Coming soon: Third annual MVN Writers' Mock Draft

Thoughts from the Dark Side

April 10, 2008

Coming soon: Third annual MVN Writers' Mock Draft

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LDizzle's take on draft "experts" was just in time. Its MVN's turn to compile a mock draft. This will third annual edition of the MVN writers' mock draft. Thus far, Thoughts from the Dark Side is 0-2 in predicting the Raiders choices. In 2006, I selected AJ Hawk and last year Calvin Johnson. Hopefully, this year with Rob on board we'll be able to get one right.

You can follow all the action as the teams pick over at the MVN draft site.

Feel free to leave your opinions on who you think we should grab. (I think I can guess OakFoSho's choice.)

Tags: NFL, Oakland Raiders, Raiders

Discussion

18 Comments on "Coming soon: Third annual MVN Writers' Mock Draft"

Posted by Corsair214, April 10, 2008 8:12 PM

1. Miami - Chris Long

2. St. Louis - Glenn Dorsey

3. Atlanta - Darren McFadden

4. Oakland - Jake Long

5. Kansas City - Vernon Gholston

Posted by OakFoSho, April 10, 2008 8:39 PM

Patrick,

TRUE!!!

Al's Mandate is, well you know!!

OakFoSho

Posted by Patrick Patterson, April 11, 2008 3:58 AM

Rob and I have been in consultation with one another creating our draft board for when its our turn to pick.

Posted by Joshua Mosley, April 11, 2008 4:50 AM

Well with Kiffins offense, he tried alot of screen plays, Alot of stretch plays, misdirections, I would Say MCFADDEN. 1000 yards running, 500 recieving, think of all the return yardage also, its gotta be McFadden. The more touchdowns this offense scores, the less running plays our defense will see. a win win situation for all involved in the oakland raiders,

Posted by Raider Blues, April 11, 2008 5:49 AM

Good Day Nation,

What's the latest on trade down talk? I know I know we're the Raiders and all but... Coach Kif saw first hand what his offense looked like against opponents who won't change significantly. He should know what to add. The transactions have been logical. You can say we spent too much money and we did but so did anyone dealing with free agency. Last year's draft was fine with me. Rid of that....... Moss. Added the franchise QB we've never had (attempted with a QB in the 90's) but don't bring that up. The TE out of Zona St. is a star in the making. Bush should be good. We appear to be saying we're going to score and you are going to have to pass to compete with us so... What is it going to be Coach Kif???

Just Win Baby!

Posted by Tony from the North, April 11, 2008 7:22 AM

Greetings Nation from Canada,

Difficult for me to turn my back on the def. needs, however, DMac will make Russell's tradition a whole lot easier. In addition, Kiffin wanted Quinn to run his offence last year. Well, with Dmac in the backfield and Miller at TE, he can run a hybrid west-coast along with the deep ball that Walker/Carter bring.

So without further ado, my final mock: (first 10 picks w/explanations)

1 Miami Dolphins

OT Jake Long~Michigan

The Dolphins are looking to rebuild their team in the trenches. Long provides an anchor for the offensive line.

2 St. Louis Rams

DE Chris Long~Virginia

Long will excel playing opposite Leonard Little. Despite all the talk of Long's 3-4 experience, his best fit may be as a 4-3 defensive end.

3 Atlanta Falcons

DT Sedrick Ellis~USC

The Falcons consider Matt Ryan but aren't quite convinced he is a franchise quarterback. The Falcons look to strengthen the interior of the defense instead.

**4 Oakland Raiders

RB Darren McFadden~Arkansas

A much needed playmaker to play alongside JaMarcus Russell.

5 Kansas City Chiefs

OT Ryan Clady~Boise St

A pure need pick for an offensive line in dire need of an upgrade.

6 New York Jets

DE Vernon Gholston~Ohio St

The Jets improve their pass rush with the draft's top 3-4 OLB prospect.

7 New England Patriots

CB Leodis McKelvin~Troy

After the departures of Asante Samuel and Randall Gay, the Patriots take the #1 corner of the board.

8 Baltimore Ravens

QB Matt Ryan~Boston College

If Ryan falls to #8 the Ravens have to seize the opportunity to draft the #1 QB in the draft.

9 Cincinnati Bengals

DT Glenn Dorsey~LSU

Glenn Dorsey may slide due to injury concerns. If he or Ellis make it to the Bengals at #9 it will more than make up for the DT trades they failed to make. Dorsey will also be a ��good�� citizen.

10 New Orleans Saints

OLB Keith Rivers~USC

An athletic linebacker to pair with recently acquired MLB Jonathan Vilma.

11 Buffalo Bills

DE Derrick Harvey~Florida

12 Denver Broncos

WR Desean Jackson~Cal

13 Carolina Panthers

DE Phillip Merling~Clemson

14 Chicago Bears

OT Christopher Williams~Vanderbilt

15 Detroit Lions

RB Rashard Mendenhall~Illinois

16 Arizona Cardinals

CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie~Tennessee

17 Minnesota Vikings

DE Quentin Groves~Auburn

18 Houston Texans

CB Mike Jenkins~South Florida

19 Philadelphia Eagles

OT Jeffrey Otah~Pitt

20 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

RB Jonathan Stewart~Oregon

21 Washington Redskins

WR Limas Sweed~Texas

22 Dallas Cowboys

CB Aqib Talib~Kansas

23 Pittsburgh Steelers

G Branden Albert~Virginia

24 Tennessee Titans

DT Trevor Laws~Notre Dame

25 Seattle Seahawks

S Kenny Phillips~Miami

26 Jacksonville Jaguars

WR Early Doucet~LSU

27 San Diego Chargers

DT Kentwan Balmer~N Carolina

28 Dallas Cowboys

WR Malcolm Kelly~Oklahoma

29 San Francisco 49ers

WR Andre Caldwell~Florida

30 Green Bay Packers

CB Tracy Porter~Indiana

31 New York Giants

ILB Dan Connor~Penn St

Posted by LDizzle, April 11, 2008 11:13 AM

Don't ask Kiffin what he will do. Kiffin will be a bystander in the war room. AD will be doing the picking.

If I had to choose the first five picks in this draft it would be thus:

1. Miami: Jake Long

2. St Louis: Glenn Dorsey

3. Atlanta: Matt Ryan

4. Oakland: Chris Long

5. Kansas City: Ryan Clady

If Chris Long is gone AD will make every attempt to trade down. If no one will trade picks Al will take Dorsey if he is there. If neither is there at 4 and no one will trade down, the pick could be McFadden in a "best player left on the board" scenario. The intention will be to use him as bait for trade later in the first round with the likes of the Jets, Lions, or Cowboys. If none will trade then Al would be content with keeping DMac.

Disclaimer: I in no way think I am capable of knowing exactly what is going through Al Davis' head. I can only think in terms of what this team needs and what will make this team better. I can only assume that Al is thinking along the same lines and will make his picks accordingly (hard to say that last part with a straight face)

Posted by O, April 11, 2008 2:33 PM

A combination of all of your is the right answer...

1. Miami-Jake Long-No line at this time

2. St Louis-Glenn Dorsey-Defense down in 2007

3. (No QB) Yes McFadden - look Turner is backup and Dunn is gone. OL in second round

4. Oakland-DE-Chris Long yes father (Howie) will be watching

5. Kansas City-Yes, who do they have at QB exactly- so Matt Ryan will be their choice...

Posted by B, April 11, 2008 4:03 PM

I think O & L are right on. If someone ahead of the Raiders are thinking of picking up Chris Long then I say Al trys like hell to trade up. We only need to go a few spots higher and we have the #4 and some unwanted players, Stu, Fab, Jor, ect

#10

Posted by raidz, April 11, 2008 4:04 PM

hey josh,

I highly doubt ANY running back out of this draft will get 500 recieving yds, 1000 rushing yards (Mcfadden wont be a starter for the raiders if he is picked by us so that would be an amazing season as a back up), the only likely thing you said was the bunch of returning yards.

the raiders need to stop the run thus...

Al's mandate is Dorsey!!

#11

Posted by raidz, April 11, 2008 4:06 PM

josh,

I highly doubt that any running back out of this draft will get 500 recieving yards and 1000 rushing yards (which would be VERY amazing if he could do that as a back-up cause he's definately going to be running behind Justin Fargas if we draft him) as a rookie.

#12

Posted by OakFoSho, April 11, 2008 4:11 PM

LDizzle,

Thanks for restating one of my core arguments for picking McFadden. Now, go do some thinking for yourself. I can see that you are setting yourself up for reversal on McFadden, so why not just come out and say it?

This is pretty sad! DENIAL IS NOT A RIVER IN EGYPT!!!

Al's Mandate is McFadden!!

OakFoSho

#13

Posted by B, April 11, 2008 4:21 PM

Why would the Raiders Draft a RB #4 overall to split carries with 3 other RBs?

#14

Posted by OakFoSho, April 11, 2008 4:50 PM

Simple, because Run DMC is not just a RB. He has the speed and abilities to be a great slot/motion receiver, (like Kiff said in the interview), the ability to return kicks and punts (also a point of mention in the Kiff interview), and thus will only need 10-12 carries a ballgame. He will have an impact all over the field, and give the Raiders the opportunity to score on each and every play the Raiders have the football.

Also, Rhodes is more valuable with his reworked contract, and will be traded if the Raiders take Run DMC! So Fargas and Bush will get to split the other 25-30 carries.

Al's Mandate is McFadden!!

OakFoSho

#15

Posted by B, April 11, 2008 4:55 PM

In Order;

C Long

Dorsey

J Long

Clady

Harvey

#16

Posted by B, April 11, 2008 4:56 PM