You’ve now no doubt read my mock draft and are prepared for tonight’s big first-round. But here are a couple of things that couldn’t be expressed in the space that I was given. So here are some quick hit thoughts about tonight, the players, what teams may do and some predictions for the future of those guys getting their names called by the loathsome Roger Goodell.

-The draft, of course, will not play out like I’ve written it. The thing about a mock is that you have no way of really predicting draft-night trades and how they’ll shake things up. And once you start dealing with all the moving pieces of trades, it just makes figuring out the whole thing even more difficult. So, for my sanity’s sake, no trade are mocked up.

-For the first time since I started doing mock drafts a couple of years ago, I had a hard time fitting a QB into the first round. In fact, up until yesterday, I only had Geno Smith going to Minnesota at 25. I finally relented and had Smith going to Cleveland, but I still don’t feel great about it.

-If there were trades in my mock, at least one team would be seen trading back into the late first round to grab either Matt Barkley or Ryan Nassib.

-I feel pretty confident with the fact that I don’t have a first-round running back. Only Eddie Lacy really fits the bill talent-wise, but he’s nothing like the all-around back that Trent Richardson was last year. You can definitely wait on a good back this year.

-The whole ‘Dee Milliner has had five surgeries’ thing scares me. If I were to bet, I’d say that he finishes two of his first four seasons on the IR or misses at least two games in each of his first three seasons.

-The Jaguars pick is a real wild card. With some many holes on that team, there’s no telling where they can go. I will say that Dion Jordan makes the most sense for them, but knowing Jacksonville, that doesn’t really matter.

-Tavon Austin’s stock has soared in the past week or so, as if his game tape has gotten better. I still see him settling right into the middle of the first round.

-Of the guys that I’ve dropped out of the first round – Menelik Watson, Damontre Moore, Margus Hunt, Arthur Brown, Jonathan Hankins, Sylvester Williams – my guess is that Watson and Williams have the best chance of making it back in. The guy with the least chance? Moore.

-With two picks each in the first, the Jets, Rams and Vikings are good bets to make some trades. If the Vikes really want Austin to replace Percy Harvin, they’ll have to jump up around 10 slots.

-I think that the Dolphins will make the deal for Branden Albert. You’re better off getting a tested and true tackle for a second-round pick than rolling the dice with your first rounder.

-This will be one of the least-watched recent first rounds. There’s no big names and all the talent is at non-marquee positions. The lay-fan won’t care about the linebacker, lineman or safety their team drafts too much.

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The first day of the NFL’s season calendar was an interesting one as always. You have free agency kicking off, trades coming through and some pretty significant roster cuts too. Let’s give out some winners and losers from Day 1 of the NFL’s 2013 season.

WINNER: The Minnesota Vikings.
They traded away disgruntled, oft-injured receiver Percy Harvin and got a first-round pick back. Now that’s a great move – they didn’t even need him to make the playoffs last season. Now, with that extra first-round pick, we could see them make a move for restricted free agent Victor Cruz, who is even better and more reliable than Harvin.

LOSER: The Buffalo Bills.
Tuesday showed what kind of a mess that the Bills can be. First, their GM Buddy Nix gets duped into a phone conversation where he bashes his starting QB, Ryan Fitzpatrick, basically saying that he’s a backup QB at best. Then, when the tape of that conversation comes out, he releases the guy just a season and a half after signing him to a huge extension. Also, to make matters even worse, they lost their best offensive lineman, Andy Levitre, to the Titans.

BIGGER LOSER: The guys that recorded the Bills-Bucs phone conversation.
Somebody must have forgotten to inform the two guys who got Nix and Bucs GM Mark Dominik onto a conference call without their knowledge that the sort of thing is illegal. Now they, along with Deadspin.com, are facing possible federal charges.

WINNER: The Atlanta Falcons.
They got Tony Gonzalez back, so that’s great news. They’re also in the hunt for a couple of big names that could put the best regular-season team over the top.

LOSER: The Baltimore Ravens.
They’ve traded away Anquan Boldin, they lost Dannell Ellerbe and Paul Kruger and Ed Reed still hasn’t been re-signed. It’s going to be tough for the champs to make the playoffs with all these holes in their squad, let alone repeat.

WINNER: Nnamdi Asomugha.
You may find it odd to see someone become unemployed landing in the win column, but that’s actually a good move for the former all-pro. The Eagles used the incredible cover man all wrong, lining him up in the slot or playing him in zone. No wonder he wanted to eat lunch by himself in his car.

LOSER: The Miami Dolphins.
When was the last time that a Super Bowl was won through free agency? The Dolphins’ big-money signings of Mike Wallace and Ellerbe are reminiscent of the Redskins overspending in the 2000s. There’s a reason why the Steelers let Wallace walk and are we sure Ellerbe is good and not just riding one hot streak?

WINNER: Ryan Mallet.
He is garnering quite a bit of trade chatter after serving as Tom Brady’s backup for two seasons. He was a hot draft prospect when he came out and now some teams are coming calling to see if playing understudy to a great is as good as actually playing – something Mallet has done very little of.

WINNER: San Francisco 49ers.
They needed a good receiver to compliment  Michael Crabtree and got that in Boldin for the paltry price of a sixth-round pick. Boldin has been a steady contributor for years and you can even make the case that he’s a borderline hall of famer. Look for San Fran to be a title contender again this year.

Follow me on Twitter @danbilicki

Do you have any idea how hard it is make a Super Bowl pick more than a week before the game is being played? Well that’s what I had to do this time thanks to the fact that I’ll be sitting on a beach in Jamaica for the next week. Believe me; as much as I wanted to spend another February week commuting in this frigid weather, I think I’m due for some warm relaxation.

But, when I started thinking about it for this post, it’s actually a bit easier to think things through and make a prediction. My thought won’t be distorted by the reading an extra week of features and narratives leading up to the big game. Also, I’m sparred from reading every variation of HarBowl and Harbaugh Bowl that people can come up with.

Let’s break things down into some quick-hit categories…

QBs: These two guys are drastically different: Joe Flacco is a pocket QB who keeps calm and can air it out; Colin Kaepernick is a pure athlete with a big arm who can kill a team in the read-option. My one big red flag about Kaepernick is that he is still just a second-year player and the Super Bowl will be just his eighth career start. The good news is that he proved over the past few weeks that he won’t shrink in tough situations. He’s the hottest thing in the game right now though, which will cause many to overrated him slightly – heck, he’s even trying to trademark “Kaepernicking.” How has nobody ever trademarked kissing your bicep before?

Flacco is certainly justifying getting a big pay day this off-season and should get more than just a franchise tag. Even though this is his fifth season in the league, he has already won the most career road playoff games by ANY quarterback. He doesn’t put up huge numbers, but he gets results, which is what his position is really about.

Slight edge: Baltimore.

RBs: Frank Gore is actually one of the more underrated backs in the league. He’s never in discussion as one of the best even though he has produced consistently for years. He’s the type of punishing downhill runner that really represents what this Niners team is about. Ray Rice is a physical back as well, but has other dimensions to his game. He excels at catching passes out of the backfield and has better lateral movement. When looking at the backups, as much as I like LaMichael James, Baltimore’s Bernard Pierce looks like the real deal and could be the future of the Ravens running game.

Edge: Baltimore.

WRs: The Ravens duo of Anquan Boldin and Torrey Smith is great example of pairing a speed guy with a physical receiver. Smith is a pure burner that needs a safety over top on every play. Boldin can do everything else is and willing to take some punishment going over the middle. Tight end Dennis Pitta has emerged as good option as well, as I’m sure most fantasy poolies took note of this year.

As for the Niners, they start Michael Crabtree and Randy Moss at with Vernon Davis at TE. Crabtree has really come into his own with Kaepernick at QB, but Moss is really just a role player while Davis has had just one good game – in NFC final – since Alex Smith was benched. In fact, Davis had seven catches in the seven games before that one; hardly an indication that he’ll be a threat in the Super Bowl.

Edge: Baltimore.

OL: Before the Ravens moved Michael Oher to right tackle and started Bryant McKinnie on the left, this would have been a big edge for San Fran. Not so now as the Ravens line have done an excellent job at keeping Flacco clean. Now, the 49ers line – which may be the best in football – only has a slight edge.

Slight edge: San Francisco.

Pass rush: Here we have the Ravens’ Haloti Ngata and Terrell Suggs against the Smiths, Aldon and Justin. The Baltimore duo have the edge in experience and you could argue talent. Suggs has won the defensive player of the year and Ngata has been in the conversation several times. For the Niners, Justin Smith is a veteran presence who truly leads the line. Aldon was threatening the single-season sack record this year, but his play suffers against the run. All four guys could be all-pros, so this one is too tight to call.

Edge: Even.

Run defence: This is where the Niners truly excel. With Novarro Bowman and Patrick Willis backing the line, not many backs get to the third level to break big gains. The Niners have allowed the fourth least rushing yards this season, nearly 500 less than Baltimore, and last year was tops in the league with the same squad. It was clear this season that the Ravens were selling out to stop the pass, which led to some big games by opposing teams in the rushing department. It will be interesting to see how/if they adjust for this challenge.

Edge: San Francisco.

Pass defence: Neither team has a real lockdown corner, but both sides are no slouches in the defensive backfield. The real advantage that Baltimore has is future hall of famer Ed Reed. Nobody has been better at playing centre field like him over the years, even if he is getting up in the years.

Edge: Baltimore.

Coaching: Oh, you want to pick between the two brothers that are coaching this game? Well, if you really want to, I’d say that John’s NFL experience could give him a slight edge, but Jim has shown a better sense of game planning. It’s truly a tossup.

Edge: Even.

Intangibles: Both teams have never lost in the Super Bowl, but San Fran has been here five times and the Ravens just once … It’s Ray Lewis’ last game ever … Randy Moss could finally get his Super Bowl ring … Playing in the dome will help speed players like Kaepernick and Torrey Smith immensely … It’s Ray Lewis’ last game … Baltimore has overcome a lot of emotional storylines this season … The low seed has won the Super Bowl three years in a row … The NFC has won the Super Bowl four of the past five years … It’s Ray Lewis’ last game ever.

Edge: Baltimore.

Super Bowl pick: Baltimore 23, San Francisco 20
Last week: 2-0
The playoffs: 7-3
This season: 132-116-8