Drafting up some picks

Didn’t have time, due to working on several school papers and working two jobs, to write much this week. But I wanted to offer five NFL Draft predictions now, before the first pick is officially made. Lets start inside the NFC North:


1) The backside of Matt Stafford’s Detroit Lions jersey shouldn’t have his surname, it should just say “WHOOPS”; this guy has bust written all over him. Let’s do the math: Horrible team with one skilled receiver and nothing else on offense + rookie head coach + not the greatest college stats + the biggest rookie contract in NFL history = Joey Harrington, Jr. As a Bears fan, I couldn’t be less worried about this guy entering the division. I’m not alone either, as apparently even Lions fans want their team to go in a different direction.

2) I know it’s strange, but I tend to fall in love with players who, you know, actually played great in college. Two years ago it was Adrian Peterson, last it was Darren McFadden and this year my guy is Michael Crabtree. Take a peek at these stats in two seasons at Texas Tech: 231 receptions, 3,127 yards and 41 touchdowns. I’ve never even put up those kinds of numbers on the Xbox, though I’ve always been more of a triple-option guy. Despite his leg injury, I can guarantee that any team the grabs Crabtree will be happy they did.

3) The news this week about my favorite college football player of the past three years, Percy Harvin, wasn’t a shock, but quite disappointing. Testing positive for marijuana is something that happens to athletes all the time, regardless of their talent level or where they play. But to test positive for it at the NFL Combine, the biggest job interview of your entire life and something that has been on the calendar for months, is just stupid. It would be like if President Obama woke up the morning of a debate and realized he hadn’t purchased a suit for the occasion. Harvin’s speed, agility and more speed will make him a dangerous player in the NFL. But doing something this stupid will clearly hurt his draft status.

4) You won’t see any post-draft grades here on the blog; I hate draft grades. Sure, maybe I’ll analyze the Bears picks at some point next week. But I’m of the belief that grading players who haven’t taken a single snap of pro football is ridiculous. Saying that a certain team reached for a player too high or that a different team grabbed a late-round steal sounds intelligent, but in the grand scheme of things, I generally trust NFL scouts more than Mel Kiper, Jr. Releasing grades for the draft class of 2006 makes sense, but doing it for ’09 is just wrong.

5) Speaking of those Bears, here are the three priorities: wide receiver, safety and pass rusher. I don’t care what order they go in, but those three spots need to be upgraded by Sunday night. If they can swing a deal by giving up the 49th pick for Anquan Boldin or Braylon Edwards, that’d be great. If they pick a solid second-round pass catcher (not Georgia’s Mohamed Massaquoi, guy drops more catches than Steve Bartman), that’d be great. And if Lovie {Smith} and Jerry {Angelo} decide to address the defense first, which has been their specialty in past drafts, that’d be great too. I think a solid draft this weekend, one that produces a couple of starters and a fringe contributor or two, would cement the Bears as NFC North favorites.

Good luck Bears, go Bulls, go Cubs!