(April 3, 2007) -- After spending a few days with the general managers, coaches and an owner or two at the NFL owners meetings in Phoenix last week and some time on the phone this week, I once again have a slightly different perspective about where the draft is headed. There are still a few critical decisions in free agency and trades that will affect the first round of this draft. Where are Corey Dillon and David Carr headed? Will Lance Briggs and Michael Turner get traded? Mock Draft No. 6 is, as one GM said to me this week, getting closer to what might happen on draft day. Of course, April 1 is April Fool's Day, and club executives around the league start playing April Fool's jokes all month long about what they might do in the draft. Note: Changes from the fifth mock draft are marked with an asterisk. There are two hypothetical trades in this mock draft. 1. Oakland: Calvin Johnson, WR, Georgia Tech -- The Raiders have lots of needs, but as long as quarterback is one of them, they have to respond by selecting the guy with the great deep ball, JaMarcus Russell -- unless the Lions let Josh McCown go for reasonable compensation. The Lions aren't going to give McCown away but a quarterback who has one year left on his deal and didn't play a down last year can't be worth more than a fourth- or fifth-round pick. I'm sure the Raiders would have loved to have McCown in town for their minicamp last week, but no luck. If it gets resolved, then Johnson it will be. Let's go with Johnson, the top-rated player on most draft boards! 2. Cleveland (after trade with Detroit): JaMarcus Russell, QB, LSU -- The Lions here could take Russell, Gaines Adams or move down, but it would not surprise me if it is a swap with Cleveland and the Browns take Russell. 3. Detroit (after trade with Cleveland): Gaines Adams, DE, Clemson -- Now that they've traded down, the Lions could go in a lot of directions. I think they'll sit right here and take a quarterback later in the draft. There's a growing sentiment that Brady Quinn is marching back up the draft boards. 4. Arizona (after trade with Tampa Bay): Joe Thomas, OT, Wisconsin -- There's no reason for the Bucs to move up if Calvin Johnson is gone at the top spot, so now they let the draft come to them. Joe Thomas would be a solid pick for the Bucs even though they have Luke Petitgout, but they will seriously talk about Brady Quinn even though they have Jeff Garcia, Chris Simms, Bruce Gradkowski and maybe Jake Plummer. I say they will move down one spot and let the Cardinals take Thomas. NFL Network video 5. Tampa Bay (after trade with Arizona): Jamaal Anderson, DE, Arkansas -- Brady Quinn is on the board, but I say the Bucs are thinking Anderson. The big defensive end is the eventual replacement for Simeon Rice and the Tampa Bay defense needs an injection of youth. The Bucs would move down again if someone believes Adrian Peterson is the running back Jon Gruden claims is "one of the best ever." 6. **Washington: Amobi Okoye, DT, Louisville -- There are a lot of rumors that the Redskins will trade out of this spot if they can get their hands on Chicago linebacker Lance Briggs. If they stay in the No. 6 spot, they could take Branch or LaRon Landry. If Chicago winds up in this spot, it could be for Brady Quinn. For now, Washington will stay put and take Okoye. One former GM said Branch's stock has dropped slightly because of inconsistent effort. Washington should try and move down a few spots if this is true. 7. Minnesota: Brady Quinn, QB, Notre Dame -- The decision to stay put and not move up pays off for Brad Childress and his staff. Childress gets a solid quarterback who should be a 10-year starter. If Quinn is gone, then the Vikings will turn to a wide receiver. I would entertain all calls from teams looking to jump over the Falcons for LaRon Landry. 8. Atlanta: LaRon Landry, S, LSU -- After trading Matt Schaub, the Falcons now are two spots higher at No. 8 and will take Landry if he's here. He is the best safety in the draft and should be a Week 1 starter. If not, it will be Amobi Okoye. Bobby Petrino is the new head coach and he coached the 19-year-old in college. If Landry and Okoye are not available, then Levi Brown would be a good fit. Daunte Culpepper and the Dolphins would breath easier with Levi Brown protecting his blind side. Daunte Culpepper and the Dolphins would breath easier with Levi Brown protecting his blind side. 9. Miami: Levi Brown, OT, Penn State -- The Dolphins have not had a real solid left tackle since Richmond Webb. Brown will line up Week 1 in September and won't come off the field for 10 years. 10. Houston: Adrian Peterson, RB, Oklahoma -- Houston moved down two spots in the Schaub trade and probably lost the chance to take Levi Brown, so the Texans call Peterson's name. Even though they signed Ahman Green, Peterson is the highest-rated player on their board at this point. Tampa Bay would sure like a call from Houston to move up. Michael Turner, the Chargers running back who is a restricted free agent, could affect this pick. 11. San Francisco: Adam Carriker, DE, Nebraska -- Carriker is a great fit for coach Mike Nolan and his desire to build a solid 3-4 defense with high-character players. He plugs in as a rookie and holds his spot for eight to 10 years. 12. Buffalo: Patrick Willis, LB, Mississippi -- Willis is the best middle linebacker in the draft, and the Bills lost London Fletcher in free agency and traded Takeo Spikes to the Eagles. Willis recently ran under 4.4 in the 40-yard dash at his Pro Day and is a tackling machine. Willis can play the Will position and Angelo Crowell can play the Mike. Don't be surprised if Buffalo tries to move down a few spots and save some money with its pick. For example, Carolina could jump up two spots and take Willis while Buffalo drops down for Penn State's Paul Posluszny.
13. **St. Louis: Alan Branch, NT, Michigan -- There has been a lot of debate lately about what the Rams will do here. Last week, I thought Okoye would be available here. However, a big, penetrating tackle is a great value. The Rams never should have let Ryan Pickett go; here's a chance to recover. 14. Carolina: Greg Olsen, TE, Miami (Fla.) -- If the Panthers wanted Willis, they would have moved up, but the Carolina decision makers seem very impressed with Olsen. The Panthers need a linebacker but this crop does not impress them enough. Olsen would help solve Carolina's third-down problems and also help Steve Smith and Keyshawn Johnson. 15. Pittsburgh: Darrelle Revis, CB, Pittsburgh -- The Steelers could easily take an outside linebacker here, but the corner might have a higher grade. Mike Tomlin plays Cover 2; corners in zone are not as big a priority as they are for man-coverage teams. But Revis ran a 4.39 and is a solid player. By the way, the Steelers are staying in the 3-4 regardless of the rumors. Lawrence Timmons should get consideration here, but Revis already has worked out in the Steelers' building. 16. Green Bay: Dwayne Bowe, WR, LSU -- There is downward pressure on the running backs in this draft. (RB Marshawn Lynch is dropping because of things out of his control.) Bowe would give Favre another big target. The Pack will take a running back in the next round. There will be consideration for a safety like Reggie Nelson. 17. Jacksonville: Reggie Nelson, S, Florida -- Deon Grant is gone, so a starting safety is needed. There will be discussions about other safeties like Michael Griffin, but Nelson's personal workout should make him the choice. The Jaguars could embrace the idea of taking Lawrence Timmons at this spot. 18. Cincinnati: Chris Houston, CB, Arkansas -- The Bengals want a corner or a safety. Houston is a solid pick, but I wonder what kind of offense the team would have if Greg Olsen were selected here. 19. Tennessee: Dwayne Jarrett, WR, USC -- Drew Bennett is gone and offensive coordinator Norm Chow needs a few of his "own guys." Jarrett scores touchdowns and is a very big target in the red zone. Some people have Jarrett out of the first round, but here's a guy who scored a touchdown once every five receptions. 20. N.Y. Giants: Lawrence Timmons, OLB, Florida State -- The free-agent market for linebackers became lean when Cato June signed with the Bucs. The Giants completed a transaction to acquire Kavika Mitchell, the Kansas City free-agent linebacker. But his deal is only for one year, so linebacker is still a priority. If Jarrett is still available, the Giants will think about it, because Amani Toomer is coming off an injury and makes a lot of money. Plaxico Burress can't be a long-term answer when he rarely shows up in the offseason. Jarrett grew up minutes away from Giants Stadium. 21. Denver: Jarvis Moss, DE, Florida -- The Broncos lost out in their pursuit of Patrick Kerney, so Moss makes some sense at this spot. 22. Dallas: Michael Griffin, S, Texas -- The Cowboys will look at the best corners, safeties and wide receivers at this spot. With three or four solid wide receivers and at least two defensive backs left with first-round grades, Jerry Jones will get a good player. A wide receiver like Bowe, Ginn or Jarrett would work if they happened to be on the board. 23. Kansas City: Ted Ginn Jr., WR, Ohio State -- The Chiefs really want a great defensive tackle at this spot but the draft board says wait -- because the best are gone. If Ginn does fall to the Chiefs, it will be a big day for the Chiefs offense. He will push the field and create underneath lanes for tight end Tony Gonzalez. He also has eight touchdowns on kick returns, and Dante Hall isn't the player he once was. Aaron Ross also had big moments as a return man for the Texas Longhorns. Aaron Ross also had big moments as a return man for the Texas Longhorns. 24. New England: Leon Hall, CB, Michigan -- The Patriots worked out Hall recently and now he's dropping into their lap. He's too hard to pass up at this point. (Here comes the run on corners.) 25. N.Y. Jets: Aaron Ross, CB, Texas -- The Jets need help in the secondary and on the defensive line, and now that Olsen is gone, they discuss the remaining corners and take Ross. 26. Philadelphia: Marcus McCauley, CB, Fresno State -- The Eagles set up their trade with the Bills by signing free agent Monte Reagor so they could trade Darwin Walker, so now they will turn to a cornerback or safety. They will discuss Jon Beason, Anthony Spencer and Brandon Meriweather before taking one of the biggest corners in the draft and one who can match up with the big NFC East receivers. Some feel Marcus is a second-round pick, but cornerbacks have a way of moving up on draft day. 27. New Orleans: Joe Staley, OT, Central Michigan -- The versatile lineman is moving up the board. With Greg Olsen gone and no defensive tackles available, the Saints will take the tackle. I think the Saints might have to move up to get a quality corner, and it's a good idea. Dallas loves to make trades on draft day, and the No. 22 spot would insure a corner could be had. 28. New England: Ryan Kalil, C, USC -- With two first-round picks and a very aggressive offseason in the free-agency market, the Patriots can afford to take the highest-rated center and not worry about the position for a very long time. 29. Baltimore: Anthony Spencer, LB/DE, Purdue -- The Ravens lost Adalius Thomas and are prepared to play with the guys they have on the roster, but Spencer might fall to them and he is a perfect fit as a pressure player. 30. San Diego: Robert Meachem, WR, Tennessee -- The Chargers need an injection of young receivers and Meachem looked fast and smooth at the Combine. If he falls to San Diego, this would be a steal for the team. If he doesn't and Dwayne Bowe is available, he's another great choice. 31. Chicago: Jon Beason, OLB, Miami (Fla.) -- Lance Briggs could be traded to Washington. Even if he's not, it doesn't look like Chicago ever intends to do a long-term deal with him. A wide receiver is a possibility, but Beason would solve a more immediate problem. 32. Indianapolis: Tank Tyler, DT, N.C. State -- A bit of a reach here, but DT is a need area. It would not surprise me to see Bill Polian look at a cornerback, safety or outside linebacker here. A DT like Tyler or a corner like Daymeion Hughes? I think the best DT on the board wins out if Willis, Timmons and Beason are gone. Any of those three could replace Cato June.
Avoid UT dbs I think we should avoid the dbs from UT. All good athletes but had coverage problems in college.
Pat Kirwan is an utter clown. I wouldn't put much stock in what he says. PFT just shredded one of his mocks: nd folks around the NFL have long presumed that Carroll's first call would be to Pat Kirwan of NFL.com and Sirius NFL Radio. Kirwan is a former Jets executive, and he and Carroll are close friends. For example, Kirwan was with Carroll in Costa Rica earlier this year, when Carroll met with Fins owner Wayne Huizenga to address the coaching vacancy in Miami. But Carroll might want to think twice about making Kirwan his personnel guy if/when Carroll returns to the pro game. Recently, we've been pointing out some flaws in Kirwan's mock drafts, which have been posted on NFL.com. We did so only after multiple readers pointed out these errors to us, since we frankly find the whole mock draft process to be akin to the lame-ass commercials that they play at the theater before they start rolling the trailers for the coming attractions. But, of course, we do our own mock draft because plenty of NFL fans are happy to chew on a steak-flavored wad of paper until the real thing shows up on April 28. Anyway, our posts regarding Kirwan's mock draft has prompted other readers -- including a few NFL sources -- to scrutinize Kirwan's mock drafts a bit more carefully. One of the biggest complaints relates to Kirwan's projected pick by the Pats at No. 28, center Ryan Kalil from Carroll's current school, USC: "With two first-round picks and a very aggressive offseason in the free-agency market," Kirwan writes, "the Patriots can afford to take the highest-rated center and not worry about the position for a very long time." The only problem? The Pats already aren't worried about the position. They locked up starter Dan Koppen in October 2006 with a five-year contract extension. The Boston College product is currently under contract through 2011. Said one league source in response: "This is exactly why Kirwan doesn't work for a team. This is his job. This is all he has to do. Write about football and talk about it on the radio." Ouch. Memo to Pete Carroll: Caveat emptor. -X-
If we go CB in Round 1, it has to be either Chris Houston, Darrelle Revis or Leon Hall, none of which will likely be there. If not CB, then we should look at Justin Blalock. Please, there is no reason to take Greg Olsen at #25 or anywhere for that matter.
Knowing Tannenbaum he could bluff on taking Olsen and have the Saints trade up with us so that we can get another pick in day one. Small draft day dream of mine.
