Draft stuff...

I'm not the best drafter, evidenced by my fantasy baseball team (but we could chalk that up to lack of preparation). I know you probably aren't interested, but I might have a post or two on fantasy baseball. Let's just say I am a champion when it comes to drafting players who will perform below expectations (Justin Verlander, Ryan Howard, Ted Lilly, Adam Dunn have all started out killing me).

However, I think the draft of all drafts (NFL Draft) Saturday should be interesting, and I have a few things that are of interest to me that I will particularly be looking for.

Pretty much, the draft has already started. We know what the Dolphins are doing. So that gives the Rams, Falcons, etc an even longer time to decide what they are going to do and review trade offers.

A couple interesting tidbits..

1. There are going to be a whole lot of trades...

There weren't a ton of trades last year, but I think this year will more than make up for it. I predict trades will be flying on Saturday, more so than most drafts. For a couple of reasons. Many of the teams at picks 11-20 are needing those players expected to go 5-10. The many OTs, DTs, and DEs I predict are going to go quick...one of them is already gone and it's not even Saturday yet.

With McNair's retirement, I can see the Ravens trading up to try and get Matt Ryan if the Ravens feel threatened that ATL will get him. Realistically, the Ravens probably shouldn't trade this pick and the Falcons should probably avoid Matt Ryan in my most humble opinion (but again, refer to the first sentence of this post).

2. I'm worried that the Cowboys are going to trade up, when I'd rather them trade down. During the draft, the Cowboys will most likely focus on CB, WR, and RB, not necessarily in that order. They are sitting pretty at pick 22 with a possibility of Felix Jones, Limas Sweed, or one of those late 1st round corners...Talib, Jenkins, Rodgers-Cromartie. If McFadden slips, his price will be pretty high but I can see Jerry Jones, Mr. Razorback, licking his chops at McFadden. McFadden will be a good back but he will probably be too expensive to trade for on draft day. Besides, I'm fine with Felix Jones, if for any reason than our running back tandem will still be "Barber and Jones"...Felix Jones could be #21 so those who purchased Julius Jones jerseys can hang on to them :)

With the 28 pick, it's difficult to say what to do. If we drafted a corner at 22, then Jones could fall to 28 because the Steelers, Titans, Seahawks, Jaguars, and Chargers seem to have more important needs than RB. So we could get Jones at 28...but Jonathon Stewart from Oregon might also be available if Jones gets selected before 28 (and if Dallas doesn't get him at 22). I'd prefer a trade down though.

3. Enough Rambling about Dallas, which I could do for awhile. I personally feel that whoever lands Matt Ryan is making a mistake. I'm not a scout by any means, but the Alex Smiths, David Carrs, Ryan Leafs, make me too skeptical to believe that every top QB of his draft will be a "franchise QB". The verdict is still out on Jamarcus Russell. But Matt Ryan doesn't seem to be the QB you'd want to invest so much in. Again, I may end up eating my words here, but that's just my humble opinion.

4. The draft is always when they start running the commercials for the new Madden game. Any guesses on who is on the cover? Rumors include Adrian Peterson, Tony Romo, Randy Moss, Eli Manning.