Preview of the NFL Draft: Take Two

Mockity mocking mock draft time.

It's Saturday so time for another installment in our look at the upcoming draft. Below are some of the many mock drafts out there. Most of the mocks only predict the first round but I have included the second and third round picks for those drafts which project that far.

Draft Ace (4/6)....Kamerion Wimbley, DE - FSU...Charles Spencer, OG - Pittsburgh...Greg Blue, S - Georgia

Draft King (4/6)....Jonathan Scott, OT - Texas

NFL Draft Countdown (4/5)....Jimmy Williams, CB - Virginia Tech...Davin Joseph, OG - Oklahoma...Derek Hagan, WR - Arizona St.

CNN/SI.com (4/4)....Antonio Cromartie, CB - FSU

FoxSports.com (4/4)....Eric Winston, OT - Miami

Football's Future (4/4)....Eric Winston, OT - Miami...Richard Marshall, CB - Fresno State

Our Lads (4/4)....Winston Justice, OT - USC

Gridiron Central (4/3)....DeMeco Ryans, OLB - Alabama

Huddle Geeks (4/3)....Chad Greenway, OLB - Iowa

Draft Daddy (4/2)....Ernie Sims, OLB - FSU

Draft Notebook (3/31)....Winston Justice, OT - USC

Draft Board Insider (3/31)....Marcus McNeill, OT - Auburn...Maurice Stovall, WR - Notre Dame...Alan Zemaitis, CB - Penn State

KFFL (3/31)....Kamerion Wimbley, DE - FSU

Draft Insiders (3/30)....Manny Lawson, DE - N.C. State

Football Expert (3/30)....Marcus McNeill, OT - Auburn

Consensus Draft (3/30)....Tamba Hali, DE - Penn State

My Thoughts...

Offensive tackle and outside linebacker are the predominant selections, but the cornerbacks selections are the most interesting. Cromartie did not play at all last season because of a torn ACL but has been jumping up draft boards lately. Cromartie is a tremendous athlete but has little starting experience.

Jimmy Williams reminds me a lot of former Buc Dwight Smith, with the exception that Williams is garnering more pre-draft accolades. Williams is widely regarded as the top corner in the draft, but most also think he will end up playing safety. That kind of versatility would make him a good fit for the Tampa Two.

Two guys which will definitely not drop to the Bucs are Justice and Sims. Both players have had excellant workouts and their stocks have been climbing lately.

The Lawson and Wimbley (defensive end) picks are growing on me. Both guys have the speed to play the right end position, and would cost a fraction of what the Bucs are paying Simeon Rice. On the other hand, Hali has been dropping down the draft boards as a result of poor workouts, and it's unlikely the Bucs will draft him.

On 2nd Thought...

Been going over this list the last 24 hours and I can't believe I didn't mention how odd the Jonathan Scott pick is. There appears to be little consensus on Scott's draft position, I've seen some drafts project him being selected in the middle of the first, while others don't have him going off the board until the third round. A few draftniks have rated Scott as a top five offensive tackle, but most others rate Scott as the eight or ninth best tackle. Scott dilemma is fairly emblematic of this year's draft, nobody can agree on how the draft will play out beyond the first pick.

Out of the sixteen drafts I listed above, thirteen different players are named. Only three players are listed more than once, and none are listed thrice. In part this is because of the shell game coaches and GMs play when it comes to draft, but all the quarterback movement this offseason has shaken up the draft like J Lo shakes that ass.

Obligatory J Lo shot