Big Philly's NFL Mock Draft

Football fans, the big day is almost here. The 2009 NFL Draft kicks off tomorrow and the Lions are on the clock. Since Mock NFL Drafts are to sports media outlets as cocaine is to young Hollywood starlets, I felt the need to "legitimize" this blog by having one of my own. I love football, but since I don't follow the NFL offseason like I follow the MLB or NBA offseasons, I decided to look for some help. Pinch-hitting for yours truly today is "The Big Philly", Paul D. Below are the Big Philly's first round predictions for the draft. Keep in mind that this isn't what he thinks the teams should do, but rather what he expects them to do. Take it away Durf:


1. Detroit Lions – Matt Stafford, QB, Georgia
Lions desperately need a quarterback to rejuvenate their franchise, the poor Lions will pay him a boatload of cash so we will see how it goes.

2. St. Louis Rams – Jason Smith, OT, Baylor
With the departure of Orlando Pace, the Rams need a new left tackle to protect Bulger’s blindside, I think Smith has the most upside and could play right away.

3. Kansas City Chiefs – Aaron Curry, LB, Wake Forest
Chiefs need to upgrade their defense in any way possible, and Curry is definitely the best defensive player in the draft and could be a dominate player in the NFL for years to come.

4. Seattle Seahawks – Mark Sanchez, QB, USC
Seahawks need a future replacement for the aging Hasselbeck so this is a possibility, also look for teams like the Browns, Jets, Bucs or Broncos to trade down to land Sanchez.

5. Cleveland Browns – Michael Crabtree, WR, Texas Tech
I think Orakpo is a strong possibility here but I think Braylon Edwards and his drops are on the way out of Cleveland and Crabtree would be a great replacement for him.

6. Cincinnati Bengals – Eugene Monroe, OT, Virginia
The Bengals need to find a way to protect Carson Palmer so they can try to get their passing game going again; Monroe is a great fit because he is the best pass blocker in the draft.

7. Oakland Raiders – Brian Orakpo, DE, Texas
I think Maclin is a strong possibility because they have no good WR’s, but Orakpo is a great pass rusher and a huge upgrade over the Raiders current D ends.

8. Jacksonville Jaguars – B.J. Raji, DT, BC
The Jags need to get their defense back on track and adding a run stuffing DT would be great for them to pair with John Henderson.

9. Green Bay Packers – Tyson Jackson, DE, LSU
With the Packers switching to a 3-4 defense they need a good defensive end, Tyson Jackson would be good in that role because he is great against the run.

10. San Francisco 49ers – Aaron Maybin, DE/OLB, Penn State
The 49ers have a strong need for a pass rusher and a guy like Aaron Maybin would fit that mold as one of their outside linebackers in their 3-4 defense.

11. Buffalo Bills – Andre Smith, OT, Alabama
After the Bills traded Jason Peters to the Eagles they need a new left tackle and Smith could step in right away and fill that hole.


12. Denver Broncos – Everette Brown, DE, Florida State
The Broncos definitely need to go defense with their first round pick as we all know how pathetic their defense was last year. Getting a good pass rusher like Brown would be a good start.

13. Washington Redskins – Robert Ayers, DE, Tennessee
The Redskins are one of the worst teams in the league at getting sacks, and now that Jason Taylor is gone as well defensive end is a strong need for them.

14. New Orleans Saints – Brian Cushing, OLB, USC
I think they have to go defense with their first pick, they have a good middle linebacker in Vilma but their OLB’s just are not very good, Cushing would be a nice uprgrade for them.

15. Houston Texans – Malcolm Jenkins, DB, Ohio State
Jenkins has the ability to play either safety or corner, and besides Dunta Robinson the Texans could use another playmaker in their secondary whether it would be at safety or corner.

16. San Diego Chargers – Michael Oher, OT, Mississippi
The Chargers could use another tackle opposite McNeil and having him team up with Oher would give the Chargers a good pair of young tackles going forward.

17. New York Jets – Jeremy Maclin, WR, Missouri
The Jets really need a QB but Josh Freeman is a serious reach in round 1, I see the Jets trading the pick for another QB, but if they stay at #17 Maclin would be a nice addition.

18. Denver Broncos – Rey Maualuga, LB, USC
Having Rey in the middle of their defense would allow D.J. Williams to slide back to outside linebacker and give the Broncos two good, young LB’s to try and revive their defense.

19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Darrius Heyward- Bey, WR, Maryland
Bey would be a nice complement to Antonio Bryant with his ability to stretch the field; they could also be in play for a QB via trade since that is more of a pressing need for them.

20. Detroit Lions – Brandon Pettigrew, TE, Oklahoma State
Lions need to draft best player on the board which could be Pettigrew, the current group of tight ends for the Lions are awful and Pettigrew would give the Lions another weapon.

21. Philadelphia Eagles – Knowshon Moreno, RB, Georgia
Westbrook is a great running back but has problems staying healthy; Moreno would be a great complement to Westbrook and also a nice long term replacement. He would also fit in nicely with the Eagles offense with his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield.

22. Minnesota Vikings – Eben Britton, OT, Arizona
Since the Vikings like to run the ball so much they could always use another lineman, Britton would fill in nice on the right side at tackle.


23. New England Patriots – Clay Matthews, OLB, USC
With the loss of Mike Vrabel at OLB, Matthews reminds people of Vrabel and would be a great replacement for him. He is very adept at getting to the QB and will help their pass rush.

24. Atlanta Falcons – Vontae Davis, CB, Illinois
The Falcons need help in their secondary; with this pick Davis has all the tools to be a good CB. A rough year last year at Illinois might scare some GM’s away but I think he is too talented and has too much upside for the Falcons to pass him up.

25. Miami Dolphins – Alphonso Smith, CB, Wake Forest
The Dolphins need to get younger at cornerback and Smith would be a nice playmaker for them in their secondary, He is only 5’9” but racked up 21 career interceptions in college.

26. Baltimore Ravens – James Laurinaitis, ILB, Ohio State
With the loss of Bart Scott I think the Ravens would be thrilled if Laurinaitis fell to them with the 26th pick, Laurinaitis would fit in nicely at ILB with the Ravens to replace Scott.

27. Indianapolis Colts – Peria Jerry, DT, Mississippi
Colts need defensive help and adding a DT to the mix would be beneficial, their starting DT’s aren’t good and Jerry would be an upgrade for them and would help their run defense.

28. Buffalo Bills – Larry English, DE, Northern Illinois
Bills need some good pass rushers and I think English would be good value for them here and would team up nicely with Aaron Schobel at the end position.

29. New York Giants – Kenny Britt, WR, Rutgers
With the loss of Plaxico Burress the Giants need to find a replacement, Britt is tall and would be a good red zone threat for Manning to go to. They also might try to trade for Edwards or Boldin on draft day.

30. Tennessee Titans – Percy Harvin, WR, Florida
The Titans need a serious threat at WR for Kerry Collins and Harvin would thrive in the Titans offense if they can get him in space and would also be a good punt or kick returner. (editor's note: Too bad Travis Henry is no longer on the Titans because I'm sure with their "habits" they would have a good time together)

31. Arizona Cardinals – Chris Wells, RB, Ohio State
With Edgerrin James likely on his way out of Arizona their only RB they have is Tim Hightower who can’t carry the load himself. Getting Wells would give the Cardinals 2 good running backs and help out their running game that was terrible last year.

32. Pittsburgh Steelers – Alex Mack, C, California
Steelers are pretty solid all around but their line can be suspect at times. They could use an upgrade at center and Mack is probably the best center in the draft.


Alright there you have. Thanks Paul. The marathon that is the NFL Draft begins tomorrow morning. You can bet that I'll be following along and seeing how many Paul gets right.