 1.3 – WR Brandon Marshall
He should have been 1.1! The thought that anybody would pass on this guy in the draft, let alone two different GMs passing on him, is bonkers! He is Randy Moss in his prime, and just so happens to go to the team that traded Randy Moss for a king’s ransom. It still blows my mind that Marshall fell to 1.3. At least the GMs that passed on him will remain in the conference with him!
Post-skew: Age 22, 6’5”, 232lbs, 97 SPD, 58 STR, 53 AWR, 90 AGI, 96 ACC, 80 CTH, 89 JMP
 1.8 – TE Leonard Pope
Typically I’m not a fan of taking a TE in the top 10, but if you do, the guy better be a game breaker, and I think that is Pope in a nutshell. He’s 6’8”, 264, with 90 SPD, 87 AGI, 89 ACC. GOD DAMN! The STR isn’t great, he won’t be much as a run blocker, but this isn’t the type of guy you draft this high to run block. He should be a force, as long as the QB can get him the ball. Throughout the draft I would hear GMs talk about how they acquired some defender specifically to guard a player, I think that’s hogwash. But even if you could create these one-on-one matchups with your defense, there is nobody that’s going to match up with Pope’s height, and the speed combination to go with it is ridiculous. I’m very looking forward to seeing him play.
Post-skew: Age 23, 6’8”, 264lbs, 90 SPD, 62 STR, 49 AWR, 87 AGI, 89 ACC, 74 CTH, 94 JMP
 1.9 – CB Johnathan Joseph
While everybody usually obsesses over height, and I admit I do at times as well, sometimes you just gotta look at the ballplayer. Joseph is a stud in every since, with exception to his height. While 5’11” isn’t short, most GMs really prefer 6’0”+, but what difference does an inch make? Joseph is pro-ready at 65 AWR, has nice ball hawk skills with a 66 CTH and is a run defender with 67 STR and 73 TAK. Aside from his height the worst part of his game would be his potential for injury at 73 INJ, 81 TGH. I’m taking a guy like this all day. I preach about impact positions in the top 10 (and the 1st round in general ideally), and CB is definitely one of them.
Post-skew: Age 22, 5’11”, 186lbs, 94 SPD, 67 STR, 65 AWR, 97 AGI, 97 ACC, 66 CTH, 87 JMP, 73 TAK
 1.10 – DT Haloti Ngata
What I like about Ngata isn’t what he is today, but what he will be after rookie & sophomore progression and potentially some Training Camp points. In just 1 season he will be 70 SPD, 91 STR, 77 ACC, in addition to being 6’4”, 340lbs. Ngata has the athleticism of an undersized/weaker DT while being the size of a traditional NT. At the very least he should do a good job of clogging up rushing lanes in the middle. I typically don’t like DTs going top 10, but I do like Ngata, especially in this draft class.
Post-skew: Age 22, 6’4”, 340lbs, 69 SPD, 89 STR, 67 AWR, 72 AGI, 76 ACC, 90 TAK
 1.11 – LE Mario Williams
I’m not trying to like every pick, but early in the 1st you should like pretty much all of them. Mario provides some potential to play inside or outside due to his 6’6”, 300lb frame. I know GM Darryl Breckenheimer was considering it, I don’t know if Mario is going to move to DT, but doing so before the end of this season would give him +2 STR during rookie progression as a DT instead of +1 as a DE. That would bump him to 84 SPD, 89 STR, 66 AGI, 86 ACC. That’s some elite traits, whether he’s at DE or DT, and only 21-years-old which allows him to be eligible for 8 Training Camps!
Post-skew: Age 21, 6’6”, 300lbs, 83 SPD, 87 STR, 54 AWR, 65 AGI, 85 ACC, 74 TAK
 1.13 – WR Greg Jennings
Now this is my kind of guy, SPEED! I was obviously high on him, so there’s no surprise to see him on this list, but there was at least one other GM who had him ranked ahead of Brandon Marshall, which is a bit, psychotic. Anyways, like Joseph, Jennings doesn’t have the height that GMs covet, but he’s got the athleticism to get him open. He’s 5’11”, but last year we saw WR Jacoby Ford put up a 1,476 yard, 16 TD season at 5’9”. Jennings has 97 SPD, 96 AGI, 94 ACC and can work his way up to 99/99/99 through rookie & sophomore progression followed by Training Camps. Like Pope in Oakland, they just need someone to feed him!
Post-skew: Age 23, 5’11”, 197lbs, 97 SPD, 65 STR, 57 AWR, 96 AGI, 94 ACC, 80 CTH, 90 JMP
 1.14 – TE Vernon Davis
Pope is the 2nd TE taken off the board in the first 14 picks, which typically would raise some eyebrows, but damn! He isn’t 6’8” like Leonard Pope, but he is a more complete TE. He has 90 SPD but also 80 STR! While the RBK isn’t great at 42, I think the STR will help in the run game and the Redskins should see improvement in both facets of the game.
Post-skew: Age 22, 6’3”, 248lbs, 90 SPD, 80 STR, 51 AWR, 89 AGI, 92 ACC, 79 CTH
 1.18 – ROLB Chris Gocong
Initially I felt it was a strong LB class, but to my surprise this is only the 3rd LB taken at pick 18. I think this is excellent value as Gocong is 85 SPD, 76 STR, 85 ACC. The AWR is a bit lower at 50, but it’s not terrible. THE TAK is okay at 76, as well. I’m surprised Gocong fell this far, there were a handful of guys taken ahead of him that I didn’t see going in the 1st round at all, let alone the top half of it.
Post-skew: Age 23, 6’2”, 263lbs, 85 SPD, 76 STR, 50 AWR, 83 AGI, 85 ACC, 76 TAK
 1.19 – CB Jimmy Williams
Jimmy Williams is the 5th CB off the board, but I think he should’ve been the 3rd or 4th CB, for me it would be between him and Kelly Jennings after Cromartie and Johnathan Joseph. He’s a tad raw at 51 AWR, but everything else is great. He’s 22-years-old, 6’2”, 93 SPD, 90 AGI, 91 ACC. He has the big size and good athleticism to go with it, I think this is a steal at 19.
Post-skew: Age 22, 6’2”, 216lbs, 93 SPD, 64 STR, 51 AWR, 90 AGI, 91 ACC, 49 CTH, 94 JMP, 60 TAK
1.21 – MLB Gerris Wilkinson
Looking at other mock drafts, I was clearly higher on Wilkinson that most of the league, so it’s no surprise he makes my list here. The athleticism speaks for itself, he’s 6’3”, 86 SPD, 85 STR, 87 ACC. The knock on him would be the 49 AWR, which obviously is low. The 75 TAK isn’t great for a MLB, so both areas need developing. But from a pure athletic standpoint, he’s great value. After rookie progression, my MLB is +7 AWR, +2 TAK from where he was as a rookie, if Wilkinson can get that same type of boost to 56 AWR next year he will be on his way. He is 23-years-old so that window is a bit shorter compared to a lot of these 1st rounders that are primarily age 22. He’s likely never going to have great AWR unless the Packers invest TC points into his AWR, which they may decide to do, I like this pick based on his athleticism and being taken in the 20s.
Post-skew: Age 23, 6’3”, 231lbs, 86 SPD, 85 STR, 49 AWR, 84 AGI, 87 ACC, 75 TAK
 1.26 – CB Kelly Jennings
As mentioned above at pick 19, I felt like Jimmy Williams and Kelly Jennings were the 3rd and 4th CBs in this draft. Getting the 4th CB (on my board) at pick 26 is excellent value. He’s 5’11”, so maybe he slid down because of that, but Johnathan Joseph is also 5’11” and went 1.9, so perhaps it’s just a matter of preference for some. He’s 96 SPD, 97 AGI, 97 ACC and the AWR at 53 isn’t bad. I think this screams value here.
Post-skew: Age 24, 5’11”, 180lbs, 96 SPD, 64 STR, 53 AWR, 97 AGI, 977 ACC, 53 CTH, 54 TAK
1.28 – MLB D’Qwell Jackson
Another slide at the LB position in what I thought was a historically strong class at the position, just couldn’t believe it! The knock on Jackson, I guess, is the 6’0” height. Ideally I like my LBs to be 6’3”-6’4”, but when there’s a player with the skillset you sometimes have to make concessions. The rest looks great, he’s got 85 SPD, 75 STR, 56 AWR, 83 ACC. At damn near the 2nd round I think this is a homerun pick.
Post-skew: Age 23, 6’0”, 242lbs, 85 SPD, 75 STR, 56 AWR, 81 AGI, 833 ACC, 78 TAK
 1.30 – RE Victor Adeyanju
During the mocks I was higher on Adeyanju and Jeremy Mincey than others were, maybe because I hadn’t run private workouts and their skews weren’t great. I still like Adeyanju though, he’s 6’4”, 284lbs, which can mask any deficiencies he may have in his game. He has 84 SPD, 77 STR, which is excellent. The 79 ACC isn’t ideal, but he will be 81 ACC after rookie & sophomore progression and into the mid 80s if the Broncos send him to Training Camps. He can be at John Abraham attributes by age 26. The rich get richer!
Post-skew: Age 23, 6’4”, 284lbs, 84 SPD, 77 STR, 46 AWR, 76 AGI, 79 ACC, 55 TAK
1.31 – HB DeAngelo Williams
It wasn’t a strong HB class, but DeAngelo Williams is the top dog in it. I don’t love the size at 5’9”, 207lbs. I have seen smaller build HBs be productive, but I’ve always felt it was more difficult for them to do so. However, we have seen some 5’8” / 5’9” HBs be productive in this league, like Brian Westbrook, Warrick Dunn and Michael Bennett. I think he could be a good starter, even though the team already has Willis McGahee. At the very least he would be an excellent complementary back on long drives, with his fresh legs and a tired defense I think he will put up some big TD numbers.
Post-skew: Age 23, 6’4”, 284lbs, 84 SPD, 77 STR, 46 AWR, 76 AGI, 79 ACC, 55 TAK
1.32 – ROLB Clint Ingram
I whiffed on this guy! He didn’t make my 1st round mock, and I’m not sure how I overlooked him. He had 90 AGI, 89 ACC pre-skew, so I’m at a loss for this oversight. He skewed SPD +2, STR +1, AGI -4, ACC -2. The ACC was so high pre-skew that losing 2 is no big deal, but gaining that +2 SPD is very big. That puts him at 84 SPD, 87 ACC, at pick 1.32. There are only 16 players in the league with that SPD/ACC combination at OLB, I think this is a homerun by the Chiefs.
Post-skew: Age 23, 6’2”, 240lbs, 84 SPD, 76 STR, 54 AWR, 86 AGI, 87 ACC, 72 TAK
 2.2 – WR Marques Colston
He isn’t my type of WR, but I think the value is very good. Everybody loves height, and Colston has it at 6’5”. The SPD is 89 and ACC 87, so those will need work. Through rookie and sophomore progression he will be 90 SPD, 89 ACC entering his age 25 season and without any Training Camps. With 73 STR, 57 RBK, I think he is a fantastic WR for teams who like to rely on the ground game and has big name appeal. He reminds me of the Hines Ward, Terrell Owens physical WRs. I don’t know if he will start for the Cowboys, but I’m sure he will flip him for a profit if not.
Post-skew: Age 23, 6’5”, 225lbs, 89 SPD, 73 STR, 46 AWR, 89 AGI, 87 ACC, 66 CTH
 2.4 – WR Derek Hagan
Hagan is very good value in a thin WR class. He’s 6’2”, 94 SPD, 92 ACC, I think that is great from an athletic standpoint. He likely fell to round 2 because of the 43 AWR, 69 CTH which I’m sure scared a lot of people off. He could do well if paired with a veteran QB, but the Giants don’t have that. I don’t love the placement with Tony Romo just cracking 70 AWR after 3 seasons, but I think he has potential in the right situation.
Post-skew: Age 22, 6’2”, 210lbs, 94 SPD, 69 STR, 43 AWR, 84 AGI, 92 ACC, 69 CTH
 2.6 – MLB Stephen Tulloch
Tulloch is undersized at 5’11”, so I suppose that’s part of the reason he slipped to round 2. You can usually find a comp of someone who produced at that size/athleticism, and he reminds me of 5’10” London Fletcher who amassed 238 tackles and 37 TFL in 2 seasons at MLB. Tulloch has a solid SPD/STR/ACC combination, it’s nothing sexy, but it’s solid and 80 TAK to go with it. I think this is really good value. I was clearly higher on the LBs than the rest of the league.
Post-skew: Age 21, 5’11”, 245lbs, 82 SPD, 81 STR, 57 AWR, 80 AGI, 85 ACC, 80 TAK
 2.8 – ROLB Tim McGarigle
Oh look, another LB making the list! McGarigle is 6’0” so he’s not the biggest, but 89 SPD, 80 STR, 86 AGI, 81 ACC, hot damn! I thought he was 2.1, and I had actually been trying to find ways to move up to get him, but didn’t have the assets. I’m surprised he lasted all the way to 2.8. His skew isn’t even a surprise, pre-skew he was 89 SPD, 82 STR, 80 AGI, 80 ACC. He was -2 STR, -6 AGI, -1 ACC, I’ll take that all day when the pre-skew was as strong as it was.
Post-skew: Age 23, 6’0”, 240lbs, 89 SPD, 80 STR, 52 AWR, 86 AGI, 81 ACC, 70 TAK
 2.12 – WR Domenik Hixon
Hixon has good size at 6’2” and 93 SPD/90 ACC. I think that’s very solid, especially in this draft class. There are 18 players in the league at 6’2”, 93 SPD, so it’s not a marginalized skillset. He’s kind of a Jerry Porter build, which I think the Steelers would be perfectly content with, they just need a QB that can deliver the ball. Hixon is pretty raw at 43 AWR, 68 CTH, he’s got upside with his size/athleticism, so he needs a vet QB, but I think the talent is there.
Post-skew: Age 22, 6’2”, 197lbs, 93 SPD, 63 STR, 43 AWR, 94 AGI, 90 ACC, 68 CTH
 2.13 – RT Guy Whimper
I thought Whimper was one of the better OL in the draft. It was thin so I didn’t expect there to be too many off the board, but I did expect Whimper to go sooner than this. He’s 6’5”, 315lbs, 63 SPD, 94 STR, 55 AGI, 72 ACC. Nothing stellar about it, but he’s solid, and 54 AWR, 81 PBK, 79 RBK to go with it. He is an immediate starter. I don’t know if I would throw him on the right side right away, but the Packers blew up their OL so they may need to!
Post-skew: Age 23, 6’5”, 315lbs, 63 SPD, 94 STR, 54 AWR, 55 AGI, 72 ACC, 81 PBK, 79 RBK
 2.14 – HB Michael Robinson
He’s not a sexy pick on the surface. I actually really wanted him but ended up trading 3.2 to the Jets for Erik Shelton because I didn’t think Robinson would make it to round 3. He’s a big bodied HB who will be up to 88 SPD, 94 ACC after rookie & sophomore progression with a 6’1”, 240lb frame. I would imagine Robinson is the successor to Marshall Faulk and should provide some steady rushing yardage to a team that is probably preparing for life after Kurt Warner soon.
Post-skew: Age 23, 6’1”, 240lbs, 87 SPD, 72 STR, 56 AWR, 87 AGI, 92 ACC, 72 CAR, 79 BTK
2.17 – MLB Tim Robbins
I’m surprised at the post-skew OVR of 68 for Dobbins. He’s 6’1”, 234lbs, 86 SPD, 72 STR, 80 ACC. The AWR is 62 and TAK is 74, so perhaps that’s the big OVR hit, but I bet the NOVR is much higher than that. In the middle of round 2 to find a LB with 85+ SPD and decent AWR/TAK I think you’ve got to be very happy.
Post-skew: Age 23, 6’1”, 234lbs, 86 SPD, 72 STR, 62 AWR, 84 AGI, 80 ACC, 74 TAK
2.19 – TE Anthony Fasano
There were 2 guys at the top of round 2 that I thought were the obvious choices, Tim McGarigle taken by Baltimore and Fasano. Pre-skew Fasano was 6’4”, 86 SPD, 84 STR, 90 ACC, so falling this far suggests a skew down, but he ended up 85 SPD, 82 STR, 85 ACC. The -5 ACC was not that big of a skew to bump him to 2.19! I think this is crazy value. I know the Cowboys just traded for the oft-injured Courtney Anderson, but I fully expect Fasano to take the reigns on the starting job here. Excellent value.
Post-skew: Age 22, 6’4”, 258lbs, 85 SPD, 82 STR, 46 AWR, 80 AGI, 85 ACC, 62 TAK
2.22 – QB Brodie Croyle
I think the Saints just snagged a starting-level QB in the second half of round 2! Croyle is 61 AWR, 85 THP, 89 THA. The THP needs a lot of work, but with Training Camps every year he could be 92 THP at the age 29 season. I’m sure he will perform just fine with 85 THP, but to handle regression the higher THP will be necessary. With Roethlisberger at age 27, 85 THP and 56 INJ, I don’t think they can rely on or build around him. Regardless of what they do I think Croyle is excellent value. Jay Cutler was selected at 1.7 and has 56 AWR, 97 THP, 87 THA. The difference between Cutler at 1.7 and Croyle at 2.22 is +5 AWR, -12 THP, +2 THA. I will take that!
Post-skew: Age 23, 6’2”, 61 AWR, 85 THP, 89 THA
2.32 – QB Matt Leinart
With the final pick in round 2 the Packers snack Leinart and he’s very comparable to Croyle. He’s 58 AWR, 92 THP, 85 THA, -3 AWR, +7 THP, -4 THA. The AWR would be the biggest issue for me, the THP will help him max out to 99 and survive regression, and I think THA is a bit overrated. The value is excellent, but the job is Dave Ragone’s to lose, especially after he was just restructured this off-season and untradable for 2 years. Being a left handed QB is no cause for concern, there have been lefties who have produced, I’d love to see him get a shot and prove it!
Post-skew: Age 23, 6’5”, 58 AWR, 92 THP, 85 THA
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