The Early Mock (12/12/07)
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by Drpatriot
"Because it's never too early to be wrong."
Welcome to another edition of the Early Mock, an NFL mock draft created ridiculously early that will likely be completely irrelevant come draft time. Begun nearly a half year ahead of schedule, The Early Mock will keep up to date until the big day finally arrives with a fresh new mock draft every week, week-and-a-half, two weeks, or whenever I feel like it.
Until the season is over, The Early Mock will use the draft order provided by www.gbnreport.com, which organizes teams according to record and strength of schedule, after which point the actual draft order will be used.
And without further ado...
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1 Miami : Glenn Dorsey, DT, LSU: Dorsey is a force in the middle and the Dolphins need to improve their defense if they want to start winning games.
2 New England (from San Francisco ) : Darren McFadden, RB, Arkansas: Well damn, this sucks for everyone else.
3 St. Louis : Jake Long, OT, Michigan: Pace is on the decline and Long is my favorite prospect in the whole draft.
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4 Atlanta : Matt Ryan, QB, Boston College: With Bobby Petrino resigning and many possible signings here, the new coach will want to go in a new direction and that means a new quarterback.
5 New York Jets: Chris Long, DE/OLB, Virginia: Long is a tough prospect and will give the Jets a very strong pass-rushing threat for years to come.
6 Kansas City : Sam Baker, OT, USC: Unless the Chiefs pass Larry Johnson on to a different team, this pick will assuredly go to improving their quickly weakening offensive line.
7 Oakland : Sedrick Ellis, DT, USC: Ellis is stuffing up the middle at USC and Lane Kiffin will have seen plenty of him at USC.
8 Baltimore : Andre Woodson, QB, Kentucky: Kyle Boller isn’t actually doing THAT bad but he doesn’t seem able to lead this team anywhere. Woodson might be the answer instead.
9 Cincinnati : Dan Connor, LB, Penn State: The Bengals need leadership on defense and Connor can play either inside or outside linebacker.
10 Carolina : Brian Brohm, QB, Louisville: Vinny Testaverde starting at QB? David Carr starting at QB? Matt Moore starting at QB? This is not a difficult call.
11 Chicago : Michael Oher, OT, Ole Miss: The best quarterbacks are off the board, so even if they decided they wanted one it would be wiser to wait. Thus, the Bears decide to improve the offensive line instead.
12 Philadelphia : Kenny Phillips, FS, Miami: Brian Dawkins is getting older and Kenny Philips could use a few years in the wings as well.
13 Arizona : Vernon Gholston, DE, Ohio State: Gholston is one of the best in the businnes and will give the Cardinals a better pass rush.
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14 New Orleans : Malcolm Jenkins, CB, Ohio State: Jenkins falls further than he should and the Saints snatch him up without any qualms.
15 Houston : Aqib Talib, CB, Kansas: Talib would be a great pick to strengthen a weak secondary, though they really need a safety here.
16 Denver : Keith Rivers, OLB, USC: The Broncos lack defensive leadership – actually, they lack a defense entirely. Rivers should bring back the fire.
17 Detroit : Antoine Cason, CB, Arizona: The first non-wideout selected by the Lions in seven thousand years, Cason should help make the defensive backfield a strength and not a weakness.
18 Washington : Jeff Otah, OT/OG, Pittsburgh: Otah is a rising prospect who could give the Redskins help anywhere on the line, which is good because the Redskins need help everywhere on the line.
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19 Tennessee : DeSean Jackson, WR, California: What else are they going to do, draft a quarterback to replace Vince Young? Their passing game sucks for whatever reason and Doucet could be the cure. Maybe.
20 Buffalo : Calais Campbell, DE, Miami: Campbell is the best prospect left on the board and frankly, Buffalo’s main problem is youth, not skill.
21 Minnesota : Early Doucet, WR, LSU: The Vikings need help in their passing attack and there are no other first-round quarterbacks on the board.
22 Dallas (from Cleveland ): Adarius Bowman, WR, Tennessee: Bowman is an ideal prospect to learn from Glenn and T.O. in the wings, waiting for his shot.
23 Tampa Bay : Malcolm Kelly, WR, Oklahoma: Yes, that’s another WR off the board. Kelly brings youth to an offense with top wideouts of Joey Galloway and Ike Hilliard.
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24 San Diego : Gosder Cherilus, OT, Boston College: I stick with this pick. The Chargers can’t block on the right and Cherilus can improve this.
25 Seattle : Ryan Clady, OT, Boise State: Clady brings a passion to the line that has been missing since Steve Hutchinson left. Besides just passion, Clady also offers superior pass-blocking skills to Matt Hasselbeck.
26 Pittsburgh : Mike Jenkins, CB, South Florida: The “other” Jenkins cornerback goes to Pittsburgh to improve their pass defense, a slight weak spot on their fantastic defense.
27 New York Giants: Mario Manningham, WR, Michigan: Amani Toomer is getting no younger and Manningham is a truly elite wide receiver who could fill his role.
28 Jacksonville : Quentin Groves, DE, Auburn: Groves is a fiery player who can give the Jaguars an improved pass rush into the opponent’s backfield.
29 Green Bay : Reggie Smith, DB, Oklahoma: Looks like I was wrong about Ryan Grant; the Packers add a versatile defensive back who could play anywhere in their scheme.
30 San Francisco (from Indianapolis) : Lawrence Jackson, DE, USC: There are a lot of holes that need to be filled in San Francisco…Jackson could play either DE or OLB in their scheme and they oculd use help in both places.
31 Dallas : DeJuan Tribble, CB, Boston College: It just seems unfair that teams like Dallas get two picks and the 49ers only get one.
