My Official 2008 Mock Draft: Bring It On, McShay!

After a long layoff from the site (playing husband, chef, employee, softball player and emotional support), I decided to hop back 0n in time for a mock draft. The NFL is an obsession, so I might as well give it its due reverence! I wish I could say that I will be posting every day now, but coincidentally, I broke my right hand 2 days ago, and now my right hand is engulfed in a cast. So I am typing this completely with my left hand, pecking at the keyboard like a third-grader. Good times! So with that being said, I think I'll pass on doing a live running mock draft diary this year, despite encouragement from a few friends to do so.

What I will do, however, is challenge the experts at their own game. Todd McShay, whose opinions I value much more than Mel Kiper's, posted a full mock draft on Wednesday. (I would provide a link, but it's now an ESPN Insider page, and let's face it, if you were an ESPN Insider, you probably wouldn't be looking at Mocks on our blog.) Anyway, I looked at it and thought he did a great job. Then I looked at it a little longer, and realize that I disagreed with several of those picks. So then I got with my buddy Ryan Cassell, and we decided to do our own mock drafts. And since we're both some competitive bastards, we decided to make a challenge out of it.

We'll go head to head against each other and against the experts for the first two rounds of the draft. Below is the point scale:

Correct picks in slots 1-5: 10 points

Correct picks in slots 6-15: 7 points

Correct picks in the remainder of 1st round: 5 points

Correct picks in the second round: 3 points

Naturally, since Cassell is a slacker, I still don't have his picks. But below, you will find my picks. I'll be providing other competitive mocks shortly. I hope Kiper posted a mock--I know I'll kick his butt.

1st Round
1. Miami Dolphins
Jake Long OT Michigan
2. St. Louis Rams

Chris Long DE Virginia
3. Atlanta Falcons
Glenn Dorsey DT LSU
4. Oakland Raiders
Darren McFadden RB Arkansas
5. Kansas City Chiefs
Brandon Albert OG/OT Virgina
6. N.Y. Jets
Vernon Gholston DE/OLB Ohio State
7. New England Patriots (from S.F.)
Keith Rivers OLB USC
8. Baltimore Ravens
Matt Ryan QB Boston College
9. Cincinnati Bengals
Sedrick Ellis DT USC
10. New Orleans Saints
Mike Jenkins CB South Florida
11. Buffalo Bills
Devin Thomas WR Michigan State
12. Denver Broncos
Chris Williams OT Vanderbilt
13. Carolina Panthers
Ryan Clady OT Boise State
14. Chicago Bears
Jeff Otah OT Pitt
15. Detroit Lions
Rashard Mendenhall RB Illinois
16. Arizona Cardinals
Leodis McKelvin CB Troy
17. Kansas City Chiefs (from Minnesota)
Derrick Harvey DE Florida
18. Houston Texans
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie CB TSU
19. Philadelphia Eagles
Aqib Talib CB Kansas
20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
James Hardy WR Indiana
21. Washington Redskins
Phillip Merling DE Clemson
22. Dallas Cowboys (from Cleveland)
Felix Jones RB Arkansas
23. Pittsburgh Steelers
Jonathan Stewart RB Oregon
24. Tennessee Titans
Limas Sweed WR Texas
25. Seattle Seahawks
Kentwan Balmer DT North Carolina
26. Jacksonville Jaguars
Lawrence Jackson DE USC
27. San Diego Chargers
Gosder Cherilius OT Boston College
28. Dallas Cowboys
DeSean Jackson WR Cal
29. San Francisco 49ers
Jerod Mayo LB Tennessee
30. Green Bay Packers
Brandon Flowers CB Va. Tech
31. N.Y. Giants
Kenny Phillips S Miami

2nd Round
1 (32). Miami Dolphins
Chad Henne QB Michigan
2 (33). St. Louis Rams
Sam Baker OT USC
3 (34). Atlanta Falcons (from Oakland)
Brian Brohm QB Louisville
4 (35). Kansas City Chiefs
Joe Flacco QB Delaware
5 (36). New York Jets
Chris Lofton OLB/ILB Oklahoma
6 (37). Atlanta Falcons
Tracy Porter CB Indiana
7 (38). Baltimore Ravens
Justin King CB Penn State
8 (39). San Francisco 49ers
Malcolm Kelly WR Oklahoma
9 (40). New Orleans Saints
Marcus Harrison DT Arkansas
10 (41). Buffalo Bills
Fred Davis TE USC
11 (42). Denver Broncos
Dan Connor LB Penn State
12 (43). Carolina Panthers
Jamaal Charles RB Texas
13 (44). Chicago Bears
Chris Johnson RB East Carolina
14 (45). Detroit Lions
Quentin Groves DE Auburn
15 (46). Cincinnati Bengals
Duane Brown OT Va. Tech
16 (47). Minnesota Vikings
Carl Nicks OT Nebraska
17 (48). Atlanta Falcons (from Houston)
Anthony Collins OT Kansas
18 (49). Philadelphia Eagles
Mario Manningham WR Michigan
19 (50). Arizona Cardinals
Ray Rice RB Rutgers
20 (51). Washington Redskins
Jordy Nelson WR Kansas State
21 (52). Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Patrick Lee CB Auburn
22 (53). Pittsburgh Steelers
Jason Jones DE Eastern Michigan
23 (54). Tennessee Titans
Calais Campbell DE Miami
24 (55). Seattle Seahawks
Dustin Keller TE Purdue
25 (56). Green Bay Packers (from Cleveland)
Martellus Bennett TE TX A&M
26 (57). Miami Dolphins (from San Diego)
Cliff Avril DE Purdue
27 (58). Jacksonville Jaguars
Tyrell Johnson S Arkaansas State
28 (59). Indianapolis Colts
Trevor Laws DT Notre Dame
29 (60). Green Bay Packers
Demario Pressley DT NC State
30 (61). Dallas Cowboys
Tyvon Branch CB Uconn
31 (62). New England Patriots
Antoine Cason CB Arizona
32 (63). New York Giants
Reggie Smith CB Oklahoma