This is it, boys and girls, this is the big one: in less than nine hours, the Oakland Raiders will go on the clock with the first overall pick in the NFL Draft.

The plan here at Awful Announcing isn't to attempt amazing, insightful analysis - surely plenty of other blogs and Web sites have that angle well covered. Instead, I'll be keeping track of all the selections and comparing them to the picks that were made in the recent Sports Blogger Mock Draft.

If you took part in the mock version of the draft, please don't hesitate to stop in and comment on your picks and a) how your team screwed things up by failing to take the right player or b) how you are the most amazing person alive because you correctly called a selection.

We'll get this party started after the jump as soon as Mr. Roger puts Al Davis on the clock. Until then, take a gander at the video below and try to figure out how Matt Millen can possibly say no to drafting this guy.



11:53 - After being terrified that I would oversleep and miss the first five picks, I'm happy to say that I am awake and ready to get on with the festivities. We'll get started after the jump.

(Quick programming note: if you see me disappear for a few minutes around 12:30 and possibly miss a couple picks, do not be alarmed. My father-in-law is coming over to pick up some stuff, but I'll be back as fast as possible.)


Round 1, Pick 1: the Oakland Raiders are on the clock

Sports Bloggers Mock Draft: On behalf of the Oakland Raiders, Dan Shanoff selected Calvin Johnson, WR, Georgia Tech

12:15 - I hope the Raiders don't take JaMarcus Russell so we can hear Kiper talk some more about his "rocket arm". You know who else had a rocket arm? Jeff George. I'm just sayin'.

Real Life NFL Draft: the Oakland Raiders select JaMarcus Russell, QB, LSU

Can't argue with this - Johnson is a great receiver, but the Raiders need a quarterback. Hopefully he's more Peyton Manning than Jeff George.

Round 1, Pick 2: the Detroit Lions are on the clock

Sports Bloggers Mock Draft: On behalf of the Detroit Lions, The Wayne Fontes Experience selected JaMarcus Russell, QB, LSU

The Experience jumped on Russell after Shanoff passed him over; we'll have to see if Matt Millen goes with the best player available (Johnson) or takes a serious look at some of the other top level talent (i.e. Joe Thomas).

Real Life NFL Draft: the Detroit Lions select Calvin Johnson, WR, Georgia Tech

No real surprise. Sure, it's another wide receiver, but this guy seems to be less of a reach than the guys they've taken in the past.

Round 1, Pick 3: the Cleveland Browns are on the clock

Sports Bloggers Mock Draft: on behalf of the Cleveland Browns, A Price Above Bip Roberts selected Adrian Peterson, RB, Oklahoma

12:57 - Twenty minutes and two missed picks later...

Real Life NFL Draft: the Cleveland Browns select Joe Thomas, OT, Wisconsin

Thomas was seriously undervalued in the mock draft, sticking around until the ninth pick.

Round 1, Pick 4: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are on the clock

Sports Bloggers Mock Draft: on behalf of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Leave the Man Alone selected Brady Quinn, QB, Notre Dame

Real Life NFL Draft: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers select Gaines Adams, DE, Clemson

Looks like the Bucs are either waiting until later to take a quarterback or are happy with the position.

Round 1, Pick 5: the Arizona Cardinals are on the clock

Sports Bloggers Mock Draft: on behalf of the Arizona Cardinals, Will Leitch selected Gaines Adams, DE, Clemson

Real Life NFL Draft: the Arizona Cardinals select Levi Brown, OT, Penn State

The undervaluing of offensive linemen in the Mock Draft is becoming a trend. Brown was more of a need pick by the Cardinals, as opposed to "best player available", but still...in our draft, he didn't go until the middle of the first round.

Round 1, Pick 6: the Washington Redskins are on the clock

Sports Bloggers Mock Draft: on behalf of the Washington Redskins, Unsilent Majority selected Amobi Okoye, DT, Louisville

1:09 - Brady Quinn looks sad. The bottle blonde who was on his arm earlier is nowhere to be found.

1:14 - ESPN has all but given away at least two picks thus far: Calvin Johnson and LaRon Landry. Thanks guys.

Real Life NFL Draft: the Washington Redskins select LaRon Landry, S, LSU

Sorry, UM. Also sorry The Big Lead, who had Landry going to Atlanta at number eight.

Round 1, Pick 7: The Minnesota Vikings are on the clock

Sports Bloggers Mock Draft: on behalf of the Minnesota Vikings, Our Book of Scrap selected Ted Ginn, Jr., WR, Ohio State

Real Life NFL Draft: the Minnesota Vikings select Adrian Peterson, RB, Oklahoma

Round 1, Pick 8: The Atlanta Falcons are on the clock

Sports Bloggers Mock Draft: on behalf of the Atlanta Falcons, The Big Lead selected LaRon Landry, S, LSU

Real Life NFL Draft: the Atlanta Falcons select Jamaal Anderson, DE, Arkansas

Round 1, Pick 9: The Miami Dolphins are on the clock

Sports Bloggers Mock Draft: on behalf of the Miami Dolphins, Just Call Me Juice selected Joe Thomas, OT, Wisconsin

1:39 - NFL teams 9, Sports Bloggers 0

Real Life NFL Draft: the Miami Dolphins select Ted Ginn, WR, Ohio State

1:51 - Brady Quinn is displeased. His face just zoomed past "Matt Leinart" and ended up dangerously close to "Aaron Rodgers".

Round 1, Pick 10: The Houston Texans are on the clock

Sports Bloggers Mock Draft: on behalf of the Houston Texans, Seal Clubbers selected Greg Olsen, TE, Miami

Real Life NFL Draft: the Houston Texans select Amobi Okoye, DT, Louisville

Round 1, Pick 11: The San Francisco 49ers are on the clock

Sports Bloggers Mock Draft: on behalf of the San Francisco 49ers, The Fans Attic selected Jamaal Anderson, DE, Arkansas

Real Life NFL Draft: the San Francisco 49ers select Patrick Willis, LB, Mississippi

In the Mock Draft, Willis was the 22nd overall pick of WBRS Sports Blog and the Dallas Cowboys.

Round 1, Pick 12: the Buffalo Bills are on the clock

Sports Blogger Mock Draft: on behalf of the Buffalo Bills, Shot To Nothing selected Leon Hall, CB, Michigan

Real Life NFL Draft: the Buffalo Bills select Marshawn Lynch, RB, California

Round 1, Pick 13: the St. Louis Rams are on the clock

Sports Blogger Mock Draft: on behalf of the St. Louis Rams, J-Money selected Adam Carriker, DE, Nebraska

Real Life NFL Draft: the St. Louis Rams select Adam Carriker, DE, Nebraska

Who had J-Money's name in the pool to see who would call the first correct pick?

Round 1, Pick 14: the Carolina Panthers are on the clock

Sports Blogger Mock Draft: on behalf of the Carolina Panthers, Digital Headbutt selected Paul Posluszny, LB, Penn State

Our first trade of the day puts the New York Jets on the clock. Chris Mortensen was in mid-sentence when the deal was announced and the crowd went nuts - his deer-in-the-headlights look defies description.

Trade details: Carolina trades its first and sixth round picks to the Jets for New York's first, second and fifth round picks. Berman is certain that Mangini is going to take Leon Hall.

Real Life NFL Draft: the New York Jets select Darrelle Revis, CB, Pittsburgh

And there goes my chance of being correct with the 24th pick.

Round 1, Pick 15: the Pittsburgh Steelers are on the clock

Sports Bloggers Draft: on behalf of the Pittsburgh Steelers, The Starter Wife selected Levi Brown, OT, Penn State

Real Life NFL Draft: the Pittsburgh Steelers select Lawrence Timmons, LB, Florida State

Round 1, Pick 16: the Green Bay Packers are on the clock

Sports Bloggers Draft: on behalf of the Green Bay Packers, Babes Love Baseball selected Marshawn Lynch, RB, California

Real Life NFL Draft: the Green Bay Packers select Justin Harrell, DT, Tennessee

Round 1, Pick 17: the Jacksonville Jaguars are on the clock

Sports Bloggers Draft: on behalf of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Sports Show On Mute selected Reggie Nelson, S, Florida

Trade #2: Denver deals with Jacksonville for the 17th pick. The Jags get the Broncos first, third, and sixth round picks so the Broncos can move up four spots.

Real Life NFL Draft: the Denver Broncos select Jarvis Moss, DE, Florida

Round 1, Pick 18: the Cincinnati Bengals are on the clock

Sports Bloggers Draft: on behalf of the Cincinnati Bengals, Larry Brown Sports selected Justin Harrell, DT, Tennessee

Real Life NFL Draft: the Cincinnati Bengals select Leon Hall, CB, Michigan

Round 1, Pick 19: the Tennessee Titans are on the clock

Sports Bloggers Draft: on behalf of the Tennessee Titans, Chip Ramsey selected Jarvis Moss, DE, Florida

Real Life NFL Draft: the Tennessee Titans select Michael Griffin, S, Texas

Round 1, Pick 20: the New York Giants are on the clock

Sports Bloggers Draft: on behalf of the New York Giants, Yelling Louder selected Alan Branch, DT, Michigan

Real Life NFL Draft: the New York Giants select Aaron Ross, CB, Texas

And Brady Quinn waits. They've been talking about him falling to Kansas City at 23, which is pretty amazing considering his pre-draft status as a likely Top 10 pick.

Round 1, Pick 21: the Jacksonville Jaguars (from Denver) are on the clock

Sports Bloggers Draft: on behalf of the Denver Broncos (the original owner of the pick), Signal to Noise selected Michael Griffin, S, Texas

Real Life NFL Draft: the Jacksonville Jaguars select Reggie Nelson, S, Florida

In fairness to S2N, Nelson was already off the board by the time he drafted. Good call identifying the appropriate need and selecting the best available player to fill it.

Round 1, Pick 22: the Dallas Cowboys are on the clock

Sports Bloggers Draft: on behalf of the Dallas Cowboys, WBRS Sports Blog selected Patrick Willis, LB, Mississippi

Does the Brady Quinn Watch end here?

Maybe...the Cowboys have swung a trade with the Browns...Cleveland is now on the clock.

Real Life NFL Draft: the Cleveland Browns select Brady Quinn, QB, Notre Dame.

Somewhere, Charlie Frye weeps.

Seriously, the Browns manage to pick up a guy who should be at least a decent NFL quarterback and a starting offensive tackle in the first round - not bad, even if they had to give up their second round pick and next year's first rounder to do it.

Round 1, Pick 23: the Kansas City Chiefs are on the clock

Sports Bloggers Draft: on behalf of the Kansas City Chiefs, Extrapolater selected Robert Meachum, WR, Tennessee

Real Life NFL Draft: the Kansas City Chiefs select Dwayne Bowe, WR, LSU

Sorry, E. Right position, wrong player.

Round 1, Pick 24: the New England Patriots are on the clock

Sports Bloggers Draft: on behalf of the New England Patriots, One More Dying Quail selected Darrelle Revis, CB, Pittsburgh

Crap. I really wanted to get this one right.

Real Life NFL Draft: the New England Patriots select Brandon Meriweather, S, Miami

Okay, it's a defensive back, which was obviously the team's greatest need. No complaints - well, other than the character issues that ESPN has been discussing. I love the idea of bringing young guys in to work with established veterans like Rodney Harrison. Harrison is great, take advantage of is presence now.

Round 1, Pick 25: the Carolina Panthers are on the clock

Sports Bloggers Draft: on behalf of the New York Jets (the original owners of this pick), Metschick selected Chris Houston, CB, Arkansas

Metschick was actually close with this one because the Jets traded up to take Darrelle Revis. Had they stayed pat and held onto the pick, they might well have selected Houston. Between J-Money and Metschick, the crew from Ladies... is putting us all to shame.

Real Life NFL Draft: the Carolina Panthers select Jon Beason, LB, Miami

I'm just eyeballing this, but I don't think we're doing too bad so far. One dead on pick from J-Money, another that had the right player but different position from Sports Show On Mute, and mostly on the ball with first round selections.

Trade alert - the Eagles were on the clock at #26, but traded it to Dallas.

Round 1, Pick 26: the Dallas Cowboys (from Philadelphia) are on the clock

Sports Bloggers Mock Draft: on behalf of the Philadelphia Eagles, Run Up The Score selected Lawrence Timmons, LB, Florida State

Trade details - Philly gets a second, a third, and a fifth round choice and gives up only the first rounder.

Hey, ESPN, enough with "You Can't Always Get What You Want". We get it.

Real Life NFL Draft: the Dallas Cowboys select Anthony Spencer, DE, Purdue

Huge discrepancy here. Our bloggers had Spencer going in the second round, 58th overall. The Cowboys apparently felt he was worth giving up three draft picks for.

Round 1, Pick 27: the New Orleans Saints are on the clock

Sports Bloggers Mock Draft: on behalf of the New Orleans Saints, Texas Gal selected Aaron Ross, CB, Texas

The highest pick remaining from our draft board is Greg Olsen (TE, Miami), who Seal Clubbers took with the tenth overall selection. After that we have Posluszny (14th), Alan Branch (20th) and Chris Houston (25th) to this point.

Real Life NFL Draft: The New Orleans Saints select Robert Meachem, WR, Tennessee

Another first rounder nailed - you'll recall that Extrapolater had Meachem going #23 to the Chiefs.

Round 1, Pick 28: the New England Patriots are on the clock

Sports Bloggers Mock Draft: on behalf of the New England Patriots, Monday Morning Punter selected Brandon Siler, LB, Florida

From the comments: Signal to Noise said...What kind of drugs is Andy Reid on to trade the pick to Dallas and not pick Posluszny? - His kid must've hooked him up with some good shit.

Trade: the Patriots have dealt the #28 pick to the San Francisco 49ers. A number one pick in 2008 for Joe Staley? Seems like a lot, even without the throw-in fifth rounder.

Real Life NFL Draft: the San Francisco 49ers select Joe Staley, OT, Central Michigan

Round 1, Pick 29: the Baltimore Ravens are on the clock

Sports Bloggers Mock Draft: on behalf of the Baltimore Ravens, East Coast Bias selected Joe Staley, OT, Central Michigan

Real Life NFL Draft: the Baltimore Ravens select Ben Grubbs, OG, Auburn

This leaves seven Sports Bloggers first-rounders still available with three picks to be made.

Round 1, Pick 30: the San Diego Chargers are on the clock

Sports Bloggers Mock Draft: on behalf of the San Diego Chargers, The Hater Nation selected Dwayne Jarrett, WR, USC

Real Life NFL Draft: the San Diego Chargers select Craig Davis, WR, LSU

Round 1, Pick 31: the Chicago Bears are on the clock

Sports Bloggers Mock Draft: on behalf of the Chicago Bears, Lion In Oil selected Jon Beason, LB, Miami

A flip-flop with Posluszny, perhaps? Or was Chris Berman telling me the truth when he just implied that the Bears were calling Greg Olsen?

Real Life NFL Draft: the Chicago Bears select Greg Olsen, TE, Miami

Round 1, Pick 32: the Indianapolis Colts are on the clock

Sports Bloggers Mock Draft: on behalf of the Indianapolis Colts, Holly selected Jonathan Wade, CB, Tennessee

Real Life NFL Draft: the Indianapolis Colts select Anthony Gonzalez, WR, Ohio State

And Posluszny, Branch, Houston, Siler, Jarrett, and Wade are officially second-rounders (or worse).

The second round starts immediately. This thread is getting a little long in the tooth, so I think I'm going to start a new one for Round 2. Join me there if you like.