Smashmouth Football League Articles

1.01 - WR Brandon Marshall

This is the easiest pick to mock. I envy the Lions, he will be fun to watch. The NFC North has some real beasts. I wonder if we will see an emphasis on big CBs.


1.02 - ROLB A.J. Hawk

I hear rumblings that A.J. Hawk is the guy at 1.02 and if he doesn't go here, he will definitely go at 1.03. I don't know if I would ever draft an OLB top 5, let alone top 2. I'm a little surprised the Saints are considering QB here. Even if he isn't worth 1.02, I'm sure they could swing a trade with the Chargers to ensure they get their guy and allowing the Saints to move back a couple times and grab a QB.


1.03 - LT D'Brickashaw Ferguson

The Chargers made a big move by trading RE Jevon Kearse to a division rival along with QB Chad Pennington to move up to 1.03. They got Jeff Garcia in return and have two QBs still, so I don't think Leinart is the play here. Rumor has it they wanted A.J. Hawk here and now have to come up with a backup plan. If Ferguson stays at LT it would be fun to see a Ferguson / Kearse matchups twice a year, but I think Garth wisely moves Kearse to LE and wreaks havoc in the AFC West.


1.04 - QB Matt Leinart

I know the Texans were working on an Eli Manning trade. The cost was too high for them to get a deal done. If I'm Wade I just don't think I could enter the season with David Carr or Dave Ragone at QB. Speaking from experience, Carr doesn't perform as well as you would think. It's a very strong division and I don't know how comfortable I would be with them winning 7 games with Carr or Ragone to avoid the hot seat.


1.05 - DT Haloti Ngata

The Ravens have been very quiet this off-season. Norbert has been around but hasn't really chimed in or made a lot of moves. To me it appears as though he's pretty happy with his team and rightfully so. He has a good OL, RB and two 2nd year WRs he drafted last year. Ngata is a former Raven in real life and this connection seems likely.


1.06 - WR Cory Rodgers

The Bucs just traded away WR Antonio Bryant and LT Bo Lacy to give them the 1.15, so it gives them some flexibility to go after the guy they want and knowing they can get a guy at a deeper position 9 spots later. Looking at the team I'm thinking OL & WR are now their weakest positions, but Bill Ryan does seem to love his CBs. I don't like any CB in this draft enough to take them in the top 6 and Rodgers is just too good to think he falls much further.


1.07 - ROLB Thomas Howard

Rock loves the super freaks with great speed. I think he would hope WR Rodgers falls here since Koren Robinson is on the last year of his deal and a rich contract but since Rodgers did not, it's on to Plan B. Mario Williams seems like a guy Rock would like, but I think Thomas Howard is too interesting for Rock to pass on.


1.08 - HB LenDale White

It's the Peyton Manning show in Indianapolis. They didn't perform the way they should've last year. Some of that could be contributed to having no run game as well as struggling on defense. The defense looks pretty good on paper, but they definitely have a glaring hole at RB and there are no other RBs in the league that I would feel confident starting.


1.09 - CB Marcus Maxey

I'm not sure where Leo would be leaning with this pick. He's made a ton of moves and I don't know who he likes on his roster and who he has just settled for. OLB could be an area he would upgrade. I also am not all that impressed with their WRs. I think it's secondary, OLB and WRs for areas to address in round 1 for Carolina.


1.10 - MLB Leon Williams

Another area I thought could be of interest would be MLB2 if they're truly going with a 3-4 this year. Leo did talk about it several times, but like I said I'm not sure what his plan is. Courtney Watson and Leon Williams would give him a terrific duo there and he would likely move DT Tommie Harris or Marcus Spears to RE.


1.11 - RT Quinn Ojinnaka

The Vikings are a very good team and the only obvious hole that jumps out to me is RT after trading Wade Smith this off-season. Ojinnaka would actually be a very good fit and would not require them to move him as he's already a RT. With the rookie/sophomore progression, he will be a pretty good upgrade over Smith.


1.12 - ROLB Manny Lawson

After moving ROLB Takeo Spikes it's pretty obvious that OLB is going to be the biggest area that GM Brady Tinnin wants to address. Two have already gone and they can't risk waiting til pick 19. Lawson doesn't have the STR that Takeo did, but he's going to be on a long-term, cheaper contract with similar size to Takeo.


1.13 - RE Darryl Tapp

I'm not sure if Rock would prefer the higher AGI Mario Williams or the higher STR Tapp. I think it's a toss-up and I would prefer Tapp here. I think this is a really strong pick and like I said before, Rock loves the athletic freaks.


1.14 - RT Marcus McNeill

The Patriots had a terrific season so there aren't going to be a lot of holes here. I could see them going DT as that's clearly a thin position for them. RT could be an area as 34-year-old RT Ruben Brown is nearing the end. CB is also an area. This pick took the longest to mock thus far. I think they can find a CB in the late 1st and none of them really separate themselves to me here, and the Patriots don't seem to prioritize their DL. McNeill is very athletic but doesn't have high STR, but that works for GM Travis Robbins.


1.15 - CB Tye Hill

In the very next breath after saying that the CBs are no separating themselves to me I had to choose one as I think Bill will go CB in the 1st. Hill reminds me of Marcus Trufant whom Bill drafted 1.7 in the 2003 draft.


1.16 - CB Justin Phinisee

I'm not sure where Dhani goes here. CB looks like an area he could choose to upgrade. He has half his team on the block so it's pretty ambiguous what his plan is.


1.17 - WR Todd Watkins

I'm not sure what direction the 49ers would be going in here. They lost WR Eddie Kennison and their WRs don't exactly instill fear in opposing teams. Watkins could be appetizing at 6'3", 91 SPD.


1.18 -RG Davin Joseph

The Broncos have a pretty big hole at LT and I think Joseph would be too good to pass up here. He could move to LT. The other alternative was Ryan O'Callaghan who would also take the AWR hit to move to LT.


1.19 - RE Mario Williams

The Bengals have been trying to shop RE Justin Smith all off-season due to his enormous salary cap figure. Mario Williams falling this far would make Brady Tinnin happy and perhaps allow him to drop the price on Smith to get him off the roster.


1.20 - WR Maurice Stovall

The Bears are rebuilding and the team is in pretty good shape. When GM Brent Lachapelle sees that Stovall is there, he can't help himself from pairing him with Vincent Jackson. Two huge targets for Alex Smith, although neither will take the top off a defense. It brings yet another huge WR to the NFC North.


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I meant to finish this, but the kids are getting off the bus and my son has a baseball game and needs some 1-on-1 practice time before we head off.