NFL draft: 2008 re-do
17. Detroit Lions
Brandon Carr, CB, Grand Valley State
Actual pick: Gosder Cherilus, OT, Boston College
Cherilus was not bad with Detroit, but there are a lot more players available here who have greater values at their positions than Cherilus has at his. The Lions don’t have any viable cornerback across Chris Houston right now and Carr would fill that need. And instead of drafting a cornerback at 10th overall in this year’s draft, the Lions could potentially focus on another area of need and draft safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix.
18. Baltimore Ravens
Pierre Garçon, WR, Mount Union
Actual pick: Joe Flacco, QB, Delaware
Flacco’s off the board. Quarterback is arguably the team’s biggest need, but there’s no QB in this draft worth taking after Ryan and Flacco. Garçon is from a small division II school, but he’s established himself as a premier receiver — he led the league in receptions and broke the Redskins’ single-season receptions record held by Art Monk. How he didn’t make the Pro Bowl last year is a mystery. Garçon would give the Ravens something the Ravens didn’t have at receiver until Anquan Boldin was signed and Torrey Smith was drafted.
19. Carolina Panthers
Josh Sitton, OT, Central Florida
Actual pick: Jeff Otah, OT, Pittsburgh
The best of the elite tackles in the draft were taken in the top 15. But the Panthers needed a tackle as well, as they took Jeff Otah. But with Josh Sitton sitting right there, there’s no reason to pass on him. He was a steal for the Packers — they got a Pro Bowl player in the sixth round.
20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Jermichael Finely, TE, Texas
Actual pick: Aqib Talib, CB, Kansas
Talib obviously did not work out for the Buccaneers. I also think he is majorly overrated. While he does have his good moments, he gets burned often and is injury prone. The Bucs needed weapons on offense, and although Finley has his own injury problems, he’s a fast player who helped Green Bay for at least his first two years there. If Finley were to return successfully from his bad injury in 2013, the Buccaneers would have a nice offense with Doug Martin, Finley, Vincent Jackson, and potentially Sammy Watkins. I don’t like how the team just handed Josh McCown the job after a good 2013 for Mike Glennon, but Finley would be able to help each quarterback.
21. Atlanta Falcons
Anthony Collins, OT, Kansas
Actual pick: Sam Baker, OT, Southern California
Atlanta grabbed its franchise quarterback in Matt Ryan (even in this re-mock) with the third overall pick, and with its second pick in the first round, the team will take its franchise tackle. Collins was good with Cincinnati and he landed himself a good contract with the Bucs this offseason. He’s definitely an upgrade over Sam Baker.
22. Dallas Cowboys
Brian de la Puente, C, California
Actual pick: Felix Jones, RB, Arkansas
I can’t tell you how many times I saw Andre Gurode or another center snap the ball over Tony Romo’s head over the last five or so years. Drafting de la Puente would solve those issues. I know the team has Travis Frederick now, but this was five years before the Cowboys drafted him. De la Puente has been a good player for the Saints — he seems to have almost no issues with Drew Brees. He was an undrafted free agent who started his career with San Francisco and then went to New Orleans — it seemed like he wouldn’t do much in the NFL, but he’s a solid center for the Saints. I watched some tape of him before free agency started this year (he was a free agent) because I was looking at possible linemen for the Redskins to sign, and I really liked him on tape. He’d fix some of the Cowboys’ offensive line issues.
23. Pittsburgh Steelers
Mike Tolbert, RB/FB, Costal Carolina
Actual pick: Rashard Mendenhall, RB, Illinois
This is probably the most controversial pick even in a re-mock, where there probably shouldn’t be any controversial picks. Fullbacks are the dinosaurs of the NFL, but Tolbert is a beast. He won the Pro Bowl, after all. I view as him more of a big running back who’s good in pass protection rather than a true fullback. Believe it or not, as big as he is, Tolbert can help in the passing game as well — just ask Jon Gruden (Spider 2 Y Banana!). I’d go with Tolbert over Mendenhall here because of Tolbert’s ability to consistently play at a high level, while Mendenhall was plagued by injuries and isn’t in the league anymore (he ended up retiring after a year with Arizona — 2013).
24. Tennessee Titans
Aqib Talib, CB, Kansas
Actual pick: Chris Johnson, RB, Eastern Carolina
Talib does have his issues on the field (see the Buccaneers’ pick at 20th overall), but there’s a huge drop off in talent here. Talib is probably worth the pick here — there’s not much in terms of cornerback depth behind Brandon Carr. Now, we know that the Titans don’t bring back Alterraun Verner, so I can make this pick knowing that. The beauty of hindsight.