Some Thoughts on Day One:
for perusal during Day Two
by
Max Gross
"The Big Story"
It’s funny, isn’t it? Before the draft, you hear experts and couch-potato GMs alike saying the same thing: “I don’t think either of these quarterbacks should be top ten picks.” There were also complaints that Quinn struggled under pressure and that the gap between him and the third quarterbacks isn’t as wide as people say. The point of all of these contentions is, of course, that Quinn was not worthy of his lofty draft status. Well, apparently NFL teams agree… yet that’s a big story, somehow.
Let’s re-cap: Quinn is hyped by the media. Everyone claims that he doesn’t deserve the hype or the lofty draft status. Then, when he is drafted approximately where everyone seemed to think he should actually be drafted, the incident is hyped even more than his original, over-hyped draft status. Yeah, isn’t the media a lovely machine?
Trade Frenzy!
Wow, what a crazy second round! Ten of the first twelve selections in the round were not used by the original owner of those picks. In fact, only thirteen selections in the entire round were utilized by their original owners. That’s absolutely fascinating.
The second round wasn’t the only interesting trade story. Let’s take a look at what a couple teams were able to finagle out of one measly pick:
-The Jaguars used pick 17 to draft Reggie Nelson and receive four additional picks through two trades. They added selections 101 (4), 166 (5), 198 (6) and 203 (6) to their collection by sliding back to pick 21.
-Similarly, the Oakland Raiders took pick 33 in the draft and netted three players: TE Zach Miller, WR Mike Williams and QB Josh McCown. Imagine if all three become starters. What value!
There were also some trade combinations that found teams getting some interesting net results. The Cowboys got a great deal from the Browns to slide out of round one into the early second round, netting a 2008 first-round pick. Then, however, they changed their minds and moved back into the round by giving up a 3rd and 5th round picks, along with their newly-acquired second-rounder from Cleveland. The end result? They moved back four spots in round one, then gave up a 3rd and a 5th round pick in exchange for the Browns’ first-round pick next season. Could you imagine offering to slide from 22 to 26, adding a 3rd and 5th round pick and asking for a future #1? You’d be laughed at. But that’s what the Cowboys got.
Then came the 49ers. They really wanted developmental, athletic OT Joe Staley, so they traded ahead of the Ravens to get him. The deal involved giving up a fourth-round pick (110) and their 2008 first-round pick for current pick number 28. Then, 14 picks later, they got almost the exact same deal when the Colts really wanted developmental, athletic OT Tony Ugoh. So the Colts traded a fourth-round pick (126) and their 2008 first-round pick to the 49ers. The net result for the 49ers is that they moved up 14 slots into the bottom of round one in order to swap fourth-rounders this year and first-rounders next year with the Colts And those swaps are equal to the amount that they thought Joe Staley was better than Tony Ugoh. Strange.
Since we’re on the subject…
While discussing the 49ers trade, it should be noted that the Ravens did a poor job of masking their interest in Joe Staley, and so the 49ers got him. When asked if Staley would have been the pick if not for the trade, Baltimore GM Ozzie Newsome tactfully ducked the issue by saying “we had options at that pick and we liked them all.” That’s code for “yes, we would have picked Staley… but we like Grubbs, too.” I believe that the Ravens do like Grubbs--a lot. I believe that they should like him. I think they got a better player than Staley, personally. But that doesn’t change the fact that the 49ers got wind of a player they liked and acted to take that player away. Guard yourselves, Ravens! (Wait, they just did:.. with Ben Grubbs)
One last bit of trade trivia: Pick 37 was owned by four teams: originally the Redskins, then traded to the Jets, who traded it to the Bears for Thomas Jones, who then turned it around to the Chargers for a bounty of picks. Pick 37, you have the look of a prostitute (anybody can get it--for a price).
Draft Grades:
I will not grade a day of a draft. A draft can only be judged in its entirety. So all 32 teams currently stand at “I” (that’s Incomplete, for those that have never seen “I” grace their report cards).
That said, I really do enjoy the drafts a couple of teams are having: Atlanta and Carolina stick out to me. Though Carolina has made 75% of their picks from universities which were attended by yours truly, so maybe I’m biased.
Further Draft Developments:
-Four times in the first two rounds, two players from the same school were selected back-to-back, and it almost happened five times, only Southern California and South Carolina are different USCs.
-The NFC North got a huge complement of big-time offensive playmakers: Adrian Peterson, Greg Olsen, Sidney Rice and the grandpappy of them all, Calvin Johnson. The only team left out of the fun was the team that entered the draft claiming they needed to add offensive playmakers: The Packers. Then again, with those guys joining the division, maybe drafting defense is the best way to go.
-Often in the draft, teams make two early selections of players from the same school. This year it happened when Atlanta selected two Razorbacks, while the Panthers selected two Trojans.
-The Browns lived up to their reputation of being a team thinking for the short-term to save jobs. They paid a steep price in two trade-ups with the Cowboys, but ended the day with a noteworthy collection of names and football players.
-Did anyone else notice that in the second round, ESPN’s coverage stopped explaining trades? Just gave up on the whole thing. Instead, they simply discussed quarterbacks. Fortunately for them, the ploy worked out, as Kolb, Beck and Stanton all went early and to noteworthy locations.
-Imagine kicking off to the Miami Dolphins on opening day. Back deep are Ted Ginn and Lorenzo Booker. Kick it out of bounds.
-The Raiders drafted four players that are at least 6’5”, and also traded for two players at 6’4” apiece. Win or lose, they’ll be tall.
