massraider
Footballguy
http://www.ibabuzz.com/raidersblog/2008/04...gholston-again/
Thought for a moment I had a chance to get Chris Long in silver and black, only to be thwarted by the Atlanta Falcons.
So once again, I opted for Ohio State defensive end Vernon Gholston on behalf of the Raiders in a mock first round made up of NFL writers conducted Monday by conference call.
It works like this _ when your turn comes up, give a brief overview of the needs of the team you cover, how many selections they have in the draft and if there is a chance of a deal to move up or down. Then make the choice and give your reasoning.
With the No. 1 pick, Alex Marvez of Fox Sports, a former Dolphins beat writer, took Michigan tackle Jake Long. Miami has not had a shutdown left tackle since Richmond Webb and could select Long and move Vernon Carey to the right side.
If a deal cannot be reached with Long, Marvez believes Miami would opt for Virginia end Chris Long, who is considered less of a projection than Gholston.
At No. 2, I was mildly surprised when Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch took LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey for the Rams in a close call over Chris Long.
With Atlanta at No. 3, and in need of a quarterback to replace Michael Vick, I started to think maybe Chris Long would be available and was prepared to seize the opportunity to add an instant every-down starter.
Alas, D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution is of the belief the Falcons aren’t that high on Ryan and will use one of their later picks to get a quarterback such as Louisville’s Brian Brohm or Michigan’s Chad Henne. Chris Long went to the Falcons at No. 3.
At No. 4, I opted for Gholston as I had in a previous draft, believing his stunning athletic gifts and pass rushing ability would be put to use instantly. Even if Gholston didn’t play fulltime, assuming the Raiders can get Derrick Burgess back to double figures in sacks, he could give Oakland their best pass rush in years _ and making the quarterback go down, and go down hard, is a time-honored Raiders tradition.
Yes, I passed up Darren McFadden, for reasons I’ll give in another blog at some point leading up to the draft.
Here’s how the rest of the first round ended up:
5. Kansas City: DT Sedrick Ellis, USC
6. New York Jets: RB Darren McFadden, Arkansas
7. New England: G-T Branden Albert, Virginia
8. Baltimore: QB Matt Ryan, Boston College
9. Cincinnati: OT Jeff Otah, Pitt
10. New Orleans: CB Leodis McKelvin, Troy
11. Buffalo: WR Devin Thomas, Michigan State
12. Denver: OT Ryan Clady, Boise State
13. Carolina: RB Jonathan Stewart, Oregon
14. Chicago: OT Chris Williams, Vanderbilt
15. Detroit: DE Derrick Harvey, Florida
16. Arizona: CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Tennessee State
17. Minnesota: DE Philip Merling, Clemson
18. Houston: CB Mike Jenkins, South Florida
19. Philadelphia: Aqib Talib, Kansas
20. Tampa Bay: WR DeSean Jackson, Cal
21. Washington: WR Malcolm Kelly
22. Dallas: RB Rashard Mendenhall, Illinois
23. Pittsburgh: DT Ketwan Balmer, North Carolina
24. Tennessee: RB Felix Jones, Arkansas
25. Seattle DE Lawrence Jackson, USC
26. Jacksonville: S DaJuan Morgan, North Carolina State
27. San Diego: OT Gosder Cherlius, Boston College
28. Dallas: CB Brandon Flowers, Virginia Tech
29. San Francisco: DE Quentin Groves, Auburn
30. Green Bay: QB Joe Flacco, Delaware
31. Vacant _ forfeited by New England
32. New York Giants: LB Jerod Mayo, Tennessee
Note: Got off of the conference call after 20 selections, at which time USC linebacker Keith Rivers had not been selected. As it turned out, a few more picks went off the board without Rivers being selected. Because of the oversight, it was decided Rivers would come off the board altogether on the presumption he would have been selected earlier.
Thought for a moment I had a chance to get Chris Long in silver and black, only to be thwarted by the Atlanta Falcons.
So once again, I opted for Ohio State defensive end Vernon Gholston on behalf of the Raiders in a mock first round made up of NFL writers conducted Monday by conference call.
It works like this _ when your turn comes up, give a brief overview of the needs of the team you cover, how many selections they have in the draft and if there is a chance of a deal to move up or down. Then make the choice and give your reasoning.
With the No. 1 pick, Alex Marvez of Fox Sports, a former Dolphins beat writer, took Michigan tackle Jake Long. Miami has not had a shutdown left tackle since Richmond Webb and could select Long and move Vernon Carey to the right side.
If a deal cannot be reached with Long, Marvez believes Miami would opt for Virginia end Chris Long, who is considered less of a projection than Gholston.
At No. 2, I was mildly surprised when Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch took LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey for the Rams in a close call over Chris Long.
With Atlanta at No. 3, and in need of a quarterback to replace Michael Vick, I started to think maybe Chris Long would be available and was prepared to seize the opportunity to add an instant every-down starter.
Alas, D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution is of the belief the Falcons aren’t that high on Ryan and will use one of their later picks to get a quarterback such as Louisville’s Brian Brohm or Michigan’s Chad Henne. Chris Long went to the Falcons at No. 3.
At No. 4, I opted for Gholston as I had in a previous draft, believing his stunning athletic gifts and pass rushing ability would be put to use instantly. Even if Gholston didn’t play fulltime, assuming the Raiders can get Derrick Burgess back to double figures in sacks, he could give Oakland their best pass rush in years _ and making the quarterback go down, and go down hard, is a time-honored Raiders tradition.
Yes, I passed up Darren McFadden, for reasons I’ll give in another blog at some point leading up to the draft.
Here’s how the rest of the first round ended up:
5. Kansas City: DT Sedrick Ellis, USC
6. New York Jets: RB Darren McFadden, Arkansas
7. New England: G-T Branden Albert, Virginia
8. Baltimore: QB Matt Ryan, Boston College
9. Cincinnati: OT Jeff Otah, Pitt
10. New Orleans: CB Leodis McKelvin, Troy
11. Buffalo: WR Devin Thomas, Michigan State
12. Denver: OT Ryan Clady, Boise State
13. Carolina: RB Jonathan Stewart, Oregon
14. Chicago: OT Chris Williams, Vanderbilt
15. Detroit: DE Derrick Harvey, Florida
16. Arizona: CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Tennessee State
17. Minnesota: DE Philip Merling, Clemson
18. Houston: CB Mike Jenkins, South Florida
19. Philadelphia: Aqib Talib, Kansas
20. Tampa Bay: WR DeSean Jackson, Cal
21. Washington: WR Malcolm Kelly
22. Dallas: RB Rashard Mendenhall, Illinois
23. Pittsburgh: DT Ketwan Balmer, North Carolina
24. Tennessee: RB Felix Jones, Arkansas
25. Seattle DE Lawrence Jackson, USC
26. Jacksonville: S DaJuan Morgan, North Carolina State
27. San Diego: OT Gosder Cherlius, Boston College
28. Dallas: CB Brandon Flowers, Virginia Tech
29. San Francisco: DE Quentin Groves, Auburn
30. Green Bay: QB Joe Flacco, Delaware
31. Vacant _ forfeited by New England
32. New York Giants: LB Jerod Mayo, Tennessee
Note: Got off of the conference call after 20 selections, at which time USC linebacker Keith Rivers had not been selected. As it turned out, a few more picks went off the board without Rivers being selected. Because of the oversight, it was decided Rivers would come off the board altogether on the presumption he would have been selected earlier.
