** The OFFICIAL NFL Mock Draft Thread **

[CharlieDontSurf]

Houston needs a qb

[mblax10]

My top 15 Propsects with a quick scouting report/bio (*=Undeclared underclassmen):

1.Joe Thomas, OT, Wisconsin-Will be an All-Pro LT for many years. Thomas is huge, 6' 8" with long arms. Locks up defenders pass or run blocking. Great foot work, moves very well. Athletic enough that he played a few plays at TE and DT as a Freshman. Tore ACL during last year's Capital One Bowl. Recovered and played well in 2006.

2.*Calvin Johnson, WR, Georgia Tech-Incredible physical speciman. 6' 5" 235, reportedly has a 45" vertical and can run a sub 4.5 40. Great body control and route runner. Best WR in the country, had 26 TD's in 3 years despite the yellow jackets trouble at QB.

3.Brady Quinn, QB, Notre Dame-Most polished college QB since Peyton Manning. Can make every throw. Solid mechanics, arm strength and accuracy. Very smart, reads field well and has great pocket pressence. Is fast enough to scramble although he prefers not to. Playing under Charlie Weiss will not take him long to adjust to NFL offenses.

4.*Adrian Peterson, RB, Oklahoma-Big strong back who has been a workhorse for Oklahoma. Very quick with good instincts. Can run between the tackles or on the outside. Has been injured twice in 3 college seasons. Was never utilitzed as a pass catcher at Oklahoma.

5.Gaines Adams, DE, Clemson-Great pass rusher, 14.5 sacks in '06 despite facing frequent double teams. Not just a speed rusher, has shown a variety of moves. Some concerns that he may be a tweener. Should be able to play OLB in the 3-4, but has never played standing up. Needs to add weight to play DE in the 4-3, has the build that should allow additional weight. Was not great stopping the run. Their are also some concenrs on his endurance as he was on the sideline in some key situations.

6.*Alan Branch, DT, Michigan-Huge body, 6' 6" 320 and athletic enough that he played running back in high school. Great combination of speed, size and strength. Should be able to play either position in the 3-4 or DT in the 4-3. Not the most explosive player but can get around blocks.

7.*Dwayne Jarrett, WR, USC-Big athletic WR. Very good at going and getting the ball. Very good route runner, will go over the middle and make tough catches in traffic. Has played at a high level in a pro style offense for 3 years. Despite his size, is not the most physical reciever.

8.*Brian Brohm, QB, Louisville-Great arm, drafted by the Rockies as a pitcher out of high school. Great arm strength and accuracy. Throws darts all over the field. Good pocket presence can run if neccessary. Plays well under pressure, was on the cover of SI as a high schooler in 2002. Tore his ACL in 2005, broke his hand in 2006.

9.*Antone Cason, CB, Arizona-Started every game and has played every snap for 3 years at corner, did not redshirt. Was a shut down corner in a pass happy conference. Very good run stopper as well.

10.Mashawn Lynch, RB, California-Junior who has declared for the draft. Very talented do everything back. Fast enough to break long runs outside, strong enough to run between the tackles. Has very good pass catching ability. Has experience in pass protection in a pro offense.

11.*Ted Ginn JR, WR, Ohio State-May be the fastest player in the draft. Quickness and acceleration are phenomenal. Route running and hands have improved but still need some work. Is still inconsistent at WR. Great return man. Still on the small side at 6' 0". Recruited to Ohio St to play cornerback, probably could play that in the NFL. Great potential.

12.Paul Poslusnky, LB, Penn St-Being the all-time leading tackler at "Linebacker U" says a lot. Only the second player to win the Bednarik award twice. Great instincts, very good at following the play. Could teach a tackiling clinic. Excellent form and finishes hits. Above average in coverage, moves well in space. Is quicker than fast, not the most athletic linebacker you'll see. Would have been a first round pick last year but returned for his senior year after injuring his knee in the Orange Bowl.

13.*Reggie Nelson, S/CB, Florida-Ballhawk and a big hitter. Very fast and aggressive. Stock has soared the last few months as he's played great in the Florida secondary. Has shown great coverage ability may move from safety to CB in the NFL. Some concern that he may be too light to play safety in the NFL. Is very physical and plays much bigger than 190 lbs.

14.LaRon Landry, S, LSU-Very fundamentally sound and very athletic. Can do it all, great blitzer, big hitter, good instincts. Not as flashy as Reggie Nelson but is bigger and has made his fair share of big plays/hits, just ask Alabama.

15.Justin Blalock, G/T, Texas-Has played guard and tackle at Texas, will probably be an NFL guard. Run blocking ability and size will justify a guard being selected so high. Very good at using his hands and gaining leverage at the point of attack.

[Kneel B4 Zod]

[ QUOTE ]
12.Paul Poslusnky, LB, Penn St-Being the all-time leading tackler at "Linebacker U" says a lot. Only the second player to win the Bednarik award twice. Great instincts, very good at following the play. Could teach a tackiling clinic. Excellent form and finishes hits. Above average in coverage, moves well in space. Is quicker than fast, not the most athletic linebacker you'll see. Would have been a first round pick last year but returned for his senior year after injuring his knee in the Orange Bowl.

13.*Reggie Nelson, S/CB, Florida-Ballhawk and a big hitter. Very fast and aggressive. Stock has soared the last few months as he's played great in the Florida secondary. Has shown great coverage ability may move from safety to CB in the NFL. Some concern that he may be too light to play safety in the NFL. Is very physical and plays much bigger than 190 lbs.

14.LaRon Landry, S, LSU-Very fundamentally sound and very athletic. Can do it all, great blitzer, big hitter, good instincts. Not as flashy as Reggie Nelson but is bigger and has made his fair share of big plays/hits, just ask Alabama.

[/ QUOTE ]

odds that one of these guys drops to 22?

[Assani Fisher]

All,

Al Davis has a long history of refusing to draft QBs and instead trying to find one through free agency. The most recent example was last year when he passed over Matt Leinart and Jay Cutler for Huff. In the free agency era, I don't think he has ever taken a QB early in the draft- EVER.

[NLSoldier]

assani,

who should i prey the vikes get and who will they actually get?

[Assani Fisher]

A quick top 10 attempt....


1. Tampa Bay(trade with Oakland): Brady Quinn, TB needs an improvement at QB.

2. Detroit: Joe Thomas- After taking skill position players for years early, they start filling in the trenches

3. Cleveland: Adrian Peterson- seems like a perfect fit, no?

4. Oakland: Calvin Johnson- trade down and still get the guy they want

5. Miami(trade with Arizona): JaMarcus Russell- hes a workout warrior that could easily rocket up the draft charts after the combine. Miami moves up in order to leapfrog Minnesota who has the 7th pick

6. Washington: Gaines Adams- If hes there, no way does Washington pass on him

7. Minnesota: Leon Hall- They think about Brian Brohm and Dwayne Jarrett but decide that they want to build with defense first.

8. Houston: Levi Brown- They need o-line help in the worst way

9. Arizona: Alan Branch- too talented to fall much further

10. Atlanta: Dwayne Jarrett- Again just seems like a perfect fit

[Golden_Rhino]

Calvin Johnson to the Lions.

[Assani Fisher]

[ QUOTE ]
assani,

who should i prey the vikes get and who will they actually get?

[/ QUOTE ]I'm really not sure. I know they have a horrible pass D and I know that Smoot has been a big disappointment, so thats why I went with CB Leon Hall. Unlike most teams, the Vikings are actually pretty set in the trenches, so they're not in horrible shape. Because of that though I don't think they'll want to enter rebuilding mode, so I think they may try to address QB/WR through free agency rather than try to develop kids in the draft.

A lot really depends on the combine, but I really think they'll be targetting some help for their secondary. Guys like Hall, Laron Landry, Reggie Nelson, and Darrelle Revis all seem like decent fits.

[Assani Fisher]

Some other notable players that I didn't include in my top 10:

Ted Ginn- I'm not as high on him as most, but I could see St Louis taking him at #13 even though I don't think hes the 13th best player. Hell I could even see Atlanta taking him at #10. I don't think he'll fall any further than Tennesee at #19 at the very latest.

Brian Brohm- I'm just not that big on him either. In today's NFL teams don't want to rebuild, and I don't think that Brohm is a player that can be a quality starter right away. If he declares I could see him falling to KC at #24 or Baltimore(I really hope not as I kinda like Boller) at #30. On the high side, Carolina could fall in love with him at #13.

Marshawn Lynch- Could go as high as #8 to Houston imo, although I think that would be a mistake on their part(I'm a big advocate of getting RBs through trade/FA rather than the draft). Green Bay at #16 is more likely imo.

Troy Smith: Baltimore or Chicago are possibilities at the end of the first round, although I think both would be much better served to draft to win NOW. I'm not sure who does and doesn't have a 2nd round pick, but assuming that every team does I could see any of the top 4 teams(Oakland, Detroit, Cleveland, TB) taking him at the top of the 2nd. On the high side, the big 3 QBs may be gone before Jacksonille(#17) or KC(#24) pick and he could go there.

[Assani Fisher]

btw take everything I say(and what most people say now) with a grain of pepper....its so early that I'm just learning about these players now and I'm sure I'll change my mind 100 times before the draft. I'll have a much better mock worked out a week or two before the draft.

As many of you know, I don't follow college football all that closely, so I really don't know a ton about these players yet. I follow the combines and scouting reports a lot though, so I'll learn a lot in the coming months.