I said goodbye to my wife and baby daughter early this morning, knowing that I won't really see them again until Saturday evening.
My home the next three days: Radio City Music Hall, with mornings spent at the nearby NFL offices. We will be cranking Around the League content with great behind-the-scenes access throughout the draft. So what will we be talking about here at this time tomorrow?
A run in the secondary
Last year, the big story was quarterbacks Jake Locker, Blaine Gabbert, and Christian Ponder all getting drafted earlier than expected. This year's run will be in the secondary. Stephon Gilmore and Mark Barron may sneak into the top 10, Dre Kirkpatrick could get pushed into the top 15, and even Janoris Jenkins' talent may be tough to ignore in the first round.
Matt Kalil's slide
It's amazing that conventional wisdom no longer expects the Vikings to take Kalil at No. 3 overall. Whether the Billstrade up for Kalil or not, look for us to be talking about the great "value" some team got when they snapped Kalil up.
Dolphins get their man
The long-discussed Ryan Tannehill-to-Miami marriage happens, and the Dolphins don't have to trade up to get him.
The boom-or-bust defensive linemen
Dontari Poe, Michael Brockers, and Quinton Coples are all exceedingly talented. And there are major questions about the lack of production from all three players. Their draft stock dipped throughout the process, but these are the types of guys that teams usually can't pass on for long.
The leftover quarterbacks
The Browns may like Brandon Weeden, but no one thinks he'll go in the first round. Kirk Cousins and Brock Osweiler figure to be forgotten, too. After Andy Dalton and Colin Kaepernick went at the top of Round Two last year, there will be a lot of speculation about teams angling for Weeden and Cousins.
Michael Floyd goes ahead of Justin Blackmon
Both are good, not great, wide receiver prospects. Floyd has a more pro-ready skill set that could appeal to the Jacksonville Jaguars at No. 7 when Blackmon is on the board.
The Jaguars pick
Whether Jacksonville takes Floyd or not, look for the Jaguars to throw the draft's first curveball at No. 7. General manger Gene Smith thinks differently than the rest of the league and trusts his evaluation. It's hard not to respect that.
Mock Drafts
Oh, wait. No one will be talking about mock drafts. After months and months of variations on the theme, every mock draft completed since December will be completely forgotten and no one will particularly care who predicted the first round well.
The only mocks anyone will pay attention to on Friday will be the inevitable round two and three mock drafts that come out on Friday. Chad Reuter, you're up.
