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Lou Pickney's 2024 NFL Mock Draft


National Football League
Draft King Analysis

January 27, 2008
Lou Pickney, DraftKing.com

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The Senior Bowl took place on Saturday in Mobile, and the week proved to be very beneficial for some players.

Tennessee State CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who I've had listed as high as #15 in my mock drafts on here, finished off a strong week with a good performance on defense. DRC did fumble an early kickoff (though he recovered), but overall he had a great week. His tackle on 6'4" Adarius Bowman answered any questions about him being able to put a hit on a big receiver.

Sedrick Ellis, an elite DT from USC, moved himself right next to Glenn Dorsey in the defensive tackle battle. He and Notre Dame DT Trevor Laws made a great duo on the inside. Laws will face further evaluation, particularly in situations where he doesn't have the luxury of Ellis being right next to him, but he looked great.

Perhaps the most impressive receiver was Cal's Lavelle Hawkins, who looked great both receiving and kick returning. He spent most of his career overshadowed by teammate DeSean Jackson, but Hawkins stood out in the Senior Bowl. For a team needing a wide receiver but needing to fill another spot in round one, Hawkins could be a very interesting consideration in round two.

For me, the most amusing part of the game was hearing Trent Dilfer and Mike Mayock argue over John David Booty (or, as he's been seemingly renamed, J.D. Booty.) Their disagreement over his ability illustrated the differences that two people within the NFL world can have over a given player. It's the sort of thing that makes having the ability to effective evaluate the second-tier level a very valuable trait to have.

[an error occurred while processing this directive] Despite perhaps having an overly angry streak, Texas A&M Red Bryant looked great in the game and was intense in practice all week. As long as he can perform on the field without fighting teammates, he could turn into an intense 3-4 DT, a position that is becoming more in demand with the spreading of the 3-4 defense in many corners of the NFL.

As far as negatives go, Andre Woodson didn't look particularly good either in practice or in the game (inaccurate, fumble), but they had him running a different system than you normally see him in. He still looks like a first round prospect to me, but there are cracks forming in the foundation for him and he has potential to potentially free-fall well into the 20s in the draft.

One player who looked tough was Boston College CB DeJuan Tribble. His 5'8" height keeps him from being in the top tier (something I took into account during the season), but he also showed that he can lay a hit. When you're undersized as a corner, you need to be able to deliver a hard hit, and Tribble can do that. He'd be a dream addition for a team needing a Cover 2 CB, like perhaps Tampa Bay in round two.


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