Whew....what a first day.
Some expected picks, some surprises, but overall an entertaining, fun evening from the Big Apple.
As most pundits expected, the first 3 picks of the draft went as scripted, with the Rams taking their franchise quarterback, the Lions taking the perceived best player in the draft in Suh, and the Bucs going with Gerald McCoy.
I can't say I blame the Bucs for the move. To put it in terms I (and Tin Cup) might better understand, the Bucs were looking at a narrow, 270-yard tee shot to clear the water. Rather than roll the dice, they took out the 2-iron and laid up in the middle of the fairway. Clearly, the Bucs' #1 area of need as in the interior of the defense. Rather than trade down, grab an impact player, and roll the dice on Jared Odrick or Brian Price later, the Bucs went with the best player available to fill their biggest need. Can't knock the move. Since Detroit was taking the player they needed, the cost to move up and get Suh would've been a steep price. Now, the Bucs sit with Roy Miller and Gerald McCoy as the likely starters at the d-tackle positions, giving them one of the youngest and most promising set of interior linement in the league. Hopefully, they will live up to the billing.
Other random notes..........
- The number (and distance) of first round trades was mind-boggling. Shows the value some teams place on mid-round picks and the perceived depth and value of players in this draft.
- Timmy Tim Tebow rolls into the Mile High City in the first round, forcing McShay and several other pundits to eat their words with a fork and knife. The Broncos now sit with Orton, Brady Quinn, and Tebow on their QB draft chart. Very, very interesting to see what shakes out there.
- Forget Dez Bryant as a top-10 pick........he wasn't even the first player at his position taken in the draft, which honor went to GA Tech WR Demaryius Thomas. Interesting that a team moved up to 22 to draft a player with solid physical promse, but without proven route-running skills.......esecially on a team without a QB with a strong arm and a good deep ball, which fits to Thomas' forte.
- San Diego seemed to jump the gun in a major way on Ryan Mathews, moving from the back end of the draft all the way up to 12, where none of the teams directly behind Miami seemed to have a need at RB.
- Good move by Jimmy Clausen not to attend the draft. At the earliest, he could go to Minny at 33 to eventually replace Brett Favre.....but with the Vikings on the cusp of a title, I think they look for a player that could contribute immediately to help get them over the hump.
- Trent Williams to WAS rather than Okung.....just goes to show that the pundits aren't always right as to who's "rated" highest at a given position.
- Curious move by the Eagles to get Brandon Graham.........as JP-P and Derrick Morgan were still on the board.
- CB must have graded high this draft. Didn't think P-Rob would make it in the first round.
- Carlos Dunlap is still sitting out there. Great potential with all the physical tools..........are his baggage too much to handle?
Hopefully tomorrow will bring great excitment. This draft really gets in gear tomorrow.