With just 24 hours to go until the draft happens, I present my final mock draft. This draft presumes that we get some great fantasy football value out of the first round, but it’s likely that many owners will play it safe or take big risks on some talent in the first. Here’s how I see tomorrow going down:
The Fantasy Football Fools 2008 NFL Mock Draft with Fantasy Impact
| No | Team | Player | Pos | Fantasy Impact |
| 1 | Miami Dolphins | Jake Long | OL | Parcells got his man. No real fantasy impact, but Long might allow John Beck to get a throw off and give Ronnie Brown/Ricky Williams more room to run. |
| 2 | St. Louis Rams | Glenn Dorsey | DT | Doesn’t help Marc Bulger or Steven Jackson, but Dorsey will make a scary addition to the defensive line for St. Louis next year. Maybe the offensive line won’t have to do much. |
| 3 | Atlanta Falcons | Chris Long | DE | The original projected first pick — besides Dorsey — will get stuck in the position of becoming a face of the new Vick-less Falcons franchise. The defense gets a bump, but there is no chance you want to take them in a fantasy draft in 2008. Chris Redman will be QB — at least through round 1 — and he’s not completely horrible. |
| 4 | Oakland Raiders | Vernon Gholston | DT | Do I think Al Davis is this smart? No. Does Oakland need a Darren McFadden? No. Michael Bush and Justin Fargas are enough. Take the tackle, Davis. Just do it. His value will be seen in fantasy defense and IDP when Oakland actually stops the run. |
| 5 | Kansas City Chiefs | Ryan Clady | OT | The Chief’s line needs to significantly improve if they keep Brodie Croyle healthy and give Larry Johnson a decent chance at yardage. His impact helps both these guys’ fantasy value next year. |
| 6 | New York Jets | Darren McFadden | RB | Mangini will be shocked that he dropped to them, but he won’t question taking the most talked about player in this year’s draft. McFadden kills Leon Washington’s value, but he can do things with the newly-improved O-line that will give him huge potential for fantasy. He will probably end up somewhere between Adrian Peterson’s 2007 season and Reggie Bush’s rookie year. |
| 7 | New England Patriots (from San Francisco) | Leodis McKelvin | CB | I know you thought they would take Matt Ryan, but if McKelvin was guarding Plax in that fateful game, Tom Brady might have another ring. The Patriot defense still isn’t a safe bet in 2008 since they will inevitably run up the score and play loose on opponents. |
| 8 | Baltimore Ravens | Matt Ryan | QB | I’m just solving everyone’s problems. With Steve McNair out, they gotta go Ryan here. Kyle Boller immediately hates him, but Matt Ryan and Troy Smith are the only two who have any shot of being the next franchise QB in Baltimore. He might have value late in the season but isn’t draft-worthy except as a value pick late in the draft. |
| 9 | Cincinnati Bengals | Sedrick Ellis | DT | A monster of a DT to finally make the Bengals stop something on defense. No fantasy value change because you still don’t want the Bengals, but Ellis could be IDP worthy. |
| 10 | New Orleans Saints | Keith Rivers | LB | Saints re-work their defense to compete and not play from behind. May be bad for fantasy, but maybe their linebackers will be getting some sacks next season. |
| 11 | Buffalo Bills | Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie | CB | No WR here worth taking to take heat of Lee Evans — can’t solve everyone’s fantasy problems in one draft. Rodgers-Cromartie adds some talent to the Buffalo defense with just one kidney, but they still have to play the Patriots. |
| 12 | Denver Broncos | Chris Williams | OT | With Clady gone, they take Williams, and they love this guy. Williams will better protect Jay Cutler and give Selvin Young and Travis Henry some big play ability. |
| 13 | Carolina Panthers | Jonathan Stewart | RB | His big back form will go nicely with DeAngelo Williams in Carolina, but Williams is the guy to watch there. Stewart should have little impact until late in the season so he’s probably waiver wire material. |
| 14 | Chicago Bears | Brandon Albert | OT | Albert + lighting a fire under Cedric Benson = Chicago might have a run game in 2008. |
| 15 | Detroit Lions | Rashard Mendenhall | RB | The Lions can’t pass on a RB with Tatum Bell currently starting. Mendenhall mixes it up with Bell and might be worth a early waiver if he shows to be a big part of the offense — the scoring part. Might try to snag him as a value pick late. |
| 16 | Arizona Cardinals | Aqib Talib | CB | This big CB will help the Cardinals start to lock down opposing passing games and replaces Rolle as Rolle moves to safety. Defense is better but not one of the top to snag in fantasy. Could be game-to-game depending on the match up. |
| 17 | Kansas City Chiefs (from Minnesota) | Derrick Harvey | DE | The Chiefs got the offensive line covered earlier so here they look to fill the hole that Jared Allen left. Harvey fills it, but the Chiefs D is likely to be game-to-game. |
| 18 | Houston Texans | Mike Jenkins | CB | Last elite corner goes to the Texans to fortify a pretty decent defense. I’ll classify them as “one to watch” for 2008 if the offseason goes well. |
| 19 | Philadelphia Eagles | Jeff Otah | OT | Andy Reid hates taking WRs in the first round, and he won’t. Otah helps Westbrook and McNabb out. |
| 20 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Devin Thomas | WR | First WR off the board could be a star by mid-season. As the rest of the Tampa Bay WRs get older, he will stay the same age. |
| 21 | Washington Redskins | Philip Merling | DE | Merling brings backbone to a decent defense to stop the run. Possible low-end defense for 2008. |
| 22 | Dallas Cowboys (from Cleveland) | Felix Jones | RB | The other Arkansas boy goes to Dallas to compliment Marion Barber. His fantasy value is slight, but his presence is felt nonetheless. He’ll mix it up but not take much from Barber. Could be a waiver late if he finds a role. |
| 23 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Gosder Cherilus | OL | Cherilus improves a line that already worked well together last year. Maybe less rushing yards for Big Ben? He’ll have plenty of time to throw and the run game will stay good. |
| 24 | Tennessee Titans | Limas Sweed | WR | Vince Young gets his guy, and the Titans may just discover offense in 2008. If Sweed goes here, he is definitely worth catching as a late round value and could emerge as the No. 1 in Tennessee if VY and Sweed reconnect. |
| 25 | Seattle Seahawks | Kenny Phillips | S | Seahawks get a safety that can finally hang and improve the secondary. Seahawks D is always worth a play when home in the loudest stadium in the NFL and sometimes even when away. |
| 26 | Jacksonville Jaguars | Kentwan Balmer | DT | Balmer locks up the run defense of Jacksonville even more than last year. Already great defense gets better — very draftable for fantasy. |
| 27 | San Diego Chargers | Dan Connor | LB | A San Diego defense gets scarier, and once again, a very draft-worthy defense finds its guy. San Diego will have a top defense in 2008. |
| 28 | Dallas Cowboys | Brandon Flowers | CB | Pacman Jones is no lock to be reinstated and depth at CB would be nice. The Cowboys defense gets a significant upgrade if both Flowers and Pacman join the fold with Terrance Newmann already there. This defense is already draftable without Pacman. More fantasy value if Cowboys get crazy and take DeSean Jackson or James Hardy here. |
| 29 | San Francisco 49ers (from Indianapolis) | DeSean Jackson | WR | Mike Martz will want another playmaker to toy with in this 2008 debut in San Francisco, but there’s lots of toys there already for a Frank Gore centered offense. Jackson is likely not to show up this year but could emerge late if Bryant Johnson or Isaac Bruce doesn’t work out. |
| 30 | Green Bay Packers | Jerod Mayo | LB | Mayo improves the already good linebacking core of Green Bay in coverage. No way Green Bay wants the Giants to get this guy. Fantasy-wise Green Bay should be one of the tops next year as they will likely draft depth at cornerback in later rounds. |
| 31 | New England Patriots (from San Francisco) | Casper | SOL | Cheaters never win — at least, not their fourth Super Bowl. |
| 32 | New York Giants | Malcolm Kelly | WR | Loudmouth still makes the first round and battles with Steve Smith to take over the No. 2 spot. Watch for a mid-season emergence…depending on what kind of turf he has on game day. Kelly could be worth a waiver pick late in 2008. |
For more mock drafts, visit these databases:
hailRedskins! Mock Draft Database
The Football Expert Database
Walter Football Mock Draft Database
Fantasy Football Toolbox Mock Draft Directory
