The full mock is finally completed!

I waited a lot longer than I normally do to compile my first mock draft of the year. Normally I whip up my first batch of mock draft right after the scouting combine, but this year I wanted to see what happened at the start of free agency before I even remotely considered whom teams would select in April.

I get as excited as any true draftnik about mock drafts, but how could anyone venture a guess at what player a team will select without knowing what big free agents signed where? It’s like taking a long road trip to a place you’ve never been before without your GPS. (Wow, have the times changed. A couple of years ago, I would have ended that sentence with “without your map” but that damn technology continues to track us down like a bear preying on an injured deer.)

Below is my first crack at predicting the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft. As usual, feel free to argue my picks as much as you like but please, debate with some dignity. Don’t be the doucher that ruins the fun of mock drafts by spewing venom in the comments section of a sports blog. There may not be anything more pathetic.

1. St. Louis Rams: Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma
I have Nebraska’s Ndamukong Suh rated as the unquestioned best player in this year’s draft. (Well, I don’t have an official ranking per se, but in my head he’s No. 1.) But that doesn’t mean I think the Rams will take him. Teams usually get funny about the No. 1 overall pick. They feel as though they have to match the contract with the position in order to justify the player they’re taking, which is completely backwards when you think about it. A team should be most concerned with taking the right player that matches their scheme. But I digress. Bradford is the top rated quarterback and the Rams have a major need at the position with Marc Bulger proving over the past two years that he’s better suited to run the scout team offense in practice and then the first unit on Sundays. The Rams feel as though they need to breathe some excitement into their dull franchise and taking Bradford should do the trick. Is he the right player? That’s debatable.

Read the rest of this entry »

ESPN.com’s John Clayton thinks one should:

Let’s start with the St. Louis Rams. They have the No. 1 pick, and many people believe St. Louis likes Suh more than McCoy. Here’s the problem: Drafting Suh No. 1 when the franchise is without a true starting quarterback doesn’t make much sense, particularly if the Rams don’t bring back Marc Bulger.

The problem facing the Rams is that they aren’t one defensive tackle away from being competitive. They went 1-15 this past season. Adding Suh without a top quarterback might keep the Rams in double-digit loss territory.

Dominating defensive tackles can make an impact on good teams, but they don’t always change the fate of bad teams. Former Steelers coach Chuck Noll built his Steel Curtain defense around Mean Joe Greene, but that team was loaded with Hall of Famers. Defensive tackles who go to bad teams can do only so much.

The Seahawks got a Hall of Fame career from defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy, the third pick in the 1990 draft, but Seattle had only one playoff appearance during his great career. Glenn Dorsey, the fifth pick in the 2008 draft, didn’t stop the downturn of the Kansas City Chiefs. Steve Emtman (Colts) and Dan Wilkinson (Bengals) were top picks, but they didn’t turn around bad teams. The Cleveland Browns drafted Gerard Warren No. 3 in 2001, but the team struggled throughout the 2000s.

That’s why I predict the Rams will draft Bradford instead of Suh.

Click the link above to check out Clayton’s entire piece – it’s a good read.

Clayton’s colleague, Adam Schefter makes the same prediction for the Rams: that they will/should take Bradford. Given the money that will be invested with the No. 1 pick, it makes sense that the Rams would take a quarterback over a defensive tackle.

However, that doesn’t mean that they should. The key for teams in the draft is to select the right player that fits their scheme, regardless of position. If they draft Bradford just because it makes fiscal sense and he winds up being a bust, they could set themselves back years in the process. If they take Suh and he turns out to be a Pro Bowler, then they made the right decision, regardless of how much money they invest in his position.

The idea makes sense on the surface, but this is the same line of reasoning as a team drafting a quarterback or running back just to sell tickets. While Clayton is right in saying that Suh (or McCoy, or Eric Berry, or whoever) won’t turn a 1-15 team into a 15-1 team, at least they would be heading in the right direction by making a sound football decision.

We’ll see. If Bradford (or Jimmy Clausen) is high on the Rams’ draft board and he develops into a great quarterback, then St. Louis wins on all fronts. Again, the key is drafting the right player.