NFL Draft: Best Fits For Pokes
By John Helsley
The mocking continues, and will do so presumably right up to NFL Draft showtime.
If you’re following at home — and we all are — it’s a waste of time. Mel Kiper doesn’t know. Todd McShay doesn’t know.
Heck, if Al Davis takes a nap between now and then, and I highly recommend it considering this year’s shift to prime time, he doesn’t know who he’s going to take with the No. 8 pick.
Those war rooms are top secret. There’s no info seeping out, no matter how informed Kiper and McShay and the likes want you to think they’re in the know.
They’re guessing.
Now, it’s an informed guess. And sometimes they get it somewhat right. But so do you and I.
What, you think some dude in the Lou doesn’t realize they need somebody better than Marc Bulger to chunk the ball? And that Sam Bradford’s available?
While there’s all kinds of quotes being attributed to “one NFL general manager” and “a high-ranking AFC scout,” those talking are trying to spread misinformation as much as good information, in hopes of disguising their intentions, if they know their intentions.
We all seem to know this: by all accounts, this draft is clear and clean through the first three picks. There’s the best prospects in the draft, defensive tackles Ndamukong Suh and Gerald McCoy, and the potential franchise quarterback Sam Bradford.
The theory goes that if you believe in the so-called franchise quarterback, he’s worth taking No. 1. And the holder of the No. 1 pick, St. Louis, desperately needs a franchise QB, so that pick is easy. We think.
Then Suh and McCoy go, probably in that order.
And then… it’s entertainment time. Somehwere in the first round, OSU’s Russell Okung and Dez Bryant will find a pro home. And somewhere could be anywhere.
The only definites from the third pick on: Chris Berman will fall into mock shock. Kiper’s head will bob uncontrollably. McShay will grow absolutely giddy over Kiper’s dismay. And we’ll rush to talking heads stationed at various War Rooms, seeking a take on how the latest pick affects the big boards behind closed doors where nobody’s talking.
I’ve been watching this thing since its infancy, back when I parted my hair down the middle and listened to Ted Nugent on 8 Track in my Chevelle Super Sport.
