Rick Gosselin's final mock draft
By Rick Gosselin
The Dallas Morning News
1. Detroit
Matthew Stafford
QB, Georgia
Team Needs:
QB, MLB, TE, DT
Comment: Bobby Layne was a Pro Bowl quarterback the last time the Lions won a championship in 1957. Detroit hasn’t had an elite quarterback or won a championship since then. Stafford gives the franchise hope for the future.
2. St. Louis
Jason Smith
OT, Baylor
Team Needs: OT, WR, MLB, QB
Comment: The Rams had the second pick of the 2008 draft and took the safest player on the board in DE Chris Long. St. Louis repeats that philosophy in this draft by taking W.T. White’s Smith. The Rams need to replace Pro Bowl LT Orlando Pace.
3. Kansas City
Tyson Jackson
DE, LSU
Team Needs: LB, OT, WR, TE
Comment: New GM Scott Pioli is retooling the Chiefs’ defense in the image of the 3-4 scheme he left behind in New England. The Patriots love those LSU linemen and so does Pioli. He also sees some Ty Warren in Jackson.
4. Seattle
Aaron Curry
OLB, Wake Forest
Team Needs: WR, LB, LT, RB
Comment: The Seahawks finished 30th in defense in the NFL last season. The best player in the draft slides to Seattle at four. Curry also addresses a pressing defensive need: He makes plays on both sides of the line.
5. Cleveland
Michael Crabtree
WR, Texas Tech
Team Needs: WR, Pass rusher, S, OL Comment: Like Seattle, the Browns benefit from a sliding value. Crabtree, of Carter, has been compared to Larry Fitzgerald. If the Browns trade Braylon Edwards, they would need Crabtree. If they keep Edwards, Crabtree would make him better.
6. Cincinnati
Andre Smith
OT, Alabama
Team Needs: DT, LB, Pass rusher, OT
Comment: Smith showed up at the combine overweight and then performed poorly at his pro day. All that said, he’s still the most talented tackle in the draft. He started as a freshman in the SEC and won the Outland Trophy as a senior.
7. Oakland
Jeremy Maclin
WR, Missouri
Team Needs: WR, OT, S, DL
Comment: Tim Brown was a Pro Bowl play-maker for a long time for the Raiders. Maclin is Tim Brown 20 years later. Of the four top wideouts on this draft board, Maclin will have the greatest impact as a rookie because of his return skills.
8. Jacksonville
Eugene Monroe
OT, Virginia
Team Needs: LT, DT, CB, RB
Comment: The Jaguars are in dire need of a left tackle since Khalif Barnes left in free agency. Monroe would be an upgrade at the position. He won the Jacobs Trophy as the best blocker in the ACC in 2008.
9. Green Bay
Malcolm Jenkins
CB, Ohio State
Team Needs: DE, LB, OT, CB
Comment: The Packers have two Pro Bowl-caliber cornerbacks in Al Harris and Charles Woodson, but both are in their 30s. With Detroit expected to draft Stafford, and with Jay Cutler now in the division, Green Bay had better load up on pass defenders.
10. San Francisco
Michael Oher
OT, Mississippi
Team Needs: OT, DT, pass rusher, WR
Comment: The 49ers ranked 27th in rushing and allowed 55 sacks last season. If San Francisco can’t block, it doesn’t matter who’s at quarterback — Shaun Hill, Alex Smith or Joe Montana. Oher allows the 49ers to move Joe Staley to RT.
11. Buffalo
Aaron Maybin
DE, Penn State
Team Needs: LT, pass rusher, S, TE
Comment: Left tackles will have left the board before the Bills could go on the clock. The next priority is upgrading the pass rush. Buffalo mustered only 24 sacks in 2008. Maybin had 12 on his way to Big Ten defensive player of the year.
12. Denver
B.J. Raji
DT, Boston Col.
Team Needs: DE, DT, OLB, WR
Comment: New coach Josh McDaniels is overhauling the defense, installing a 3-4 scheme after releasing four starters from a year ago. He needs size, and the best defensive tackle in this draft falls into his lap at 12.
13. Washington
Mark Sanchez
QB, USC
Team Needs: OL, DL, LB, QB
Comment: After failing to land Jay Cutler, Redskins owner Dan Snyder explored his options all week for possible trade-ups for Sanchez. Jacksonville is a potential partner at 8. Snyder needs a QB to compete in the NFC East.
14. New Orleans
Vontae Davis
CB, Illinois
Team Needs: CB, S, RB, OLB
Comment: The offense is Super Bowl-ready with Drew Brees. But the defense needs lots of help, especially at cornerback. The Saints ranked 23rd in pass defense. Davis gives New Orleans much needed size and ability there.
15. Houston
Clay Matthews
OLB, USC
Team Needs: OLB, CB, pass rusher, RB
Comment: Why not? Bruce Matthews carved out a Hall of Fame career in Houston. There’s a positive vibe attached to the Matthews name in Houston. He is the son of Clay and nephew of Bruce Matthews.
16. San Diego
Brian Cushing
OLB, USC
Team Needs: RB, LB, DE, WR
Comment: Better players equal better defense. The Chargers finished 25th in defense last season. The return of Shawne Merriman and the selection of Cushing would dramatically improve both the linebacking play and the scheme.
17. New York Jets
Darrius Heyward-Bey
WR, Maryland
Team Needs: TE, QB, WR, OT
Comment: With the departure of Laveranues Coles in free agency, the Jets need speed opposite Jerricho Cotchery. Heyward-Bey is the fastest player in the draft with a 4.25 clocking in the 40.
18. Denver
Brian Orakpo
DE, Texas
Team Needs: DE, DT, OLB, WR
Comment: Taking B.J. Raji at nose tackle at 12 would give the Broncos a building block in the run defense in the new 3-4 scheme. Orapko would give the Broncos some much-needed pass rush. They managed 26 sacks last year. Orakpo had 12.
19. Tampa Bay
Robert Ayers
DE, Tennessee
Team Needs: DE, DT,
CB, WR
Comment: New coach Raheem Morris hired Jim Bates to run the defense, and he loves to rotate his ends and tackles. So you need quantity as well as quality up front. The Bucs managed 29 sacks last season.
20. Detroit
Brandon Pettigrew
TE, Oklahoma St.
Team Needs: QB, MLB, TE, DT
Comment: QB Matthew Stafford was the first step toward building a playoff-caliber offense in 2010. Pettigrew is the next step. Include WR Calvin Johnson and RB Kevin Smith, and the Lions may actually score some points in 2010.
21. Philadelphia
Knowshon Moreno
HB, Georgia
Team Needs: DL, OL, TE, RB
Comment: Emmitt Smith gave the Eagles fits in the 1990s in the NFC East. Moreno would give Philadelphia an Emmitt clone to attack the Cowboys. Moreno is the most complete back in this draft — a triple-threat, just like Emmitt.
22. Minnesota
Josh Freeman
QB, Kansas St.
Team Needs: CB, OL, WR, QB
Comment: With Aaron Rodgers emerging in Green Bay, Jay Cutler now in Chicago and Matthew Stafford on his way to Detroit, there’s a sense of urgency for the Vikings to find a quarterback. Freeman could be the answer.
23. New England
Peria Jerry
DT, Mississippi
Team Needs: DT, DE, TE, QB
Comment: Bill Belichick won two Super Bowls as defensive coordinator of the New York Giants and three more as head coach of the Patriots with a dominating defensive front. You can never have enough quality linemen.
24. Atlanta
Darius Butler
CB, Connecticut
Team Needs: CB, DT, S, TE
Comment: Like NFC South lodge brother New Orleans, Atlanta has an offense that’s playoff-ready with Matt Ryan, Michael Turner, Tony Gonzalez and Roddy White. But the defense needs help, and the glass-smooth Butler provides it.
25. Miami
Paul Kruger
DE, Utah
Team Needs: CB, WR, OLB, TE
Comment: Elite pass-rushers are few and far between in this draft. Kruger qualifies as elite but is off a few draft boards medically because he has one kidney. One kidney slow down Antonio Rodgers-Cromartie any at Arizona in 2008.
26. Baltimore
Rey Maualuga
MLB, USC
Team Needs: RT, WR, pass-rusher, CB
Comment: Bart Scott left in free agency, leaving a hole at inside backer alongside Ray Lewis. Over the next two years, Lewis can teach Maualuga the Ravens way, and the legacy of Pro Bowl inside backers in Baltimore would be secure.
27. Indianapolis
Beanie Wells
HB, Ohio State
Team Needs: S, LB, WR, P
Comment: With Dominic Rhodes leaving in free agency, the Colts need a second back to pair with oft-injured Joseph Addai in the rotation. Wells would represent a substantial upgrade with his 5.8-yard career average and 30 TDs.
28. Buffalo
Max Unger
C, Oregon
Team Needs: LT, pass-rusher, S, TE
Comment: Buffalo missed out at left tackle at the top of the draft, but Unger is a nice consolation prize. He’s one of the three elite centers in the draft, a Bills weakness in 2008, and also has college experience at left tackle.
29. New York Giants
Ziggy Hood
DT, Missouri
Team Needs: WR, LB, CB, KR
Comment: The most-talented team in the NFC takes the best player available. New York’s defensive tackles are stout run players, but Hood would inject a pass-rush threat into the mix, with 141/2 career sacks at Missouri.
30. Tennessee
Alphonso Smith
CB, Wake Forest
Team Needs: WR, CB, G, DL
Comment: Smith is the most productive cornerback in this draft but has the worst measurables — he’s 5-9 and runs a 4.50 in the 40. The same knocks kept Brandon Flowers out of the first round in 2008, but he made the all-rookie team.
31. Arizona
Donald Brown
HB, Connecticut
Team Needs: RB, LB, OL, KR
Comment: The Cardinals reached the Super Bowl but found themselves a running game away from the Lombardi Trophy. Arizona finished last in the NFL in rushing with an aging Edgerrin James. Brown, the NCAA rushing champ, brings fresh legs.
32. Pittsburgh
Eric Wood
C, Louisville
Team Needs: OL, WR, CB, S
Comment: QB Ben Roethliserger and HB Willie Parker are Pro Bowl play-makers who absorb too much of a beating behind a porous blocking front. Wood started 49 consecutive games at Louisville and can also play guard.
Teams without a first-round pick
49. Chicago
Eugene Chung
S, Oregon
Team Needs: WR, S, DT, DE
Comment: The Bears and Cowboys share the same shopping list, but Chicago drafts two picks higher than the Cowboys. So the Bears will get first crack at any sliding safety or wide receiver the Cowboys may covet.
51. Dallas
Andy Levitre
G, Oregon State
Team Needs: WR, S, OL, LB
Comment: Levitre started three years at left tackle in the Pac-10 but is rated the best guard on the draft board. Some teams project him as a center. That’s his value — he can play all five positions across the front.
59. Carolina
Lawrence Sidbury
DE, Richmond
Team Needs: DT, DE, CB, OL
Comment: With the status of Pro Bowl pass-rusher Julius Peppers in limbo, the Panthers need some insurance at defensive end. Sidbury is the last end on this draft board with any speed — 4.53 in the 40.
The Dallas Morning News
1. Detroit
Matthew Stafford
QB, Georgia
Team Needs:
QB, MLB, TE, DT
Comment: Bobby Layne was a Pro Bowl quarterback the last time the Lions won a championship in 1957. Detroit hasn’t had an elite quarterback or won a championship since then. Stafford gives the franchise hope for the future.
2. St. Louis
Jason Smith
OT, Baylor
Team Needs: OT, WR, MLB, QB
Comment: The Rams had the second pick of the 2008 draft and took the safest player on the board in DE Chris Long. St. Louis repeats that philosophy in this draft by taking W.T. White’s Smith. The Rams need to replace Pro Bowl LT Orlando Pace.
3. Kansas City
Tyson Jackson
DE, LSU
Team Needs: LB, OT, WR, TE
Comment: New GM Scott Pioli is retooling the Chiefs’ defense in the image of the 3-4 scheme he left behind in New England. The Patriots love those LSU linemen and so does Pioli. He also sees some Ty Warren in Jackson.
4. Seattle
Aaron Curry
OLB, Wake Forest
Team Needs: WR, LB, LT, RB
Comment: The Seahawks finished 30th in defense in the NFL last season. The best player in the draft slides to Seattle at four. Curry also addresses a pressing defensive need: He makes plays on both sides of the line.
5. Cleveland
Michael Crabtree
WR, Texas Tech
Team Needs: WR, Pass rusher, S, OL Comment: Like Seattle, the Browns benefit from a sliding value. Crabtree, of Carter, has been compared to Larry Fitzgerald. If the Browns trade Braylon Edwards, they would need Crabtree. If they keep Edwards, Crabtree would make him better.
6. Cincinnati
Andre Smith
OT, Alabama
Team Needs: DT, LB, Pass rusher, OT
Comment: Smith showed up at the combine overweight and then performed poorly at his pro day. All that said, he’s still the most talented tackle in the draft. He started as a freshman in the SEC and won the Outland Trophy as a senior.
7. Oakland
Jeremy Maclin
WR, Missouri
Team Needs: WR, OT, S, DL
Comment: Tim Brown was a Pro Bowl play-maker for a long time for the Raiders. Maclin is Tim Brown 20 years later. Of the four top wideouts on this draft board, Maclin will have the greatest impact as a rookie because of his return skills.
8. Jacksonville
Eugene Monroe
OT, Virginia
Team Needs: LT, DT, CB, RB
Comment: The Jaguars are in dire need of a left tackle since Khalif Barnes left in free agency. Monroe would be an upgrade at the position. He won the Jacobs Trophy as the best blocker in the ACC in 2008.
9. Green Bay
Malcolm Jenkins
CB, Ohio State
Team Needs: DE, LB, OT, CB
Comment: The Packers have two Pro Bowl-caliber cornerbacks in Al Harris and Charles Woodson, but both are in their 30s. With Detroit expected to draft Stafford, and with Jay Cutler now in the division, Green Bay had better load up on pass defenders.
10. San Francisco
Michael Oher
OT, Mississippi
Team Needs: OT, DT, pass rusher, WR
Comment: The 49ers ranked 27th in rushing and allowed 55 sacks last season. If San Francisco can’t block, it doesn’t matter who’s at quarterback — Shaun Hill, Alex Smith or Joe Montana. Oher allows the 49ers to move Joe Staley to RT.
11. Buffalo
Aaron Maybin
DE, Penn State
Team Needs: LT, pass rusher, S, TE
Comment: Left tackles will have left the board before the Bills could go on the clock. The next priority is upgrading the pass rush. Buffalo mustered only 24 sacks in 2008. Maybin had 12 on his way to Big Ten defensive player of the year.
12. Denver
B.J. Raji
DT, Boston Col.
Team Needs: DE, DT, OLB, WR
Comment: New coach Josh McDaniels is overhauling the defense, installing a 3-4 scheme after releasing four starters from a year ago. He needs size, and the best defensive tackle in this draft falls into his lap at 12.
13. Washington
Mark Sanchez
QB, USC
Team Needs: OL, DL, LB, QB
Comment: After failing to land Jay Cutler, Redskins owner Dan Snyder explored his options all week for possible trade-ups for Sanchez. Jacksonville is a potential partner at 8. Snyder needs a QB to compete in the NFC East.
14. New Orleans
Vontae Davis
CB, Illinois
Team Needs: CB, S, RB, OLB
Comment: The offense is Super Bowl-ready with Drew Brees. But the defense needs lots of help, especially at cornerback. The Saints ranked 23rd in pass defense. Davis gives New Orleans much needed size and ability there.
15. Houston
Clay Matthews
OLB, USC
Team Needs: OLB, CB, pass rusher, RB
Comment: Why not? Bruce Matthews carved out a Hall of Fame career in Houston. There’s a positive vibe attached to the Matthews name in Houston. He is the son of Clay and nephew of Bruce Matthews.
16. San Diego
Brian Cushing
OLB, USC
Team Needs: RB, LB, DE, WR
Comment: Better players equal better defense. The Chargers finished 25th in defense last season. The return of Shawne Merriman and the selection of Cushing would dramatically improve both the linebacking play and the scheme.
17. New York Jets
Darrius Heyward-Bey
WR, Maryland
Team Needs: TE, QB, WR, OT
Comment: With the departure of Laveranues Coles in free agency, the Jets need speed opposite Jerricho Cotchery. Heyward-Bey is the fastest player in the draft with a 4.25 clocking in the 40.
18. Denver
Brian Orakpo
DE, Texas
Team Needs: DE, DT, OLB, WR
Comment: Taking B.J. Raji at nose tackle at 12 would give the Broncos a building block in the run defense in the new 3-4 scheme. Orapko would give the Broncos some much-needed pass rush. They managed 26 sacks last year. Orakpo had 12.
19. Tampa Bay
Robert Ayers
DE, Tennessee
Team Needs: DE, DT,
CB, WR
Comment: New coach Raheem Morris hired Jim Bates to run the defense, and he loves to rotate his ends and tackles. So you need quantity as well as quality up front. The Bucs managed 29 sacks last season.
20. Detroit
Brandon Pettigrew
TE, Oklahoma St.
Team Needs: QB, MLB, TE, DT
Comment: QB Matthew Stafford was the first step toward building a playoff-caliber offense in 2010. Pettigrew is the next step. Include WR Calvin Johnson and RB Kevin Smith, and the Lions may actually score some points in 2010.
21. Philadelphia
Knowshon Moreno
HB, Georgia
Team Needs: DL, OL, TE, RB
Comment: Emmitt Smith gave the Eagles fits in the 1990s in the NFC East. Moreno would give Philadelphia an Emmitt clone to attack the Cowboys. Moreno is the most complete back in this draft — a triple-threat, just like Emmitt.
22. Minnesota
Josh Freeman
QB, Kansas St.
Team Needs: CB, OL, WR, QB
Comment: With Aaron Rodgers emerging in Green Bay, Jay Cutler now in Chicago and Matthew Stafford on his way to Detroit, there’s a sense of urgency for the Vikings to find a quarterback. Freeman could be the answer.
23. New England
Peria Jerry
DT, Mississippi
Team Needs: DT, DE, TE, QB
Comment: Bill Belichick won two Super Bowls as defensive coordinator of the New York Giants and three more as head coach of the Patriots with a dominating defensive front. You can never have enough quality linemen.
24. Atlanta
Darius Butler
CB, Connecticut
Team Needs: CB, DT, S, TE
Comment: Like NFC South lodge brother New Orleans, Atlanta has an offense that’s playoff-ready with Matt Ryan, Michael Turner, Tony Gonzalez and Roddy White. But the defense needs help, and the glass-smooth Butler provides it.
25. Miami
Paul Kruger
DE, Utah
Team Needs: CB, WR, OLB, TE
Comment: Elite pass-rushers are few and far between in this draft. Kruger qualifies as elite but is off a few draft boards medically because he has one kidney. One kidney slow down Antonio Rodgers-Cromartie any at Arizona in 2008.
26. Baltimore
Rey Maualuga
MLB, USC
Team Needs: RT, WR, pass-rusher, CB
Comment: Bart Scott left in free agency, leaving a hole at inside backer alongside Ray Lewis. Over the next two years, Lewis can teach Maualuga the Ravens way, and the legacy of Pro Bowl inside backers in Baltimore would be secure.
27. Indianapolis
Beanie Wells
HB, Ohio State
Team Needs: S, LB, WR, P
Comment: With Dominic Rhodes leaving in free agency, the Colts need a second back to pair with oft-injured Joseph Addai in the rotation. Wells would represent a substantial upgrade with his 5.8-yard career average and 30 TDs.
28. Buffalo
Max Unger
C, Oregon
Team Needs: LT, pass-rusher, S, TE
Comment: Buffalo missed out at left tackle at the top of the draft, but Unger is a nice consolation prize. He’s one of the three elite centers in the draft, a Bills weakness in 2008, and also has college experience at left tackle.
29. New York Giants
Ziggy Hood
DT, Missouri
Team Needs: WR, LB, CB, KR
Comment: The most-talented team in the NFC takes the best player available. New York’s defensive tackles are stout run players, but Hood would inject a pass-rush threat into the mix, with 141/2 career sacks at Missouri.
30. Tennessee
Alphonso Smith
CB, Wake Forest
Team Needs: WR, CB, G, DL
Comment: Smith is the most productive cornerback in this draft but has the worst measurables — he’s 5-9 and runs a 4.50 in the 40. The same knocks kept Brandon Flowers out of the first round in 2008, but he made the all-rookie team.
31. Arizona
Donald Brown
HB, Connecticut
Team Needs: RB, LB, OL, KR
Comment: The Cardinals reached the Super Bowl but found themselves a running game away from the Lombardi Trophy. Arizona finished last in the NFL in rushing with an aging Edgerrin James. Brown, the NCAA rushing champ, brings fresh legs.
32. Pittsburgh
Eric Wood
C, Louisville
Team Needs: OL, WR, CB, S
Comment: QB Ben Roethliserger and HB Willie Parker are Pro Bowl play-makers who absorb too much of a beating behind a porous blocking front. Wood started 49 consecutive games at Louisville and can also play guard.
Teams without a first-round pick
49. Chicago
Eugene Chung
S, Oregon
Team Needs: WR, S, DT, DE
Comment: The Bears and Cowboys share the same shopping list, but Chicago drafts two picks higher than the Cowboys. So the Bears will get first crack at any sliding safety or wide receiver the Cowboys may covet.
51. Dallas
Andy Levitre
G, Oregon State
Team Needs: WR, S, OL, LB
Comment: Levitre started three years at left tackle in the Pac-10 but is rated the best guard on the draft board. Some teams project him as a center. That’s his value — he can play all five positions across the front.
59. Carolina
Lawrence Sidbury
DE, Richmond
Team Needs: DT, DE, CB, OL
Comment: With the status of Pro Bowl pass-rusher Julius Peppers in limbo, the Panthers need some insurance at defensive end. Sidbury is the last end on this draft board with any speed — 4.53 in the 40.
posted by The Gryphon at 5:27 PM
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