Thursday, April 23, 2009

Mock Draft: Picks 25-32

This is the end of the summary of the mock draft we held on Monday. The draft is officially less than 48 hours from now, so this is all I will say about it. Here's wishing the best possible pick to hometown Darrius Heyward-Bey, and let's see some trades. Trades are exciting. 

25. Miami Dolphins
Herman: Evander Brown (DT, Missouri)
Radecki: Vontae Davis (CB, Illinois)
Kiper: Malcolm Jenkins (CB, Ohio State)
McShay: Kenny Britt (WR, Rutgers)
Wright: Everette Brown (DE, Florida State)
- Notes: Another one with all five of us disagreeing, which shows one of two things: either A) the Dolphins are for real from last year and they don't have many holes and can draft for best player available, or B) the Dolphins last year were complete flukes and have tons of holes. I'm going for B. 

26. Baltimore Ravens
Herman: Darrius Heyward-Bey (WR, Maryland)
Radecki: Eben Britton (OT, Arizona)
Kiper: Vontae Davis (CB, Illinois)
McShay: Rey Maualuga (ILB, USC)
Wright: Darrius Heyward-Bey
- Notes: All of these make sense. Heyward-Bey is the tall, fast receiver the Ravens need. Britton would add stability to the right tackle position that the Ravens desperately need. Ozzie Newsome has already hinted at taking a corner in the first round, and Davis is a great talent. If Maualuga is still there, he will be hard to pass up. 

27. Indianapolis Colts
Herman: Clay Matthews (OLB, USC)
Radecki: Peria Jerry (DT, Mississippi)
Kiper: Peria Jerry
McShay: Evander Hood
Wright: Peria Jerry
- Notes: Defense, and more specifically, defensive tackle, is the running theme here. Only I, who thinks that Clay Matthews is too much of a value to pass up here, doesn't have the Colts taking the best defensive tackle available. 

28. Buffalo Bills
Herman: Eben Britton
Radecki: Phil Loadholt (OT, Oklahoma)
Kiper: Eben Britton
McShay: Eben Britton
Wright: Phil Loadholt
- Notes: Sense another theme? Getting rid of Peters makes tackle a glaringly obvious need here. Tyler and Wright had Britton off the board by now, or else I'm sure he would have been the pick. 

29. New York Giants
Herman: Hakeem Nicks (WR, North Carolina)
Radecki: Hakeem Nicks
Kiper: Hakeem Nicks
McShay: Hakeem Nicks
Wright: Percy Harvin (WR, Florida)
- Notes: Another seemingly obvious pick. Nicks would fill the void that Plaxico Burress's jailing will leave, and Harvin will give the Giants a dynamic playmaker. 

30. Tennessee Titans
Herman: Alphonso Smith (CB, Wake Forest)
Radecki: Darius Butler (CB, Connecticut)
Kiper: Percy Harvin
McShay: Vontae Davis
Wright: Darius Butler
- Notes: Wider receiver and cornerback are the biggest needs for the Titans, and it's not even close. However, wide receiver has been a need for such a long time, it's hard to see them finally addressing that need now, so cornerback is the choice for most. 

31. Arizona Cardinals
Herman: Larry English (OLB, Northern Illinois)
Radecki: Knowshon Moreno (RB, Georgia)
Kiper: Larry English
McShay: Donald Brown (RB, Connecticut)
Wright: Chris "Beanie" Wells (RB, Ohio State)
- Notes: If Wells is still there at 31 for the Cardinals, they may seize up out of pure joy. More likely they will go for a runningback like Brown, or they may take the risk and go for Larry English, an underrated pass rush out of Northern Illinois.

32. Pittsburgh Steelers
Herman: Alex Mack (C, California)
Radecki: Alex Mack
Kiper: Eric Wood (C, Louisville)
McShay: Max Unger (C, Oregon)
Wright: Vontae Davis
- Notes: Center is the likely choice for Pittsburgh here, although is Davis is still on the board, Pitt definitely could take him to add a quality cornerback. 

And that's that. I'll be following this up on Sunday with the winner and percentages for everyone. Just so everyone knows up front, this is how scoring will work. One point for every player taken in the spot the drafter said he would be taken in. Once again, we're going to work off numbers here, not teams. That's how I'm getting rid of the trade aspect. I'm intrigued to see how this pans out. 

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