This is the last big week of the NFL before the slowest part of the season starts, and we here at Field Gulls plan on kicking out the jams. For the savvy fan the NFL draft is by far the most important event of the off season. Deep, successful drafts can easily be worth two wins the following season. A series of successful drafts can turn around a franchise, refresh an aging core or build a dynasty. Take the 2006 Tennessee Titans. A team essentially left for dead the previous season, with an old nucleus and seemingly little to build on, worked a couple smart years drafting into a young team that fans can get excited about. In 2006, they attained a franchise QB and RB, but the groundwork was really set in 2005-2004. The Titans attained two offensive tackles (including Michael Roos, a guy I used to work out beside at my high school gym) two starting TEs, most of their D-Line, a solid backup corner in Reynaldo Hill and the best young DB in the game, Pacman Jones.
Nothing that will happen in the next four months is as important to this team's future as what will happen next weekend.
With that in mind, this should be a busy week for me. Here's my tentative schedule:
Monday: Top 15 O-line Redux; Top Ten TE.
Tuesday: Top Ten D-Line.
Wednesday: Character Risers and Fallers; Sleepers and Busts.
Thursday: Off (It's my birthday)
Friday: Field Gulls Mock Draft Redux.
Additionally, though I may be out of town, expect analysis of our picks as they happen straight through day two. It should be an exciting week.