DT
Square peg. Definitely need help on the front 7, esp. in the middle. Branch w/ his talent & versatility is like manna from the gods. They’d like to trade down ( I believe they only have 1 1st day pick). Many have Branch sliding a bit, but I think his combination of athleticism/size makes him a fit here.

7. Minnesota
Brady Quinn QB
I know they picked a QB last year, but Quinn is much, much better than Jackson. And he is much more NFL ready. Most have them picking WR but I don’t see one in this spot.

8. Houston
Jamaal Anderson DE
DE’s two years in a row? Anderson’s ability to play in the opponents backfield makes this actually a smart choice. Now w/ Mario, DeMeco & Jamaal Houstons D can make a little noise.

9. Miami
La Ron Landry S
So many needs w/ their aging D, uncertain WR’s & QB’s. I give them the best defender available.

10. Atlanta
Levi Brown OT
Area of need & value.

11. San Francisco
Ted Ginn WR
Ginn’s stock slides a bit after his announcement that he won’t run @ the Combine, and perhaps still won’t be able to @ Pro days. Too Talented to slide much more.

12. Buffalo
Leon Hall CB
Meet Clements replacement, though I almost gave them P Willis. Remember this is the same group that brought you Whitner & McCargo in the first last year so they might jump on Marshawn Lynch here.

13. St. Louis
Amobe Okoye DT
I have a feeling that he might go much higher than this. StL has big problems w/ the D middle so I’ll put him here.

14. Carolina
Patrick Willis LB
I healthy, large, fast MLB. They have other needs but…

15. Pittsburgh
Adam Carricker DE
They can almost play “Best Player Available”,. I’d normally give the a CB, but instead I’ll give them Carricker as he is a potential difference-maker, and there are always talented CB’s that slide into the 2nd.

16. Green Bay
Marshawn Lynch RB
What the hell… everyone else has him going here.

17. Jacksonville
Reggie Nelson S
They could use some weapons on offense, but they picked 2 WR’s in 3 years. Well’ try S this time as it also a black hole.

18. Cincinnati
Greg Olson TE
I could see them loving this guy in CinCin, now they should just send out the FBI for a complete background check.

19. Tennessee
Dwayne Bowe WR
Toys for Vince. Nice big target w/ good polish.

20. N.Y. Giants
Lawrence Timmons LB
They need db help as well, but the LB play was terrible last year.

21. Denver
Jarvis Moss DE
I see the DLine as the issue esp. re: pass rush.

22. Dallas
Aaron Ross CB
I had them wanting a Free Safety, but there is a gap between Nelson and the next tier. They also could used a young WR as Glenn is aging, and who knows how long they will put up w/ TO games. Let them stay in-state and take Ross.

23. Kansas City
Dwayne Jarrett WR
I , Obviously, don’t share the love that many have for Jarrett, but he is a definite upgrade on the WR’s that they have. And he fits the “best player available” slot as well.

24. New England (from Seattle)
Darrelle Revis CB
Need & talent merge.

25NY Jets
Anthony Spenser DE/OLB
Speed and talent give a different look to the Jets D.

26. Philadelphia
Paul Posluszny LB
They could use an LB so I’ll give them one from instate.

27. New Orleans
Robert Meachem
Joe Horn who? They have needs on D as well.

28. New England
Ben Grubbs OG
I’ll duck now, but he is the most talented on my “pats prospects” board.

29. Baltimore
Chris Houston CB
A Thomas might change the direction of this pick. Rolle was toasted regularly last year @cb

30. San Diego
Anthony Gonzales WR
Toys for Phillip.

31. Chicago
Zak Miller TE
A definite area of need.

32. Indianapolis
Jon Beason LB
I wavered between Beason/ Harrell. Harrell I think would be the better fit/ value if he gets medical OKs.

Round 2

1. Oakland- Joe Staley OT
2. Detroit- Charles Johnson DE
3t. Tampa Bay – Ryan Kalil OC
4. Cleveland Justin Harrell DT
5. Arizona – Justin Blalock OG
6. Chicago (from NYJ & Washington) – Tank Tyler DT
7. Minnesota - Zack Miller TE
8. Houston- Brandon Siler DE
9. Miami- Tony Ugoh OT
10. Atlanta- Craig Davis WR
11. San Francisco- Brandon Meriweather S
12. Buffalo- Michael Bush RB
13. St. Louis- Ray McDonald DE
14. Carolina- Michael Griffin S
15. Pittsburgh – Lamarr Woodley DE/OLB
16. Green Bay- Victor Abiamiri DE
17. Jacksonville – Quentin Moses DE
18. Cincinnati- Ray McDonald DE
19. Tennessee – Brandon Mebane DE
20. N.Y. Giants- Rufus Alexander LB
21. Denver- Eric Wright CB
22. Dallas – Josh Beekman OG
23. Kansas City – Ryan McBean DT
24. Seattle – Josh Wilson CB
25. N.Y. Jets – Tony Hunt RB
26. Philadelphia – Samson Satele OC
27. New Orleans – Sidney Rice WR
28. Miami - Steve Smith WR
29. Baltimore- Drew Stanton QB
30. San Diego – David Harris LB
31. NY Jets – Johnnie Lee Higgins WR
32. Tampa Bay (from Indianapolis) – Buster Davis LB

 

[Water Boy]

Good Mock overall in my opinion but let me be the first to give you the obligatory "GRUBS?"

Legit first rounder, but too many good players at positions of higher need.

 

[Fencer]

Houston will go a lot higher, so that leaves one more need-position candidate available at 28.

And why is Josh Wilson so low?

 

[dryheat44]

I'd be very happy with a Revis/Grubbs draft. That's my top-rated DB and my top-rated lineman.

 

[mgteich]

Revis is fine. We didn't sign Neal through 2009 so that we use a first founder on a guard. Draft Gonzo or Houston or trade down for a safety!

 

[DaBruinz]

Revis provides VALUE. Grubbs while talented, isn't the highest VALUE available when you have the Pats picking him.

Now, as for Pedersen, If the kid doesn't have an o-line to run behind, it won't matter how good he is because he'll amount to nothing. Same with Charlie Frye. If Thomas is gone, look for them to take Adams to bolster their defense and replace McGinest.

 

[DaBruinz]

Also, I don't see the Chargers taking a WR in the 1st round? Why? Because they dumped McCardell to get more reps to Vincent Jackson and Malcolm Floyd. Look for the Chargers to go defense. Either a safety or a LB.

How is TE a definite area of need for the Bears? They have Desmond Clark there. They also have have Gilmore there. More likely to go for some help at RG imho.

 

[BelichickFan]

I hate the Grubbs pick. A RT to fully solidify that spot would be OK depending how they feel about Kacur/O'Callaghan; but we're in good shape at Guard and I don't want to spend a #1 on a backup. I would prefer Houston or Griffin at that #28 spot.

 

[DaBruinz]

BTW - You have Zak Miller going to the Bears at 31 and then to the Vikings at 39.

 

[patfanken]

Tell me how can you justify investing a first round pick on someone who is going to be a back up until AT LEAST 2009. IIRC that when Neal's contract is over and Mankins rookie contract expires. So tell me who does he replace, Mankins who is headed for the probowl, or Neal who we just extended???? He may be a #1 talent, but just not for this team

 

[SamBamsFan]

Houston will go a lot higher, so that leaves one more need-position candidate available at 28.

And why is Josh Wilson so low?

I think that we rate Wilson here, on the board, higher than many others due. I thought about him @ 47 to Pittsburgh, but I wasn't sure that he would fit their profile because he is a small CB. There were other places like Atlanta that I thought he could go but decided they had more pressing needs. Basically he just fell there, until he was to good a prospect for teams to pass on anymore.

 

[SamBamsFan]

Tell me how can you justify investing a first round pick on someone who is going to be a back up until AT LEAST 2009. IIRC that when Neal's contract is over and Mankins rookie contract expires. So tell me who does he replace, Mankins who is headed for the probowl, or Neal who we just extended???? He may be a #1 talent, but just not for this team

Why do you guys think that he would be a backup? If he is the most talented, I believe that they will find a place to put him on the field. I believe that he can make a huge upgrade to our OLine, a far bigger upgrade than anyone else @ that spot.

"Revis is fine. We didn't sign Neal through 2009 so that we use a first founder on a guard. Draft Gonzo or Houston or trade down for a safety!"

The next Safeties I have after Landry/ Nelson are Weddle, Gattis, Wendling, and Piscitelli. We already have a third rounder that would give us a pick w/in that group.

 

[SamBamsFan]

BTW - You have Zak Miller going to the Bears at 31 and then to the Vikings at 39.

Oops. This was a quick & dirty update from my initial mock:
http://www.patsfans.com/new-england-patriots/messageboard/showthread.php?t=51203
So I was just cut and pasting on my work computer rather than a full layout.

 

[sebman2112]

Kalil would be a better Pick

 

[dryheat44]

I must have been on my sabbatical when Steve Neal became irreplaceable. I thought people on this board were hip to the fact that because someone has a long term contract, let's say to 2009, that he couldn't be upgraded.

We DO all now about salary cap accounting 101, right?

 

[BelichickFan]

Well Neal was re-signed for close to $3M a year. I know that with the Patriots the best players play, not the highest paid, but the fact that they thought enough of him to give him that money suggests to me they aren't expecting him to become a backup.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

We DO all now about salary cap accounting 101, right?

Um, my cat has explained it to me, but it's really confusing.

 

[mgteich]

Cap Accounting 101 indicates that we have $2.5M of outstanding bonus to absorb, even if Neal doesn't play. That kind of commitment is just that, a commitment.

I must have been on my sabbatical when Steve Neal became irreplaceable. I thought people on this board were hip to the fact that because someone has a long term contract, let's say to 2009, that he couldn't be upgraded.

We DO all now about salary cap accounting 101, right?