After all the waiting and anticipation, the start of the 2010 NFL Draft went according to plan. Quarterback Sam Bradford went to the Rams, Ndamukong Suh to the Lions and Gerald McCoy to the Bucs. After the known occurred, there was plenty to discuss. Here's what caught my eye from day one.
-It's hard to not like what Pete Carroll and the Seahawks did with their two first-rounders. Russell Okung should be an instant mainstay at left tackle with the reported retirement of Walter Jones. Earl Thomas is a fantastic safety and maybe a better corner. They didn't take Jimmy Clausen, but they should feel comfortable with Matt Hasselbeck under center with Okung protecting him.
-Tim Tebow is a Denver Bronco. After trading back twice in the first round and drafting wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, the Broncos traded back up to draft Tebow as their quarterback of the future before the Bills made their move. This is Josh McDaniels' giant middle finger to the rest of the NFL as he says "Watch what I can do with this guy." I feel bad for Brady Quinn, who might get the six games in-between Kyle Orton's tenure and the start of Tim Tebow's. Denver made the most of their multitude of picks and turned it into a bright future with replacements for the exiled Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall.
The scary part? I actually felt happy for Tebow. Lame.
-Falling into the 20's, wide receiver Dez Bryant had waited longer than he anticipated. All that frustration faded away as he saw the Dallas Cowboys trading up to get ahead of the Baltimore Ravens, a likely landing spot. Dallas owner Jerry Jones passed up on Randy Moss because of character concerns, a mistake he did not want to make with Bryant. This move also suggests the Roy Williams has not been near the success it should have been.
-Jimmy Clausen and Colt McCoy, the two quarterbacks more likely to be drafted in the first round ahead of Tebow, fell to tomorrow's second round where Minnesota (traded down with Detroit), Cleveland, Oakland or Buffalo could jump on them. Day two is going to see some QB drama as well. I can't wait. Someone is going to get tremendous value in Clausen, a rookie who can come in right away and start.
Other notes:
-The New York crowd is full of d-bags. Never was it so obvious than half the crowd booing every legend that came onstage before the draft began. Simply full of idiots.
-I like the new format, at least for the first round. It ran smoothly and fairly quickly. Things will speed up tomorrow with 7 minutes in-between each pick instead of round one's ten minutes.
-I love Jon Gruden.
-He didn't know it had already happened, but Todd McShay totally called the Cowboys trading up to take Bryant as he worked the touchscreen as it flashed across the ticker at the bottom of my screen. Well done McShay.
For the full draft recap, go check out ESPN's fantastic coverage.
I'll be back tomorrow with more tweets and another recap! Happy draft everyone!
