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No surprise really with the first few picks. A lot of movement in the Top 10, much more than I expected. I guess teams are really embracing the rookie wage scale. It'll be interesting to see if that's a trend that continues in future drafts.

Cowboys moving up to get Claiborne was a surprise. Getting another CB is a good move for them.

Bucs taking Barron was a bit of a reach IMO. But they needed DB help, and with Claiborne off the board, they still get a good player.

Kuechly to Carolina gives them a really strong LB group, akin to Urlacher & Briggs potentially with him and Beason. Their problem is that they have no DTs that can keep blockers off them.

Bills taking Gilmore, a good pick. Glad they saw their need at CB. With additions of Mario Williams, Gilmore, Mark Anderson, the Bills could be fielding one of the better defenses in the AFC this year. Maybe a Houston Texans-like turnaround??

A little surprised the Chiefs actually took Poe. But I figured they were probably hoping that Kuechly fell to them.

Eagles getting Fletcher Cox. I didn't write up a scouting report of him, but he would have been my #1 rated DT. Their pass rush with him, Cullen Jenkins, Babin, and Cole is really scary now.

Cardinals get Floyd. A great situation for him. I think he's ideally a No. 2 guy, not a No. 1, and there's no better player you want to be the second fiddle to than Larry Fitzgerald.

Seattle? Reaching on Irvin? I think Irvin was a 3rd/4th round guy at best. They reached last year with James Carpenter, a guy I thought was more of a 5th/6th round guy. They did so again for Irvin. Pete Carroll cannot draft. This ranks up there with the Darrius Heyward-Bey reach as one of the worst in recent draft memory.

Coples IMO was the 4th best player in this draft class. So him falling to the Jets at #16 is a potential steal.

Don't get the McClellin pick for the BEars. Is he a DE or an OLB? I think he's ideally suited to be a 3-4 OLB, but what will he do in their 4-3? I like McClellin, but I don't see him doing great things there. Maybe they plan on grooming him to replace Urlacher at MLB.

Titans getting Kendall Wright was a good move for them. If they can ever get Kenny Britt to play 16 games, they will have 2 very explosive WRs.

Brandon Weeden to Browns. I don't get this pick. I understand why the Browns liked Weeden. He's NFL ready, which means if they give up on Colt McCoy sooner rather than later, they have someone that can step in immediately and be the starter. But I don't think Weeden's upside is that much more than McCoy's. You still don't have the QB of the future on your roster. And if you liked Weeden, then I think you trade back into the latter part of Round 1 and take him.

The Lions needed an LT of the future, and they get one with Riley Reiff falling to No. 23. It's a shame really because if the Falcons had stood pat last year and not traded up for Julio Jones last year, their O-line today could have included Gabe Carimi and/or Reiff.

Steelers made a great pick with DeCastro. Hightower was a perfect fit for them, but DeCastro filled a huge need for them. Their neglect of their O-line in recent years has been criminal. They got their new Alan Faneca.

Patriots didn't need Hightower, but he was BPA at this point. And so they now have 4 good LBs (Mayo, Spikes, & Ninkovich being the others) and can really be that multiple scheme that Belichick loves to be.

Surprised me that Cincinnati took Zeitler over Cordy Glenn. The Bengals seem to hit it big with the SEC prospects in recent years (Carlos Dunlap, Andre Smith, Geno Atkins, Johnathan Joseph, Nate Livings, AJ Green, etc.), and thus would have figured having a guy like Glenn would have been right up their alley, but alas they get a solid player in Zeitler that maybe they think can be Eric Steinbach-esque (for the record, he's not the athlete that Steinbach was/is)

Nick Perry to GB. I liked Perry more as a DE, and would have taken Upshaw there.

Had the Vikings picking Harrison Smith at pick no. 35 in Round 2. They loved him from the Senior Bowl, and they need solid DBs desperately, and they apparently like those Notre Dame players (John Carlson, Kyle Rudolph, John Sullivan)

49ers reached on AJ Jenkins. He's got speed, and I do like that the 49ers are building towards an identity (unlike the Falcons), which is going to be a play-action based offensive attack with Gore and the OL pounding the rock, and then using Manningham, Moss, Ginn, and now Jenkins to hit teams down the field. I don't know if Alex Smith is the right guy for that job, but Colin Kaepernick is a mobile, strong-armed QB that traditionally works well in that style of offense. Had it been me, I would have preferred Randle or Hill over Jenkins. None are ideal picks at #30 though.

The 2 backs going at the end of Round 1, similar to how Jahvid Best snuck into the end in 2010. Doesn't surprise me, both should be good players for their respective teams. Martin is Ahmad Bradshaw v.2.0 and should be a very good complement to Blount, who is Brandon Jacobs v2.0. And let's not forget that the Bucs new OC hails from the Giants. Now that you look at their FA moves, Carl Nicks = Snee, V-Jax = Plax, they have really structured their offense to mimic that of the Giants.

And speaking of the Giants, getting Wilson was a good pickup. Wilson is explosive and now they have that element that has been missing from their ground game with Bradshaw last year. Shocked they didn't take Glenn.


Surprises that Glenn and Upshaw fell completely out of Round 1. That does happen from time to time, but not guys that only a few weeks ago were being pegged as Top 15 picks. I knew Upshaw was probably going to go in the 20s, but figured he wouldn't last thru the gauntlet of all those 3-4 teams at the end of the round. Glenn, I'm shocked that with practically every team from pick #13 to #32 needing OL help (Patriots being the lone exception), that he would have gotten picked.

I think that Fleener not going in Round 1, means he probably goes to Indianapolis at #34. That's the spot most of my mocks had Dwayne Allen going, so I think the odds have now increased that Allen might fall to #55.

First thing I'll say is, dang, was that a fun round to watch or what? So much movement at the top (and a few suprises to boot) it made for some great television.

The first six picks were pretty much what people expected, maybe not to the Jags and Cowboys respectively but still, I didn't expect Carolina to go LB at 9, much like many people I expected a DT or maybe a CB, he's a great player, but not sure how he'll fit into that already super talented group of backers in Carolina. I was very high on Gilmore, I though he had top 10 talent and he should help out the Bills' improved defense on the back end (starting as a true frosh in the SEC is no easy task).

I saw a few reaches as well, Barron (who is a great prospect) is no Earl Thomas or Eric Barry, which is how he was drafted, IMO. San Francisco and Seattle both reached (again I might add). Living in Seahawk territory I know a lot of Hawk fans are getting fed up with Carrol's draft tactics (besides Earl Thomas he's missed on quite a few players), they took a 4th round player, at best, with guys like Ingram (who I was very high on), Jones and Coples all still on the board, and San Fran got a mid round WR, at best, and after signing Josh Morgan, Mario Manningham and Randy Moss, with Crabtree and Davis already on the team, not sure where he fits in.

I dont know what everyone else thought, but I really liked the Brockers to STL pick. They are quietly building quite the defensive front with Chris Long and Robert Quinn already on that front they could make some noise, a lot of people were thinking they'd go WR but I'm not sure that Wright is worth a pick that high and with 3 picks early in the 2nd they can snag a Steven Hill or Ruben Randle in the 2nd to help out Bradford.

I also didn't expect the Pats to not only keep both picks, but trade up twice and giving away a few picks in the process. Also didn't expect Chicago and Green Bay to take who they did. Reiff falling as far as he did was unexpected as well. Fleener and Upshaw falling was also unexpected.

But all in all a fun round to watch, cant wait for round two.

Agree with you about Barron. He'll be a good safety for the Bucs, but he's not in that class of Berry or Thomas.

I think Kuechly is going to fit in fine in Carolina. Beason now moves back to WLB, Anderson stays at SLB. And now they don't have to rely on Thomas Davis being healthy. If he is, then they have potentially the best group of LBs in the league. If not, then they still have 2 Pro Bowl guys and 1 above average starter in Anderson. Yes, I think Kuechly can be a Pro Bowler for many years.

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a REALLY underrated lb, I thought they would go DT.

Best pics, Pittsburgh and Arizona. Pittsburgh got what I consider to be the closest thing to a sure thing and did it late in round 1 at a position of need for them. Arizona got imho the best WR prospect in the draft and someone who will be a great fit along side Fitzgerald.

Worst pics, Cleveland, sorry but a RB that high in the draft is just stupid. The RB position just isn't what it used to be, and by the time Cleveland gets enough talent at other positions he could already be washed up. Also picking a qb that will be 29 when the season starts is just plain stupid. They have way too many holes to be selecting the same positions year after year.

I disagree on the Richardson pick. I think it was a very smart player. If Richardson is Steven Jackson/Adrian Peterson good (and I believe he will be), then he is the perfect bridge to that next level, just like Peterson was and LT was. You're right, the RB position isn't that important. But it's EXTREMELY important for teams that do not have a QB. If you don't have a Matt Stafford/Jay Cutler/Matt Ryan type of player at the QB position, then establishing a run-first offensive identity is your best and quickest strategy to success.

The minute the Browns lost the RG3 sweepstakes, then their next best option immediately became Richardson.

It's basically the same strategy that the Falcons used in 2008. Get Turner, build the offense around him, and then let Matt Ryan grow into a good QB. Now, of course that doesn't mean the same results will occur. You could be in a situation like Jacksonville. When they had an average QB in David Garrard they were 8-8. When they had a bad QB in Gabbert/McCown, they were 5-11.

If you can get Garrard-level QB play out of McCoy or Weeden (which is reasonable IMO), then the Browns are potentially a playoff contender similar to the Jags in 2010.

And as we know, WRs don't add wins to your football team. This has been born out with players like Calvin Johnson, Andre Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald, Julio JOnes, Dez Bryant, etc. etc. etc.

The bottom line is that if you don't have the QB, then you must have a RB. If you have the QB, then you don't need the RB. But clearly the Browns don't have the QB yet.

As for the Weeden pick I agree with you. As I was saying in another thread with widetrak21, the Brandon Weedens of the world are dime a dozen players, that don't merit #1 picks. You can find 3 or 4 guys of similar caliber in almost every draft. And therefore you should NEVER reach for one in the 1st round like the Browns did with Weeden, the Vikings did with Ponder last year.

I completely agree. I like Weeden, I do think he can be a day 1 starter in the NFL, but quite honestly I wonder if he is that much better than someone like Kirk Cousins, who could be had in a later round. I always feel if you don't have a set in stone QB NEVER reach for one in the 1st round unless you have a player that's clearly head and shoulders above what you currently have (ie RG3), and that's why I also feel Miami reached, but with the track record of QBs they passed on I see why they did what they did. Without a significant upgrade to the WRs on the Browns Weeden wont fare much better than McCoy.

What was odd to me, is no one mentioned hardly ever two things w/ him. One, mostly shotgun offense, which means you have to learn under center drops, which means you're footwork is different on drops and you reading the field while dropping. Ask Gabbert how easy the transition is. Two, OKSt offense is pretty simple pass game wise, so he's got additional learning here also.


http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2012 ... -new-back/
Boy the GMen love David Wilson.

http://www.draftcountdown.com/forum/sho ... hp?t=52641

Lol at Cleveland. I like Richardson and think he will be a good player, but not at #3 after trading away several picks to get there. Just fleeced by the Vikings. Brandon Weeden with our pick? LMAO good luck with that. If I were a Browns fan I would be PISSED right now. Enjoy picking in the top 5 year after year Browns.

Here are some more thoughts that probably are not even worth a penny. WTF is up with teams REACHING for QB's? I understand it is a QB driven league and it is the most important position, but Tannehill at 8????? Almost as bad as the Weeden pick. Just like last year with Gabbert and Ponder. The Dolphins will have fun seeing if they can win 6 games every year.

One more. I know is not the first round but Jacksonville just picked a punter in the 3rd round. Actually it makes sense. With the Mularkey offense they will be punting a lot, so they might as well be good at it.

Building on the Weeden pick, based on the second and third round, I didnt see the Browns significantly upgrading the WR corps. LMAO.