It’s official. Your God and mine is leaving for the NFL Draft.

I don’t think it’s really all that bad though.  For reasons I outlined in my last post, the offense should still be in good shape, considering the RB recruits we’ve pulled in over the last few seasons, the return of Justin Forsett, and DeSean’s upcoming Heisman campaign.  So with that in mind, I’d rather go over possible landing spots for our hero, looking at the upcoming draft order, while keeping in mind his projected draft stock (second RB after Adrian Peterson) and the needs of each team for the upcoming draft.

8.  Houston - Of course, they could have taken Reggie Bush (the closest thing we’ve seen to Marshawn since DeSean), but they’re stupid.  That’s why they’re the Texans.  Anyway, given that their RB options for next year include Domanick "coming off a knee injury which cost me all of 2006" Davis, Ron "I won the Heisman Trophy by being lucky enough to run behind the biggest college offensive line ever" Dayne, Wali "Who?" Lundy, and Samkon "I was a hit in Green Bay for a month!…Before I got traded" Gado, Marshawn would be a huge improvement.  I’m not sure he’d fit precisely into the zone-blocking scheme preferred by Gary Kubiak, but I think it’s pretty obvious none of the runners currently in Houston fit that scheme to a tee either.  Given Marshawn’s projected draft stock (which appears to be between 10-25, depending on who you ask), this seems to be about the highest that he’ll go, depending on how high a team (Cleveland?  Detroit?  Minnesota?) is willing to gamble on Peterson.

12.  Buffalo - Willis McGahee looked like a workhorse in his first full year as a starter, but has fallen off quite a bit.  He wants an extension but hasn’t done enough this year to merit one, so the Bills might be in the market for a RB to replace him.  I’m not entirely sure he’d be that much of an upgrade over McGahee (since I like him a lot), but there’s a need here, and it would make sense if they think McGahee’s asking price is too high.

15.  Pittsburgh - Willie Parker’s done a good job there, but they don’t seem to like to give him all the goal line carries.  Marshawn’s obviously not as big as Jerome Bettis and may not be suited for goal line duty, but he’d make for outstanding RB depth on a team that loves to run the ball.  Especially given how Big Ben regressed this year.

16.  Green Bay - The Packers need everything on offense except a QB (because they have Rodgers, not that broken down Favre guy), and it’d be nice to see Marshawn and Rodgers (the only two juniors under Tedford at Cal to declare early) reunited.  Their best RB this year was the old and injury prone Ahman Green, and it’s high time they look for a replacement.  Vernand Morency isn’t a long-term solution.  If I had to put money on it, I’d say this is where Marshawn ends up.  Reunited and it feels so good…

20.  New York Giants - This would be the one situation where I would hesitate to pick up a Marshawn jersey (I’m an Eagles fan).  Still, the fit is there.  Tiki’s retiring after this year - as everyone and their grandmother knows - and Brandon Jacobs may or may not be ready to handle the full-time load.  Even if he is, they’d need a reliable backup RB as insurance to switch things up and handle Tiki’s role as a third down back with good hands.  I’d say this is about as low as Marshawn could possibly go since I can’t see the Giants passing him up if he’s there, but with the way Rodgers slided…

21.  Denver - They love their running backs, and they’ve never been sold on Tatum Bell as a full-time back.  Mike Bell has been decent as a complement to Tatum, but Mike Shanahan seems to be a guy who likes to use one primary back if he has one.  That and he likes to change primary backs every year if possible.  Why not?

24.  Kansas City - The Chiefs drafted Larry Johnson as a backup for Priest Holmes even when there was no apparent fit, and they may take Marshawn in a similar situation if he’s deemed to be the best available player on the board at the time.  Also, Grandmama’s coming off a NFL record in carries (thank you, Herman Edwards), he’s up for free agency in two years, and will command a monster deal that the Chiefs may not want to ante up for - especially since Cal alum Tony Gonzalez is a free agent this year too.

26.  New York Jets - Their RB situation is about as bad on paper as the Texans’, but because they’ve been winning, there hasn’t been as much written about it.  With a rotation of Leon Washington, Cedric Houston, and Kevan Barlow (seriously…Kevan Barlow), Marshawn would be a massive upgrade, and a steal at this point.

27.  Philadelphia - Purely for selfish reasons, but if the Eagles decide that Buckhalter and his knees are finished (though it doesn’t look like he is), he would definitely make for better backup behind Westbrook than Ryan Moats would, given his between-the-tackles running and pass-catching ability.  I doubt the Eagles would take a RB in the first since Reid loves taking defensive linemen in the first, but there’s a possibility.  Though not much of one, I’m afraid. 

31.  Baltimore - Jamal Lewis hasn’t been the same player since his 2,000 yard season and subsequent incarceration (though the two are, of course, entirely unrelated), and it’s probably time to find his successor.  Of course, if Marshawn lasts this long, I’m going to cry.  Because it will mean the Eagles passed on him.

In conclusion, it seems to me that the earliest Marshawn will go off the board is 8th to Houston, the latest he’ll go is 20th to the Giants, and his most likely landing spot will be 16th to Green Bay where he can hang out and eat some cheese with Aaron Rodgers.  Since, I mean, that’s all they do in Wisconsin, right?  Go Bears!