It would probably be good for me to do an intro to this piece, but I’m going to skip all the foreplay and just get right to the action. And let’s be honest – you probably wouldn’t have read the intro anyway.

Below is my first mock draft of the year. You can disagree all you want, but just make sure you go into detail in the comments section so I know you care. I hate those bastards that trash my work and don’t have the common courtesy to tell me how much of a moron I am in print…

Let’s mock!

1. Detroit Lions: Matthew Stafford, QB, Georgia
Jason Smith (Baylor), Eugene Monroe (Virginia) and Aaron Curry (Wake Forest) are all possibilities for new GM Martin Mayhew with this pick. But the offensive tackle and linebacker positions are deep in this year’s draft – the quarterback position is not. Mayhew can get his franchise quarterback in Stafford, select an offensive tackle at No. 20 and then fill the middle linebacker need in the second or third round. There, I just fixed the 0-16 Detroit Lions in less than 100 words.

2. St. Louis Rams: Jason Smith, OT, Baylor
If Smith goes No. 1 to the Lions, then I fully expect the Rams to take Virginia offensive tackle Eugene Monroe. With the jettison of long-time veteran Orlando Pace this offseason, St. Louis needs to address their need at left tackle and they’ll do so with either Smith or Monroe depending on who’s available. If it’s Smith, then they land one of the most athletic offensive lineman in the draft.

3. Kansas City Chiefs: Aaron Curry, LB, Wake Forest
The Chiefs could really use a right tackle to pair with last year’s first round pick, Branden Albert, but Curry would be too good to pass up here. GM Scott Pioli put a premium on versatile defenders while he was in New England, and that’s exactly what Curry is. The Wake Forest product could play either outside or inside in a 4-3 or 3-4 scheme and is easily the best defensive prospect in this year’s draft.

Read the rest of this entry »

With preseason half in the bag, April’s NFL Draft is a distant memory for football fans. But Scott Wright of Draft Countdown.com has launched a new domain name and I highly encourage you check it out.

Anybody that follows the NFL draft closely knows that Wright has some of the best prospect observations on the net. So do him and yourself a favor and check out the new site when you get a chance.

Some of the new features of Draft Countdown:

- Mock Draft with 7,000 words of analysis
- Player Rankings with 385 of the top senior ranked by position as well as lists of Overrated / Underrated prospects, Sleepers and a Top 100 Overall.
- Interview with Ole Miss OT Michael Oher
- Heisman Watch where I handicap the race for college football’s most pretigious individual award.
- NFL Player Rankings – Top 10 at each position and a Top 50 Overall
- Ask Scott mailbag where I answer reader-submitted questions
’08 Dream Draft – New feature where I select players as if I were running an NFL team.