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First Round Mock Draft for the NFL Draft ‘08
Jan. 5 - Selection order during the NFL Playoffs Opponents are ranked in combined W-L records

Photo - DE Chris Long - Virginia

x - Coin flip at NFL Combine in Feb. will decide exact order
y - Final position will be determined by playoffs
* - Underclassmen

1st Round
1. Miami - 1-15 - Glenn Dorsey - DT - LSU
Dorsey is a dominant inside force who will impress Bill Parcells on film.

2. St. Louis - 3-13 - Chris Long - DE - Virginia
The Rams defense needs a tenacious playmaker up front.

Listen to Frank Coyle's radio broadcast on XX Sports Radio from 12/29/2007

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NFL Draft ’08 Selection Order
Miami Dolphins are On the Clock
The Miami Dolphins will make the first choice of the NFL Draft ’08 on April 26-27. The selection order is based on current record and combined W-L record of all opponents

Coin Flips and Tied Segments
x- Atlanta and Oakland will flip a coin for the third position at the NFL Combine in February. If Atlanta wins, the Falcons will draft third, the Raiders fourth, and the Chiefs fifth. If the Raiders win the coin flip, they will draft third, and the Falcons and Chiefs will flip a coin to determine the fourth and fifth positions.
Though Buffalo and Denver had the same strength-of-schedule, their tie for the 11th and 12th positions was broken by the conference tie-breaker. Denver defeated Buffalo in their head-to-head competition, Buffalo is given priority in the draft order and will select in the 11th position.

Draft Insiders.com 2008 Pro Bowl Team
Patriots’ QB Tom Brady - MVP Award

NFL Awards
MVP Award - Tom Brady - QB - Patriots
Defensive Player of the Year - Bob Sanders - S - Colts
Rookie of the Year - Adrian Peterson - RB - Vikings
Comeback Player of the Year - Ben Roethlisberger - QB - Steelers

Draft Insiders.com ‘08 Pro Bowl Team
Pro Bowl Game - Sunday, February 10 in Honolulu
x - Rookie y - injured and replaced
Projected starters listed first

NFC Team
Offense

Quarterbacks
Brett Favre, Green Bay
Tony Romo, Dallas
Matt Hasselbeck, Seattle

Two of the fastest and most explosive offensive players in college football in 2007 – East Carolina All-American running back Chris Johnson and New Mexico receiver Marcus Smith will play in the 2008 Senior Bowl contest.

Photo - East Carolina running back Chris Johnson

The Senior Bowl 2008 continues to announce new player additions weekly as they assemble the best college talent for the nation’s premier All-star game. Two of the nation’s fastest and most explosive offensive performers – East Carolina All-American running back/kick returner Chris Johnson and New Mexico’s All-MWC wide receiver Marcus Smith will attend the 2008 Under Armour Senior Bowl, officials announced just prior to Christmas. Both players were highly recommended and on our list of top senior prospects for the NFL Draft ’08.
Chris Johnson ranks as the nation’s active leader in career all-purpose yardage and kickoff return yardage. He leads Conference USA in kickoff return average at 28.5 per game, and has set or tied 11 school records and two CUSA marks for kickoff returns and KOR yardage during the season. Johnson combines tremendous breakaway speed, quickness and elusiveness that has enabled him to become one of the top senior running back prospects in this year’s draft. He has rushed for 1,200 yards and 16 TDs, caught 34 passes for 496 yards and 5 more TDs, and returned 30 kickoffs for 856 yards and a TD to account for 2,552 all-purpose yards during the regular season. In the EC huge bowl win over Boise St., he was instrumental in their 41-38 victory over highly ranked Boise St. Johnson ran for 223 yards, caught three passes for 32 yards and returned six kickoffs for 153 yards. Over his senior season, he also had the top three all-purpose yardage performances in college football this season, topped by a 408 yard effort vs Memphis that saw him rush for 301 yards. The 5-11, 200 lb. athlete was a 1st team All-CUSA selection as both a running back and kick returner this season and completed his career with over 6,000 all-purpose yards. We scouted him since his junior season at EC and he has been one of our premier playmakers despite little national attention. We have ranked him in the top five running backs and his athleticism could move him up with a strong week at the Senior Bowl and an expected big workout at the NFL Combine.

NFL Rookie Players of the Week – Giants’ running back Admad Bradshaw & 49ers’ LB Patrick Willis

The NFL ’07 season enters the final week with rookies playing bigger roles on most teams and some late round draft choices emerging as bona fide playmakers. The Giants went with backup running back Admad Bradshaw,one of their two fine picks along along with safety Michael Johnson. Bradshaw responded with a huge performance in a must game situation vs the Bills for the Giants playoff hopes. He has been a fine kickoff returner this fall but he received only limited touches out of the backfield. He exploded on Sunday vs the Bills with 151 yards rushing on just 17 carries including an 88 yard TD run that iced the game late in the contest. He is expected to see more touches over the final game and playoffs with starting feature back Brandon Jacobs dealing with an ankle sprain and veteran Derrick Ward out for the season with a broken leg.

Draft Insiders & Blesto Scouting Service
Top 10 Senior Pro Prospects

Photo - Glenn Dorsey - DT - LSU

Blesto Scouting Service has come out with their top 10 senior pro prospects for the ’07 regular season. Blesto is one of two NFL scouting services, along with National Scouting that has been established for years, though we rarely agree with their overall final assessment. The two services and other media NFL outlets have published their top rankings of senior pro prospects for this season and once again we deviate with their rankings. After twenty years of scouting college and NFL talent, we have learned to trust what we see and scout rather than the evaluation of inexperienced scouts and media writers. The two NFL services rate small college talent with a tough grading system that it does not apply to major Division 1 prospects, a glaring mistake over the past decade. That’s why they miss totally on prospects like Tony Romo and Marques Colston, two small college players we absolutely loved when they entered the NFL in recent years. Both players had average workouts, a major blind spot of NFL scouts when it comes to a players’ final evaluation. Romo is one of the rising NFL stars and was a player scouts crushed after a subpar NFL Combine performance. The truth of the matter is NFL scouts did a poor job scouting Romo over his final two seasons and failed to do their homework and due diligence related to his final grade. Romo would be a major MVP candidate this season if not for the incredible performance by the Patriot’s QB Tom Brady. These are the same scouts that criticized Romo, pounded the table on QBs like J.P. Losman and Patrick Ramsey who were selected in the first round and among many other early round busts at the position over the past decade.