I was asked last night why the 2008 Draft Preview doesn’t come out until April 1st. I was hoping to answer the question here in case anyone else had the same question:

I’m purely a one-man show. It takes a LONG time to write a 100-page preview in just a few months by yourself. I really wish that I could get it out earlier, but I also want to have as accurate information and rankings as I can get in there. It has literally everything that you would need for the upcoming draft. 7-Round Mock Draft, team needs, overrated/underrated, over 200 bio’s on 2008 players, rankings for 2009 and future drafts and even more. It takes a lot of work, but it’s worth it in the end. I would strongly suggest considering buying a copy. You won’t be disappointed. You can purchase a copy here.

Two more notes: Chad Johnson officially wants out of Cincinnati. While it may have appeared that way in the past week or two, I think that it is now not even a question. In three separate interviews yesterday, Chad made these comments:

“I’m going to be playing for your team next year,” referring to the Patriots.

Chad was also on the radio in Charlotte this week to say “85 + 89 = Super Bowl, period,” referring to he and Steve Smith, his former JUCO teammate. Here’s a link to his radio broadcast in Charlotte.

I also heard Johnson on the Dan Patrick show yesterday. While he wouldn’t come out and say that he was demanding a trade, he said that he just wanted to win. When Patrick asked him whether he’d take the Hall of Fame or a Super Bowl ring, Johnson replied, “A Super Bowl ring, the Hall of Fame is a given.”

- Looking back on my “Inside Info” from the other day, I think that the 60-70% chance that Fitzgerald would be traded was a bit high. There’s still a chance, but as we know, trades in the NFL are not very common. The $30 Million guaranteed also seems a bit high. As he’s a wide receiver, he likely won’t make as much as a defensive end, for example, because wide receivers are far easier to find and they can be interchanged frequently, unlike most other positions.

Here’s some news from the last day or two:

- LSU quarterback Matt Flynn has opted to not play in the Texas vs. The Nation game this weekend. The game is on Saturday and is televised on CSTV.

- The Bengals have signed quarterback Jordan Palmer. Jordan is the younger brother of the Bengals starting quarterback Carson Palmer.

- The Patriotes are reportedly “six weeks behind” in their offseason preparation.

- The Cardinals are expected to place the franchise tag on linebacker Karlos Dansby.

- Brett Favre has reportedly yet to decide whether he will retire following this past season, and says that the team’s loss in the NFC Championship game will have no influence in his decision.

I’ve finished off the rest of the rankings.

One thing to note that I’ve seen around the internet: Please do not buy into the hype that Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie is already the top cornerback in the draft. I like him and I’ve said that since last week, but there is no way that in my mind he should be moved into the #1 spot, yet. He looked pretty good during the week of practices and he looked great in the game. However, that’s what most, if not all experts are going off of right now. I was looking around on different sites and noticed that one had him going as high as New England at #7 Overall. While he could certainly land there, I don’t think that there’s any way that you can justify putting him there right now. Again, I’m not saying that he couldn’t go that high and be the top corner, but to think that he’s already made that big of a jump is ridiculous.

- I had mentioned in the Senior Bowl blog last week that Wisconsin cornerback Jack Ikegwuonu had torn his ACL, MCL, and had damaged his kneecap last Tuesday and would likely miss the entire 2008 season. Now, he reportedly only tore his ACL. Here was the post from last week:

Jan 25th (10:14 AM) – Big news today as Wisconsin cornerback Jack Ikegwuonu will not play football in 2008 and his career in football could be in question. Ikegwuonu blew out his knee Tuesday when training for the Combine in Davie, Florida. Ikegwuonu tore his ACL, MCL, and has damage to his kneecap. Before this injury, Ikegwuonu was being projected as a 3rd or 4th Round pick. Now, he’ll be lucky to be drafted as he will not be able to take part in the Combine or in Wisconsin’s Pro Day. There’s a chance that a team could take him with a late-round pick to secure his rights in case he is able to make a comeback from this injury.

Just talked to one of my guys, here’s some inside info:

- With Atlanta hiring a defensive minded coach in Mike Smith, don’t be surprised if they look at taking Sedrick Ellis with their 1st Round pick. They are going to take the best player available and would also love to land Darren McFadden. They want to get a quarterback through free agency or through a trade as no one in the front office has the patience to wait for a rookie develop. Don’t be surprised if they try to trade DeAngelo Hall for one of the Browns quarterbacks. The Falcons aren’t sure yet whether or not they want to trade Hall, but if they do, that’s what they’ll be aiming for in return.

- The Browns are still trying to work something out with Derek Anderson. Not much news here.

- This one’s from me: The Vikings really like Jason Jones, the defensive end from Eastern Michigan. Whether that means they’ll pass on a DE in the 1st Round, who knows.

- Don’t be surprised if the Dolphins strongly consider Jake Long in the 1st Round. They have an offensive line coach as their head coach and neither of the top defensive lineman seem like a great fit at #1 Overall. Dorsey because he doesn’t fit the 3-4 that well and Chris Long because they don’t want to pay a 3-4 DE, 1st Overall type of money.

- 60-70% chance that the Cardinals trade Larry Fitzgerald this offseason. Arizona knows that they aren’t going to be able to afford him when his contract expires as he could land upwards of $30 Million guaranteed.

I’ve updated the QB’s through the TE’s. This took a bit longer than I had expected, so I’m hoping to finish up by tomorrow.

I’ve updated the mock draft and I’ve added a draft value chart along the left bar. The chart is to show how much each pick is worth in the draft. The alignment is a bit goofy with each one right now, but it should be fixed soon.

- With the success of the live blog for the Senior Bowl game on Saturday night, I’ve decided that I’m going to start doing live draft chats this year. They’ll be once every few weeks or so. I was thinking of having the first one next week, for a Post-Superbowl chat.

- Word on the street is that the Cowboys are looking to shop both linebacker Bobby Carpenter and defensive end Marcus Spears. Meanwhile, the Dolphins are shopping the #1 Overall pick, and the Cowboys have been said to be interested in it. Now, if Dallas needed to give up their two 1st Round picks and then some, wouldn’t it make some sense that Carpenter and Spears could be the pieces needed to make the trade work? Using the trade chart that I posted, the Cowboys two 1st Round picks would still leave them 1,560 points short. That’s almost worth the 5th pick in the draft. Would Spears and Carpenter be worth the 5th pick or would Dallas need to add even more?

We’re back to the regular blog today as Senior Bowl week has officially ended. Thanks for joining me for the live blog yesterday, that was a lot of fun. Here’s a quick note from yesterday:

- Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie is really making a run for the 1st Round in my eyes. With his cousin, Chargers Pro Bowl cornerback Antonio Cromartie coming off the best season of his career, my guess is that there will be a few coaches and general managers out there that think they could land the same type of playmaker in Rodgers-Cromartie. I’ve yet to start working on the new mock draft because I’ve been struggling with whether he’s a 1st Round pick and whether Andre Woodson is worthy of dropping to the 2nd Round. I’ll likely have it up within the next two days.

As I mentioned in the Senior Bowl Live Blog, we’ve touched down in Mobile, Alabama and will be broadcasting from there for the rest of the week. I’ll have frequent updates to the Senior Bowl coverage over the course of the next six days, which is why I’ll be holding off on the main blog until next week. Everything that I see and hear from Mobile will now be placed in the Senior Bowl Live Blog.

Here are my thoughts from tonight’s East-West Shrine Game:

- I was very impressed with Josh Johnson. I think he proved to everyone that he has what it takes to play at the next level. He really raised his draft stock and at this point is looking like a solid 3rd or 4th Round pick.

- Jamie Silva continues to impress me. In every game of his that I’ve seen so far this year, he has always been around the football and is a constant playmaker. I think that he is going to be a terror on special teams at the next level. His stock has been rising tremendously and is likely up to the 4th Round.

- Despite fumbling in the 4th Quarter, I thought that Dwight Lowery had a nice game. He had two key interceptions while showing his excellent instincts and ball skills. He projects to being more of a Cover-2 corner at the next level. 3rd or 4th Round seems likely at this point.

- Anthony Alridge showed me a lot tonight. Not only is he a speedster and can take it to the house whenever he touches the ball, but he also has the ability to run in between the tackles. While that’s likely not what he’ll be doing at the next level, it adds even more to his versatility. I love his speed and elusiveness in the open field.

- A player that I really like that doesn’t get much publicity is Toledo offensive tackle John Greco. Greco is a very consistent and reliable player that could also potentially play guard at the next level. He’s another guy that will likely be taken in the 3rd or 4th Round.

- Lastly, Kevin Robinson the wide receiver from Utah State really helped his draft stock tonight. He went from being virtually unknown to now being on a lot of scouts radar’s. He’s definitely on mine as I’m intrigued with his ability to return kicks. He could be a nice late-round steal in this year’s draft.

I’ve updated the Mock Draft and the Player Rankings, as I mentioned I’d do last night. Hopefully a week or two from now we’ll be able to make some big changes based off of the Senior Bowl performances.

- I’ll be leaving early tomorrow morning for Mobile and will be updating the Senior Bowl blog throughout the trip. I’ll also be adding on the official player rosters, heights and weights from the weigh-in, and daily practice updates. Continue to check back for updated information.  Thanks guys!