Let&39;s try something new.
OK, maybe it&39;s not exactly new. Not much is new when it comes to the NFL Draft and the web, but we can call it something borrowed – and it's new to jaguars.com.
It's a mock draft, but one with a twist.
What we want to try over the next month and a half is a reader mock draft. We did this on my former blog the past two years – Indy Football Report – and though done on a comparatively small scale, it provided a pretty fascinating, entertaining six weeks of discussion and debate.
And that&39;s what mock drafts are all about.
Here&39;s how it will work:
We&39;ll let jaguars.com readers pick the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft from No. 1 to No. 32, and we&39;ll do it with the readers picking one first-round selection a day. We won&39;t go on weekends, so by my calculations we&39;ll wrap this thing up the week of the draft, which begins Thursday, April 28.
We&39;re looking for readers to make their selections in the comment selection below each day&39;s post, but instead of a pure vote, I&39;ll read the reader responses, use the input and make the day&39;s selection. I&39;ll be aiming to post around 2 p.m. (I&39;ve got a pre-lunch deadline for the O-Zone, as many of you continually remind me). A lot of days, the majority will win. Some of the days, I may be swayed by the best analysis. And on still other days, I may overrule everything and make the pick.
Fair?
No. It&39;s not fair, but I&39;m the senior writer and it was my idea.
I&39;ll then write something on the pick the following day and we&39;ll move forward.
As I said, the two reader drafts I&39;ve previously done have been interesting and have provided terrific forums for discussion and debate. They&39;ve made me think and helped educate the reader – and me – as the draft has approached.
I typically get things started by throwing out a suggestion for the next day&39;s pick, then let the readers agree, disagree, praise and most often tear the selection apart.
So, without further delay, let&39;s get started.
The first suggestion for the first selection in the first jaguars.com reader mock draft:
1.Patrick Peterson, LSU, CB
He&39;s the suggestion because a lot of people believe he&39;s the most talented player in the draft, but at the same time, he personifies the draft because he&39;s a long way from a No. 1 lock. There is no No. 1 lock, but there are a whole lot of possibilities.
Da&39;Quan Bowers. Marcell Dareus.
A.J. Green. Von Miller.
Nick Fairley.
All have been mentioned as possible top guys, and that's not even including Cam Newton of Auburn, a guy projected all over the first round.
Do you think Peterson will go one overall?
If not, who should? And why?
The NFL Draft is, at best, an unscientific process, and the way I see it, one mock draft often is as good as the next. But past experience has shown me that this format not only provides much about which to think, but often points me – and by extension, the reader – to previously unconsidered areas. At the least, we have a better feel for the draft than when we started, and along the way have some fun.
I look forward to hearing from you, and look forward to getting this started.
