Clockwatchers

Bengals have first pick, but users have choice thoughts

Will Larry Johnson follow in the footsteps of other Penn State flops? Tom Pidgeon/Getty Images

SI.com posted its first Mock Draft of the offseason, and users sounded off with their opinions:

First off, saying William Joseph will get picked ahead of Jimmy Kennedy is way off! Do you know why Michael Haynes had so many sacks? Because Kennedy was getting double-teamed all the time, and he still finished with five sacks. He's a monster at 6-foot-4 and 330 pounds. He'll plug up the middle and will register 10-plus sacks a year; that's a great sack total for a defensive tackle. We'll see how the next mock draft comes up after the NFL combine.
-- Mike, Petersburg, Pa.

The media needs to get off the "Steve Spurrier loves to pick up his former Gators" angle. He realized he could have done a lot better without Danny Wuerffel and Shane Matthews -- and he cut Reidel Anthony, Jacquez Green and Willie Jackson during the season. If the Redskins can't resign Daryl Gardener, a defensive tackle (possibly Dewayne Robertson) makes a lot more sense for them with the 13th pick.
-- Ilker, Fairfax, Va.

The only place Kelley Washington goes during the first round will be to the bathroom while waiting for the phone to ring. No team is going to take a chance on Washington until maybe the third or fourth round. Then Houston will get him. He did have a very serious injury, almost to the point of never playing again. ... If he goes in the first round, I go in the second.
-- Tom, Gamaliel, Ky.

I disagree with your selection of Larry Johnson at No. 19 to the Patriots. First off, as you mentioned at the 14th pick, the Patriots need to shore up their 23rd-ranked defense. What better way to do it than to pick up two top-20 players on the defensive side of the ball? Marcus Trufant is a stud at the corner position, but grabbing a defensive tackle like Dewayne Robertson or Johnathan Sullivan with the No. 14 pick can allow the Pats to hopefully land a linebacker or corner with the second pick (No. 19). I would also look for the Patriots to package a first and a possible second or third to move up and grab E.J. Henderson or Jimmy Kennedy.
-- Ryan, Somerville, Mass.

I agree that the 49ers need some help on the D-Line; however, there is more of a glaring need to at the cornerback position. Mike Rumph is a project, Jason Webster is a short-term fill in and Ahmed Plummer may be gone to free agency in a couple of years. Trade up for the best corner possible.
-- Chris, Hanna, Alberta

I think the Packers selecting a quarterback at their current pick (No. 29) is a smoke screen for what is really important: giving Brett Favre and the rest of the team the final pieces for a run at the Super Bowl. First thing is the defense needs help. With a chance of losing up to three starters on the defensive line via free agency (Vonnie Holliday, Gilbert Brown and Cletidus Hunt), losing a starting over-the-hill middle linebacker (Hardy Nickerson) and potentially losing a starting cornerback (Tyrone Williams (high cap number and bonus in 2003 season), the Packers are in desperate need to shore up the defense.
-- Troy, Springfield, Ill.

No Chris Simms in the first round? Well, I can't say I blame you. His big game question marks must be taken into account. This, however, might turn out to be the draft where everyone miscalculated on the big kid out of Texas. Simms has all the tools to succeed at the next level; plus, he has a good head on his shoulders, and as much football smarts as any college QB coming out since Peyton Manning. Someone is going to take a flyer on Simms. And that someone is going to have their quarterback of the future in place.
-- Marc, Lancaster, Pa.

Terrell Suggs has jumped the shark. His size (6-foot-3, 250 pounds) is too small to be an every down defensive end. And you have him slated to be an Arizona Cardinal; anyone the Cardinals select is always the bust of the first round. Runner-up would be anyone selected by the Cincinnati Bengals. Dan Wilkinson, Akili Smith, David Klingler, Ki-Jana Carter, the list goes on and on. This is where great college players' careers go to die. Cincinnati should change its mascot to a tombstone.
-- Tom, Tulsa, Okla.

Throughout the offseason we'll post users' mock drafts. Here are two:

Willem Rijnbeek, Halifax, Nova Scotia
No.	Team	Player	Pos.	College
1.	Cincinnati	Carson Palmer	QB	USC
2.	Detroit	Charlie Rogers	WR	Michigan St.
3.	Houston	Jordan Gross	T	Utah
4.	Chicago	Byron Leftwich	QB	Marshall
5.	Dallas	Terence Newman	CB	Kansas St.
6.	Arizona	Terrell Suggs	DE	Arizona St.
7.	Minnesota	Jimmy Kennedy	DT	Penn St.
8.	Jacksonville	Andre Johnson	WR	Miami
9.	Carolina	Rex Grossman	QB	Florida
10.	Baltimore	Kwame Harris	T	Stanford
11.	Seattle	William Joesph	DT	Miami
12.	St. Louis	Boss Bailey	LB	Georgia
13.	Washington	Taylor Jacobs	WR	Florida
14.	New England	Andre Woolfolk	CB	Oklahoma
15.	San Diego	Johnathan Sullivan	DT	Georgia
16.	Kansas City	Gerald Hayes	LB	Pittsburgh
17.	New Orleans	Marcus Trufant	CB	Washington St.
18.	New Orleans	Terry Pierce	LB	Kansas St.
19.	New England	Jerome McDougle	DE	Miami
20.	Denver	Michael Haynes	DE	Penn St.
21.	Cleveland	Corey Redding	DE	Texas
22.	N.Y. Jets	Dewayne Robertson	DT	Kentucky
23.	Atlanta	Kelley Washington	WR	Tennessee
24.	Indianapolis	E.J. Henderson	LB	Maryland
25.	N.Y. Giants	Mike Doss	S	Ohio St.
26.	San Francisco	Ty Warren	DT	Texas A&M
27.	Pittsburgh	Dennis Weathersby	CB	Oregon St.
28.	Tennessee	Brandon Lloyd	WR	Illinois
29.	Green Bay	Kyle Boller	QB	California
30.	Philadelphia	Anquan Boldin	WR	Florida St.
31.	Oakland	Troy Polamalu	S	USC
32.	Oakland	Teyo Johnson	WR	Stanford

Dustin Nosler, Sacramento, Calif.
No.	Team	Player	Pos.	College
1.	Cincinnati	Jimmy Kennedy	DT	Penn St.
2.	Detroit	Charlie Rogers	WR	Michigan St.
3.	StL. (from Hou.)	Carson Palmer	QB	USC
4.	Chicago	Byron Leftwitch	QB	Marshall
5.	Dallas	Terrell Suggs	DE	Arizona St.
6.	Arizona	Andre Johnson	WR	Miami
7.	Minnesota	Terence Newman	CB	Kansas St.
8.	Jacksonville	Marcus Trufant	CB	Washington St.
9.	Carolina	Jordan Gross	T	Utah
10.	Baltimore	William Joseph	DT	Miami
11.	Seattle	Rien Long	DT	Washington St.
12.	St. Louis	Kwame Harris	T	Stanford
13.	Washington	Dewayne Roberston	DT	Kentucky
14.	New England	Johnathan Sullivan	DT	Georgia
15.	San Diego	Kevin Williams	DT	Oklahoma St.
16.	Kansas City	Andre Woolfolk	CB	Oklahoma
17.	New Orleans	E.J. Henderson	LB	Maryland
18.	New Orleans	Mike Doss	S	Ohio St.
19.	New England	Boss Baliey	LB	Georgia
20.	Denver	Jerome McDougle	DE	Miami
21.	Cleveland	Eric Steinbach	G	Iowa
22.	N.Y. Jets	Vince Manuwai	G	Hawaii
23.	Atlanta	Brandon Lloyd	WR	Illinois
24.	Indianapolis	Michael Haynes	DE	Penn St.
25.	N.Y. Giants	DeWayne White	DE	Louisville
26.	San Francisco	Taylor Jacobs	WR	Florida
27.	Pittsburgh	Rasheen Mathis	CB/S	Bethune-Cookman
28.	Tennessee	Larry Johnson	RB	Penn St.
29.	Green Bay	Rex Grossman	QB	Florida
30.	Philadelphia	Gerald Hayes	LB	Pittsburgh
31.	Oakland	Onterrio Smith	RB	Oregon
32.	Oakland	Jeff Faine	C	Notre Dame

React

OK, you've seen our first version of the 2003 Mock Draft and two users' views. Now give us your opinion.

From the Bengals at No. 1 through the Raiders at No. 32, take your best shot at predicting what will go down during the first round April 26 in New York.

We did not trade picks in our first prediction, but you can. You can even forecast which free agents teams could sign and then have that team draft for need.

Enter your thoughts below and we'll post some of the most interesting responses in the coming days.

 

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