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Penn State LB Dan Connor |
NOPF Mock Draft v1.0
New Orleans back in top 10 for second time in three
years
posted February 27, 2008 - print
me!
neworleansprofootball.com
Nobody likes doing a mock draft. I'm not joking,
it is not fun.
Sure, these things are fun to read, pick apart,
smash to bits and reduce to 31 tattered shreds of pigskin prognostication.
There are few opportunities quite like a mock draft, where one
can universally and simultaneously piss off and reduce NFL fans
to laughter.
Yet for us, in the market of writing about football,
the expectation is there: put your dukes up, sports man, and let
us the fans and readers surround you in the alley that is the
internet and bludgeon you into your next iteration.
In exchange, you readers must first encounter
these few initial paragraphs, my annual tirade against mock drafts,
written on behalf of sportswriters everywhere. And with that out
of the way, here it begins. -William, NOPF Staff
1. Miami (1-15)
Virginia DE Chris Long
2. St. Louis (3-13)
LSU DT Glenn Dorsey
3. Atlanta (4-12)
Arkansas RB Darren McFadden
4. Oakland (4-12)
Ohio State DE Vernon Gholston
5. Kansas City (4-12)
USC DT Sedrick Ellis
6. New York Jets (4-12)
Michigan OT Jake Long
7. New England (from San Francisco (5-11))
Auburn DE/LB Quentin Groves
8. Baltimore (5-11)
Boise State OT Ryan Clady
9. Cincinnati (7-9)
Clemson DE Philip Merling
10. New Orleans (7-9)
Tough scenario here. Tough choice here. The top prospects
at linebacker and cornerback are available, though the top defensive
tackles are off the board. USC LB Keith Rivers, Penn State LB
Dan Connor, Troy CB Leodis McKelvin and South Florida LB Mike
Jenkins all carry top 20 grades. Without Russ Ball, we're not
sure what the Saints' draft room tendencies will be. With Ball,
the Saints were sticklers for drafting the top player regardless
of position. Will Loomis, Payton, Mueller and Rieprish retain
that same trust in their scouts' evaluations? Hard to go wrong
with any of these, given present day knowledge. Rivers is a physical,
fast outside linebacker who would fight Scott Shanle for a job.
Connor is tough, smart, blue-collar prototypical middle linebacker
who won the Bednarick Award, one of the few defender's awards
that Glenn Dorsey didn't win. McKelvin and Jenkins are fast, but
from small schools and may not carry top 10 grades with all teams.
McKelvin is undersized but an excellent return man, while Jenkins
is big at 6'0 but has character concerns.
Tough choice here. In the past two drafts, the Saints' scouts
in the industrial midwest states won draft room discussions.
We'll go with Connor, 6'3, 233, who is riding an excellent
Senior Bowl performance.
Others to keep an eye on: Miami strong safety Kenny Phillips,
who Saints receivers coach Curtis Johnson probably knows all about;
Virginia offensive linemonster Brandon Albert; North Carolina
defensive giant Kentwan Balmer.
11. Buffalo (7-9)
Virginia OL Brandon Albert
12. Denver (7-9)
Vanderbilt OT Chris Williams
13. Carolina (7-9)
Boston College QB Matt Ryan
14. Chicago (7-9)
USC LB Keith Rivers
15. Detroit (7-9)
Florida DE Derrick Harvey
16. Arizona (8-8)
Illinois RB Reshard Mendenhall
17. Minnesota (8-8)
North Carolina DT Kentwan Balmer
18. Houston (8-8)
Oregon RB Jonathan Stewart
19. Philadelphia (8-8)
Pittsburgh T Jeff Otah
20. Tampa Bay (9-7)
Tennessee State CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie
21. Washington (9-7)
Miami S Kenny Phillips
22. Dallas (from Cleveland (10-6))
Troy CB Leodis McKelvin
23. Pittsburgh (10-6)
Kansas OL Anthony Collins
24. Tennessee (10-6)
Oklahoma WR Malcolm Kelly
25. Seattle (10-6)
Indiana WR James Hardy
26. Jacksonville (10-6)
South Florida CB Mike Jenkins
27. San Diego (11-5)
USC OT Sam Baker
28. Dallas (11-5)
Michigan State WR Devin Thomas
29. San Francisco (from Indianapolis (13-3))
Cal WR Desean Jackson
30. Green Bay (13-3)
Arizona CB Antoine Cason
31. New York Giants (13-3)
Notre Dame DT Trevor Laws
Saints Draft:
2 (40). Texas A&M TE Martellus Bennett
3 (78). Notre Dame C John Sullivan
4. NC State DT DeMario Pressley
5. Kent State CB Jack Williams
6. Mississippi RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis
7. Richmond WR Arman Shields
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