Smashmouth Football League Articles

1. CB Brandon Browner
This is the consensus #1 overall pick. It would be a surprise to see the Jaguars go in a different direction here, or trade out of the pick. It doesn't sound like anybody is making a play for the pick which means Jason Arnold has his guy in sights.

2. WR Matt Jones
Tom Riddell traded up from the 3rd overall and gave a 2.15 in the process to do it. I thought it was a bit rich considering the 3rd overall player will likely be just as great. The next worst kept secret of the draft is Matt Jones at #2. Rumors are that Tom thinks Jones is final piece of the puzzle. I'm not seeing it, especially since they already had the 7th best pass offense last year and Jones will be eating into Anquan Boldin's crazy production. But we all have to dream sometimes.

3. MLB Alfred Fincher
The Cowboys traded LT to get up to 1.03 and found a replacement in Tatum Bell. They're reportedly having trade talks to move Nate Clements, if you aren't in on the sweepstakes you better hurry. I don't think they go CB here though. They could certainly be in on a OL, someone like Wes Sims would be the pick. They also have a hole at LOLB and Shawn Merriman would be a great pick. But MLBs are a prized possession in the SFL and I think the ridiculous athleticism of Fincher is too hard to pass up.

4. WR Braylon Edwards
The Lions are on the hot seat after finishing the 2002, 2003 and 2004 seasons with 2 wins, 4 wins and 3 wins, respectively. They need a big splash here. FS O.J. Atogwe is very tempting for them but they need a big time weapon for Byron Leftwich, especially with no legitimate running back.

5. WR Mike Williams
I could see the Bills targeting a Safety, OL or WR here. Atogwe is another name that comes up but after the Bills traded for Steve McNair, it's obvious the offense needs a boost. What the offense is lacking, aside from bodies on the OL, is a WR. Williams has big size and was considered during the previous pick by Detroit.

6. LT Wes Sims
It's pretty absurd a team has four picks in the top 10. Takes a bit of the fun out of it. There's really no special order the four picks will go in, it's just figuring out which guy the Seahawks wants. The problem is it's not easy predicting that. Sims is the best OL in the draft .

7. FS O.J. Atogwe
Rock typically likes athletic freaks and in a league with a bunch of slow safeties, Atogwe is exactly that. Projecting his picks is historically difficult because he overlooks deficiencies that many of us won't.

8. MLB Jordan Beck
The only MLB on the roster is 59 OVR Michael Young. It's clearly a need.

9. LOLB Shawn Merriman
They've got Keith Bulluck, but it's possible the Cardinals like Merriman enough to move Bulluck, or move him to the opposite side.

10. CB Corey Webster
I'm not sure what else the Cardinals need besides fewer first round picks. Perhaps a CB?

11. MLB Odell Thurman
If it weren't for the Cardinals having four top 10 picks, I think all top 3 MLBs go in the top 10. Earl Holmes is an expensive 32-year-old MLB with okay athleticism. The offense looks good. OL could be a direction the team goes with as well.

12. RT Todd Herremans
Rivers had a rough year and I think the focus should be on giving him some weapons, and keeping him from being the #1 sacked QB in the league. They just traded Jason Peters in a surprising move, and it's likely Gary Cohen did that as he plans to draft an OL.

13. CB Stanford Routt
The Chargers don't even have a Center on the roster. Imagine what Leo or Riddell would do if this was their team! The Chargers were looking for a CB at the deadline, but that was also due to an injury in the secondary. Outside of Quentin Jammer, the CBs are nothing to fear. I imagine the Chargers were hoping a MLB falls here.

14. RE Marcus Spears
Tennessee has only 1 DE, a RE. Spears is probably better suited as a DT, but I think he could be productive anywhere on the DL. I would be surprised if he makes it this far though, especially in a draft class that appears to be pretty weak on DL.

15. WR Vincent Jackson
Kind of a cool pairing to see, as it was in real life as well. As mentioned above, the Titans need to give Rivers weapons and protect him. Jackson does the former.

16. CB Antrel Rolle
The Jets can't get what they need most right here, which is cap space. They've got a bunch of vets on expensive contracts. I would imagine they would like to draft a guy that allows them to cut one of those nasty contracts but I think CB is the way to go here for them. OL is a strong consideration as well considering the talent.

17. RB Cedric Benson
I'm not particularly fond of Benson. Probably nothing wrong with him, just not someone I prefer. That may be why he fell this far in a league where RBs seem to be very valuable. The Buccaneers are hot-seaters, and I think they're at the biggest risk of losing their team. Derek Carr is their QB, they have no RB (until this pick) and Keyshawn Johnson is their only threat at WR. They HAVE to get a ground game going if Paul Criswell wants to save his job.

18. LT Marcus Johnson
This would be extraordinary value if this happened. If it weren't for two teams taking up 7 of the top 17 picks, I think he would be gone much sooner. The Ravens are a run first game and obviously prioritize their OL as a result.

19. LOLB Cameron Wake
I debated between OLB & OL with this pick. The Chargers had a top 10 offense though, and so I assume that AC will be prioritizing his defense during this off-season. It's not a great draft for OLBs and they missed the boat on the MLBs. Wake is a pretty good OLB despite that.

20. CB Travis Daniels
I think most would agree that the biggest need the Falcons have is at CB. A few have gone already, but Daniels is a 94 SPD 6'0" CB. I think he would be a great pick here. They've got the 32 pick as well but I don't see CB lasting that long.

21. RT Pete McMahon
I believe the strength of the rest of the first round draft is going to be the OL. More are likely to go on draft day than they have in this mock, but it's the way things worked out. McMahon is a good all-around OL and I'm sure the Bengals would be happy to have him.

22. FS Ben Emanuel
This may be a bit of a darkhorse pick, but as I mentioned at the #4 selection, the Lions could be interested in a FS. They went with Braylon Edwards, but Emanuel has to be pretty intriguing with only 1 safety, someone who isn't all that special.

23. RT Rob Petitti
None of the centers have gone yet. It's tempting. Tom likes more athletic OL, as LG Ben Hamilton is his prototype, but Petitti has pretty good athleticism as well as very good strength.

24. RT Jammal Brown
This guy can't spell his name right, maybe he's better at football than he is spelling.

25. FS Kurt Campbell
The Raiders have a hell of a team. It's hard to find an area of need, though FS is clearly one of those needs. Campbell is 6'1", 89 SPD, 91 ACC, which is pretty damn good for a position group that is not very athletic as a whole.

26. RG Adam Snyder
The Colts could definitely use some OL help, it's difficult to figure out exactly which one though. They're pretty similar at this point. It appears that Ian doesn't like sub 90 STR OL. Snyder may be an OG but I think he could play OT.

27. CB Mike Hawkins
I don't know if CB is necessarily the Vikings intentions here. They could use a RG but I don't know if Neal would spend a late 1 on a RG. The depth in the front 7 is pretty shallow right now but I've got nobody on my list worth taking on the DL or LBs. Hawkins is the last of the good CBs in my opinion.

28. RT Ray Willis
Probably not somebody that is on a lot of radars and this may be a reach. The Vikings need some help on the OL. If Neal is drafting an OG instead of OT, Willis would be the pick. If it were OT, perhaps it's Dan Buenning.

29. WR Chase Lyman
I really don't know what direction the Patriots would be going here. I know that they loved their Clarence Moore selection at 1.27 last year. He was an 87 SPD 6'6" WR who is now 90 SPD at that frame. Lyman doesn't have 6'6" size, but 6'4" 89 SPD has to be pretty tempting to pair with Tom Brady.

30. QB Aaron Rodgers
Think of a time when the #1 QB off the board didn't come until 30th overall. Imagine Aaron Rodgers in the green room during this debacle. He went ahead of Alex Smith this time, but I think both are pretty similar. Alex Smith's speed is likely to make him a scrambler whereas Rodgers could be balanced, which gives him the leg up. The private workouts will be important in determining which one goes first.

31. MLB Lofa Tatupu
The Jaguars need a MLB and the obvious choices are gone. Tatupu doesn't have great size or athleticism, but he's very pro ready which could be of intrigue to a team that needs talent after selling off all their assets last year.

32. LG Dan Buenning
The Falcons have put a bunch of their OL on the block. It's getting slim pickings on what otherwise was a strong OL draft class. Buenning doesn't have great strength but he's got everything else that teams look for.