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The Jay Cutler trade gives the Broncos an additional first-round pick and may make them a player in the quarterback sweepstakes—which could happen as early as #1 and #4 or stretch on into the teens and bring a third party into the mix. Draft day is just a couple weeks away, so it’s time to make another read as to what might go down when Roger Goodell takes to the podium.
NFL Mock Draft - Version 3.0 | NFL Mock Draft - Version 2.0 | NFL Mock Draft - Version 1.0
 1. Detroit Lions — Jason Smith, OT, Baylor
Mock 3.0: Smith: Mock 2.0: Aaron Curry, OLB, Wake Forest; Mock 1.0: Matt Stafford, QB, Georgia
The majority of NFL insiders seem to think the Lions are locked in on Matt Stafford, but I’m seeing enough dissenters who aren’t sold on Stafford as the kind of sure thing you want to sink millions of dollars—and really, the immediate future of the franchise—into to believe they’ll take the more conservative approach. There’s always Colt McCoy or Sam Bradford in 2010.
2. St. Louis Rams — Eugene Monroe, OT, Virginia
Mock 3.0: Monroe; Mock 2.0: Monroe; Mock 1.0: Andre Smith, OT, Alabama
The latest word is that St. Louis is shopping this pick. Unless the Lions take Stafford and there’s a team with a serious jones for Mark Sanchez, it’s unlikely they’ll move down. That leaves them with Orlando Pace’s slot to fill and Monroe to do so.
3. Kansas City Chiefs — Aaron Curry, OLB, Wake Forest
Mock 3.0: Curry; Mock 2.0: Everette Brown, DE/OLB, Florida State; Mock 1.0: Brown
Curry is the best player in this draft and a great cog for the Chiefs to rebuild their defense around. Of course, that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t trade down in a heartbeat for additional picks to fill their many needs.
4. Seattle Seahawks — Mark Sanchez, QB, USC
Mock 3.0: B.J. Raji, DT, Boston College; Mock 2.0: Jason Smith, OT, Baylor; Mock 1.0: Michael Crabtree, WR, Texas Tech
It’s not Raji’s reported positive drug test that bumps him down the board (an aside: the accusation was a Page One story, but when Sports Illustrated pulled the allegations a couple days later it wasn’t given nearly the same play; doesn’t that fly in the face of “innocent until proven guilty”?). Supposedly the Seahawks like Sanchez as heir to Matt Hasselbeck, even with Stafford still on the board, and with the tackles and Curry gone that’s the most logical direction for them to go—assuming, of course, they have the same luck (or lack thereof) in attempting to trade down.
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