The Final Drive: The 2011 NFL Draft, Round One

Round one of the NFL Draft is in the books! As always, there are plenty of moments that need mentioning, others that merit praise and some that are just plain head-scratching. Here are some of my highlights of round one.

Shocker of the Night: Jacksonville trades up with Washington to take QB Blaine Gabbert at 10 overall, but only after Tennessee takes QB Jake Locker with the 8^th overall selection. David Garrard is officially on watch.

Reach of the Night: Vikings take Christian Ponder at 12 overall. For a guy that was discussed as maybe sneaking into the tail end of round one, it’s clear the Vikings had no one with which to make a trade. They didn’t get a lot of value with that pick at all.

Miscue of the Night: Ravens pass on 26^th pick after failing to consummate a trade with Chicago. After Kansas City slides up, the Ravens get back in at 27 and take CB Jimmy Smith while the Bears stick at 29 and take OT Gabe Carimi, each getting the player they want.

WTF Moment of the Night: Atlanta trades their first, second and fourth round picks in 2011 AND their first and fourth-rounders in 2012 to Cleveland in order to move from 26 to 6 and take Julio Jones. That’s a perfect example of highway robbery where I come from.

Best Moment of the Night:  This is a tie. First, Danny Watkins’s fellow firefighters cheer him on as he gets drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles at 23. Just an awesome moment for the 26-year old draftee. Second, watching Mark Ingram’s reaction as Suzy Kolber read him an email sent to her by Ingram’s incarcerated father. Ingram broke down in tears in one of the most honest moments you’ll ever see at the draft.

Best First Round Pick: It’s hard to not say New Orleans, since they came away with defensive end Cameron Jordan and running back Mark Ingram after they traded their second round pick and next year’s first to New England. (So long to Reggie Bush?) However, I love Detroit’s pick of Nick Fairley. He and Ndamukong Suh are going to wreak havoc together for years.

Obvious Moments of the Night: The Patriots traded back from 28, getting a first-round pick in 2012 from New Orleans. Also, the Jets fans at the draft were idiots. I can always count on these two draft staples. All is right.

What to look for on Friday night:

-Defensive end Da’Quan Bowers continues to fall, slipping into the second round. That knee is scaring teams off, but someone is going to get a ticked off talent in round two.

-Quarterback Andy Dalton didn’t find a suitor in round one, but there’s going to be plenty of action at the twp of round two for the TCU standout.

-In a deep wide receiver draft, look for a slew of wide-outs to come off the board on Friday. Edmund Gates, Titus Young and countless others are surely going to hear their names called on day two.

I’ll be back tomorrow with more draft coverage! Thanks for reading!