Gridiron Experts 8 Player Mock Draft

8 Player Mock Draft

Shake off the dust. Sharpen those skills, and prepare to outwit a co-worker. Gridiron Experts slapped together its first Mock Draft of the year. We plan to organize many of these types of drafts in the coming weeks to give our readers a little insight to what and who we like where. I’ll admit, a mock draft in late July doesn’t really forecast my overall thinking towards players and or predictions, but it’s good practice.

Writers and their draft position:

Pick 1: Matty The Bulldog
Pick 2: Big Ben
Pick 3: Christopher Gabel
Pick 4: DC
Pick 5: Mike Rodriguez
Pick 6: Jody-B
Pick 7: Daniel Phillips
Pick 8: LFI

My 1-3 round thoughts: I wanted to challenge myself with taking a draft position in the middle of the Mock Draft to avoid the easy stud running backs and force myself to rely on building a balanced team. This is only an 8 man mock, so talent is easy to come by, yet I was able to steal Aaron Rodgers at pick 10, a guy I didn’t see making it past LFI. Frank Gore with my first pick is a no-brainer and where I would have guessed he would’ve landed. In the 3rd round I snagged Miles Austin, who was the 8th WR off the board. Personally I feel he could have a better season than DeSean Jackson, Brandon Marshall and maybe even Randy Moss. Overall I like the balance of my first three picks.

4-6 round thoughts: With having 3 positions covered, I was able to grab my fantasy-crush for 2010: Chris Beanie Wells. If you didn’t get to read my article on Wells, I suggest you do so, as I think he has a great shot of breaking out this year. With my 5th pick I took Ocho Cinco; not really a fan, but I respect his talent and would never overlook a player just because I think the guy’s a goof. With a top QB, 2 RB’s and 2 WR’s, seeing Antonio Gates still available for my 6th pick seemed very convenient.

Remaining picks: My starting line-up was complete, so there was no panic in grabbing any one position from here on out, making my strategy “best player available” . I handcuffed P. Garcon and Austin Collie along with Steve Slaton and Ben Tate, from two high scoring AFC South teams that should allow me injury or starting position options. Wes Welker could have been the steal of the draft if he’s healthy, and my goal was to add WR Julian Edelman as insurance, but DC beat me to it.

Best Pick: Wes Welker or possibly  Austin Collie in the 7th
Wish I had taken: a back-up QB instead of a kicker, if this was a real draft I wouldn’t have even drafted a kicker.

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