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The NFL Draft is Nearly Here

Many NFL fans pull out their hair at this point of the calendar because of a collective lull in NFL news. The Jay Cutler trade/TO release helped create a much more diverse slate of conversation topics this year, but both have been sufficiently skewered at this point.

So now we have the draft to look forward to. In under two weeks we'll have enough fodder to keep us all occupied until the season starts, and we definitely have our popcorn ready.

Marshawn Lynch Suspended?

Buffalo Bills RB Marshawn Lynch is expected to be suspended for the first four games of the NFL season due to continued run-ins with the long arm of the law. Under the league's new, stricter-than-in-the-past player discipline structure, repeat offenders will be punished simply for being repeat offenders.

In regards to Lynch, the rumor is that the long-awaited suspension will be made official tomorrow.

Cutler Trade Shakes Things Up

The trade that sent Jay Cutler to Chicago and Kyle Orton to Denver has shaken up the NFL Offseason landscape to a considerable degree.

A few of the points that must now be considered:

Denver must now be looked at as a potential player for the top quarterbacks in the draft (they've been linked most heavily to Mark Sanchez).

Chicago now has considerable pressure to perform, and perform well. The Bears have long been viewed as a team that was solid outside of its quarterback play, and, on top of that, they gave up a buttload in return for Cutler.

Look for Cutler (and Bus Cook) to demand a new contract, and fairly quickly. Because of the immense price they paid to get Cutler in to town, Cutler's camp has a lot of leverage in contract negotiations.

Josh McDaniels has to hope that his confidence in his ability to make Kyle Orton an effective, dependable passer comes to fruition, immediately. If this move backfires, there is no doubt that McDaniels will be let go.

Cutler to Bears!

Disgruntled (former) Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler has been traded to the Chicago Bears for a 2009 first round draft pick, a 2009 third round draft pick, a 2010 first round draft pick, and quarterback Kyle Orton. Holy crap that's a haul.

Some outlets are reporting that the Broncos sent Chicago a fifth rounder in the deal, but the latest report from NFL.com doesn't mention anything else besides Cutler leaving Denver.

Either way, look for Chicagoans everywhere to yell with joy and rant that they're going back to the Super Bowl. Then look for Denver to have a better than Chicago in '09.

Who Your Team Should Draft

This is one of the promised new features of the site re-design/branding in which we offer our suggestions (we know you value our opinion as Gospel) as to which three or four draft prospects each team should target in the first round (or with their first pick if they don’t hold a first round pick). This is not a mock draft – it’s what we here at The Football Free Press think each team should do, given the availability of the player.

Oh, and we know this will be work wank come draft day (assuming that you think it’s currently worth more than wank) due to trades and surprises via players being selected much earlier than commonly believed, or much later, a la Brady Quinn and his classy girlfriend.

The first sixteen teams, in alphabetical order:

Arizona Cardinals (Rd 1, Pick 31): Jarron Gilbert, DE, San Jose State; Knowshon Moreno, RB, Georgia; Clint Sintim, OLB, Virginia.
Atlanta Falcons (R1P24): Louis Delmas, FS, Western Michigan; Ziggy Hood, DT, Missouri; Ron Brace, DT, Boston College; Michael Johnson, DE, Georgia Tech.
Baltimore Ravens (Rd1P26): Rey Maualuga, ILB, Southern Cal; Darius Butler, CB, UConn; Darrius Heyward-Bey, WR, Maryland.
Buffalo Bills (Rd1P11): Andre Smith, OT/G, Alabama; Aaron Maybin, DE, Penn State; Malcom Jenkins, CB/S, Ohio State.
Carolina Panthers (Rd2P27): Sen’derrick Marks, DT, Auburn; Derrick Williams, WR, Penn State; Paul Kruger, DE, Utah.
Chicago Bears (Rd1P18): Hakeem Nicks, WR, North Carolina; Jeremy Maclin, WR, Missouri; Percy Harvin, WR, Florida.
Cincinnati Bengals (Rd1P6): Andre Smith, OT/G, Alabama; Aaron Curry, LB, Wake Forest;
Cleveland Browns (R1P5): Jeremy Maclin, WR, Missouri; Aaron Curry, LB, Wake Forest; Malcolm Jenkins, CB/S, Ohio State; Michael Johnson, DE/LB, Georgia Tech.
Dallas Cowboys (Rd2P19): Brian Robiskie, WR, Ohio State; Rashad Johnson, FS, Alabama; Ron Brace, DT, Boston College; Patrick Chung, FS, Oregon; Jamon Meredith, T, South Carolina.
Denver Broncos (R1P12): Rey Maualuga, ILB, Southern Cal; Brian Orakpo, DE/LB, Texas; Malcolm Jenkins, CB/S, Ohio State.
Detroit Lions (Rd1P1): Jason Smith, LT, Baylor; Aaron Curry, LB, Wake Forest; Matthew Stafford, QB, Georgia. (Rd1P20): Michael Johnson, DE/LB, Georgia Tech; Clint Sintim, DE/LB, Virginia; Ziggy Hood, DT, Missouri.
Green Bay Packers (Rd1P9): Malcolm Jenkins, CB/S, Ohio State; Michael Johnson, DE/LB, Georgia Tech; Andre Smith, T/G, Alabama.
Houston Texans (Rd1P15): Michael Johnson, DE/LB, Georgia Tech; Marc Sanchez, QB, Southern California; Clay Matthews, LB, Southern California.
Indianapolis Colts (Rd1P27): Ziggy Hood, DT, Missouri; Kenny Britt, WR, Rutgers; Ron Brace, DT, Boston College.
Jacksonville Jaguars (Rd1P8): Andre Smith, T/G, Alabama; Jeremy Maclin, WR, Missouri; Percy Harvin, WR, Florida; Marc Sanchez, QB, Southern California.
Kansas City Chiefs (Rd1P3): Andre Smith, T/G, Alabama; Michael Johnson, DE/LB, Georgia Tech; Aaron Curry, LB, Wake Forest.

Let us know how much we suck at this.