Well, once again, free agency and trades have shook up the prognosis for the Draft. This is why I always chuckle when I put together that first Mock Draft of the season.
What a great off-season it has already been this year! So, before I write up Mock Draft #2, let's take a quick look at some of the free agency moves that will have an effect on what we thought was going to happen in this April's draft. I know Free Agency is not done, but the majority of the moves are done and for the life of me, I couldn't come up with a pending free agent that got me all that excited.
Peyton to the Broncos: This was the huge blinking neon sign hanging over this off-season. Who had a chance at him? How much does his body have left? What will it mean to the draft? Well, what it meant is Tebow is out, putting him in New York with LinSanity and Rex. The OVER on ESPN imploding in on itself due to the conflicts pet story lines? 2.5 weeks.
Oh, and Eddie Royal has to feel like an idiot. I get not wanting to play with Tim Tebow when you aren't the guy who just runs straight downfield, and there is nothing wrong with playing with Phillip Rivers, especially since they all of a sudden have a gap where their #1 receiver used to be. But, Peyton is Peyton.
Mario Williams to the Bills: All of a sudden the Bills have something going on, at least on paper. Williams signs and Mark Anderson jumps over from the Pats. Put them around Marcel Dareus and you have a line. Seriously, take a look at their front 7 and tell me that QB's are going to look forward to traveling to Buffalo this season. They are so loaded, that they are trying to decide if Shawn Merriman should try to be a DE or an OLB. That is a good problem to have. Just imagine, if Light's Out can play like any semblance of himself, the fun they could have moving the 2 of them around the formation.
Kamerion Wimbley to the Titans: This doesn't look like a huge move for the Titans, bringing in the solid veteran Wimbley. However, the Titans were in pretty dire need of a pass rush and this should alleviate that. Wimbley came into the league as a pass rushing 4-3 DE out of Florida State and he should be a leader for the Titans this year. This will allow them to focus on getting value rather than need, which is always a better way to draft.
Aaron Ross to the Jaguars: I love this move for the Jags and hate it for the Giants. Ross somewhat underachieved in New York but he is a legit starting corner with very good size. What this does it put a little pressure on the Giants to find a corner as having Ross behind Terrell Thomas was an ace in the hole for their defense. What it does for the Jags is remove the urgency to draft a corner which leaves them open to fill some other needs.
Matt Flynn to the Seahawks: This was a great move. They have set themselves up for a great QB battle which will either improve up Tavaris Jackson, or drive him to improve himself. The cost was reasonable and it really is a win-win for this franchise. It really does meet with Pete Carroll's M.O. too. Always Competing.
David Garrard comes back to the NFL and to the Dolphins: This is a mystery. Noone knows if Garrard can start in this league, or if the signed him so he can backup and they are going with Matt Moore. Or, is this just a roster filler in case they can't get one of the guys they are targeting in the draft. They are widely linked to Ryan Tannehill due to their OC Mike Sherman having been his coach is A&M, but he may not be the right move or available when they are drafting.
Reggie Wayne stays in Indy: A lot of people were expecting Reggie to follow Peyton wherever he went, which would have made sense from a football POV. He didn't, he stayed loyal to the only city he's known as a pro. So, what does that mean? Well, the Colts have a go-to for Andrew Luck, which could be huge for his development. And the Broncos are going to have to make moves to find skill position players for Peyton to throw to.
Vincent Jackson, Carl Hicks, and Eric Wright to the Buccaneers: These were perfect moves for the Bucs. They shored up their front line, which will only help their power running game. They got Freeman the #1 Receiver he has never had, and they got a corner to take Aqib Talib's spot while he is in jail. They still have needs, but these were great moves.
Brandon Marshall to the Bears: For any other team this would be a bit of a head-scratcher. However, this risk makes sense for the Bears. Jay Cutler and Marshall were great together in Denver and they seem to understand each other. Combine that with the Bears badly needing a #1 kind of threat at Wide Receiver and this risk makes sense.
Cortland Finnegan to the Rams: Anytime the Rams can get a solid veteran player, especially one with some tread left on the tires, it's a good move. Locking Finnegan up like they did to be the anchor of their secondary was a move you have to love.
Randy Moss is back in the league too with the Niners: The interesting part here will be to see if picking up Moss and Manningham is enough that the Niners won't be looking at the top receivers in this draft. How much does Randy have left? Best case, defenses will have to respect the deep ball now, which will open up running lanes. Worst case, Moss pouts for playing in a run-first offense and disentegrates...again.
I guess that's why Manningham is there too.
Jason Campbell to the Bears to backup Cutler: Why is this an important move you ask? Have you seen the Bears' Offensive Line I ask? They are focused on fixing it, or they should be, but until they have that done, they better have a backup who can play.
Perrish Cox dodges prison (note that I did not say jail) and is back in the league with San Fran: I know some Bronco fans who are just horrified by this. There was no way he was going to be out of the league. He was not convicted and is a talented cornerback who has several years left to play, if he can stay out of trouble. As for the draft, the Niners were a bit old at corner, so this is a nice move to bridge them to whatever their future is in their secondary. Oh, and they just sold their collective soul.
Robert Gallery to the Pats: How does the rest of the NFL let this keep happening. Mark my words. Gallery will go to the Pro Bowl while playing for the Patriots.
Peyton Hillis to the Chiefs: I really love the moves that the Chiefs have been making this off-season. Peyton Hillis is a fullback with the skills to be a lead tailback, oh and he can actually block too. This give the Chiefs a 1-2 punch with the big back they needed for the red-zone and gives them great depth. Oh, and I am betting Hillis might be able to get up to play the fighting Peyton's twice a year.
DeSean Jackson gets his contract to stay in Philly: This is a huge move for the Eagles. Without him, they have a nice offense. With him, they are lightning in a bottle. If he had been on the way out, Wide Receiver would have been a require move this april. With him, they can truly go Best Available.
Martellus Bennett to the Giants: The G-Men lost both of their Tight End's to knee injuries. Chances are that at least one of them will be slowed for a portion of the season. Bennett is a great receiving tight end which should be a good fit in New York.
Brandon Carr to the Cowboys: How many years have the Cowboys been trying to fix their secondary? Carr will be their new #1 from day one, replacing the quickly aging Terrence Newman.
Eric Winston to the Chiefs: See Brandon Carr comments and swap positions and you have Eric Winston. The Chiefs suddenly have a fairly young and talented O-Line with no apparent gaps. This team is well-positioned to make some moves on offense this year and their defense looked to be coming into it's own last year. Payton chose the wrong team.
Eddie Royal to the Chargers: Huge for the Chargers because they lost Vincent Jackson. Huge for Eddie because he has a chance to be a #1 and I think he has the talent to do it, though he may live in the slot. Huge for the Broncos because they now have 1 healthy starting receiver left from last year. Oops, maybe they should have told Eddie that they were going to make a run at Payton. I mean hell, would you have stayed if you were the slot receiver in an offense with Tebow at the helm?
Brandon Lloyd to the Pats: He revived his career under Josh McDaniel in Denver and the Pats need receivers. Tom Brady is going to make him look very good. The important word there is "look". Lloyd does a lot of things a little better than average, but the best thing he has going for him is that he thinks he's a star and will fight like hell to convince the corner in front of him. If he can buy into the Patriots' way of doing things, it could be interesting. And if not, he's always got his music career.
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