OT: Day 1 NFL Draft Winners/Losers
Just my opinions..
Winners:
Seattle- Okung and Thomas are two excellent players at positions of need.
Buffalo- Only if they get Clausen...so if they do, Clausen/Spiller is a great tandem to build around. Spiller is a beast who I was kind of hoping Detroit would have found a way to get.
Philly- All bias aside, Graham will be better than Woodley in the pros. I feel strongly about this. I wanted to hate Philly after chasing McNabb out of town, but I can't anymore. Go Eagles!
Kansas City- Blah blah blah too early for a safety...then the next sentence the same analysts compare him to Ed Reed. Great logic there guys!
Jets- LOL at how ridiculous their defense is going to be. If Wilson pans out like he should, they could seriously rush 8 every play and leave Revis, Cro and Wilson to play coverage. Probably the best pick of the first round IMO.
Lions- If Best stays healthy they won the first round...it's just such a big if.
Losers:
Jacksonville- Not only did they reach like crazy, but they didn't find a way to get Tebow. Morons.
Cleveland- Lots of reports that they were fielding offers for the seventh pick because they actually had Wilson rated higher than Haden. Should have traded down. Morons.
Raiders- (obligatory Raiders draft strategy comments). Morons.
Incomplete:
Denver- I'm actually kind of cheering for Tebow now because the doubt people are putting on him is becoming as suffocating as his reputation became in college. Risky pick but McDaniels seems to be a gambler.
Bengals- Gresham could be an excellent pick but he's been hurt for a while so it's hard to say.
As a Bears fan, I would consider the draft a success if we drafted Lovie Smith into a cannon. And then fired the cannon. Into the sun.
I'm a lions fan, but I would still pay to see this.
What about Angelo? He's the mastermind behind the Cutler trade, leaving you guys with no room to improve via the draft. Instead you have to pay FAs past their prime loads of money.
Cosign on the Lovie Smith comments ...
As a bears fan I've been pretty down on Lovie for some time. While I didn't (and still don't) have any problems with the Cutler move, I'm scratching my head at Peppers and Chester Taylor.
We could have spent half the money and gotten Aaron Kampman, Antrelle Rolle, and a descent backup RB. We need a safety pretty bad and as far as I'm concerned Forte is still a pretty good RB stuck behind a terrible offensive line.
The lack of a second round pick kind of bums me out too. While there is absolutely nothing you can do about a player passing away, I question what my Bears were doing giving up a second rounder (when we had no #1) for Gaines Adams in the first place.
Alas ...
I sense the winds of change will be blowin' in Chicago mighty soon
to the sun, then who do you hire? Oh wait!! They have this guy as Defensive Coordinator. Marinelli's the name.
My best guess is we clean house and make a move for Cowher and/or Gruden. If we don't land one of those too (and we likely won't) then we start with a young coordinator.
Ron Rivera?
Leslie Frazier?
Jeff Davidson?
If you need someone with a sharp shovel, sharp pick, and an outstanding will, Marinelli is your man.
The Jets and the Lions did well in the first round. I'm not sure the Lions needed to trade up for Best in the first round, but still he has a ton of talent and, obviously, everyone knows how good Suh is.
The Jets secondary is just ridiculous now. Wilson should be a solid nickle corner for them and they are building something great for this upcoming season.
the Saints don't play in the AFC
some thought either someone else would trade up to 33 to get Best, or that the Rams could have taken him. It sounds like that was really the guy the Lions wanted at 34, and if they felt like they had to trade up to get him, I'm okay with that. I would like too see them somehow trade back into the 2nd round now and pick up a linebacker or more secondary help. Then tomorrow, more defense and maybe some OL.
It is hard for me to give someone "Winners" grade when they come into the draft with two first round picks....you SHOULD have a good first round!!! I mean Seattle had two top 15 picks...what more can you ask for. Did they get great players? Yes. Were they expected to be there? For the most part...Yes. Maybe Okung could have gone 4. I saw E. Thomas going anywhere from 7-20 depending on the mock draft. So to me it comes down to filling roles without making stretch picks. That is why I like Seattle's draft, they need an OT and a S, and that's what they got. I don't like Buffalo's draft at all. CJ Spiller is not going to be effective in Nov. and Dec. in Buffalo. They need a QB, they need WRs, they need linemen, and instead they took a RB, which they already have two of.
As for the Lions, I understand the Best pick, I don't think they needed to trade up to get it though. I love the Suh pick but I think almost everyone does. I would give the Lions an incomplete until we know Best is okay. I think Sergio Kindle would have been a nice pick as well. Could have played him at OLB or DE. Would have liked to get a CB with that second pick but once Wilson and McCourty came off the board, it was too much of a stretch to get one.
You're giving teams too much credit by saying they can't screw up because they have two first round picks. It's totally possible.
Well yeah....no kidding they can screw up. But to say anyone screwed up last night is a little pre-mature. I mean Jacksonville took a guy that wasn't expected to go in the first round. BUT, if he turns into an all-pro, we will be saying what great insight they had. That's why I referred to the filling needs and roles method of evaluation.
you could always argue that they could have still traded down, picked up more value, and STILL gotten their guy. That's my problem with this.
7th Pick : Troy Williamson
18th Pick: Erasmus James
Enough said...and it pains me so much.
Or St. Louis - 1996
5th Pick: Lawrence Phillips
18th Pick: Eddie Kennison
But Sergio iPad would be able to do so much more.
No flash and he'd be unable to multitask. I'll pass.
early in the NFL season.
Sergio Ipad 2G
Sergio OS 4.0!
I like that the 49ers loaded up on O-lineman. Its not fancy, but that's how you build a winner.
EDIT: And even more importantly, they didn't draft Clausen!
As a 49ers fan I agree. Now Alex Smith needs to take another step forward.
Bulaga slipped to 23. Top tier OT, Packers position of greatest need? Got really lucky so far.
Great pick there to fill need and get a player who was expected to go much higher.
that Bulaga would end up on the Cowboys, so I could watch BG owning his ass for years to come.
I would love to see these reports about Cleveland. Glad to know you were in the war room with them, and you've actually seen their draft board. Joe Haden was the consensus best CB in the draft from any report you can get your hands on, and it was obviously a strong CB class. Good to know that you know more though, and that they are morons, give me a break. The fact that you actually believe the bullshit that these teams leak out as smoke screens is even funnier. Odds are that Eric Berry was #1 on their board, and Joe Haden was #2, and that's probably all there was to it. Of course they would trade down and draft a comparable but less talent if someone gave them an offer they couldn't refuse, but it didn't happen.
Hey dipshit, that's why I prefaced it with "this is just my opinion".
NFL.com: http://blogs.nfl.com/2010/04/22/wilson-demaryius-thomas-on-the-rise-as-…
Rotoworld: "The Browns are reported to be considering Wilson as high as No. 7 overall if Eric Berry is off the board. Wilson appears to be bypassing Joe Haden as the top corner off the board, though we still remain skeptical that Thomas will be drafted ahead of Dez Bryant at receiver."
Charles Robinson of Yahoo:
"Many teams" reportedly prefer Wilson to Joe Haden. In the WAC, Wilson didn't face near the competition Haden did, but his body of work may be more impressive as a play-maker, impact return ace, and four-year starting cornerback. Haden wasn't used on returns and didn't have as many picks.
ESPN: Michael Smith of ESPN reported that the Browns had a strong debate between Haden and Wilson. He said new team president Mike Holmgren would break the tie and for Holmgren it was important that Haden played in the Southeastern Conference and Wilson played in the WAC.
Is that enough for you, or should I list more? Because there are plenty just like these.
That's my point, the fact that you believe these reports is hilarious. Yes, I realize you said it was your opinion, but you based it off these reports as if they are fact. Especially from BSpn, here's one from Todd McShay:
"If Berry is off the board, the Cleveland Browns (at No. 7) are focusing on Georgia Tech DE Derrick Morgan or Tennessee NT Dan Williams."
...yeah, that was dead on, from the same blog...
"The Miami Dolphins are locked in on Texas OLB Sergio Kindle, and we're hearing he is their guy at No. 12.
• The Philadelphia Eagles are still interested in moving up for FS Earl Thomas. The Broncos at No. 11 are a strong possibility, but do they want to move all the way back to No. 24? One thought is that if Denver gets even more picks in the first two rounds, would it take QB Tim Tebow?"
once again, the guy has a gift.
-To this day my favorite report from BSpn was from Adam Shefter, reporting that Bob Stoops to ND was a done deal, they're just working out the details, once again, spot on
If they were going to trade down like they did, I feel like they should have traded down more because what they got would have been available later...
Lions had a good...draft? It feels so awkward to say. For a while it almost didn't seem possible. Like something out of fairytale. Can we be...optimistic again? Is the light at the end of the tunnel finally in sight? God I hope so.
They had a good draft last year (at least, so far so good). They have made sound decisions to shore up certain positions in the short-term (Vanden Bosch), and they appear to actually have a master plan as far as becoming a player in this league.
I know. Im trying to remain cautiously optimistic only because the Lions have only caused pain. But I have loved there offseason moves so far.
now that they have people in the organization with an actual plan. There are still definitely some areas on the team that need help (OL, LB, CB to name a few), but the Lions are definitely on the right track.
learned what NOT to do already. So it's almost like Millen did something good. He trained Mayhew. Ok, so he did it unknowingly!
I read an article written by a guy in Minnesota who writes for the vikings that compared the Lions to the Cowboys of the early 90's. Young and raw but full of talent.
the Cowboys of the 90's had Aikman, Smith, Irving and THE BEST OL in the history of the NFL. Thats 5-6 Hall of Famers. Seriously, I could have ran for 7 yards a pop behind that OL.
While theres reasons to be optimistic about the Lions, The Cowboys are a very bad example if you just look at their line. Its not even remotely close.
Mark Stepnoski, Nate Newton, Erik Williams, Larry Allen, John Gesak.
And look at their D. Leon Lett, Ken Norton, Deion Sanders, Charles Haley, Darren Woodson.
Im sorry, but this Lions team doesn't look anything like one of the best teams in recent memory.
When it comes to the offensive line you are completely correct. We will need to fix that in the next couple of years. Not saying they are, but you could make arguments for Matt Stafford and Calvin Johnson being more talented, at least physically, than Aikman and Irvin. And Best has good upside and a lot of talent. I think the comparison to the Cowboys was directed more at the big three. And also read on ESPN they compared how the Lions go about building this team and working the draft to a young Patriots staff. None of this means a lot come fall if we fall on our faces. But just hearing some of these comparisons has to make you smile and really feel really positive about what the future could hold. I know I'm excited.
Hated the Giants draft. Hated it. Not only did we let BG go, who I think is going to be the best pass rusher of the bunch, but we let him go to the Eagles. Instead of landing him, Spiller or McClain, we let our biggest rival trade up and leave us with a backflipping french guy who couldn't qualify for Florida State out of community college. YIKES.
IMO. kirk morrison can move out to OLB and hes getting pretty old. ontop of that, they get a coach on the field. they COULD have moved down a bit but i would be worried about being jumped by the giants. they dont deserve to be in the same category as the jags who had a terrible 1st day.
and if u take out the bias for the eagles i dont see how u can include them in the "great" day draft. this was a REALLY deep draft for DEs. if they move up and get taylor mays in the 2nd round and address the issue of safety then i would put them squarely in the "great" draft category. until they fix the safety problem, not yet. again: thats if u take the biases out of it.
Kirk Morrison is getting pretty old? He's 28.
You have to keep in mind that is only the 2nd step of a 4 step post-Hurricane Millen rebuild. The widespread devastation caused by Hurricane Millen is a positive in one regard that the team has so many holes that taking almost anyone is a good decision.
The real challenge will come once the Lions have filled most of the holes and they are 1 or 2 guys away from being legit contenders. That is at least a year away.
The Lions have needs at CB, OLB(2 for they will need to replace JP in a year), safety, a DE, a power RB and a OT. They obviously were not going to be able to fill all these in one year.
I am hoping that like last year, they can find two starters in rounds 3 and 4 or at least productive role players. Depth is as important as finding starters. if at the very least they can build depth than I'll consider this a successful offseason.