NFL Draft First Day Thoughts

Thoughts for the Columbus Draft Day Impenetrable Fortress

File Photo of Mighty Mike

Lineman v. Skill Positions
Outside of the near record trades the story of the day was of lineman and skill positions. Offensive lineman scored a record number of picks while not a single wide receiver was drafted in round 1. What does this mean? It might mean that this was the true distribution of talent. It could also mean that teams somehow feel that lineman are better values now and hence the run on them (this belief of course will push down the percentage of solid picks)

Value v. Need- Pittsburgh, Carolina
One of the great questions in the draft is do you go with the best player or a position of need. Pittsburgh certainly went with the best players available. Mendenhall and Sweed were the 2nd best at each of their positions arguably. However the Steelers biggest need was an improvement in the o-line while both WR and RB weren't critical positions. Similarly Carolina and its drafting of talented RB and OL but leaving the QB position untouched.

Too Much of A Good Thing - Green Bay, Washington
Green Bay now has a whole stable of QBs that hasn't played a full season. Somewhere Aaron Rodgers is crying in the corner. He's one of Fare unretirement rumor away from committing suicide via Arby's. While not the same situation Washington drafted 3 receivers (2 WR and 1 TE) in the first 2 rounds. Each drafted has a different skill set and each talented but too much of a good thing?

First Day Winner - KC
Herm Edwards did something right. What next Matt Millen able to finish a child's coloring book? KC has a crazy idea of going super young. This is possibly because of they have need at every position thats not RB or water boy. So they addressed interior d-line, o-line, and corner. Of course they still need a QB and a defensive end but hey its a good start and frankly 3 starters is a haul anyway you define it.

First Day Loser - Detroit (easy) , Chicago (maybe)
Detroit always does something stupid and this year was no different. Trading down to ensure that they got a crap player, well done. On the plus side I think the management avoided stabbing itself in the eye while making the actual pick. Chicago gets on the list because they had such an obvious need at QB and bypassed 3 QB choices. Are seriously going to subject Bear fans to another year of Sexy Rexy and Neck Beard Orton? Add in that they reached on their two picks and you get near the bottom of the barrel for the Chicago Bears Presented by Visa or whatever it is.