Blogging Draft Day - First Round

Today is the big NFL Draft kickoff! I must admit, I am watching the whole thing. It can be very slow but lots of analysis, insight and most of all good talent.

1. The San Francisco 49ers had the number one pick and drafted University of Utah quarterback Alex Smith - not surprising. This kid is only 20!!
2. Ronnie Brown, Running Back from Auburn U, was picked second overall by the Miami Dolphins. Miami’s greatest need is at RB, thanks to Ricky Williams’ antics. Even though Ricky might be back, who can count on him. This is an excellent pick by Miami.
3. The Cleveland Browns, who now have former Ravens’ GM Phil Savage calling the shots (grrrrrrr…..), were expected to evaluate talent extremely well and they have. They have picked Wide Reciever Braylon Edwards from University of Michigan. He was the Big 10 Offensive Player of the Year and will be a potent weapon to complement TE Kellen Winslow. OF course, I’m a little sketchy on the Browns’ QB situation and a WR is only as good as the QB throwing to him.
4. Another overall top 5 pick Running Back. Cedric Brown of the University of Texas, was picked by the Chicago Bears (’da Bears!). He’s a big boy, 222 lb, 6′2 but so is Jamal Lewis. Let’s see if he can help turn da Bears around.
5. Wow. Three Running Backs in the top 5. The Tampa Bay Bucs picked Carnell “Cadillac” Williams, another Auburn U RB. ESPN is questioning his overall durability being 5′10″ and 222 lb.
6. Good pick from the Tennessee Titans who picked the first defensive player of the draft. Adam “Pacman” Jones, Cornerback from West Virginia. He has his nickname “Pacman” from his insatiable ability to gobble the ball up on interceptions.
7. Back to the offensive game, the Minnesota Vikings have picked Troy Williamson, Wide Reciever from University of South Carolina. This is a good pick for Minnesota who now do not have Randy Moss but thrive on the vertical game of Daunte Culpepper. He’s also extremely fast.
8. Antrel Rolle, Corner Back from the University of Miami is the pick of the Arizona Cardinals. Very good pick because the Cardinals have very little depth in their corner positions.
9. The Washington Redskins have made their first round 1 pick Carlos Rogers the THIRD Cornerback in the top 10. He may be one of the most consistent CBs in the NCAA this year. Good pick for the Skins.
10. The Detroit Lions wasted no time (2 minutes) in making their pick. Mike Williams, Wide Reciever from USC. The guy hasn’t played in a year but he is a steal. Joey Harrington has no more excuses. HE has plenty of weapons to throw to.
11. Demarcus Ware, Defensive End from (where?) Troy State is the first round pick of the Dallas Cowboys. It is no secret that Dallas needs a Defensive End and though I don’t know much about this guy, a DE pick is a good pick for the Cowboys.
12. Shawne Merriman, linebacker from Maryland (represent!) is the first round pick of the San Diego Chargers. He will be a good reinforcer for the week defensive line that the Chargers have.
13. First trade of the draft! The New Orleans Saints have traded spots with the Houston Texans for the price of a first round pick next year. The Saints traded to draft Jamal Brown, Offensive Tackle from University of Oklahoma. Interesting move. ESPN speculates that the next team, Carolina, would have drafted Brown and the trade was a power move to avoid that.
14. The Carolina Panthers made the 14th pick, Thomas Davis, Linebacker/Safety from Georgia. He did a great job for the Bulldogs. Consistent tackling, consistent playmaker.
15. The Kansas City Chiefs reinforced their defensive backfield with Derrick Johnson, Linebacker from Univ of Texas. Eh? Good pick I guess. Not thrilled with it.
16. Travis Johnson, Defensive Tackle from Florida State University, is a welcome pick for the Houston Texans who need a little bit of penetrating power on their D-line. Good pick.
17. The Cincinatti Bengals made the 17th overall pick. They chose David Pollack, Defensive End from Georgia. He is a sack king, hard to control. The AFC North is looking more deadly.
18. The Minnesota Vikings, with their second first round pick chose Erasmus James from University of Wisconsin. Good pick. Wisconsin plays in a dome as do the Vikings. I’d say this is a good attack player.
19. The St. Louis Rams make, what I think is a dubious pick, by picking Alex Barron, Tackle from FSU. Orlando PAce is going to have his hands full teaching this guy. He’s not a dominating force on the line and you need one. The Rams must see something that I don’t.
20. The Dallas Cowboys make their second first round draft pick by picking Marcus Spears from Louisiana State University. This is a nice pick because the general wisdom suggests he will excel in a 3-4 defense such as the Cowboys have.
21. Matt Jones, the Wide Reciever from Arkansas is an AWESOME pick. 6′6 is a tremendous height and he is FAST. What a pick for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
22. Yay! The Baltimore Ravens pick! We need more depth at Wide Reciever and now have it. Mark Clayton, from Oklahoma. The Raven’s Recieving corps isn’t looking so bad after all!
23. The Oakland Raiders traded up to the number 23 pick from Seattle. They picked up speedster Fabian Washington from Nebraska. Not bad.
24. Tough decision for the Green Bay Packers. Aaron Rodgers, Quarterback from California, was expected to be taken much earlier in the draft and they have dire needs for position players elsewhere on the team. With Rodgers not being taken and Brett Favre not expected to play much longer, the Packers had a tough decision to make - pick a QB successor for Favre or pick other position players. They picked Rodgers.
25. The Washington Redskins make another first round pick by choosing (an interesting one) Jason Campbell, Quarterback from Auburn. My question is…what happens to Patrick Ramsey now?
26. Another questinoable pick, in my book. The Seattle Seahawks pick up Chris Spencer, a Center out of University of Mississippi. Hmmm…
27. The Atlanta Falcons had the 27th pick choosing Roddy White, a Wide Reciever from University of Alabama at Birmingham. Good pick as they need a boost in their recieving corps so Mike Vick will stop trying to do things himself. :-)
28. The San Diego Chargers make their second first round pick of Luis Castillo, Tackle from Northwest University.
29. The Indianapolis Colts made a good upgrade to their pathetic defense by draftin Marlin Jackson, a Cornerback from University of Michigaqn.
30. The hated Pittsburgh Steelers select Heath Miller, a University of Virginia Tight End. Hmmm…the guy is 6′5 and runs a great slot. Man Oh man…. that’s all we need now.
31. Mike Patterson, Defensive Tackle from University of North Carolina is the defensive upgrade made in the first round by the Philadelphia Eagles. This is probably a pretty good move by Philly who could use some depth on their D-line.
32. Logan Mankins, Guard from Fresno State is the first round pick by the New England Patriots.

And that brings Round 1 to the close.

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