Part of my issue with mock drafts is that it is difficult to model the randomness of thirty-two different groups of people with thirty-two different motivations. You often become caught up in your own opinions, and engage in a little bit of group think. Maybe, it’s trying to get one player to a certain team because that’s what you are hearing or believe likely. Maybe it’s knocking a player up or down the board. The real draft, though, never goes as so neatly planned, usually diverging from what all the mock draft experts think as soon as Buffalo makes their pick.

So let’s do a reader/commenter mock draft. In either the comment section of this post or in an email to me (address on the sidebar), let me know which team you follow, and give me a quick (and I do mean quick-one sentence) assessment of your team’s most likely needs in the draft. If it’s an email, make the subject line “TBL Reader Mock Draft” so that I can isolate them and check for those that may not get through the spam filter. Oh, and I realize that the Patriots have two picks in the first round, while the Raiders have none. Go ahead and volunteer and be on call, Raiders fan, because it is always possible, though unlikely, that we have draft pick trades by the time we start.

I ask a couple of things if you volunteer. First, that you not get upset if you aren’t picked. Our readership/fanship may greatly vary on team support–I’m guessing more Jets and Steelers than Cardinals fans. Second, that you are available by email to make a pick in a reasonable amount of time starting around April 15th and over the next week. I’m assuming it will take 5-7 days to complete with many different people involved. I know people work and have obligations, and I’m not expecting immediate turnaround, but if you can’t check email during a 4 hour span, it will probably slow us down. I don’t want us waiting 24 hours on a pick. Third, that you follow the team, keep up with the information and try to make a reasonable pick. I don’t want groupthink, but I also don’t want people drafting guys who have no chance of going anywhere near the first round. Fourth, that you be willing to write 2-3 sentences with your pick that can be included in the mock draft post.

Thanks, and again, list your favorite team and one sentence synopsis of team needs in either the comments or an email to me with subject line “TBL Reader Mock Draft”.

[photo via Getty]