Former GSI.com writer Rob Cressy offers up some great stuff on his website BaconSports.com...

The NFL Draft is on Thursday and we are tired of seeing the same worn out mock drafts. Aside from a few players pulling a Deuce Davenport in their hotel room at the combine, not much has happened to really effect players draft stock. That’s why we’ve decided to spice things up and give you something that is long overdo, an all female on-air sports personality mock draft. That’s right, a draft consisting of nothing but female sports anchors, sideline reporters, and anything in between.

MOCK DRAFT RESULTS (BaconSports.com)

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We are still about two weeks away from the 2013 NFL Draft and it's crunch time for many to start looking at mock drafts. Here is what some of the websites around the web have the Bengals doing with their first-round pick, 21st overall:

WalterFootball.com - Kenny Vaccaro, S, Texas

NFL.com (Gil Brandt) - Menelik Watson, OT, Florida State

CBSSports.com (Rob Rang) - D.J. Fluker, OT, Alabama

USAToday.com - Sheldon Richardson, DT, Missouri

FOXSports.com - Kenny Vaccaro, S, Texas

FootballsFuture.com - Alec Ogletree, LB, Georgia

DraftSite.com - DJ Fluker, OT, Alabama

NationalFootballPost.com - DJ Fluker, OT, Alabama

DraftKings.com - Kenny Vaccaro, S, Texas

DraftCountdown.com - Alec Ogletree, LB, Georgia

FFToolbox.com - Manti Te'o, LB, Notre Dame

NFLDraftDog.com - Sam Montgomery, LB, LSU

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I was lucky enough to participate in the SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio Experts Draft (Wed. March 13) and was really pleased with how things turned out. While there were players I missed I was able to adjust on the fly to fill my holes decently. Check out the COMPLETE DRAFT and check out some my random closing thoughts below:

DRAFT STRATEGY

• Take test player on my board regardless of position first two rounds
  • Kemp vs. Cano - Kemp ‘s 315/.387/.567 batting line, 62 home runs, 195 RBI and 49 stolen bases in 267 games since the start of the 2011 season was too good for me to pass up. If he stays healthy, he’ll be the National League MVP. Cano gets him in a bit on average but I expect a slightly more HR, RBI and runs in that Dodgers lineup.  The big separator is Cano is a lock for less than five steals and worst-case scenario in a full season Kemp will grab 20 bags. Cano is a stud but I decided to take my chances at second base.
• Had my early targets I was prepared to reach for
  • Jayson Heyward – took him in Rd 2 (21st overall); Average ADP = 32nd
  • Starling Castro – took him in Rd 3 (28th overall); Average ADP = 37th
  • Paul Goldschmidt – took him in Rd 4 (45th overall); Average ADP = 47th
  • Martin Prado – missed him – taken in Rd 6 (70th overall); Average ADP = 112th
• Grab 2 of my top 10 SP if draft allows (got Jered Weaver in Adam Wainwright in Rounds 5-6)
• Not going to make a run at any single category - I wanted balance. Grabbing power guys that don’t totally kill you average and can bring some stolen bases to the table are key at as many positions as possible.

IN-DRAFT DECISIONS

• Prado – I took my second SP Wainwright with the intention of grabbing Martin Prado on the comeback pick in Rd. 6 (No 64 overall), but Ray Flowers nabbed him right before him. Prado was going to be my answer at 2B (Yahoo! league has him eligible at 2B and SS in addition to 3B/LF.  Chase Utley was the next best 2B on my board, but understanding the current roster makeup at that time and that I am a bit bullish I went with Brett Lawrie at 3B and still got Chase Utley 17 picks later.
• Catchers – Waited a bit longer than I typically do at the catcher spot and ended up going deeper than I like with my first pick at the position in a two-catcher league.  I wasn’t in love with my grab of Jesus Montero in Round 9, but at least he has some upside.  Identifying this as a potential area of weakness I was only the third team to take a second catcher when I drafted JP Arencibia in Round 16.
• Starting pitching – After quickly realizing how much starters were falling amongst the experts, once I had my two anchors. I waited until the mid-rounds of the draft before going back to addressing the rotation. I was ecstatic to get Jarrod Parker in the 15th Round as my No. 3 SP and Homer Bailey as my No. 4 SP two rounds later. Parker, 24, posted a superb 3.47 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 140/63 K/BB ratio in 181 1/3 innings last season.  Bailey was 8-4 with a 3.12 ERA and a 107/25 K/BB ratio in 118 1/3 innings over the final three months of last season, a run that included a late September no-hitter against the Pirates. His one-hit, 10-K performance in a no decision game against the Giants in the playoffs was masterful. If Bailey can figure out a way to have more success at home (.526 SLG against at GABP) he could prove to be a valuable fantasy commodity. Filling things out with Shaun Marcum (20th), Jin-Hyun Ryu (22nd), Vance Worley (26th), and Jason Hammel (27th) on the backend was the icing on the cake.

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We are still about two months away from the 2013 NFL Draft, but it’s never too early to start looking at mock drafts. Here is what some of the websites around the web have the Bengals doing with their first-round pick, 21st overall:

WalterFootball.com - Manti Te'o, LB, Notre Dame

NFL.com (Gil Brandt) - Barkevious Mingo, DE, LSU

CBSSports.com (Rob Rang) - Kevin Minter, LB, LSU

USAToday.com - Alex Okafor, DE, Texas

FOXSports.com - Alex Okafor, DE, Texas

FootballsFuture.com - Alec Ogletree, LB, Georgia

DraftSite.com - DJ Fluker, OT, Alabama

NationalFootballPost.com - Quinton Patton, WR, Louisiana Tech

DraftKings.com - Kenny Vaccaro, SS, Texas

DraftCountdown.com - Alec Ogletree, LB, Georgia

FFToolbox.com - Manti Te'o, LB, Notre Dame

NFLDraftDog.com - Sam Montgomery, LB, LSU

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With February winding down, I take a look at which players many from around the web are projecting to being drafted by the Bengals with their two first-round picks. As you can see below while most agree on the Bengals needs, there are varying opinions about which direction the team will go:

FootballsFuture.com
17. Janoris Jenkins, CB, N. Alabama
21. Cordy Glenn, OL, Georgia

DraftCountdown.com
17. David DeCastro, G, Stanford
21. David Wilson, RB, Virginia Tech

NewNFLDraft.com
17. Jonathan Martin, OT , Stanford
21. Lamar Miller, RB, Miami

DraftKing.com
17. Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama
21. Zach Brown, OLB, North Carolina

DraftTek.com
17. Janoris Jenkins, CB, N. Alabama
21. Mark Barron, SS, Alabama

WalterFootball.com
17. Dre Kirkpatrick, CB, Alabama
21. Lamar Miller, RB, Miami

FFToolbox.com
17. David DeCastro, OG, Stanford
21. Janoris Jenkins, CB, North Alabama

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RealClearSports.com took the web's top mock drafts and came up with a consensus:

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Drafts:
ESPN (Mel Kiper) - Updated 4/7
ESPN (Todd McShay) - Updated 4/19
NFL = NFL.com (Pat Kirwan) - Updated 4/18
CBS (Clark Judge) - Updated 4/15
CBS (Pete Prisco) - Updated 4/15
FanHouse - Updated 4/20
NFP = National Football Post - Updated 4/16
Fox Sports - Updated 4/20
NBC Sports - Updated 4/19
SI = Sports Illustrated (Don Banks) - Updated 4/14

The RCS Average is determined by assigning 32 points to a player that is selected first in a mock draft, 31 for a second selection, on down to 1 point for the 32nd selection in a mock draft. They do not take positional need for teams into account.

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A few trends noticed during the GSI Mock Draft:

--FIRST ROUND DILEMMAS
Adrian Peterson is very much a consensus No. 1 pick. However, after that the difference between the No. 2 running back and No. 10 runner is marginal. This is the year you will be better off drafting later in Round One and getting that earlier pick in Round 2.

--GRAB YOUR WIDEOUTS EARLY
There are roughly about 15 wideouts that are solid weekly line-up options and many of them are safer picks than many RB2’s sitting out there. Expect most of the players to go in Rounds 2 & 3 to be wideouts. There is a huge drop-off in receiver as you work your way down the rankings.

--MIDDLE ROUND RB DEPTH
Conversely, you are seeing many of the rookie running backs and solid veteran runners falling into the mid-rounds of the draft.

--TIGHT ENDS GALORE
Draft to value at tight end. Top guys like Jason Witten and Dallas Clark could go in round five, but there is so much depth you don’t have to grab one early.

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We have finally completed our GSI Mock Draft. Here are the final few rounds:

RECAPS: Round One | Round Two | Round Three | Round Four | Round Five | Rounds 6-7 | Rounds 8-9

MY PICKS: I was hoping to do better than LeRon McClain, but really he is my RB4 and though he won't be featured as much as he was in '08 you can expect to be the goalline back in Baltimore. I could easily see him putting him 8-10 TD's. Chris Chambers is overvalued by most and I am not that crazy about his outlook for the 2009 season. Still with the 123rd pick in the draft you can do much worse for your WR4. Already having Knowshon Moreno in the fold, I took Correll Buckhalter with the draft's third-to-last pick. He will provide nice insurance and could have value here in Josh McDaniels' system.

BEST VALUE PICKS: Domenik Hixon (chance to be Giants #1 WR); John Carlson (further evidence you can wait on a TE); Matt Hasselbeck (best backup taken in these rounds); Kevin Faulk (will be a factor in NE)

MOST LIKELY TO DISAPPOINT: Joey Galloway (too old to be counted on); Ricky Williams (expect to see a decreased role); Tyler Thigpen (drafting a backup as your backup not a smart move)

FINAL TAKE: The draft is over and the teams look pretty good. Rounds 10-12 are when most fill out their rosters with defenses, kickers (not included in this draft) and deep backups. I prefer to take younger players at this point rather than aging veterans. I skewed away from that a bit, but overall that is the best route to take. This is really the only point of your draft to begin to think about handcuffs.

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It is getting to be slim pickings at this point, but don't kid yourself there is still value to be had:

RECAPS: Round One | Round Two | Round Three | Round Four | Round Five | Rounds 6-7

MY PICKS: I know that many will shy away from defenses, but really it depends on your scoring system to determine how valuable one is to you. In most leagues now, you get points for points allowed and yards allowed, in addtion to turnovers, sacks, and touchdowns. The Ravens' defense is money in the bank on all fronts. Plus, there are so many backups I still have targeted it will work out. Dustin Keller is just another example of how deep the tight end crop is this year. Going after one early is not a bad move, but if you wait you will still find viable starting options.

BEST VALUE PICKS: Fred Jackson (value goes up w/Lynch out); Ray Rice (one of my sleepers); Steve Breaston (worth a look at WR3); Chris Henry (a ton of upside at pick 108)

MOST LIKELY TO DISAPPOINT: Darren Sproles (if LT is healthy he will see numbers drop); Jerricho Cotchery (no Coles/no Favre)

FINAL TAKE: In general some solid picks here once again. The trend of running back depth continues to hold true as many solid RB4 and RB5 options are out there.

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This is the point of the draft where every player has baggage, but also where gems can be found:

RECAPS: Round One | Round Two | Round Three | Round Four | Round Five

MY PICKS: I added a third running back and a third receiver in Rounds Six and Seven by nabbing Knowshon Moreno and Donald Driver. One of these two guys will be my starting flex option. Moreno has competition in Denver, but I think he's going to have the most immediate impact of the rookie runners. I love him as a RB3, but he may not get going quickly enough to be a lock as a RB2. Driver is not flashy, but he is consistent. With Aaron Rodgers being so highly regarded you have to figure Drive is safe pick here and will provide nice depth.

BEST VALUE PICKS: Matt Ryan (nice pick this late); Anthony Gonzalez (ready to step up w/Harrison gone); Felix Jones (will see increased role in Dallas); Greg Olsen (on the rise).

MOST LIKELY TO DISAPPOINT: Antonio Bryant (QB questions); Willie Parker (declining role); Santana Moss (too inconsistent); Jamal Lewis (tank is empty).

FINAL TAKE: These rounds are the most fun to me. You are still drafting guys that will start regularly in many cases so the margin for error is slim. Typically, I go for younger players with more upside at this point. However, I had to settle for a veteran in Driver after some of the young receivers I was targetting fell off the board.

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