The Early Mock: Two-Round Edition (1/4/07)
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by user Drpatriot
Well, a happy new year to all! Here it is, the special edition of the Early Mock, with two rounds for your viewing pleasure. I plan on doing a two-round about once a month, and perhaps more often as it comes closer to draft day in April. And without further ado....
(Note: Players with a * next to their name are juniors who have not declared for the draft.)
1 Oakland: JaMarcus Russell*, QB, LSU: In a showdown between Brady Quinn and JaMarcus Russell, Russell won. Oakland will like this “more exciting” player for the #1 pick in the draft.
2 Detroit: Brady Quinn, QB, Notre Dame: Quinn will apprentice behind Jon Kitna until he needs to take the helm with the Lions.
3 Cleveland: Alan Branch*, DT, Michigan: Branch was one of Michigan’s few bright spots during the Rose Bowl, and Cleveland is happy to spend this pick on the tough run stuffer.
4 Tampa Bay: Calvin Johnson*, WR, Georgia Tech: The Bucs will be extremely happy to see Johnson fall to them, as they could use another good WR and Joey Galloway is getting no younger.
NOTE: Cleveland and Tampa Bay are subject to a coin toss. If their positions were swapped, I would give both teams would make the same selections.
5 Arizona: Joe Thomas, OT, Wisconsin: Easiest. Pick. Ever.
6 Washington: Gaines Adams, DE, Clemson: The Redskins snatch up the speedy defensive end out of Clemson to give an actual pass rush to their defense.
7 Minnesota: Dwayne Jarrett*, WR, USC: Jarrett stole the show against Michigan and rose his stock dramatically.
8 Houston: Adrian Peterson*, RB, Oklahoma: Unless Peterson says he is staying, this pick will continue to make sense.
9 Miami: Amobi Okoye, DT, Louisville: Okoye’s stock is rapidly rising and Miami could snatch him up at #9.
10 Atlanta: Marshawn Lynch, RB, Cal: Say what? The new Falcons coach could want to make a point and draft another offensive star to replace Warrick Dunn, despite his similarities to Jerious Norwood.
11 San Francisco: Antoine Cason*, CB, Arizona: The 49ers are desperate for good talent at cornerback and Cason could start immediately.
12 Buffalo: Levi Brown, OT, Penn State: Brown would give the Bills an immediate improvement on the offensive line to give protection to J.P. Losman.
13 St. Louis: Quentin Moses, DE, Georgia: The Rams look for a better rush threat on defense, and Moses could provide this threat.
14 Carolina: LaRon Landry, S, LSU: Landry maintained his high stock during last night’s bowl game and can give the Panthers a first-tier safety for years to come.
15 Pittsburgh: Justin Blalock, OG, Texas: Blalock can fill a spot on the offensive line that has needed filling since the beginning of the season.
16 Green Bay: Ted Ginn*, WR, Ohio State: Frankly, the Packers expected Lynch to fall to them, but Ted Ginn could provide another threat at WR for Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers, or whoever is quarterbacking in Green Bay next fall.
17 Jacksonville: Troy Smith, QB, Ohio State: With Byron Leftwich likely on his way out, the front office decides that David Garrard and Quinn Gray are not satisfactory and decide to select the Heisman winner out of Ohio State.
18 Cincinnati: DeMarcus Tyler, DT, N.C. State: Tyler is a stalwart presence in the middle and was second on his team in tackles as a defensive lineman.
19 Tennessee: Lawrence Timmons, OLB, Florida State: Timmons will give another young talent to the Titans on the defensive side of the ball.
20 New York Giants: Quinn Pitcock, DT, Ohio State: The Giants need improvement up the middle and will use their first round pick to get it.
21 Denver: Leon Hall, CB, Michigan: With the unfortunate passing of Darrent Williams, the Broncos are left with a hole at cornerback and Leon Hall could fill this hole.
22 New England (from Seattle): Patrick Willis, ILB, Ole Miss: Willis is the best available player and will be able to sit on the bench for a year to learn the defense while Junior Seau and Tedy Bruschi cover the middle.
23 Dallas: Michael Griffin, S, Texas: Griffin will give support to Roy Williams at the other safety spot, which has been weak as of late.
24 Kansas City: Jeff Samardzija, WR, Notre Dame: Samardzija is a solid target for the Chiefs, who need could use a solid possession wide receiver.
25 New Orleans: Buster Davis*, ILB, Florida State: The Saints pick up an exciting ILB from Florida State who has performed very well over the years.
26 New York Jets: Adam Carriker, DE, Nebraska: Carriker is a tough DE prospect whose presence bodes well for the new 3-4 defense of the Jets.
27 Philadelphia: Rufus Alexander, OLB, Oklahoma: The Eagles need help at the linebacker position and Alexander is a rising prospect at the position.
28 New England: Marcus McCauley, CB, Fresno State: McCauley is fast, strong, and durable, traits that the current Patriots cornerbacks do not, by any means, possess.
29 Indianapolis: Frank Okam*, DT, Texas: Okam is a tough DT prospect who could give the Colts a strong presence in the middle.
30 Baltimore: Reggie Nelson*, FS, Florida: Nelson is one of the best players available and Ed Reed appears moved to more of a strong safety-like role for the time being.
31 Chicago: Zach Miller*, TE, Arizona State: The Bears don’t really have a threat at TE and they could use another target for Rex Grossman to throw to.
32 San Diego: Robert Meachem*, WR, Tennessee: Meachem finishes off the first round and the Chargers get a burner at WR who will add a new wrinkle to Martyball.
33 Oakland: Tony Ugoh, OT, Arkansas: Ugoh will add a strong presence on the offensive line, an area where Oakland has had no small struggle.
34 Detroit: Greg Olsen, TE, Miami: Greg Olsen will give a possession target for Brady Quinn or Jon Kitna to throw to.
35 Tampa Bay: Daymeion Hughes, CB, California: Hughes is a speedy cornerback with good hands who will have a good contrast with hard-hitting Ronde Barber.
36 Cleveland: Michael Bush, RB, Louisville: Reuben Droughns isn’t producing enough at runningback, and the Browns could use another solution.
37 New York Jets (from Washington): Kenny Irons, RB, LSU: The Jets could use another runningback, too, and Irons is the best prospect available.
38 Arizona: LaMarr Woodley, DE, Michigan: Woodley will give the Cardinals an elite pass-rusher at the defensive end position.
39 Minnesota (from Miami): Brandon Meriweather, FS, Miami: Even if Darren Sharper doesn’t leave, Meriweather could be used as improvement in the secondary.
40 Minnesota: Aundrae Allison, WR, Eastern Carolina: The Vikings go for a prospect with elite speed and good hands, but only two years of experience at a C-USA level, to improve their wide receiver corps.
41 Houston: Steve Smith, WR, USC: Smith with add an immediate threat to the Texans offense at wide receiver.
42 Buffalo: David Harris, ILB, Michigan: This tackling machine will stuff up the middle (and the rest of the field as well) with the Bills.
43 Atlanta: Tom Zbikowski, S, Notre Dame: Zbikowski is a tough prospect out of Notre Dame who will be an immediate improvement to Atlanta’s secondary.
44 San Francisco: Turk McBride, DT, Tennessee: This ex-Volunterer will be an ideal 3-4 defensive end for the 49ers.
45 Tennessee: Victor Abiamiri, DE, Notre Dame: The Titans have been looking for a good pass-rusher to put opposite Kyle Vanden Bosch, and they believe that they’ve found their man in Abiamiri.
46 St. Louis: Eric Weddle, S, Utah: Weddle can fill the hole that Adam Archuleta left when he departed the Rams secondary as an athletic and intelligent player.
47 Carolina: Fred Bennett, CB, South Carolina: Bennett is a speedy prospect who can continue to give help to the Panthers secondary.
48 Pittsburgh: Aaron Ross, CB, Texas: The Steelers secondary has been flighty and Ross could do a lot to improve this unit.
49 Green Bay: DeShawn Wynn, RB, Florida: They missed out on Lynch, Bush, and Irons, and must now go with the next best prospect at RB.
50 Jacksonville: Joe Staley, OT, Central Michigan: Staley is a solid tackle who should have an immediate impact on the Jaguars offensive line.
51 Cincinnati: Tim Crowder, DE, Texas: Word is that the Bengals are looking to improve their pass rush over the offseason, and Crowder would be a good candidate to fill that slot.
52 New York Giants: Steve Breaston, WR, Michigan: Breaston has improved his hands during the season and can be a KR/PR as well as a WR for the Giants.
53 Denver: Lawrence Jackson*, DE, USC: Jackson had a great bowl game and should provide both run stopping and pass rushing services for the Broncos.
54 Kansas City: Ben Grubbs, OG, Auburn: Grubbs will add strength and drive to the floundering Kansas City offensive line.
55 Seattle: Samson Satele, OG, Hawaii: Satele is a tough prospect with enough upside to adequately replace Steve Hutchinson in the long run.
56 Dallas: Josh Beekman, OG, Boston College: Though three guards selected in succession seems a little unreal, Beekman is still the best pick for the Cowboys at this point in the draft.
57 Philadelphia: Brian Leonard, RB, Rutgers: Though Brian Westbrook is plenty adequate as a runningback, Leonard would provide the Eagles with the tough, close-yardage runner that they’ve been looking for.
58 New Orleans: Brandon Siler*, OLB, Florida: The Saints draft their second linebacker of the day in Siler, who could also step in right away on defense.
59 New York Jets: Tarrell Brown, CB, Texas: Brown will provide a stalwart presence in the Jets’ secondary, probably their worst unit on defense.
60 Tampa Bay (from Indianapolis): Ryan Harris, OT, Notre Dame: The Buccaneers are aging on their offensive line and Harris is the best OL prospect available here.
61 New England: Anthony Spencer, OLB, Purdue: Spencer will be another injection of youth into the Patriots aging linebacker corps.
62 Chicago: Ryan Kalil, C, USC: I had Chicago picking Kalil in the first round last week, but 2nd round is much better value for a player who will likely sit on the bench for a year or two while Olin Kreutz finishes up his career.
63 Baltimore: Drew Stanton, QB, Michigan State: Stanton will be both apprentice to and competition for Steve McNair and Kyle Boller in Baltimore.
64 San Diego: Aaron Rouse, S, Virginia Tech: Rouse rounds out the second round of drafting with his new team, the San Diego Chargers.
Big Risers: JaMarcus Russell (+29), Antoine Cason (+17), Ted Ginn (+16), Gaines Adams (+14), Quentin Moses (+10)
Big Fallers: Ryan Kalil (-31), Reggie Nelson (-17), Brandon Meriweather (-14), Leon Hall (-14), Tony Ugoh (-10)
Staying In School: Michael Hart, Darrelle Revis
Coming Out: Marshawn Lynch, Greg Olsen, Lawrence Timmons
