Lou Pickney's 2024 NFL Mock Draft

National Football League
Draft King Mailbag

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

(Continued from Part 1)

From: dcanne8840@aol.com
To: LouPickney@gmail.com
Date: Jan 4, 2007 11:16 AM
Subject: Just looking over your 07 Draft order.

I am a Raiders fan and was just at the Raiders game Vs the Jets, they looked good on Defense and I wouldnt upgrade there with the 1st pick. They ranked third I believe overall this year and have some young players still developing. After seeing last nights Sugar Bowl I hope they dont take Quinn as everyone is stating. Id take the larger, better armed more mobile Russell over him if it were a toss........granted Wuinn worked under Weiss, but he also made some bad passes and mistakes, he was lucky to have such a good RB and gifted tall receiver to bring some of those passes in. I say they should fall back a few picks, then see, Id take Calvin Johnson over either iffy QB or look to the free agent market, for a QB like Schaub or equivelent. Trade one of the two receivers in Moss/Porter. Short for time, Go Raiders.

Lou: I disagree strongly about Russell being more mobile than Quinn, but both are excellent NFL prospects. The question seems to be: will Oakland even consider taking a QB #1 overall? Last year the Raiders passed on Matt Leinart to take Michael Huff; if a sure-fire prospect like Leinart was worth passing on then, why would any of the prospects from this time around be any different?

Calvin Johnson is a great athlete and a true prototype NFL WR, and Oakland would be well-served to add him to the roster, should the team decide to go in that direction. But, as always, it takes two (or more) to trade, and the Raiders would have to find a team that is willing to give up the considerable cost of trading up to #1 (and the mega-salary that goes with it), which may be tough. Would Detroit break the bank to move up one spot? Does Houston want yet another expensive #1 overall pick on its roster? Tampa Bay has two 2nd rounders and might be willing to deal, but does the team really want to go through another torturous negotiation session with Al Davis, as they did when obtaining Jon Gruden? And would Arizona, which has relatively fewer needs to fill, pay through the nose to get one particular player at #1? The Cards don't need a QB, already have Edgerrin James under a big contract, and have WRs galore, and I'm not sure that Arizona would make such a drastic move to get Joe Thomas or Gaines Adams.

As for Jerry Porter, I would be beyond shocked if he was in Oakland next season, which is another reason to think that Calvin Johnson may be considered. We'll see. I'm starting to warm toward the idea of Oakland taking Calvin Johnson at #1. My next draft order update (after the BCS Title game) will require additional thought and consideration about what Oakland is most likely to do.

From: Mike Torbert
To: LouPickney@gmail.com
Date: Jan 4, 2007 2:23 PM
Subject: Justin Blalock to Dallas

What other teams might pick Justin Blalock prior to Dallas? If he is not there at #23 do we go QB?

We need a backup QB next year since Bledsoe will most likely leave.

If one of the top QB prospects are on the board at #23 do you think Dallas picks one up with Romo still the starter in 07?

Lou: It's hardly set in stone that Dallas will take Blalock -- the Cowboys offensive line had the same five guys start all 16 games this season. Now that's continuity! Depth is, nevertheless, an important thing to have on the o-line, particularly with aging veterans being part of the equation. But Dallas could just as easily go WR or FS or defensive line and not surprise me.

As for Blalock and teams that would take him before the #23 spot, he could go as high as #11 to San Francisco (unlikely, but not impossible.) Other potentials include Buffalo (#12), St. Louis (#13), Carolina (#14 -- as a guard), Green Bay (#16), Jacksonville (#17), Tennessee (#19), and the NY Giants (#20.) That's not to say that other teams not listed won't potentially take him, since with his versatility he could fill needs for many teams, but realistically I think he'll be there at #23. But, like Donte Whitner last year, sometimes a player will end up going much earlier than expected. All it takes is one GM really liking a guy for him to be snapped off the board quickly.

From: Timothy Gillespie
To: LouPickney@gmail.com
Date: Jan 4, 2007 3:21 PM
Subject: R U NUtz??

I don't want to come off as a hater because I love your website but I think you might be way off on this one. Do you really think that Brian Brohm and Jamarcus Russell are really going to drop all the way down to the 14th pick? Your out of your mind if you think that the Clevland Browns,TB Buccs,Washington Redskins, and last but definitely not least, the Minnesota Vikings are going to pass on a QB. The Vikings starting QB is a 40 yr old bag of bones. The Redskins similiar situation with Brunell, and a rookie QB that I don't think Gibbs is going to put all his eggs in his basket. The Buccs, Simms lost his spleen and the Browns, well they do have Frye and a probably a new coach coming so we'll see about them. Conclusion, Brohm goes in Top 10 possibly along with Jamarcus Russell.

One other thing, the Giants are going to take Jeff Samardzija, WR, Notre Dame. I spoke to a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy and that guy told him that somebody told him its a done deal if Jeff is on the board. The G-Men need a guy with sure hands like Samarardzija now that Toomer is probably going to be phased out. He's an old bag of bones with now an injury. Since Toomer got injured the GMen are I believe 2-7 (or something like that). Bottom line, Eli not having another go to receiver is really hurting him.

Lou: All I can think of when I see the phrase "done deal" is that great "Done deal, pal!" soundbyte from the Howard Stern show.

Maybe I am out of my mind. But Washington has a first round pick in Jason Campbell who has been groomed as the team's QB of the future; consider also that the Redskins only have one day one pick, their high first rounder. Minnesota has a QB in Tavarius Jackson, a second round selection in the 2006 Draft who is set to take over the starting job this year (I personally think of Brad Johnson as the guy from the ridiculous Fantastic Sam's commercials that used to run in Tampa, not as a bag of bones, but that's just me.) The Bucs signed Chris Simms to a 2-year contract extension just last month, and they are currently developing Bruce Gradkowski within their system. Cleveland has Charlie Frye coming into his third year with the team, though it is within the realm of possibility that the Browns would take a first round QB, though it does seem unlikely.

It is entirely possible, if not probable, that a team would pull a megatrade off to land a top 10 pick and then use it to get one of the elite QBs. It's also possible that both Oakland and Detroit will take a quarterback, which could change things further. So we'll see.

As for Jeff Samardzija going to the Giants, it is a possibility. However, at this point I project Samardzija going one pick before the Giants, to the Titans at #19. But also remember that an exclusive baseball career is not out of the question.

The Baton Rouge Advocate reports that Samardzija is torn on the decision:

"The truth is I'm pretty much nowhere," Samardzija said. "It's a tough decision. I don't know what I'm going to do. I'll just go along and take care of my business day to day and week to week and hopefully something will present itself."

With that non-answer, perhaps Samardzija will consider politics if football and baseball don't work out.

From: bostonfan324@aol.com
To: LouPickney@gmail.com
Date: Jan 4, 2007 3:59 PM
Subject: Mock Draft

Hows it going? I read your mock draft.i like your picks most of the time.i see a a couple issues with it.why isnt Ted Ginn in the top 32.i think he will be like santonio holmes.after the game versus lsu brady quinn will now not be the top pick.in the mock draft you have him second..i agree.where do you think Troy Smith will land?i see Cleveland taking him in Rd 2.first they will take Joe Thomas or Quinn Pitcock.They need help on both lines.thank you for taking the time to read this sir.As you can probably tell that i like Cleveland and i would love to see Troy Smith in Cleveland.Yeah he has mechanics issues and his height.Vince Young had mechanics problems but look at him now.Drew Brees is only 6'1 and he was an MVP candidate.Who do you see as the sleeper pick this year?Who will be the biggest bust in the first round?Thank you for reading this e-mail.I would appreciate an e-mail back.thank you once again sir.

Lou: I addressed the Ted Ginn, Jr. situation in this mailbag, but to reiterate, I think with his small frame he will fall in the draft. The NFL is a very physical league, and even with great speed, lacking at least moderate size will cause several teams to think twice. He could be a great addition for the Raiders in the top of round two if Oakland doesn't take Calvin Johnson #1 overall. I perceive him as a player who's on the border of the first round, at least for now. He could always return to Ohio State, though with Troy Smith graduating, I'd be surprised if Ginn decided to come back.

Smith also looks like a borderline first round pick, though if for some reason Brian Brohm and JaMarcus Russell both returned to their respective schools in 2007, his stock would obviously go up because of supply and demand. But, much like Russell, Smith is a winner, and that trait cannot be overlooked. His height is going to make some teams pass on him, though as a "faster version of Drew Brees" the success of the Saints this year could end up changing some GM's minds about the ability for a below-average height QB succeeding in the modern NFL.

From: schuler.ab@pg.com
To: LouPickney@gmail.com
Date: Jan 4, 2007 5:37 PM
Subject: Impact of LSU rout of ND

Lou, Curious about your thoughts on the draft status of several players after the LSU romp over Notre Dame. Would appear to me that the LSU QB Russell really jumped up with his performance with the ND QB Quinn along with WR Samardzija did not help themselves at all. Obviously ND has been overrated all year. Do you think they have dropped on draft boards based on the game or not?

Lou: Jeff Samardzija did have a TD in the Sugar Bowl, so it's not as if he was entirely invisible.

I don't know if the loss will hurt the Notre Dame players as much as it helped JaMarcus Russell. He went from being seen as a good prospect to an elite prospect with that win. People who have followed the SEC know about him, but from a national impact standpoint, that was tremendous. Russell is a proven winner, with several come-from-behind wins on his resume to go with the runaway win over Notre Dame potentially serving as a career-capper. LaRon Landry looked really good, too.

As for Brady Quinn, he has proven that he can deal with being hit hard (in his first year starting at Notre Dame he was pounded.) LSU worked hard to deny the middle-to-long passes, which allowed Darius Walker to run for 127 yards. The Tigers also brought the heat, forcing Quinn to make some passes earlier than he would have liked. That is not to exonerate Quinn from any blame for the Irish losing, but I don't know that one game impacted his draft status significantly. Quinn only had two multiple INT games this year (Michigan and LSU) and his accuracy cannot be overstated. He had only 7 interceptions in both 2005 and 2006.

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