NFL Draft tidbits: More, more, more ...

Lots of national media attention this week as former USF cornerback Mike Jenkins is in position to be the Bulls' first-ever first-round pick. Where will he go, along with corner Trae Williams and linebacker Ben Moffitt? Everyone has an answer these days ...

-- This week's Sporting News ranks Jenkins as the top cornerback in the draft, projecting him to go seventh to New England, as high a projection as anyone has made in all the mocks this spring.

-- The Dallas Morning News puts Jenkins third among the cornerbacks in the draft, but doesn't include Williams in the top 15 corners, though they write that as many as 16 could go in the first three rounds. WIlliams and his 16 career interceptions weren't included in their chart of the draft's top ballhawkers. DMN also had a live mock draft Monday, with Jenkins again going seventh to the Patriots. Of course, it also had the Bucs using their top pick on ... East Carolina running back Chris Johnson? I was dogging ECU the other day, but that's a colossal reach.

-- I say this every year but posting a seven-round mock draft is equal parts dedication and lunacy, since the second half of the first round is generally a crapshoot. A site called Footballdialogue.com has Williams going in the fifth round to Minnesota, with Moffitt going in the next-to-last pick of the sixth round to Baltimore. Wouldn't it be nice to learn how to be an NFL linebacker under Ray Lewis?

Mel Kiper Jr. has a four-round mock available through ESPN.com's "Insider" premium content service, and he still has Jenkins going 20th to the Bucs, with Williams going in the third round to the Houston Texans. ESPN.com's Todd McShay has Jenkins going 18th to Houston,

-- I'm surprised to be reading so much about Jenkins' character, in that in four years of covering him, the only time it's been an issue was his arrest in March 2007 on misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and obstructing an officer, charges which were later dropped as part of a pre-trial diversion program for first-time offenders.

The Chicago Daily Herald, in a feature on Jenkins, quotes an unnamed NFL scout as saying that Jenkins is "very physically gifted but will struggle to ever reach his potential because of work ethic and character flaws. He has big-time boom-or-bust potential." If that seems over the top, the Sporting News included Jenkins among five players on its "naughty list" for the draft. Let me put it this way: if all but four players in the draft have more character to them than Jenkins, it's great, great news for the NFL.

-- I'm linking to the UNLV Rebel Yell's mock draft only because the student paper drops in a "Southern Florida" reference, which I know you guys love. I've never really taken it for granted, but I'm glad I've never worked for a newspaper named after a Billy Idol song.

Comments

[Eric]

Jenkins is going to be the best corner out of this draft. I think that Trae and Ben will go into the 4th. Chris Johnson is a really good player who could go in the first. Might be a reach for the bucs but it isnt a COLOSSAL reach.

[Norb]

Jenkins "will struggle to reach his potential because of work ethic and character flaws" -- so he's a perfect fit for New England Patriots. There seemed to be no real interest in Randy Moss due to those types of issues & he has blossomed in New England.

[jarred]

I will be glad when all these mock drafts are over and we can finally watch the real one. Jenkins will go first round, Williams and Moffitt are late second day. That's basically what every mock says with a few exceptions. Now can we just leave it alone for a few days.