The New England Patriots have made the second of their two first round picks in our community mock draft, and Mock Roger Goodell is making his way to the podium to announce it as we speak.
"With the twenty-eighth pick in the 2011 Daily Norseman Community Mock Draft, the New England Patriots select. . .
Derek Sherrod, offensive tackle, Mississippi State."
There weren't a whole lot of precincts reporting on this one, quite frankly, as only 134 votes were cast. In the end, the big Bulldog won out, narrowly beating Illinois' Corey Liuget, Georgia's Justin Houston, and Maryland's Torrey Smith.
So now, we move on to the team that won the NFC North last season, the Chicago Bears. For a team that made the NFL Championship Game a year ago, the Bears have issues at quite a few spots.
We've said here on more than one occasion that Chicago offensive line coach Mike Tice, through the use of scotch tape, chicken wire, and moxie, worked a miracle with the Chicago offensive line last season. Early in the season, the unit was a disaster. . .witness Jay Cutler getting sacked about 206 times in one half of football on a Sunday night in New York. But as the season went on, Tice basically said, "Okay, I'm gonna move this guy here. . .and move this guy here. . .and bench this guy for this guy," and the next thing you know, the Bears line looks pretty good. However, the one constant on that line was center Olin Kreutz. . .and the Bears didn't offer him a contract before the lockout. Kreutz might not be what he used to be physically, but if the Bears were to lose him, their line would be in big trouble, not dissimilar to what happened to the Vikings' line when Matt Birk left town.Speaking of guys that likely aren't going to be back, it would be surprising to see Tommie Harris back in a Chicago uniform next season. He wouldn't be a huge void to replace, largely because it's been about three years since he was the caliber of player that he thinks he's been all that time, but the Bears could look to beef up the interior of the defensive line with this selection.
The Bears have a collection of small, fast receivers, and while they're okay, they might look for a guy that's a bit bigger to put on the outside. They might also take a look at a running back. Matt Forte is very good. . .not "Adrian Peterson" good like some crazy people were suggesting a few years ago, but still very good. . ., but Chester Taylor was non-existent last season, and they really don't have anybody after him worth mentioning.
So, the Bears have some options to consider at this spot. . .which way do you think they should go?
Where we stand so far:
- Carolina Panthers - Cam Newton, quarterback, Auburn
- Denver Broncos - Patrick Peterson, cornerback, LSU
- Buffalo Bills - Marcell Dareus, defensive tackle, Alabama
- Cincinnati Bengals - Blaine Gabbert, quarterback, Missouri
- Arizona Cardinals - Von Miller, linebacker, Texas A&M
- Cleveland Browns - A.J. Green, wide receiver, Georgia
- San Francisco 49ers - Prince Amukamara, cornerback, Nebraska
- Tennessee Titans - Nick Fairley, defensive tackle, Auburn
- Dallas Cowboys - Tyron Smith, offensive tackle, USC
- Washington Redskins - Julio Jones, wide receiver, Alabama
- Houston Texans - Da'Quan Bowers, defensive end, Clemson
- Minnesota Vikings - Jake Locker, quarterback, Washington
- Detroit Lions - Robert Quinn, defensive end, North Carolina
- St. Louis Rams - Cameron Jordan, defensive end, California
- Miami Dolphins - Mark Ingram, running back, Alabama
- Jacksonville Jaguars - J.J. Watt, defensive end, Wisconsin
- New England Patriots - Aldon Smith, defensive end/outside linebacker, Missouri
- San Diego Chargers - Ryan Kerrigan, defensive end, Purdue
- New York Giants - Mike Pouncey, offensive guard, Florida
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Adrian Clayborn, defensive end, Iowa
- Kansas City Chiefs - Anthony Castonzo, offensive tackle, Boston College
- Indianapolis Colts - Nate Solder, offensive tackle, Colorado
- Philadelphia Eagles - Gabe Carimi, offensive tackle, Wisconsin
- New Orleans Saints - Akeem Ayers, outside linebacker, UCLA
- Seattle Seahawks - Ryan Mallett, quarterback, Arkansas
- Baltimore Ravens - Jimmy Smith, CB, Colorado
- Atlanta Falcons - Cameron Heyward, DE, Ohio State