Lou Pickney's 2024 NFL Mock Draft

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Congratulations to Tim Tebow on winning the Heisman Trophy. He put up some outstanding numbers this year, and it's going to be very interesting to see how he progresses next year.

One question I've faced from casual fans is: "Can Tebow compete like this in the NFL?" Sure he can; he's 6'3" 235 and can run a 4.55 40. That's 10 pounds heavier than the "Big Three" quarterbacks in this draft (Matt Ryan, Andre Woodson, and Brian Brohm) and roughly two tenths of a second faster than all of them. I imagine the QB draws will be less frequent on the pro level, but unlike some other Heisman-winning quarterbacks of the past, Tebow has the size to be competitive on a professional level.

Lou Pickney's 2024 NFL Mock Draft

Tomorrow I'll be attending the Titans/Chargers game. I'm interested in seeing if any glaring needs jump out from a San Diego team that, on the surface, doesn't appear to have any particularly huge personnel gaps. LB seems like the most logical spot for the team, but with no second, third, or fourth round 2008 picks, trading down would make a great deal of sense. That will likely depend on how the team evaluates the LB options out there, and perhaps adding further depth at safety to go with last year's high second round pick, Eric Weddle.

It will be most interesting to see how many of the top-tier corners perform in the upcoming bowl games. Kick return ability has moved Indiana's Tracy Porter and Troy's Leodis McKelvin up the ladder on Mel Kiper's big board, though I suspect that they'll end up falling behind the likes of juniors like Ohio State CB Malcolm Jenkins and Kansas CB Aqib Talib should they leave school early for the 2008 NFL Draft.

Then there are small-school types like Tennessee State CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who is not in the bowl mix but who might be able to make some good impressions in private workouts and at the combine. And if there's one position where NFL teams will take a chance as far as a small school player goes, it's cornerback.

The bottom line is that there is a strong mix of talent that will be vying for the top CB spots in the draft, and it should be intriguing to see how it all plays out.

One update: due to a toe injury, Oklahoma junior CB Reggie Smith won't be playing in the Fiesta Bowl against West Virginia. That is terribly disappointing to me, as I was looking forward to seeing how he'd match up with the speedy, wide-open WVU attack.

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