NFL Draft

2008 NFL Mock Draft: Rounds 1-2

April 9, 2008 @ 13:37:17

KFFL presents its two-round mock draft. Our mock drafts are updated as the nature of the season adjusts the value or needs of a team.

Round 1

Pk	Team	Player	Pos	School	Notes
1	Miami Dolphins	Chris Long	DE	Virginia	Fits the system and is the type of player Bill Parcells craves; could trade down
2	St. Louis Rams	Glenn Dorsey	DT	Louisiana State	Allows DT Adam Carriker back to DE; shores up interior and run defense; may consider OT Jake Long
3	Atlanta Falcons	Matt Ryan	QB	Boston College	Rebuilding mode; need a new face of the franchise
4	Oakland Raiders	Darren McFadden	RB	Arkansas	Al Davis loves offense and defense is relatively solid; McFadden pairs well with QB JaMarcus Russell
5	Kansas City Chiefs	Jake Long	OT	Michigan	Franchise LT for a decade; mauler in the running game - excellent fit to help get Larry Johnson (foot) back on track
6	New York Jets	Vernon Gholston	OLB	Ohio State	Fills a huge need as a standup rush OLB; premier talent and could help transform defense
7	New England Patriots (from San Francisco 49ers)	Leodis McKelvin	CB	Troy	CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie could be the pick, but McKelvin's special teams ability is the deciding factor; trading down is possible
8	Baltimore Ravens	Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie	CB	Tennessee State	Probably too high to draft him and isn't likely worth this high of a pick; gives size and youth to secondary; OT is a possibility
9	Cincinnati Bengals	Sedrick Ellis	DT	Southern California	Better suited for NT in a 3-4; DE not such a big concern after signing Odom; shoring up run D is a priority
10	New Orleans Saints	Mike Jenkins	CB	South Florida	CB a top need still for the Saints; Jenkins considered No. 1 on some boards; adds size to a smurfy secondary
11	Buffalo Bills	Malcolm Kelly	WR	Oklahoma	A playmaker with size needed opposite Lee Evans; pick contingent upon the health of Kelly
12	Denver Broncos	Keith Rivers	OLB	Southern California	WLB is wide-open after release of Ian Gold; safety not as big a concern; OT could be addressed here with Ryan Clady
13	Carolina Panthers	Phillip Merling	DE	Clemson	Has the size and ability to excel opposite Julius Peppers; could look at OT or RB
14	Chicago Bears	Ryan Clady	OT	Boise State	Projects as a LT but could either play at RT to learn from John Tait or could have Tait moved to RT and start at LT
15	Detroit Lions	Jonathan Stewart	RB	Oregon	Injury not enough to scare off Matt Millen; could consider OT or LB here.
16	Arizona Cardinals	Aqib Talib	CB	Kansas	Consolation prize after three CBs drafted in the top-15 picks. Could address RB or LB, too
17	Minnesota Vikings	Derrick Harvey	DE	Florida	MIN desperately needs a pass-rushing end
18	Houston Texans	Rashard Mendenhall	RB	Illinois	Viewed as the top back by some; a big need at the position; could look OL or secondary here
19	Philadelphia Eagles	Calais Campbell	DE	Miami (Fla.)	OT deserves consideration, so does WR; DE needed for Jim Johnson's rotation
20	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	DeSean Jackson	WR	California	WR Joey Galloway long in the tooth and a successor needs to be groomed; HC Jon Gruden loves offense
21	Washington Redskins	Limas Sweed	WR	Texas	DE a huge need; Phillip Daniels not getting younger; Andre Carter needs someone opposite; S Kenny Phillips considered; fans get their wish with a big WR
22	Dallas Cowboys (from Cleveland Browns)	Chris Williams	OT	Vanderbilt	A bit of a project, but Dallas has a lot of time with Flozell Adams and Marc Colombo entrenched. However, youth is needed; CB/RB/WR a consideration
23	Pittsburgh Steelers	Branden Albert	OG	Virginia	Easily the best OG in the draft class; helps fill huge loss of OG Alan Faneca (Jets)
24	Tennessee Titans	Devin Thomas	WR	Michigan State	Flying up draft boards, Thomas' combine showing was excellent. He fills a huge need for TEN and is one of the most NFL-ready receivers in the class
25	Seattle Seahawks	Mario Manningham	WR	Michigan	40 times hurt his stock; fits the offense well; dangerous with ball in hands; plays faster than he times; Deion Branch (ACL) a concern; D.J. Hackett (Panthers) is gone; Bobby Engram aging (35)
26	Jacksonville Jaguars	Kentwan Balmer	DT	North Carolina	The trade of Marcus Stroud to Buffalo leaves an open hole. With no SS worthy of drafting here, look for DE to be a possibility should one fall.
27	San Diego Chargers	Kenny Phillips	FS	Miami (Fla.)	SD needs a starting FS, unless they can move either Clinton Hart or Eric Weddle to that position. Neither player seems rangy enough; CB Paul Oliver to FS is a possibility, too. OL depth considered
28	Dallas Cowboys	Felix Jones	RB	Arkansas	Probably too high to draft him, but he has speed to burn. Texas' Jamaal Charles a possibility, too. WR could be considered if someone fell. RB Marion Barber III needs someone to be paired with; CB considered
29	San Francisco 49ers (from Indianapolis Colts)	Jeff Otah	OT	Pittsburgh	Adam Snyder would shift to guard and allow Otah to start at RT to open the year. Joe Staley likely will man the starting LT position; trading out of this pick is a possibility
30	Green Bay Packers	Brandon Flowers	CB	Virginia Tech	Al Harris and Charles Woodson not getting younger; Flowers slipping on some boards but is a physical press-coverage corner that fits GB's scheme
31	New England Patriots - Pick Forfeited	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
32	New York Giants	Quentin Groves	OLB	Auburn	Converting to OLB in either alignment is in store for Groves. The G-Men are without both of last year's starting OLBs, and Mathias Kiwanuka (leg) is expected to return to DE; RB, WR and S all possibilities

Round 2

Pk	Team	Player	Pos	School	Notes
1	Miami Dolphins	Dan Connor	LB	Penn State	Connor is a first-round grade that fills a huge need of ILB for the Dolphins; 3-4 experience at Linebacker U only helps his cause
2	St. Louis Rams	James Hardy	WR	Indiana	Hardy is a little raw but has awesome size; team getting old at the position and needs young upside
3	Atlanta Falcons (from Oakland Raiders)	Antoine Cason	CB	Arizona	Replaces DeAngelo Hall in the lineup and would give the team a nice tandem (Chris Houston)
4	Kansas City Chiefs	Trevor Laws	DT	Notre Dame	Laws becomes yet another much needed and highly drafted KC defensive tackle
5	New York Jets	Reggie Smith	CB	Oklahoma	Has enough size to slide to FS if necessary; fits either need for the team; WR/OT considered
6	Atlanta Falcons (from Houston Texans)	Anthony Collins	OT	Kansas	Potential roadgrader - fits the type of lineman new HC Mike Smith is looking for
7	Baltimore Ravens	Brian Brohm	QB	Louisville	First-round grade by some; will battle QB Kyle Boller to be the top backup and/or the future of the franchise; QB Steve McNair likely to tough out one more year
8	San Francisco 49ers	Cliff Avril	OLB	Purdue	Avril is a 3-4 OLB and could battle for a starting job in his rookie year. At the very worst, he adds depth to a suspect group of outside 'backers
9	New Orleans Saints	Mike Pollak	C	Arizona State	The loss of C Jeff Faine opens a big hole in the center of the line; Pollak is a solid second-round grade and could anchor the interior of the line for years; signing of OL Matt Lehr shouldn't affect this pick
10	Buffalo Bills	Fred Davis	TE	Southern California	Davis may be a little more polished than TE Martellus Bennett, who could be the pick here, too. CB is considered as well.
11	Denver Broncos	Sam Baker	OT	Southern California	Agile, quick-footed blocker that best fits a zone-blocking scheme; fills a huge need for Denver
12	Carolina Panthers	Matt Forte	RB	Tulane	Forte brings a toughness that RB DeAngelo Williams doesn't; HC John Fox wants to return to his power-running ways.
13	Chicago Bears	Jamaal Charles	RB	Texas	Charles could be the back Chicago needs to spell and complement RB Cedric Benson; East Carolina's RB Chris Johnson could be considered
14	Detroit Lions	Pat Sims	DT	Auburn	Sims would help alleviate the loss of DT Shaun Rogers; he could split time with DT Chuck Darby while learning the ropes; DE considered, too
15	Cincinnati Bengals	Xavier Adibi	OLB	Virginia Tech	Adibi could split time with the rather average Dhani Jones on the weak side
16	Minnesota Vikings	Martellus Bennett	TE	Texas A&M	The Vikings need more weapons on offense and need a pass-catching tight end to pair with blocker Visanthe Shiancoe
17	Atlanta Falcons	Gosder Cherilus	OT	Boston College	Cherilus could be a fixture along a weak offensive line; he is probably best at his natural right tackle position; this could give the Falcons two second-round offensive tackles that are capable of providing stability for years
18	Philadelphia Eagles	Andre Caldwell	WR	Florida	Linebacker is a bit of a concern, but adding a playmaker at WR is a huge need
19	Arizona Cardinals	Lawrence Jackson	DE	Southern California	Could play as a situational pass-rusher as OLB and work his way into the starting lineup
20	Washington Redskins	Erin Henderson	ILB	Maryland	With a first-round WR secure, the Redskins look to add depth to the linebacking corps with a solid pick to eventually replace the soon-to-be 33-year-old London Fletcher
21	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Justin King	CB	Penn State	OT is a big need here, but there isn't a player worthy of the selection
22	Pittsburgh Steelers	Jerod Mayo	ILB	Tennessee	Inside linebacker is needed in the Steel City, and Mayo offers a lot of upside
23	Tennessee Titans	Tracy Porter	CB	Indiana	Porter may be a bit of a reach but could help ease the pain of the eventual dismissal of CB Pacman Jones; DE remains a big concern
24	Seattle Seahawks	Dustin Keller	TE	Purdue	A pass-catching TE in Seattle is a huge need and could be filled nicely with the talented Keller's soft hands
25	Green Bay Packers (from Cleveland Browns)	Duane Brown	OT	Virginia Tech	GM Ted Thompson reaches for players that he feels comfortable with; Brown, a converted TE, could fit the zone-blocking scheme nicely and adds depth behind two aging vets
26	Miami Dolphins (from San Diego Chargers)	Roy Schuening	OG	Oregon State	The team has to see what they have in John Beck and Josh McCown in what will be another lost season. OT help a high priority, but Parcells is good at finding serviceable bodies. The line is where it all starts, and the Tuna knows it.
27	Jacksonville Jaguars	Terrell Thomas	CB	Southern California	A bit of a stretch, Thomas is a better third-round pick. The team needs top depth at the position, and no defefensive ends are worthy of this pick
28	Indianapolis Colts	Earl Bennett	WR	Vanderbilt	The Colts need WR depth desperately, especially with the knee problems facing WR Marvin Harrison; OG help could be an option, too
29	Green Bay Packers	Ray Rice	RB	Rutgers	Drafting another second-round RB seems silly, especially with the way Ryan Grant played last year, but uncertainty remains at the position. Rice could be a nice change-of-pace for the slower Grant. QB a consideration
30	Dallas Cowboys	Eddie Royal	WR	Virginia Tech	Royal is a better third-rounder than a second, but the Cowboys need to get younger in a hurry at the position; CB is a big need, too, but little is left worth reaching for at this point
31	New England Patriots	Curtis Lofton	ILB	Oklahoma	Lofton could be the eventual replacement for ILB Tedy Bruschi and could spell during his rookie season
32	New York Giants	Tom Zbikowski	SS	Notre Dame	A bit of a reach for Zbikowski, but the team can let him learn behind SS Sammy Knight