CollegeFootballGeek.com “Way Too Early” Mock Draft (March 27, 2009)

Draft Key

Draft Date:  March 27, 2009
Participants:  10
Player Pool:  All-120 (all 120 Division I schools)
Format:  12 Round Snake Draft
Starting Lineup: 1-QB, 2-RB, 3-WR, 1-TE
Scoring System:  1pt per 25 passing yards, 4pts per passing TD, 1pt per rec/rush yards, 6pts per rec/rush TD
Note: we did not include kickers or defenses.

Conducting a mock draft is always a good way to jump-start your decision making process, especially as we embark on compiling Version 2.0 of our player rankings.  When you’re on the clock, you’re suddenly thrust into “gut-check” mode.  Do you really value Player A over Player B?  There’s no better place to flush these things out than in a draft setting amongst your peers.

Below are the draft results, followed by analysis.

To see a larger, more legible PDF version, click on this link:
CollegeFootballGeek.com - Mock Draft 032709 - PDF

Players Who Slipped A Bit
QB Dan LeFevour (Central Michigan) - 5th Round
This probably had more to do with “waiting on a QB” draft strategy than LeFevour’s ability.  Great value in the 5th round.
RB Darren Evans (Virginia Tech) - 11th Round
Evans was the 39th RB off the board.  The threat of Hokie RBBC was a concern.
WR Patrick Edwards (Houston) - 10th Round
Did Edwards’ injury scare people off?

Players Who Went Earlier than Anticipated
TE Jason Harmon (FAU) - 6th Round
Harmon was the fourth TE off the board despite coming off a major knee injury.  Not knocking the pick, but thought he could’ve been had a few rounds later.
RB Derrick Washington (Missouri) - 4th Round
Washington was the 18th RB off the board, taken ahead of Chris Brown and Toby Gerhart.

Here’s a quick look at my squad (starters in bold):
QB - Trevor Vittatoe, Jeremiah Masoli
RB - Miquale Lewis, Bryce Beall, Jake Sharp, Charles Clay
WR - Dezmon Briscoe, Emmanuel Sanders, Jeff Moturi, Juan Nunez, Eric Ward
TE - Rob Gronkowski

In an All-120 league with only ten owners, I knew that I would not be taking a QB in the 4-hole.  There are 18-20 very good QB’s out there, so there was no need to grab one early (unless Case Keenum fell in my lap). 

The goal was to emerge out of the first two rounds with a Top 3 RB and a Top 3 WR.

I wasn’t ready to pull the trigger on Dez Bryant with the No. 4 overall pick, so it came down to the RB’s.  I went with Lewis over Starks and Blount even though they are all about the same on our current draft board.  WR Dezmon Briscoe was there on the way back in the 2nd round.

I also wanted to walk away with either Gresham or Gronk at the tight end position.  I felt this would achieve separation from the other owners in the league, as I believe those two TE’s are in a class by themselves.  It all comes down to value, and grabbing a Top 2 TE is more valuable in this league than selecting from a deep tier of receivers ranked in the #12-20 range.

My QB strategy was to play the “wait and see” game.  There were two other owners that also waited until the middle rounds for their signal caller.  I wound up grabbing Vittatoe in the 6th round.

I rolled the dice in the last round with Texas Tech freshman Eric Ward.  What fun is a draft without taking a few chances, right?  With Crabtree and Morris leaving Lubbock, the highly touted Ward has a chance to make an impact this fall. 

When the dust settled, I was happy to see that my five wide receivers were all from passing juggernauts:  Kansas, SMU, UTEP, Western Michigan and Texas Tech.

* We learned that if you’re in an All-120 league with 10-12 owners, there is no need to grab a QB early (unless his name is Case Keenum).  Start out hoarding the RB’s and WR’s, and grab your QB in the middle rounds.  The All-120 QB class is deep.

* We also learned that the TE position is rail-thin this year after some big names at the top.  You’re likely to see people reach a bit for Gronk and Gresham (and maybe Pitta), while the others wait until deep in the draft to get their tight end.

* Vai Taua held more value than Luke Lippincott. Taua went in the 6th round, Lippincott in the 10th.  This isn’t really isn’t all that surprising given that Lippincott is coming off an injury.  Our guess is that these two are going to be drafted all over the place come August.  Very difficult to predict.

* Despite the loss of Graham Harrell, people (myself included) still grabbed Texas Tech receivers left and right.  Four Red Raider WR’s were drafted: Lewis in the 4th round, Britton-9th, Leong-10th, Ward-12th. 

* All in all, there weren’t too many crazy picks here.  Pretty good job by all.  We’d like to thank everyone who participated.  We’ll conduct Mock Draft 2.0 in the coming months.  If you have an interest in participating, drop us a line.