Some confusion yesterday, as it appeared to the naked eye that I published my post at a very early time. Rest assured that I published at 11:30 A.M. The timestamps have always been confusing on this site.

Every team that needed to win to get in the NCAA tournament lost yesterday. This is good because it leaves the door open for Virginia Commonwealth, who Matthew thinks is solidly out of the tournament. However, Matt also thinks that Boston College, after thankfully knocking off Maryland last night, can beat Clemson, Duke, and North Carolina on three consecutive days to win the ACC tournament and get into the Big Dance. So there’s that.

On to the completion of the Mock Draft. We pick up where we left off, at number 17 with the Minnesota Vikings.

17. Minnesota Vikings
-What They Need: Wide Receivers, Wide Receivers, and a few more Wide Receivers.
-What They Should Do: Stay Put.
–THE PICK: WR Limas Sweed (Texas)-Sweed gives the Vikings a talented Wideout, something that they’ve lacked since Randy Moss left. I don’t think they should go QB here. Is Tavaris Jackson the answer for this team? I think he can be. Give him time and some weapons on offense and I think he can be very good.

18. Houston Texans
-What They Need: Running Back, Wide Receiver, Cornerback
-What They Should Do: Stay Put
–THE PICK: CB Leodis McKelvin (Troy)-This is a really tough pick. If they narrow it down to corner, they have the choice between McKelvin and Rodgers-Cromartie. However, Jonathan Stewart (RB/Oregon) is still on the board and there’s a slue of receivers they can draft to pair with Andre Johnson. I think their defense is the more pressing issue. They’re solid up front on the line. They need secondary help. McKelvin fills the bigger need.

19. Philadelphia Eagles
-What They Need: Probably not to draft another quarterback. They already have an issue with that. Wide Receiver and Linebacker.
-What They Should Do: I would trade down. There’s no really pressing needs on this team. The offense is decent. The defense is decent. There’s no pick here that I think will really set them apart from the rest of the NFC East.
–THE PICK: WR De’Sean Jackson (California)-De’Sean gives them great speed out of the slot and a great return man with blazing speed. He could add a needed wrinkle to their offense. The best two players on the board here are Jonathan Stewart and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, however, they don’t need a feature back or a corner.

20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
-What They Need: To get younger on defense. To get younger at wideout. Getting younger.
-What They Should Do: Stay Put
–THE PICK: DE Derrick Harvey (Florida)-Rodgers-Cromartie would be an interesting pick here. So would a bunch of available wideouts. However, if they want to be great on defense again, long-term, line Harvey up opposite Gaines Adams on the line. Wideout is deep in this draft and they don’t “need” a corner yet.

21. Washington Redskins
-What They Need: To get off of my TV and Radio. Also, someone besides Santana Moss who can catch footballs.
-What They Should Do: Stay Put, unless they can move down to the end of the first round.
–THE PICK: WR James Hardy (Indiana)-They already have the speed in Moss at WR, now they have the size in Hardy (6’5”). Hardy has had off the field issues. If they keep him in check and away from the guys I pass on the street who end conversations with, “Alright, my n—a, I’m gonna go take care a’ some bizniss,” he should be a quality piece on a playoff team.

22. Dallas Cowboys
-What They Need: To wipe up the stain Darren McFadden created in Jerry Jones’ slacks.
-What They Should Do: Not go apeshit crazy over a running back when they already have Marion Barber III.
–THE PICK: CB Dominique-Rodgers Cromartie (Tennessee State)-If there’s any team with no pressing issues that can be fixed in the first round, this is the team. They happen to have two first round picks. So they’ll just get better. I love this pick in this spot. They don’t really need a cornerback, however, he’s the best player on the defensive board currently and sures up an area where they looked less than mediocre in the playoffs. Now this is a pick that Jerry Jones should have a plastic-surgery induced erection for.

23. Pittsburgh Steelers
-What They Need: Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.
-What They Should Do: If any of the top 4 corners are still available at about pick 20, they should trade up and draft the available cornerback. Can you tell this team needs a cornerback? They really need a corner.
–THE PICK: OG Brandon Albert (Virginia)-After corner, there’s no huge pressing need for this team, so why not sure up an offensive line that plays in front of an immobile (except when he’s going backwards), inaccurate quarterback who is paid ten million dollars a season.?

24. Tennessee Titans
-What They Need: Someone Vince Young can throw a football to.
-What They Should Do: Draft someone Vince Young can throw a football to.
–THE PICK: WR Devin Thomas (Michigan State)-Thomas has more size than Early Doucett and isn’t a jerk like Mario Manningham, which makes him the best choice at wideout here. He’s not as fast as Doucett or as polished as Manningham, but in the Titans dink and dunk offense, he’ll stay healthier than Doucett will and can still breakaway from some defenders.

25. Seattle Seahawks
-What They Need: They’re deep at most positions. Except tight end.
-What They Should Do: Win a game away from home once in a while.
–THE PICK: TE Fred Davis (Southern California)-They have no one on their roster that can play tight end. Nobody. In fact, here’s their tight ends presently: Zac Alcorn, Will Heller, Jeb Putzier, and Joe Newton. Only Putzier has made any impact in the NFL and his impact is similar to that of a feather being thrown at a brick wall. Davis will give them another pass-catching option on offense.

26. Jacksonville Jaguars
-What They Need: Nothing. They’re the best team in the AFC right now. Additional help at corner, perhaps.
-What They Should Do: Trade up for one of the corners. This team is so deep, they can afford to give up draft picks to sure up their secondary.
–THE PICK: DE Calais Campbell (Miami FL)- Campbell would make an already solid front line even stronger. Good insurance policy for Paul Spicer and Rob Meier at End. It’s probably a little boring, but this team is insanely good in Hot Stove terms.

27. San Diego Chargers
-What They Need: Safety help. They’re really really thin there.
-What They Should Do: Stay Put.
–THE PICK: S Kenny Phillips (Miami FL)-He’s the best safety on the board. They need a safety. 2+2=4.

28. Dallas Cowboys
-What They Need: We’ve been here before.
-What They Should Do: Keep bolstering the best roster in the NFC. They’re the Jaguars of this conference.
–THE PICK: RB Jonathan Stewart (Oregon)-Here’s a novel concept if you’re the Cowboys: You think you need a running back? Keep both picks and you end up with a high value pick at 28 in Stewart, who can back up Marion the Barbarian and be a functional kick returner. Which would you rather have: Darren McFadden or Jonathan Stewart, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, and your 3rd or 4th round pick?

29. San Francisco 49ers
-What They Need: That top 7 pick from the Patriots. And a lot of help.
-What They Should Do: Cry.
–THE PICK: DT Kentwan Balmer (North Carolina)- The 49ers have a lot of wide outs, just no good ones. That’s sort of the case everywhere on this team. They have a lot of mediocre players and very few standouts. Balmer will give them depth up front where they’re very mediocre.

30. Green Bay Packers
-What They Need: A dose of reality. Brett Favre went out to get a pack of cigarettes and he won’t be back. However, he left plenty of food in the cupboards and you’re capable of taking care of yourself now. Plus, your new daddy is very good. You just need to give him time.
-What They Should Do: Unlike the 49ers, they need to stop crying.
–THE PICK: QB Joe Flacco (Delaware)-This isn’t what I would do, but rather what I think will happen. There’s not a ton they can do with this first round pick. They’re mostly solid. However, enough people will freak out about Aaron Rodgers and his injuries a few years ago and enough people will continue talking about how Joe Flacco has a “Brett Favre” arm. And alas, we have a quarterback quandary in Green Bay. (For the sake of it, I would actually trade down here and try to get some picks for next year’s draft).

31. New England Patriots
-What They Need: To not videotape things.
-What They Should Do: Stop all covert missions.
–THE PICK: FORFEITED

32. New York Giants
-What They Need: A dose of reality. Wide receiver help and linebackers galore.
-What They Should Do: Get stomped out. Stay put.
–THE PICK: LB Dan Connor (Penn State)-Every mock draft I’ve seen has them taking Connor. I’m not being trendy (see my Keith Rivers pick and Jonathan Stewart falling), it’s just such an obvious fit. They lost Kawika Mitchell and Connor is a Tom Coughlin type of player. No frills. Gets the job done. He’s not a glamor pick. He’s a smart pick.

Ladies and Gentleman (mostly gentleman) that brings Round 1 to a close. Still available are Felix Jones (RB/Arkansas…my top rated back), Brian Brohm (QB/Louisville…my second rated quarterback, behind Flacco), Early Doucett, Mario Manningham, Brandon Flowers (CB/Virginia Tech), and a lot of other value guys for Round 2. Who knows…maybe I’ll do a full 7 round mock draft.

Don’t hold your breath. However, maybe a second round if my readers (Ryan and Matt) would like.

Game O’ The Day: USC/UCLA. Don’t worry though, we won’t be able to watch the game live as our local FOX Sports/ComCast Sportsnet channels will preempt coverage of this really interesting exciting game with this plate of deliciousness, broken up into local markets: Boston/Utah (New England), Washington Capitals/Atlanta Thrasher (Baltimore/Washington), Thrashers/Capitals (Atlanta), Orlando/Miami (Florida), Northern Michigan/Michigan State (College Hockey…seriously…Detroit), Akron/Western Michigan (Ohio), St. Joseph’s/Xavier (Whatever city gets FSCN), Chicago/Columbus (NHL…CSNC), Minnesota/Minnesota State (College Hockey…Minnesota), and on and on and on. The point is this, all of those above games are garbage. UCLA and USC is an inner city rivalry that both teams split on their opponent’s home court and now we get a rubber match, on a neutral court, that is still in Los Angeles (Staples Center). I predicted USC would win the Pac-10 title and I’ll continue with that prediction. I just won’t be able to see it live.

Mid-Atlantic Bias will not have a weekend edition. It will, however, return on Monday morning to rant about the field of 65. On Tuesday, I will have my entire bracket for you. On Wednesday, I will probably break down the play-in game. And then on Thursday and Friday, my heart will explode from excitement. So it should be a fun week. If you don’t like college basketball…next week at Mid-Atlantic Bias is no place for you.

Have a great weekend and I will see you all back here on Monday.