Composing a mock draft is no easy task. There is plenty of time between now and the end of April for players stock to fluctuate. During this time of year everyone is a draft expert and knows exactly what players their team needs in order to take them to the next level. When compiling a mock draft list, if you don't project the right player for some guy's team there is bound to be backlash.

I have studied tapes of college games I TiVoed over the course of the 2007 college football season. I have watched the college All-Star games and scrutinized NFL teams' depth charts to try and provide fair and balanced analysis for draftniks across the country.

I am sure there will be many out there who will disagree with my projections, but this is the way I see it as of Feb. 21, 2008.

Note that this mock draft is written on the first day of the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, so I am sure there are some players on this list that will see their stock rise or fall over the next few months.

1. Miami Dolphins—Matt Ryan, QB, Boston College

With Bill Parcells first draft at the helm of the Miami Dolphins, he will look to take a franchise quarterback that the 'Fins have lacked since Dan Marino was setting records in Miami.

Watching tape of Ryan last season, I feel he lacks the arm strength to make all of the NFL throws. He is also interception prone. The Dolphins selected John Beck last year in the second round as their quarterback of the future. Parcells pick here will tell us exactly what he thinks of Beck's talent.

I personally believe that if the Dolphins end up selecting Ryan, he will go down as another quarterback who was picked first overall who never lived up to his lofty draft status. A better move here would be Chris Long, but all signs point to the Dolphins selecting Ryan.

2. St. Louis Rams—Chris Long, DE, Virginia

Fans in St. Louis will rejoice if Miami selects Ryan No. 1 overall. This will give the Rams the option of selecting the best defensive player in the draft. As a lifelong fan of the Rams, draft day has not been very memorable, but the Rams will have a hard time screwing this one up.

The pick is either Long or Glenn Dorsey (rumor has it the Rams brass are very high on him). Long is a once-in-a-generation type player who can change the course of a franchise with his ability to dominate games, ala Reggie White.

I hope to be celebrating after this Rams selection, instead of crying as I do most years.

3.* Atlanta Falcons—Jake Long, OT, Michigan

Atlanta is a franchise that has had a well publicized run of bad luck. With the selection of Jake Long from Michigan, Arthur Blank and company hope to reverse their fortune.

Long will start immediately at right tackle for the Falcons, protecting the blind side of a yet to be determined starting quarterback. Long is an enormous prospect, but I feel he is overvalued if he ends up being selected this high. He is not very athletic—Vernon Gholston, a speed rusher, burned Long for a sack this season.

Long dominated weak competition in the Big Ten which is cause for concern. How the Falcons passing on Darren McFadden will go over with their fans remains to be seen.

4.* Oakland Raiders—Sedrick Ellis, DT, USC

Al Davis will think long and hard about selecting Arkansas' Darren McFadden, but the Raiders were soft against the run last season and Sedrick Ellis, not Glenn Dorsey, will end up donning the silver and black next season.

Ellis' stock is skyrocketing up draft boards and I believe when April rolls around he will have replaced Dorsey as the No. 1 DT in the draft. Ellis is quicker and more athletic than Dorsey and plays with a nastiness that is a Raider prerequisite.

With the emergence of Justin Fargas late last season and the subsequent retirement of Warren Sapp, the need for a premier defensive tackle is more glaring than the need for a running back.

5.* Kansas City Chiefs—Glenn Dorsey, DT, LSU

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