Peter King’s Mock Makes Me Happy

On the other end of the spectrum from Mike Florio's mock last week is Peter King's, who is the only one I have seen to predict that the Buccaneers will trade out of the first round altogether.

20. Baltimore (in a trade with Tampa Bay). QB Chad Henne, Michigan. Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if the Ravens trade lower in round one and pick up Joe Flacco, the Delaware wunderkind. The organization likes both the more-polished Henne and the kid with the best arm in the draft, Flacco. My gut feeling is that Henne's the pick, in part because he's prepared to play earlier.

Of course, he doesn't say what Baltimore's compensation to the Bucs is. Baltimore has pick #38 in the second round, but nothing else that even comes close to adequate compensation this year. So they'd most likely have to give away their first rounder in 2009, which is basically the same transaction Dallas and Cleveland made last year for Brady Quinn. Baltimore has a brand new coaching staff, no quarterbacks, and an aging defensive core. They're not going to do well in 2009 and that first rounder will probably be pretty valuable. It's the smartest Buccaneer mock I've heard so far. And Peter King said it. Wow.

Then again, when he was talking about the possible Jared Allen trade, he said this:

Now, about the other team in the mix, Tampa Bay: The Bucs are willing to pay Allen something less than the Dwight Freeney-like contract he wants, but not if it means they'd have to give Kansas City two first-day picks. It's a double-dipping nightmare for a team -- overpaying Allen and paying his team huge compensation.

Does that first sentence make any sense to you? I'll be honest, I spent the whole weekend mixing up a really sweet batch of bathtub meth, so I may not be thinking really clearly (and I'm pretty sure these red marks are permanent now), but of course the Bucs would be willing to pay Allen less than the Dwight Freeney contract. In fact, the less they pay him, the more they'd be willing to give to Kansas City in trade. King may be annoying as hell but he's not dumb, so I have to assume that it's a typo or some similar mistake. Either that, or he's the "Stinky Pete" that I'm supposed to deliver this meth to.