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| Did you say, mock draft?! |
As if we couldn't possibly have enough mock drafts, much like a bad homage to a George A. Romero movie, they rise from the dead. I know, I know. It's early. Players will rise and fall on the charts. One prospect is bound to have enough character flags discovered that he'll fall outside of the first round because he accidently ran over the family cat during Christmas. Another will drive by three miles over the speed limit, only to find the speed gun of a cop more intense than Sgt. Eugene Tackleberry. Then there's the issue of actually seeding teams based on their record the prior season, which doesn't account for sleeper teams or the overrated.
But they're not meant to be a predictive science. They're fun. SB Nation released their first 2012 mock draft.
Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck obviously heads to the San Francisco 49ers as the first overall selection. We feel this will be close no matter where the 49ers are originally slotted. A possible Ricky Williams like trade? Not unheard of. Unless the worst possible scenario pops up for head coach Jim Harbaugh, and that would be the Cincinnati Bengals selecting first overall.
Speaking of the Bengals, SB Nation has Cincinnati selecting Michigan State defensive tackle Jerel Worthy eighth overall.
Geno Atkins is good, but may not be an every-down player. Worthy would team with fellow MSU product Domata Peko.
After the 2011 season, Pat Sims, Clinton McDonald and Frostee Rucker will be free agents. As much as it seems logical that defensive tackle could be a targeted position, the Bengals will have greater needs.
If the Bengals can't sign Johnathan Joseph to a long-term deal, they'll be faced with losing Leon Hall and Adam Jones, leaving Brandon Ghee, Morgan Trent and Korey Lindsey at cornerback. While this represents the last three cornerbacks drafted by the Bengals, it also leaves a lot to be desired. It was the primary reason we favored drafting LSU's Patrick Peterson over Georgia's A.J. Green.
At the same time, the Bengals will need a defensive tackle. Domata Peko appears to be sliding, Pat Sims will be unsigned and while Geno Atkins is every translation of the phrase "bad ass", he only participated during a third of the defensive snaps in 2010.
Then again, it's not like we won't have time to talk about it.