POD Community Mock Draft: Pick No. 11

Rd. # Player Pos. College 1 11 Michael Oher OT Mississippi General Manager: Rollah

With the eleventh pick of the 2009 Pride of Detroit Community Mock Draft, the Buffalo Bills select Mississippi offensive tackle Michael Oher.

Here is Rollah's reasoning for the pick:

I had a really sweet post ready for consensus pick Aaron Maybin of Penn State at this spot. About how defense wins championships. About needing a guy to practice tackling Marshawn Lynch in a battle of beast-masters. And about how taking Penn State D monsters seemed to work out for He Who Shall Not Be Named, as a player anyway. Even SB Nation's team-specific blogger wrote that Maybin was the right choice at #11; and he wasn't alone (3 or 4 other mock draft sites also had Maybin as the pick, with the outlier being TE Brandon Pettigrew). Then 2 things happened: the 49ers' proxy picking ahead of me chose Maybin; that sucked. And today's post from Buffalo Rumblings indicated the team itself may be moving away from the Defensive End slot with its early pick(s).

Now deprived of that choice, I sure enough had to scramble to decide on another player. I considered DE Everette Brown of Fla St., LB Brian Cushing of USC, even the aforementioned Pettigrew. But despite Buffalo ranking near the bottom in defense and still in desperate need of impact pass-rushers, they also seem to be having a crisis on the O-line because of the possible departure of some all-pro named Jason Peters. [They've already lost Derrick Dockery to free agency] The more I've read on Peters, the more likely this guy bolts or pulls an Ocho-Cinco. His days in Orchard Park are numbered.

So, going back to SB Nation's overall 2009 Mock Draft for at least a cursory review of top-10 talent, and seeing as how the 49ers switched picks there with how this POD Mock is turning out, we're going conservative and taking Michael Oher. Pettigrew was a close 2nd choice, because if nothing else, someone has to block for Marshawn. But that same someone has to protect Trent Edwards so he has time to look at Terrell Owens before throwing to another receiver who will actually get open and catch the ball. Pettigrew can't play "Bugs Bunny' and do everything all over the field. A 6'5, 300+-pound lineman who isn't named Andre Smith and who doesn't have the same baggage should be able to do the job instead. He may come across as soft-spoken, but Oher won't need to be the leader anyway. He'll just need to block; a safe, consistent, boring pick. Now, the Broncos can take future franchise QB Mark Sanchez next. You're welcome.