Lou Pickney's 2024 NFL Mock Draft

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And the Vikes trade with the Bucs makes sure they get a WR ....I think NOT. what happens if 49ers takes a WR Bears take a WR ... ok I see we don't get a WR then at 5. Get the 3rd or 2nd to get a WR.

Lou: Look back at last year's draft and what it took for the Giants to move from #4 to #1 in the draft. I know with a Minnesota/Miami trade you'd be looking at the #2 pick, not the #1, but I can promise you that it would take far more than Michael Bennett and a second rounder to get Miami's first rounder, the #2 overall pick. Maybe if it was Bennett, the #7 pick AND the Vikings' 2005 second rounder. And that's a maybe. High picks command a premium price.

A deal with the Browns seems like much more of a possibility, if only because the Browns very much need to trade down (more on them in the next e-mail response). As for a trade with the Bucs, that would be done mid-draft to ensure that the player Minnesota likes is on the board. Perhaps the Vikings like Braylon Edwards but not Mike Williams, or vice-versa. Remember, teams can have VASTLY different evaluations of players, and while mock drafts can have a general consensus as far as talent goes, players will come off the board in a different order. This happens every year. Last year it happened with Lee Evans going at #13 to Buffalo, with guys like Michael Clayton, Michael Jenkins and Rashaun Woods all on the board (all of whom I saw in various places ranked ahead of Evans at one point or another). The point is that it's hard to say who Minnesota likes and who they don't as of now -- that information is kept closely guarded, as it is with every team.

From: James C. McKenzie
Sent: Wednesday, March 23, 2005 10:35 AM
To: LouPickney@hotmail.com
Subject: Ohh no....

I visit your site all the time because you seem to know what you're talking about more than most other draft sites. But let me tell ya, the Browns are definetly not taking a quarterback in the first round.

The next Browns QB will either be Charlie Frye or Kyle Orton. That's what folks in northeast Ohio are talking saying...

Lou: You know, I tend to agree with you. Now it might seem strange to see that considering that as of this writing, I have Cleveland slated to take QB Aaron Rodgers at #3. But I don't see Cleveland keeping that pick, and the only way they would I think would be to draft a QB or a WR. But if the team takes a WR in the first round, then snags Frye or Orton in the second, its needs at DE, OL and CB would all go unfulfilled until the third round. And that's not good.

It is possible that Cleveland might go WR (as addressed in the 3/21/2005 mailbag), but what I think is most likely to happen is Cleveland will trade down with someone, possibly Minnesota. With a first and a second rounder out of the deal, Cleveland could take OT Alex Barron at #7 (or maybe someone like DE Erasmus James), go QB with their high second round pick, and then have a number of options with Minnesota's second rounder. While bringing a talent like Mike Williams or Braylon Edwards into the fold would be nice for Browns fans, there will be good receivers available in later rounds. If someone like Fred Gibson slips to the top of round three, he could be a great pickup at that spot.

After writing this and thinking things out even more and looking over the Browns' roster (and I gave this a great deal of thought yesterday), I think WR will trump QB for Cleveland if they end up keeping the #3 pick. Time to redo the mock draft again...

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