Lou Pickney's 2024 NFL Mock Draft

National Football League
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Reader feedback is always welcomed here at DraftKing.com. Send your thoughts to me at LouPickney@gmail.com.

They lost OG Jermaine Mayberry in free agency and OT John Runyan is in the last year of his contract. Look for them to either draft OG Elton Brown of Virginia or OT Jammal Brown of Oklahoma. Andy Reid is all about the offense and believes it all starts up front. Thank you in advance for your time...

Lou: Technically speaking, the Eagles traded up (not down) last year to get their man (Shawn Andrews), but I follow your thinking on this one.

I don't anticipate Jammal Brown falling to the Eagles' spot at #31, but much like they did last year in trading up for Andrews (and sticking it to the Miami Dolphins in the process), they could trade two picks to move up and capture J. Brown. I think the more likely scenario will be the team going for D-Line at the end of the first round and then snagging Elton Brown at the top of round two (with the Miami pick from the A.J. Feeley trade). That should allow Andrews to move to his natural position of tackle (from guard). There's a chance of Atlanta taking E. Brown, particularly with the Falcons losing their offensive line coach to retirement. But, if the Eagles really like J. Brown, you might see them trade up to get him. We shall see.

From: Paul J. Evans
Sent: Thursday, March 17, 2005 8:21 PM
To: LouPickney@hotmail.com
Subject: Rolle and Merriman...

Thanks for the continued good work on your Mock Draft. I find it interesting to watch especially as teams fill needs through free agency and trades. Your thought process and analysis is very insightful, regardless of what some people may think! (Evidently not everyone realizes this is a MOCK draft!)

First question for you: Do you really feel that the Titans will take Jones instead of Rolle? As I've watched your Mock, I've slowly seen Rolle and Jones swap places and now Jones seems to be ranked higher. Has Rolle taken a hit due to the combine or has Jones improved because of it? Just curious as to why they have flip flopped. (Though players do drop in the draft sometimes, I find it hard to believe that Rolle could drop as far as #15. He might not make it past the Redskins, especially if the Redskins sign Brown from the Browns to fill their DE need.)

Second question for you: The possibility of Dallas playing Ferguson next to Ellis and Glover may very well keep Dallas using a 4-3 defense (with an occasional change to the 3-4). If Dallas does indeed keep their 4-3, does that hurt the chances of Dallas drafting a DE/OLB hybrid player like Merriman or Dan Cody? Would Spears or Erasmus James be more suited to a 4-3 Cowboy defense? (This becomes irrelevant if Dallas does indeed trade for Darren Howard, but like you've found out....putting trades into Mocks is tough to do until the trade actually happens!)

Lou: Pac Man Jones has outperformed Antrel Rolle in off-season workouts and in the minds of many scouts. With the Titans, the fact that they cut Rolle's cousin Samari Rolle I think will have little to do with them drafting him; business is business. But right now Jones is the more popular choice among most scouts, and with his stock rising and Rolle's falling, I see Jones being the guy the Titans go with at #6. Now if a major shocker takes place and Jones is gone in the top five, then Tennessee might take Rolle, since the Titans have such a huge need at corner opposite Andre Woolfork (and zero money to go out and hit the now-picked over free agent market). It wouldn't surprise me if the Titans take a corner in the first and third rounds -- the need is that bad for the team.

With the Redskins, the team has a huge need at DE. If they land Courtney Brown that'll help, but there's a reason why Cleveland released him. Shawn Springs was signed soon after it became clear that Fred Smoot was heading elsewhere (Minnesota), and I think he'll do just fine in there for Washington. Would they like to reunite Rolle with Sean Taylor and pretend it's the University of Miami's 2003 secondary? Sure. But Washington needs to get a solid pass rusher, and unless they think that Courtney Brown just needs a new environment to unleash his potential, I think they're going to go DE. It would take Washington acquiring Darren Howard for me to change that pick at this point.

I'm not sold on the whole Dallas going to a 3-4 defense notion. It's too late in the game for that to happen in 2005. Marcus Spears is actually seen as being a DE more suited for a 3-4 defense, but with the majority of NFL teams playing a 4-3, players who might work better in 3-4 play in the 4-3 and vice-versa (such as Ed Hartwell, who played ILB in Baltimore's 3-4 in 2004 but says he plays better as a MLB in a 4-3).

In the end, barring a trade, I see Dallas going DE at #11 (unless Mike Williams or Braylon Edwards somehow fall to them) and then going WR at #20. From a player value and availability standpoint, it makes the most sense, and it allows Dallas to get the jump on San Diego (which has very similar needs and also has two first rounders) in both cases.

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