So it's that time of year again. For NFL fans, the draft season is akin to pitchers and catchers reporting for baseball fans in that it brings hope. Hope springs eternal and nothing brings more hope than the next savior of your favorite team. This year's draft is no where near the talent pool of the 2006 Draft (one of the deepest that I've seen in recent years, with Mario Williams, Vince Young, AJ Hawk, Antonio Cromartie, Joseph Addai, Santonio Holmes, among others being taken in the first round) but it still brings excitement. So without further ado, this is my mock draft for 2008, barring any trades on draft day (which you know that at least one will happen). Enjoy and Black and Gold forever!!!

1 Miami Dolphins –Jake Long, Michigan
2 St. Louis Rams- Chris Long, Virginia
3 Atlanta Falcons- Glenn Dorsey, LSU
4 Oakland Raiders – Darren McFadden, Arkansas
5 Kansas City Chiefs- Sedrick Ellis, USC
6 New York Jets – Vernon Gholston, Ohio State
7 New England Patriots (from SF) –Keith Rivers, USC
8 Baltimore Ravens – Matt Ryan, Boston College
9 Cincinnati Bengals- Derrick Harvey, Florida
10 New Orleans Saints – Aqib Talib, Kansas
11 Buffalo Bills – Limas Sweed, Texas
12 Denver Broncos – Brendan Albert, Virginia
13 Carolina Panthers – Brian Brohm, Louisville
14 Chicago Bears – Ryan Clady, Boise State
15 Detroit Lions – Pat Sims, Auburn
16 Arizona Cardinals – Philip Merling, Clemson
17 Kansas City Chiefs (from MIN) – Jeffrey Otah, Pittsburgh
18 Houston Texans – Rashard Mendenhall, Illinois
19 Philadelphia Eagles – Gosder Cherlius, Boston College
20 Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Mike Jenkins, South Florida
21 Washington Redskins - Lawrence Jackson, USC
22 Dallas Cowboys (from CLE) – Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Tennessee State
23 Pittsburgh Steelers – Chris Williams, Vanderbilt
24 Tennessee – Kentwan Balmer, North Carolina
25 Seattle – Brandon Flowers, Virginia Tech
26 Jacksonville – Quentin Groves, Auburn
27 San Diego – Dan Connor, Penn State
28 Dallas Cowboys – Felix Jones, Arkansas
29 San Francisco 49ers (from IND) – DeSean Jackson, California
30 Green Bay Packers – Dustin Keller, Purdue
31 New England Patriots –pick forfeited
32 New York Giants- Jerod Mayo, Tennessee

33. Miami Dolphins- Calais Campbell, Miami
34. St. Louis Rams- Kenny Phillips, Miami
35. Atlanta Falcons (from OAK)- Joe Flacco, Delaware
36. Kansas City Chiefs- Devin Thomas, Michigan State
37. New York Jets- Early Doucet, LSU
38. Atlanta Falcons- Sam Baker, USC
39. Baltimore Ravens- Leodis McKelvin, Troy
40. San Francisco 49ers- Frank Okam, Texas
41. New Orleans Saints- Reggie Smith, Oklahoma
42. Buffalo Bills- Curtis Lofton, Oklahoma
43. Denver Broncos- Malcolm Kelly, Oklahoma
44. Carolina Panthers- Anthony Collins, Kansas
45. Chicago Bears- Chad Henne, Michigan
46. Detroit Lions- Jonathan Stewart, Oregon
47. Cincinnati Bengals- Ali Highsmith, LSU
48. Minnesota Vikings- Fred Davis, USC
49. Atlanta Falcons (from HOU)- Philip Wheeler, Georgia Tech
50. Philadelphia Eagles- James Hardy, Indiana
51. Arizona Cardinals- Justin King, Penn State
52. Washington Redskins- Marcus Harrison, Arkansas
53. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- King Dunlap, Auburn
54. Pittsburgh Steelers- Antoine Cason, Arizona
55. Tennessee Titans- Andre Caldwell, Florida
56. Seattle Seahawks- John Carlson, Notre Dame
57. Green Bay Packers (from CLE)- Duane Brown, Virginia Tech
58. Miami Dolphins (from SD)- Terrell Thomas, USC
59. Jacksonville Jaguars- Joshua Barrett, Arizona State
60. Indianapolis Colts- Tavares Gooden, Miami
61. Green Bay Packers- Tyrell Johnson, Arkansas State
62. Dallas Cowboys- Chilo Rachal, USC
63. New England Patriots- Tracy Porter, Indiana
64. New York Giants- Mario Manningham, Michigan