2008 NFL Mock Draft: Picks 21-31

This is the final segment for the 2008 NFL Mock draft. Earlier we looked at picks 1-10 and picks 11-20. In here we finish the first round. This mock draft will be presented in the form of a mock draft, but is not meant to be predictive. Rather, with each team we’ll take a look at their needs, and who is likely to be available that they might covet.

Vince Young would love to throw to this Longhorn

21. Washington (needs - WR, defensive line, CB) - Phillip Merling, DE, Clemson - Merling is a run-stuffing DE, as opposed to a pass rusher like Derrick Harvey.

22. Dallas (needs - CB, WR, RB) - Antoine Cason, CB, Arizona - Very similar profile to Mike Jenkins, but not quite as athletic. I don’t buy the rumors that Dallas wants to trade up to get McFadden. Dallas needs youth at both DB and WR, and I expect them to use one of their first round picks on each position.

23. Pittsburgh (needs - offensive line, tall WR) - Gosder Cherilus, OT, Boston College - Pittsburgh’s o-line collapsed last year, and then they lost their best linemen to free agency. Cherilus is one of the last lineman worthy of a 1st round pick, and he might not be available. Cherilus is a big mauler who may be best suited for guard, which suits the Steelers needs fine. If Cherilus is gone, they may look at Limas Sweed or James Hardy.

24. Tennessee (needs - WR, defensive line) - Limas Sweed, WR, Texas - Vince Young needs targets. Sweed missed most of his last college season with a bum wrist, but it doesn’t sound like an injury that will have long-term implications. He’s big (6′4″, 220), athletic, and is familiar with Young’s strengths and weaknesses.

25. Seattle (needs - RB, offensive line, DT, CB) - Felix Jones, RB, Arkansas - The Seahawks don’t have a lot of needs, but RB is clearly one of them. Jones is thought to be vaguely similar to Shaun Alexander, and is also an outstanding kick returner.

Jones can make it 2 Hog RBs in the First Round

26. Jacksonville (needs - DE, offensive line) - Calais Campbell, DE, Miami - Jacksonville needs a pash rushing defensive end, so they may look to move up to snag Derrick Harvey. If they can’t pull that off, Campbell is likely to be available. Campbell has all the potential in the world, but has rarely been able to channel that on the football field. His draft range is all over the place - he could get picked as high as the second half of the first round, he could slip to the 3rd round.

27. San Diego (defensive line, defensive back, RB) - Kenny Phillips, FS, Miami - The Chargers have few obvious holes, but could use some depth at a number of positions. Kenny Phillips would be solid value here. He’s far and away the highest rated safety in this class, and has a similar profile to Sean Taylor, although he’s not quite as well-regarded a talent.

28. Dallas (needs - CB, WR, RB) - James Hardy, WR, Indiana - Hardy has some pretty striking negatives. His character and his work ethic are question marks, and he’s not a great athlete. On the other hand, he’s really tall (6′6″) which makes him a weapon at the goal line.

29. San Francisco (needs - WR, offensive line) - Malcolm Kelly, WR, Oklahoma - The WR version of Adrian Peterson? From Oklahoma, very productive, very talented, but significant durability concerns. The 49ers were a trendy pick for the playoffs a year ago; their roster looks really poor now, particularly on the offensive side.

30. Green Bay (needs - CB, offensive line, TE) - Sam Baker, OT, USC - Green Bay does not have many obvious needs, but they have some aging players at key positions, like CB and offensive line. They may look for a TE here (Purdue’s Dustin Keller, perhaps), but I have a feeling they’ll try to shore up their o-line to make things as easy for Aaron Rogers as possible. Baker could probably play any position on the O-line, and he’s a good athlete.

31. NY Giants (needs - defensive back, offensive line) - Aqib Talib, CB, Kansas - Talib has as much talent as any DB in this draft, but is apparently a pothead (reports that he failed multiple drug tests in college), which will hurt his stock. The Giants may also look at Auburn product Quentin Groves as the eventual succesor to Michael Strahan, or somebody like Xavier Adibi from Virginia Tech, to replace Kawika Mitchell.