It is 2012 NFL Draft Day at last. It is also Robert Griffin III Day for the Washington Redskins. Do the president, the mayor of Washington and the governors of Maryland and Virginia know this? I haven’t seen any proclamations yet.
The DC metroplex is unhinged at the coming of Griffin III along with the Capitals winning a playoff series and the Senators Nationals leading the NL East. Washington is a sports town again. (By the way, I hope you are following our Bloguin colleagues at Rock the Red, The Nats Blog and Wizards Extreme.)
Robert Griffin III is the biggest thing this century to hit the Redskins since the second coming of Joe Gibbs on that glorious day in January 2004. Gibbs led a dysfunctional franchise to two playoff appearances in four years. We expect more of RG3, though we caution ‘Skins fans not to expect it this season.
Rapid response by Hog Heaven to be light tonight. I’m going to the NFL Draft Party at FedEx Field, weather permitting, because there’s no reason to go if it’s raining. The Redskins only have one pick tonight and there is no mystery about it.
The Android keyboard on my handheld thingie fights me at every turn. Mobile computing is an ongoing process with me. Here are the sites I follow to assess Draft picks by the Redskins and other NFL teams that will be sources for RHH stories going into the weekend. You might like the early peek.
Live Ball Sports
Greg Trippiedi, a frequent contributor to Redskins Hog Heaven whose analysis is to be trusted, created his 2012 NFL Draft ranking by position that he published to his own blog. Here are the links to Greg’s rankings:
Quarterbacks,
Offensive Tackles,
Tight Ends,
Cornerbacks,
Safeties,
Wide Receivers,
Pass Rushers,
Linebackers,
We are also fans of Eric Galko’s Optimum Scouting college scouting. Eric updated his 2012 all position NFL Draft Rankings that can be found here.
I’ve been following NFL Draft Scout since 2004 and relied their in-depth scouting report on players unknown to me. Once a subscription side, NFL Draft Scout now provides content for CBS Sports that can be found here.
Mock Drafts
My friends at DC Pro Sports Report tracked NFL mock drafts for longer than I’ve benn in blogging. They were the first to track RG3 to Washington, and Hog Heaven was the first to write a story proclaiming Griffin as the next quarterback of the Redskins (Dec 6, 2011). That was one of our most read stories in a dreary December.
If you know of a RG3 to the Redskins story published earlier, leave the link in Comments. That story deserves credit.
It’s fun to see how the real Draft maps to the mock Drafts. Check the DCPSR Mock Draft link here.
I participated in the This Given Sunday Blog mock draft in March at the start of free agency found here.
NFL GM’s do not particapate in these things, but I just bet that they pay attention. Mock drafts are the wisdom of the crowds, like the Stock Market. NFL teams will always give more weight to their own player scouting and video analysis. Mock drafts don’t and can’t evaluate players from interviews. They help teams assess the “what-ifs” in the flow of Draft day. That helps them better prepare for contingencies during early rounds of the Draft.
Live chat
The This Given Sunday blog will live chat the NFL Draft tonight. I will participate if the forecasted rain forces me to remain at Hog Heaven World Headquarters. We invive you to chime in, too. check the site here to join in.
Like free agency and owners’ meetings, the NFL Draft is the game between the seasons. Pro football 365 is a wonderful thing.
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