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. 

Mock Draft: Picks 11-16

I could barely get the tags in trying to do 10 at a time, so I'm going to do six here, and then two more sets of eight. Oh, and Todd McShay released a new mock draft today, and I'm sure Kiper will release one before Saturday. I don't care; if Tyler and I can't change our picks before them, then neither can Kiper and McShay in my book. Anyway ...

11. Buffalo Bills

Herman: Brandon Pettigrew (TE, Oklahoma State)

Radecki: Brandon Pettigrew

Kiper: Robert Ayers (DE, Tennessee)

McShay: Aaron Maybin (De/LB, Penn State)

Wright: Brandon Pettigrew

- Notes: Tyler, Wright and I both think the Bills will take the only sure-fire tight end in the draft. Kiper and McShay have Buffalo going with a pass rusher. You'll see how far they think Pettigrew will fall if he doesn't get taken here. 

12. Denver Broncos

Herman: Tyson Jackson (DE, Louisiana State)

Radecki: Tyson Jackson

Kiper: Tyson Jackson

McShay: Tyson Jackson

Wright: B.J. Raji

- Notes: Everyone except Wright thinks that Tyson Jackson is the perfect player in this spot for the Broncos, a true 3-4 defensive end. Wright, meanwhile, thinks the Broncos would go for B.J. Raji, whom the other four had going three spots earlier.

13. Washington Redskins

Herman: Andre Smith (OT, Alabama)

Radecki: Brian Cushing (OLB, USC)

Kiper: Mark Sanchez (QB, USC)

McShay: Robert Ayers

Wright: Aaron Maybin

- Notes: It figures that the Redskins would be the first team that every single person disagreed upon. I had Andre Smith falling this far, and the Redskins need tackle help. McShay, Wright and Tyler all banked on the fact the Redskins would want to help their defense off the edge. Kiper was the only one with Sanchez left on his board, and he figured the Redskins would take the risk here. 

14. New Orleans Saints

Herman: Brian Cushing

Radecki: Malcolm Jenkins (CB, Ohio State)

Kiper: Chris "Beanie" Wells (RB, Ohio State)

McShay: Chris "Beanie" Wells

Wright: Malcolm Jenkins

- Notes: The Saints need help in the secondary, hence the Beanie Wells picks. They also need help at linebacker, though, and Cushing is the real deal. I would be surprised if the Saints continued to stockpile offensive players, but I suppose that's why they pay Mel Kiper and Todd McShay and not me. 

15. Houston Texans

Herman: Robert Ayers

Radecki: Clay Matthews (OLB, USC)

Kiper: Brian Cushing

McShay: Brian Cushing

Wright: Clay Matthews

- Notes: Once again, I was the odd man out. This time, it was because I didn't see the Texans taking an outside linebacker from USC. I just think with Ayers still on the board, the Texans will want to stabilize the other defensive end position across from Mario Williams.

16. San Diego Chargers

Herman: Malcolm Jenkins 

Radecki: Aaron Maybin

Kiper: Rey Maualuga (ILB, USC)

McShay: Malcolm Jenkins

Wright: Brian Cushing

- Notes: This was the pick where everyone dumped off the players still on their board that they figured should be off by now. McShay and I still had Jenkins, Aaron Maybin was hanging around for Tyler, and Brian Cushing was still there for Wright. Kiper, meanwhile, starts the Maualuga watch - he could go anywhere from here until the end of the first round. 

A Few NFL Thoughts Before the College Basketball Storm

No need for an explanation. The next two weekends are paradise for college basketball fans. Before that, I do need to address some NFL thoughts that are bouncing around in my head. By the way, after Wednesday, I will be posting on this blog at least twice a day about the commencement of March Madness.

1. Somehow, the Ravens did okay for themselves. Sure, they lost McAlister, but he didn't play last year anyway. They replace McAlister with Domonique Foxworth, who, while looking premier cover skills, is one of the fastest cornerbacks in the NFL and won't get beat deep. They lost Jim Leonhard, but make sure you remember that Jim Leonhard was a backup last year to a very capable Dawan Landry, who got injured in the second week of the season.

Losing Bart Scott hurts, but the Ravens have an eager group of linebackers waiting to be the next Scott (or Adalius Thomas or Ed Hartwell or Jamie Sharper). Tavares Gooden is especially exciting. They lost Jason Brown, who received tackle money for being a center, but replaced him with Matt Birk. Granted, Birk isn't as good or as young as Brown, but he's an established player who will keep Flacco off his butt until the team finds a long-term replacement. Finally, they got Ray Lewis back, so he can retire as a Raven and tutor his replacement.

2. T.O to Buffalo? Really? When I first heard the news, I was simply floored. Other than the 49ers, Ravens, Eagles and Cowboys, Buffalo was about the least place I could imagine Owens (pictured, left) ending up. A small market team up north with an inexperienced, "jury is still out" quarterback?

... That being said, I think it will work - at least for the one year. After that, it never does. Owens always does well in his first stint with a team. He'll play for pride and for a big contract next year. I'm not saying the Bills are now the team to beat in the AFC, but because the Bills haven't made the playoffs in 10 years and are in need of a few fans, I think it's a smart move on Buffalo's part.

3. What will LT do? As I'm writing this, talks are going on between Tomlinson and the Chargers as to Tomlinson's future with the team. They're trying to restructure his contract, and the team has said that if it doesn't happen by the end of today, it's not going to happen. Although many teams could use Tomlinson (New Orleans, Philadelphia, and Jacksonville come to mind), he, like Ray, belongs in San Diego. I've said it before on this blog, so of course I'll say it again, the franchising of Darren Sproles was just stupid. I know they wanted to keep him on their team because of what an X-factor he can be, but he's not a featured running back in this league, and they just ridiculously overpaid for him. If Tomlinson were to resign, there is no doubt that he would still be "the guy." He needs to get the deal worked out today, get healthy this offseason, and focus on next season.

4. Houshmandzadeh to the Seahawks; where does Michael Crabtree end up? The "lock" of the upcoming NFL draft is no longer a lock. Houshmandzadeh is definitely a good pick-up for Seattle; they had the cap room and now they can pick up a player of equal value at perhaps a greater need with their number four pick.

The question now obviously becomes how far Michael Crabtree (pictured, left) will fall. I can't see it being out of the top 10. Both Oakland and Jacksonville (picks 7 and 8, respectively) have huge need at WR, and would not pass on him.

Don't be surprised to see a lot of movement around this spot, too. There are plenty of receivers in this year's draft, and if the Raiders do not think Crabtree represents a significant upgrade over, say Darrius Heyward-Bey, but the Bears covet Crabtree, Chicago may be willing to give up their first and a second round pick for the spot.

And now that that's off my chest, bring on the madness.