Horse Tracks 4/22/09

DP - Brian Xanders and Mike McCoy spent almost four hours with USC QB Mark Sanchez. A migraine kept Josh McDaniels from joining them. The Broncos' former mascot Thunder passed away last weekend, and they're making a big deal in Chi-town about their new QB enjoying a little bit of the sauce.

DP - LJones examines some of the outside 'backers available atop the draft.

DP - Armstrong talks about the pre-draft smokescreens.

SDUT - Kevin Acee looks at the change across the AFC West's landscape.

USAT - Nate Davis and Sean Leahy reconsider the 2008 Draft, with some mixed kudos for Ryan Clady. Luckily, the draft actually went better in reality for Denver than it would in hindsight. How often does that happen?

Y! - Here is Yahoo's sortable draft resource, featuring NFP's individual player evaluations.

NYT - Gil Brandt is answering questions today - post them in the comments section over at the Times...

NFL - For what it's worth (not much), Sanchez tweeted that he had a "great workout."

KCS - Todd Haley and Scott Pioli go way back, apparently.

KCS - Former Chefs HC Herm Edwards thinks K.C. should take Aaron Curry at #3 if he's still around.

KCS - Jason Whitlock would love to see the Chefs draft Mizzou TE Chase Coffman.

NYT - Paul Myersberg peeks at the Chefs' offseason and draft needs.

SFC - Chucky chimes in about The Crypt Keeper and the Raiders' draft needs.

NFP - Commissioner Goodell fielded questions from the NFP staff.

NFL - Lions GM Martin Mayhew says he expects to get the first overall pick signed before the draft.

Y! - Dan Wetzel thinks the Lions would be taking quite the step toward a drama-free draft if they got that done.

FOX - Alex Marvez sticks his neck out, reporting that two WRs entering the draft tested positive for marijuana at the Combine. This should be interesting...

NFP - Robert Boland continues his series ranking the NFL franchises and their organizational structure - here is Part 3 (still no Broncos).

ESPN - John Clayton lists his top-5 NFL draft evaluators.

ESPN - Blatant agent mouthpiece HOF voter (can you believe it?!) Len Pasquarelli looks at veterans he thinks could be traded. Apparently he's a friend of Bus Cook's - Pasquarelli claims that Scheffler has been available for trade "almost since the moment" McDaniels arrived in Denver. Oh, and he claims it's been "no secret."

Y! - Jason Cole wonders how Bill Belichick will do, drafting without his friend Scott Pioli.

CBS - Clark Judge thinks the Seahawks control the top of the draft at #4.

SI - Peter King responds to some emails in his Tuesday column.

Y! - Mike Silver offered some hostile responses to reader emails in his Tuesday column.

SI - Andy Staples looks at how the college recruiters did when they evaluated this year's draft class coming out of high school.

NFP - Wes Bunting ranks the draft prospects in tiers.

FOX - Jeff Legwold ranks the prospects from #100 to #1.

DB - Gray Caldwell evaluates some of the draft's defensive-back prospects.

NFL - Steve Wyche considers the battle between drafting players for need and choosing those with the best available talent.

NFL - Meanwhile, Vic Carucci thinks teams tend to lean towards filling needs.

NFP - Here is Part 2 of Jack Bechta's look into the psyche of players on draft day.

NFL - Bucky Brooks looks at some players whose stock is moving before the draft.

SI - Tony Pauline does the same, listing risers and fallers.

NFP - Matt Bowen examines the hype surrounding QB Mark Sanchez.

NFL - Thomas George takes a peek inside the workings of an NFL draft room.

NFLN - Charles Davis evaluates the draft's wide receivers.

NFL - Wyche explains why he expects certain teams to be in control of the first round on Saturday.

SI - Don Banks looks at this year's multitalented draft prospects, focusing on QB Pat White.

Y! - Meanwhile, Dan Wetzel thinks White could be the steal of the draft.

CBS - Clark Judge checks out the Niners' draft needs.