There are a lot of NFL mock drafts around but my favorite one is the SBNation Mock Draft. In this unique format, every one of the SBNation NFL bloggers represent their team and make the mock draft picks for the team.
This isn't one "smart" football writer trying to decide what each NFL team will do. These are 32 diehard fans, with intimate knowledge of their respective teams, making informed decisions about what their team needs. I find it amazingly entertaining to read.
In fact, the strength of the SBNation bloggers may be the biggest problem with the Mock Draft - these guys are possibly MORE knowledgeable than the front office staff making the actual pick.
This year the SBNation Mock Draft is hosted by Mocking The Draft, a new SBNation blog covering - what else? - the NFL Draft. I highly recommend spending some time over there.
So now that introductions are out of the way, let me cover the picks that would be fantasy-worthy next season. I'll leave out defensive players and offensive linemen for now, although obviously they will have an effect on the fantasy fortunes of their teammates. I'll cover those guys later.
#4 - Oakland Raiders - RB Darren McFadden, Arkansas. This is a bad pick for the team (73% of readers responding to a poll voted this pick as "All flash, no substance") but an even worse pick for fantasy players. The Raiders already have Dominic Rhodes, LaMont Jordan, Michael Bush AND a 1000 yard rusher in Justin Fargas. What do you think is going to happen, those guys are all going to sit on the bench while McFadden gets 350 carries? Fat chance. This would be crushing for fantasy owners.
#8 - Baltimore Ravens - QB Matt Ryan, Boston College. This looks like a great pick for fantasy owners, but it's important to remember that Ryan would have both Steve McNair and Kyle Boller ahead of him on the depth chart. Still, how long will it take before injuries, suckiness and a rookie coach desperate to keep his job become too powerful to resist? It would've been better for fantasy owners if he'd been drafted by Atlanta, but this isn't too bad.
#11 - Buffalo Bills - WR Malcolm Kelly, Oklahoma. The Bills desperately need a wide receiver and Buffalo Rumblings thinks Malcolm Kelly is the best one out there. That's not a consensus opinion, but rookie wide receivers are notorious difficult to project so I'm not going to argue. I'm just glad they took a wide receiver. This pick would make Kelly draftable in all large fantasy leagues, and in many deep medium-size leagues.