I know there is a while before the draft and there will be tons of speculation between now and then how who we will draft. The Combine however is not to far away and we all know that the Combine has a huge impact on where a person will be drafted. With that in mind I have made a pre-combine mock and I will make a post combine draft, I figure that everyone can give their thoughts on the one I post and that everyone can post their mocks in this thread that way we don't have a ton of mock threads, anyway here's what I came up with.


1. Brian Orakpo DE Texas 6-4 260
Much like Houston did a few years ago taking Mario Williams and passing on Vince Young and Reggie Bush I see Detroit going the same route. Orakpo’s a big strong defensive who had 12 TFL and 8.5 sacks this season. He is as strong against the run as he is rushing the passer. With Cliff Avril showing flashes of what he can do all year and Dewayne White being solid when healthy I think between the 2 of them they can solidify the other DE spot, while Orakpo becomes a dominant force at the other. Let it note that I struggled a lot with this pick, between Orakpo and Oher out of Ole Miss Especially after watching Oher dominate in the cotton bowl. I just feel that with Backus’s huge contract he makes too much money to be moved inside to guard and with drafting Goz last year we can’t move him over to RT, plus I don’t think he is as bad as a lot of Lions fans feel he is.

20. Brandon Spikes LB Florida 6-3 245
We desperately need a play maker at MLB, Paris Lennon has shown good numbers tackle wise but he isn’t a true middle linebacker plus this move allows him to slide back to the strong side where he should be. Spikes is a solid tackler with 131 in 07 and 87 in 08, his pass coverage has vastly improved this season with 4 ints returning 2 of those for td’s.


33. Alphonso Smith CB Wake Forest 5-9 190
I have a gut feeling that we are not going to keep Booden around after the disappointing year he had last year especially for the 8 mil he is supposed to make. This leaves Travis Fisher and Keith Smith as our starting CB’s and I’m sure I’m not the only one who is terrified at that thought. Has decent size and great athletic ability, runs a 4.4 40. Tied with Dre Bly’s record for most career INT’s in the ACC with 20. Won’t be the strongest in run support, but is a premier pass defender.

65 Herman Johnson OG LSU 6-7 350
This may be a name that not a ton of people know,
Johnson is the first LSU offensive lineman to be named first team all-American since Alan Faneca in 1997. Started all 12 games this season and help a streak of 36 straight starts. I know it might be a stretch to think he will last to the third round, but he has had a little trouble with his weight which might scare some teams off, but I think our need at LG and his skills outweigh the risk. He has been compared to Dallas’ Leonard Davis, and would seem to be perfect for Mayhew who has stated he wants to get bigger and stronger.

85 Terrance Taylor DT Michigan 6-0 317
Being dead last in the league against the run giving up 172 YPG, it’s obvious we need a big run stopping DT with some quickness that could soften the blow of losing Shaun Rogers last season. Taylor is just the man for the job, throw out any stats for this season from any Michigan player it jus wouldn’t be fair to hold it against them. In 2007 however he started all 13 games, had 55 total tackles 28 solo, 8.5 TFL, 3.5 sacks a forced fumble
and 2 blocked kicks. Add him with the young players like Flu Cohen and Cody (if he stays) and we have a very good corps of young talent at DT.

5th129 Joe Burnett CB UCF 5-10 185
As I stated earlier CB is a huge need for us, and being from Orlando and a huge UCF fan I have seen a ton of this guy. Lacks size and top end speed to be an elite corner (4.5 40), super athletic though and a superb return man which we desperately need. He was named first team All Conference USA as a Corner and Punt Returner, he ranked 6th in nation in punt return. Would make a great return man and good nickel corner.

5th161 Aaron Kelly WR Clemson 6-5 190
Now that Roy has been traded away and we have been looking for a solid number 2 guy to complement CJ since, this guy would be perfect. A huge target that lacks blazing speed 4.54 40 he would be a nice possession guy opposite CJ. His stats were down this year 67 catches 722 yards and just 4 tds compared to 2007 with 88 catches 1081 yards and 11 tds, but that was his only productive year which is why he slips this far with far more consistent WR’s out there. Erratic QB play at Clemson could be a part of his stats going up and down also.

6th 182 Keegan Herring RB Arizona State 5-10 195
We need a change of pace back to compliment Kevin Smith and his bruising big back style. Herring’s lacks the size to be an every down back and has had some injury concerns in college, but the guy runs a 4.43 40. He had 5 rushing TD’s in 07 with 3 of them being 70 yards or longer and could prove to be the true home run threat we need when Smith needs a rest.

7th193 Brandon Swain DE West Texas A&M 6-4 256
Level of competition obviously has to be an issue, but Brandon Swain put up amazing numbers in 2007, including 14 sacks, 24.5 tackles for loss and five forced fumbles. A very intriguing prospect to say the least.

I think I might like that idea. Just as long as we fix up that dang defense. Personally Id rather take MLB 1st then DE second, the opposite of what you have. Id like Maualuga at #1 if we didnt go OT. Either way Id love it.

6'5" 190? I haven't watched any Clemson games this year so I'm speaking from ignorance, but doesn't that sound really thin for that height? I'd hate to draft a guy just to get his neck snapped, especially since your possession WR has to go across the middle a lot and take hard hits from safeties and LB's. I guess he could add weight, but if speed is already a problem with him, another 20 pounds onto a guy who's only 190 could make him almost Mike Williams-slow.

Yeah he's pretty thin, but all the scouting reports say he tough as hell and isn't afraid to go across the middle or mix it up with DBs. Here's a decent youtube vid I found on him looks like he would be a good prospect for a number 2 reciever, especially if we could get him in the 5th or 6th round.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vnwloFpAJM

Just from watching the first half of the OSU vs Texas game it's easy to tell that there are at least 3 sure-fire first rounders in Jenkins, Lauranitis, and Orakpo.

Of the three I'd say I'm most impressed with Brian Orakpo. MAn alive does he get a good jump. He looks alittle small but as others have stated he could gain some muscle and not lose much speed.

McCoy is barely throwing Jenkins way, and James is all over the place.

FUN STUFF DREAMING!!!

McCoy just made Jenkins look foolish with his spin move on the TD run.

I hope we wait and get Mccoy next year.



edit: wow he looked verrryy impressive leading that drive to take the lead with 16 seconds left.

I hope we stay very very far from McCoy

Colt could have very easily choked away the game. He kept his poise and made the right throws. He can be a good one in the pros.

McCoy for the most part throws underneath route and screens all day. HE is a system QB just like Bradford, Harrel, Tebow. He may make it in the pros but I wouldn't bet on it.

Brian Orakpo this year. Colt McCoy next year!

A most definite yes to Orakpo and a big no (at least for now) to McCoy. Orakpo has impressed me enough to take at number one (how else to instantly get bigger on D.... Mayhew, ahem ahem). McCoy needs to add another 10 pounds of muscle to help him take hits in the NFL. He also needs to work on polishing his passing accuracy and arm strength. He's not a bad prospect at all though.

I wouldn't consider Orakpo as getting bigger on defense. He is bigger then Avril but he still isn't a big DE

Most DE's in the NFL are 280 pounds but they do not have 8% body fat. He's 264lbs and could add more if needed. I'm not saying he's God's next gift to man, I'm just saying he's impressive.

I don't know about 280, Some of the better DE's in the league are barely 270 Dwight Freeney is 6'1 268 his teammate Mathis is only 6'2 245 John Abraham is 6'4 263 Aaron Kampman is 6'4 265 Osi Umenyiora 6'3 260 even Strahan was 6'5 265 just to name a few.