Colts first round selection in SB Nation Mock Draft

Mock THIS!

The first round of the SB Nation Mock Draft is complete. Please permit me to toot SB Nation's horn a bit. While many other community sites are struggling through the first round of their drafts, our writers got through the first round rather quickly. Just to give you a little background, our mock is three rounds and allows trades. The trades have to fit within the salary cap of the team if they involve a player. Allowing trades dramatically shifted the way the mock draft evolved, because there were some very significant,  but not outlandish, trades.

We're now at the 32nd pick in the draft, which belongs to the Colts. For the past week, I've tried to trade the 32nd pick to the New York Jets (we're getting a new blogger soon for the J-E-T-S crowd) for their two second round picks. From a value standpoint, it makes sense. It also makes sense because a player like Jon Beason or Michael Griffin may indeed be available at pick #32 for the Jets, while they might not be there in the late second round. I think players like Victor Abiamiri, Anthony Gonzalez, or Ray McDonald will indeed be there in the late second round, and those are players the Colts have targeted, in my opinion.

However, in this mock draft, the Jets did not take my trade offer. So, with the 32nd pick, I have the Colts selecting Justin Harrell, DT from Tennessee.

Why Harrell? Because the DT position is THE most important position in a Cover 2 defense. For all the glamour and praise Derrick Brooks got in Tampa Bay during their great days dominating on defense playing the Cover 2, he was next to nothing without the DT play of guys like Warren Sapp and Booger McFarland (both played DT). The Colts defense did not turn around until the Colts solidified their DT position by trading for Booger McFarland. However, if anything should happen to Booger, the Colts defense is sunk. Traditionally, the Colts have avoided taking DTs in the first round. They have passed on players liked William Joseph and Wendall Bryant, and for good reason. Harrell is different though.

Drafting Harrell makes sense for two reasons: 1) As an insurance policy in case McFarland gets hurt, and 2) Developing strong DT talent for the future. Although Harrell is a little big for Dungy's Cover 2 (310 pounds, 6'3''), but he is very quick, has a burst at the snap of the ball, and can penetrate into the backfield. He's a leader on the field with high intangibles and a strong work ethic. Guys like Joseph and Bryant in previous drafts were known slackers. Harrell works hard, plays hard, and plays hurt.

Durability is a concern, but the Colts are not looking for him to take heavy snaps in 2007. They will use him in their DT rotation, usually as the undertackle. With the loss of Montae Reagor and the eventual cutting of Corey Simon, the Colts are very thin at DT. Harrell immediately elevates the position.

Round one is now complete. Onto round two!

Update [2007-4-13 12:8:48 by BigBlueShoe]: Here is a nice fancy table to illustrate how the first round went (special thanks to BleedGreen):

2007 SB Nation Mock Draft - First Round
Pick	Team	Player	Pos.	College	Drafter
1	Oakland Raiders	JaMarcus Russell	QB	LSU	Saint
2	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Calvin Johnson	WR	Georgia Tech	JScott
3	Cleveland Browns	Joe Thomas	OT	Wisconsin	ChrisPokorny
4	Detroit Lions	Gaines Adams	DE	Clemson	Sean Yuille
5	Arizona Cardinals	Levi Brown	OT	Penn State	Jeff G
6	Washington Redskins	Jamaal Anderson	DE	Arkansas	Skin Patrol
7	Minnesota Vikings	Adrian Peterson	RB	Oklahoma	Gonzo
8	Atlanta Falcons	LaRon Landry	S	LSU	Dave the Falconer
9	Miami Dolphins	Brady Quinn	QB	Notre Dame	Phinatic
10	Buffalo Bills	Patrick Willis	LB	Mississippi	Brian G
11	San Francisco 49ers	Adam Carriker	DE	Nebraska	Fooch
12	Denver Broncos	Alan Branch	DT	Michigan	TheSportsGuru
13	St. Louis Rams	Amobi Okoye	DT	Louisville	VanRam
14	Carolina Panthers	Reggie Nelson	S	Florida	Jaxon
15	Pittsburgh Steelers	Jarvis Moss	DE	Florida	Blitzburgh
16	Green Bay Packers	Marshawn Lynch	RB	California	Brandon
17	Jacksonville Jaguars	Leon Hall	CB	Michigan	River City Rage
18	Cincinnati Bengals	Darrelle Revis	CB	Pittsburgh	Kirkendall
19	Tennessee Titans	Robert Meachem	WR	Tennessee	Jimmy
20	New York Giants	Paul Posluszny	LB	Penn State	ETVal
21	Houston Texans	Joe Staley	OT	Central Michigan	Tim
22	Dallas Cowboys	Aaron Ross	CB	Texas	Grizz
23	Kansas City Chiefs	Ted Ginn, Jr.	WR	Ohio State	Chris
24	New England Patriots	Eric Weddle	S	Utah	tommasse
25	New York Jets	Greg Olsen	TE	Miami (FL)	SB Nation
26	Philadelphia Eagles	Chris Houston	CB	Arkansas	JasonB
27	New Orleans Saints	Dwayne Bowe	WR	LSU	Purple Reign
28	New England Patriots	Ben Grubbs	OG	Auburn	tommasse
29	Baltimore Ravens	Justin Blalock	OL	Texas	SB Nation
30	San Diego Chargers	Dwayne Jarrett	WR	USC	SB Nation
31	Chicago Bears	Lawrence Timmons	LB	Florida State	WCG
32	Indianapolis Colts	Justin Harrell	DT	Tennessee	BigBlueShoe

Important notes: Detroit traded down to the #4 spot. Tampa Bay traded up to get the #2 pick. Houston made multiple trades (acquiring several picks in later rounds) to trade down in the first round to #21. Denver traded up to #12 when TheSportsGuru saw DT Alan Branch sitting there.