VUFSA 2012 Football Round One Mock Draft

Well hello there friends. Remember when this blog was active during the last football season? We neglected to write about basketball or baseball, but with football season starting up and me being bored out of my mind, I decided to get things going again by putting on my best Mel Kiper mask and projecting how the first round of the VUFSA 2012 Football Draft will go. A note before I begin: I have zero knowledge of how the rest of you choose to draft (it is at this point I should mention that Ed really wanted Vianos pick to read "whoever Yahoo autodraft has highest ranked). Instead, I am going about this as if I were each of you and how I would draft based on your keepers and such. This is not a way of telling you how you should draft, and I don't claim to be any good at this. Also, I used the Yahoo! composite top 200, so for the most part I identified a position that would be drafted and took the highest remaining player without taking much else into consideration. I'm quite certain I will get the first pick right (as it has been discussed already), but I may not get a single one beyond that (even my own) correct. Please use the comments to mock as necessary. On with the show.

1. Drew -- Trent Richardson RB Cleveland
Between being at the top of the class of rookie running backs and playing for his beloved Cleveland Browns, this is a pretty easy selection for Drew. After his trade with Ed sees Tom Brady and Jeremy Maclin head out of town and Peyton Manning arrive, Drew looks to build his corps of running backs, and he can do so with both of his first round selections.
2. Welty -- Doug Martin RB Tampa Bay
My first draft of this had Welty taking Steven Jackson, then I remembered he had him at one point and traded him away (or something like that), so I figured he would go in a different direction this time. Welty kept two running backs, but with Rashard Mendenhall out until the end of September at least, this seams like a great place to take a running back. Martin isn't as highly regarded as Richardson, but he could be falling into a better situation. The NFC South defenses don't exactly strike fear into the hearts of runners.
3. Viano -- Matt Ryan QB Atlanta
With three running backs and two wide receivers in the fold, Viano will most likely be thinking quarterback here. Ryan has had a fantastic preseason and is the highest-ranked returning quarterback on the board. Viano could go with one of the five rookies who start in Week One, but this seems like the safest pick to make at this spot.
4. Tomke -- Steven Jackson RB St. Louis 
Maurice Jones-Drew is Tomke's lone running back on the roster, and with him currently in a holdout, running back should be addressed here. There are any number of ways Dave could go with this (and my first inclination was to give him a Lion), but Jackson seems like a good bet here. He could go with Gore or Sproles also, but Jackson is my guess here.
5. JR -- Marques Colston WR New Orleans
JR kept two Green Bay wideouts (never a bad choice) and two running backs who play at the Meadowlands, so he could go either way with this pick. I feel like he chooses to go with wide receiver here, and Colston is the best one on the board. Drew Brees has plenty of options, and Colston is one who will be targeted early and often in the Superdome.
6. Baron -- Darren Sproles RB New Orleans
Baron makes it back-to-back Saints to come off the board. He could go with a quarterback here (he kept three wide receivers, a tight end and Arian Foster), but I have a sense that he will wait a round or two and select one of the rookie quarterbacks and instead look to running back here. Frank Gore is still available, and I thought he might go in that direction, but Baron has had Gore before, and I'm not sure he wants to go down that road again.
7. Drew -- Frank Gore RB San Francisco
With his second pick of the first round, Drew could look to add to his wide receivers, but I feel like he will go with another running back here as well. Cedric Benson in Green Bay is an intriguing proposition, but Gore is more established and should have a bounce back type of year.
8. Eli -- Cedric Benson RB Green Bay
Eli is set at wide receiver for the first round or two, so he will most likely address his running back situation here. Many of the starters are off the board by now, so this allows Eli the chance to take a flyer on a guy like Benson. He looked good in the preseason and could give Green Bay the running game that the Packers have been missing the last few years.
9. Ed -- Miles Austin WR Dallas
I'm not sure Ed is sold on the awesomeness of Jeremy Maclin, and with Tom Brady, DeMarco Murray, Chris Johnson and Darren McFadden in the fold, this is a good chance to upgrade at wide receiver. Justin Blackmon is a possibility here, but I think he goes with a known quantity over the rookie. If Austin can stay healthy, he and Dez Bryant can form as good on a 1-2 receiving combination as exists in the NFL.
10. Stem -- Eric Decker WR Denver
If one of the running backs listed above is still on the board, I may very well go in that direction instead. But assuming all those guys are gone, I like Decker here. Peyton loves him some white wide receivers (see Collie, Austin), and Decker fits the mold well. He should benefit as much as anyone from the switch of Tebow to Manning.

So there it is. That's how I think the First Round will turn out. I'm sure I will be totally wrong, but it was a fun little exercise and it's good to have something new on the blog. Enjoy the draft.