-The Santonio Holmes trade is one that will greatly impact decisions on draft day. While many seemed baffled by the 5th round value, I think this was fair given his 4-game suspension and contract situation. This trade does, however, make the Jets a very difficult team to predict for their 1st round pick. In essence, they can likely draft the best player available which is the best possible scenario to be in. Most people believe this will be an edge rusher, (TCU’s Jerry Huges, Michigan’s Brandon Graham, etc.)

I, for one, still believe taking a wideout is very possible. Although Dez Bryant’s stock seems to be booming and he could go as high as #7 to Cleveland, the Jets will still be able to take either Arrelious Benn, Demaryius Thomas, or Golden Tate. They will lose either Braylon Edwards or Holmes to free agency next season, and while productive, Jerricho Cotchery isn’t getting any younger. Getting one of these players, particularly Thomas late in the 1st round, would be great value at their position. I could also see them trading out of the first down and picking up picks, especially with the flurry of moves they’ve made so far and the depth of this draft.

-C.J. Spiller is the best running back I’ve seen since Adrian Peterson. And while he doesn’t pack the same violent running style he is a much better all-around player. I think that Spiller will thrive in the right situation and think he will immediately provide a dramatic impact on special teams and should be a workhorse soon after. Think Reggie Bush but a better runner through the tackles. I would jump on this kid, even as high as the 4th pick.

-Speaking of which, the reluctance to take running backs early on is simply baffling. Sure, there have been plenty of bad early selections, but there have been bad selections at every position. Players like Spiller don’t come around very often, and I imagine teams are still kicking themselves about letting Adrian Peterson fall past the top 5. Running backs are a dime a dozen but franchise running backs are not.

-Rutgers tackle Anthony Davis has cost himself millions, possibly even tens of millions in the past few months, but I still think this guy might be the best NFL tackle when the dust has settled. Teams have a right to worry about his poor physicalshowing, and although his Pro day absence was overblown, some haven’t let it slide. I’ve watched more Rutgers games than I’d like to admit over the past few seasons, however, and I think someone is getting a player with tremendous upside and little risk late in round 1.

-One tackle who has done the opposite with their draft stock is Iowa’s Bryan Bulaga. Bulaga came out early and the decision is going to pay off HUGE. One major knock on Bulaga are his short arms. While this might sound minor in the big scheme, this is a problem for left tackles that have to face a variety of NFL DEs. At the very worst, Bulaga will be a serviceable left tackle or a very good RT. Top 5, however, seems a bit high to me.

Although you might not know Dillon Baxter just yet, you will. USC fans know him already, and are  smiling ear-to-ear thinking about what this frosh-to-be might bring to the table. Baxter didn’t get nearly the same attention as other USC recruits (cough, cough Seantell), but he did end up being a 5-star recruit and the 17th overall rated player on Rivals.

Okay, I know it’s spring practice, I know it’s early, and I know he’s not going up against some of the better Pac-10 DBs (putting it lightly), but the dude obviously has some sick skills – as seen by the spring practice video which was passed along by @adjoro aka Adam Rose on Twitter.

Take it for what it’s worth, but if you are a football fan, you have to watch his moves 50 seconds in. If you are the mother or father of one of these young defensive backs – cover your eyes and go yell at your son.

The NFL Draft is 2 weeks away – for real?

And while I’d love to go on a Roger Goodell rant, I will instead focus on some of the major items of note with THURSDAY the 22nd closing in fast. God damn you, Goodell.

-The Redskins trade for McNabb was very telling, besides the very apparent fact that Daniel Snyder loves high-profile guys. To me, it tells me that a) St Louis is going to take Sam Bradford with the first pick, no question, and b) Washington doesn’t like the other quarterbacks in this draft. If both of these are the case, then the Redskins made a great move.

-Speaking of Redskins, they still sit in the #4 spot and have plenty of options. Even with these options, they appear to be closing in on offensive tackle Russel Okung. Okung is the most compete tackle prospect in the draft, at least right now. I think other players have a higher ceiling, but I also believe Okung might be the safest pick early on. The Skins are also very thing at O-line and Okung could/should come in and start right away.

-Is it just me, or is the Tim Tebow draft buzz growing? I’m not saying he’s going to surge into the top ten, but the whispers of his booming stock are beginning to get louder. Look, Tebow is what he is. A guy with a HUGE physical (meaning size and speed) upside that will never be able to throw the ball better than most NFL backups. Still, enough teams must like what they see,  or they simply do not like the other QBs that most people have in front of him.

-Dez Bryant hasn’t helped himself much this winter, and suddenly some are saying he could possibly slip to the later part of the 1st round. He’s battled a hammy and has been somewhat unimpressive showing off his physical tools. With all that said, I love this guy and think teams sitting in the 9-16 spots will be forced to give him a good look. This guy has BY FAR the most ability of any wideouts in the draft and although he doesn’t have top-end speed, he’s going to be a very good player on the next level.

-Another receiver that I love is Arrelious Benn. The Illinois wideout battled injuries, henious QB play, and Ron Zook’s (fill in blank), but still managed to show off the best hands in football. This guy has all the makings of a Anquan Boldin-type (not toughness, but style) in my opinion, IF he can stay on the field. For now, however, I think any team that can grab him in the early to mid-2os in the draft is getting an absolute steal.

-Excluding both Ndamukong Suh and Gerald McCoy, the defensive tackle situation is very intriguing. Their is loads of talent in the 2010 pool, and it’ll be interesting to see how follows up these two monsters once the dust settles. Tennessee’s Dan Williams, UCLA’s Brian Price, and Penn State’s Jared Odrick could all get their names called before the ends of round one. In fact, both Price (the guy I really like) and Williams could go sooner than later. All five of these guys have a chance to be special and I’m not quite sure we’ve seen an influx of interior defensive lineman quite like this.

-The picks to watch in the 1st round that could really shake things up might be a little different from what you expect. I think Seattle at 6, Oakland at 8 (shocker), Jacksonville at 10, San Fran at 13, and Houston at 20 will all be somewhat unpredictable until they call a name. The reason these picks stand out to me is because each team can go in a variety of directions. These teams also have a history of being unpredictable at times during the draft. Al Davis I am looking at you and you are likely talking about how fast Darrius Heyward-Bey is.

Much more to come, Kegheads. We’ll be looking at some of guys that you won’t be seeing in the first round as well as some of the news that comes in as the draft nears.

P.S. We’ll be in Vegas for the draft which should be somewhere between entertaining and disaster.