2009 NFL Mock Draft

With the 2009 NFL Draft coming up in just a few months, Gator Nation's NFL analyst Max Davis predicts how the first round will play out.

#	Team	Player/ Position/ College	Expert Analysis
1	Detroit Lions	Matthew Stafford/ QB/ Georgia	Following the worst season in NFL history the Lions have more than enough holes to fill. They may as well start with most important position on the field and Stafford is the best QB in the draft.
2	St. Louis Rams	Andre Smith/ OT/ Alabama	340 pounds of pure muscle mixed with quick feet and excellent hands makes Smith, the 2009 Outland Trophy winner for the best lineman in college football, the future replacement of the aging Orlando Pace.
3	Kansas City Chiefs	Michael Oher/ OT/ Ole Miss	The Chiefs drafted LG Brandon Albert last year in the first round and if they have the chance to pair him with Oher next season then Kansas City could have one of the best offensive lines in football for many years to come.
4	Seattle Seahawks	Michael Crabtree/ WR/ Texas Tech	The Seahawks had one of the leagues worst passing attacks last year and Crabtree is the obvious fit. Maybe the best all-around player in the draft, Crabtree will make an immediate impact.
5	Cleveland Browns	Aaron Curry/ OLB/ Wake Forest	Hands down the best defensive prospect in the draft, Aaron Curry dominated opponents last season, something the Browns struggled to do.
6	Cincinnati Bengals	Eugene Monroe/ OT/ Virginia	The Chiefs or Rams could possibly take Monroe over Oher or Smith. I expect the Bengals to snatch up whichever one of these three OT’s is left on the board.
7	Oakland Raiders	Malcolm Jenkins/ CB/ Ohio State	The possibility of Malcolm Jenkins playing across the field from arguably the best corner in the game, Nnamdi Asomugha, will raise Jay Cutler’s blood pressure and make Phillip Rivers wish he was home for a long time to come.
8	Jacksonville Jaguars	Jeremy Maclin/ WR/ Missouri	Watch for the Jaguars to trade this pick: they don’t have that one pressing need they have to fill with this pick and teams who need a QB will be looking to trade up for Mark Sanchez. If they do hold this pick, Maclin is the deep threat the Jags have been lacking.
9	Green Bay Packers	Brian Orakpo/ DE/ Texas	Orakpo is high-energy guy whose motor never seems to stop, unless he’s hurt which happens too often. When healthy though, he can be a force on D.
10	San Francisco 49ers	B.J. Raji/ DT/ Boston College	The Niners are notoriously bad at stopping the run and Raji is a big nose tackle who can help plug that hole.
11	Buffalo Bills	Vontae Davis/ CB/ Illinois	A physical freak for the cornerback position, Davis’s stock will rise at the combine and the Bills will be very happy if he is sitting here at pick eleven.
12	Denver Broncos	Ray Maualuga/ ILB/ USC	The Broncos linebackers are old and slow and Denver needs a guy like Maualuga to change that.
13	Washington Redskins	Evertte Brown/ DE/ Florida State	Jason Taylor hasn’t worked out as well as the Skins may have hoped and they still are weak on the D-line. Brown is a very talented player who can make a difference.
14	New Orleans Saints	Michael Johnson/ DE/ Georgia Tech	While the Saints have a Super Bowl caliber offense, the defense is annually one of the worst in football. Michael Johnson is a big 6’ 7” end with power.
15	Houston Texans	Jason Smith/ OT/ Baylor	Throughout the Texans young history, the O-line has been their Achilles heel. Jason Smith clearly seems like the fourth-best OT in this draft and the Texans should be happy to have him.
16	San Diego Chargers	Chris Wells/ RB/ Ohio State	If Maualuga is still here the Chargers might have to jump on him but I don’t think he’ll be on the board at 16. LT is in the final stretch of his career and Darren Sproles cannot be an every-down back; “Beanie” Wells is a special player that will make a dangerous 1-2 combo with Sproles.
17	New York Jets	Mark Sanchez/ QB/ USC	There is a very good chance that the Jets will have to trade up to get him, but because teams 4 through 16 don’t need a QB there’s a very realistic possibility of Sanchez falling into the Jets’ laps at 17.
18	Chicago Bears	Percy Harvin/ WR/ Florida	He is not the same player as Devin Hester. Harvin is a much more polished receiver coming out of college and will be ready to make an immediate impact. Also, just imagine the speed of Hester and Harvin lined up alongside each other and dream of the possibilities.
19	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Brian Cushing/ OLB/ USC	OLB might not be the Bucs most pressing need but Cushing is way too good to pass up this late.
20	Detroit Lions	Tyson Jackson/ DE/ LSU	The Lions are weak at, well, everywhere, which means start at the core. Jackson will help an abysmal pass rush.
21	Philadelphia Eagles	Aaron Maybin/ DE/ Penn State	Andy Reid has a history of only drafting lineman early in the draft so I expect him to take the best one available on either side of the ball. In this situation, it’s Maybin.
22	Minnesota Vikings	William Moore/ S/ Missouri	With Darren Sharper nearing the end of his career, the Vikings need to add a guy like Moore to sure up an already vulnerable pass defense.
23	New England Patriots	Knowshon Moreno/ RB/ Georgia	The Lawrence Maroney era appears finished in New England and Moreno is an every-down back that could create havoc working with Brady and co.
24	Atlanta Falcons	Darrius Heyward-Bey/ WR/ Maryland	Matt Ryan doesn’t have any real weapons after Roddy White and Heyward-Bey would provide a very formidable 1-2 WR core for the best young QB in the game.
25	Miami Dolphins	Fili Moala/ DT/ USC	The Fins front seven was very good last year but they aren’t young; to avoid a rebuilding period they need to incorporate young linemen.
26	Baltimore Ravens	Brandon Pettigrew/ TE/ Oklahoma State	The Ravens do have TE Todd Heap but he’s not getting any younger… or healthier apparently. Pettigrew is both a solid receiver and blocker, something you have to be if you want to be a Raven.
27	Indianapolis Colts	Larry English/ DE/ Northern Illinois	Larry English could fly under the radar coming from Northern Illinois but don’t expect the Colts not to notice the oversized DE/ DT hybrid.
28	Philadelphia Eagles	James Laurinaitis/ ILB/ Ohio State	Laurinaitis fits in very well with the Eagles blitz schemes and will be a big help in run stopping too. He can bring a young energy to an aging team that must feel like they just missed their best opportunity to get back to the big game.
29	New York Giants	Hakeem Nicks/ WR/ North Carolina	Amani Toomer has said that he doesn’t expect to be a Giant next year and Plaxico Burress, well, let’s just call him unreliable. Most draft classes would never allow Nicks to fall this far but the Giants benefit from a stacked class.
30	Tennessee Titans	Alphonso Smith/ CB/ Wake Forest	The Titans still need to replace Pacman at CB #2 and Smith has the elite speed to fill that position.
31	Arizona Cardinals	Lesean McCoy/ RB/ Pittsburgh	McCoy is an outstanding young back with unlimited potential. He flew under the radar on a sub-par Pitt Panther team last season and could absolutely explode on a team with Warner and Fitzgerald.
32	Pittsburgh Steelers	Duke Robinson/ OG/ Oklahoma	It is very rare for a Super Bowl champion to have a weak offensive line but that was the case this year with the Steelers. Look for the Steelers to fill that hole with the top Guard in the draft.