As the NFL Draft comes to a close, the best word to describe it would most likely be: “strange.”
Opening on Thursday April 28, 2011, the Panthers entered with the first pick of the draft. (They went 2-14, the worst in the league in 2010.) We all saw it coming, and whether or not you think he’ll make it in the NFL – they picked Auburn’s National Championship winning and Heisman Award winning QB star, Cam Newton. Many will criticize him from the way he plays, saying he runs the ball too much and his style just doesn’t cut it in the NFL, but face it, he’s a born athlete – look at Philly’s Mike Vick. Hey, though, let Cam have his moment. He’s made it, it’s his dream to play pro, let him have fun and enjoy it now. We’ll see if he and Carolina can start the rebuilding process in the fall.
In addition to Cam, many other outstanding players were taken off the board early in the first round. A&M’s Von Miller LB went second to Denver, followed third by Alabama’s Marcell Dareus DT to Buffalo. Most of the teams took exactly who they were expected to, A.J. Green going fourth to Cincy, the Cardinals picking up Patrick Peterson from LSU 5th. The draft seemed to be going smoothly until one thing happened – Atlanta traded a myriad of picks to the Browns just to move up to sixth to pick up Bama’s WR Julio Jones. Random picks started to come out of nowhere. Jake Locker from Washington, taken eighth by the Titans, was taken off the boards earlier than expected, after a not-so-great Senior season when he could’ve gone Number One in 2010. Then the Jags traded up to tenth to get Blaine Gabbert – who I hadn’t even heard of before Draft talk began. According to sophomore Cole Brewer, “He looks like that Sunshine guy from Remember the Titans.” I doubt he’ll be able to take over like Sunshine though. FSU quarterback Christian Ponder then went twelfth to the Vikings soon after. (Let’s see if the post-Favre era will be any good for Minnesota.) Detroit is going to be a defensive threat in that NFC North Division, picking Nick Fairley 13th, a DE from Auburn. According to sophomore Nick Wageman, “Nick Fairley and Ndamukong Suh next to each other on Detroit’s d-line… watch out Aaron Rodgers.” The first round seemed to be about stocking up on defensive players, 50% of the 32 taken were defensive players, 12 of those being d-lineman. Other first round notables include Prince Amukamara CB from Nebraska to the Giants with the 19th pick, Phil Taylor DT from Baylor to the Browns with the 21st pick, and Mark Ingram RB from Alabama to New Orleans with the 28th pick. But wait, the real confusion hasn’t even really started yet.
On the second day of picks in Radio City Music Hall in NYC, the unthinkable, unexpected, and unbelievable happened. The lockout – that had been over for a matter of days – was reinstated. Wow. What in the name of Rodger Goodell just happened? Some new rookie players were barely even able to pick their playbooks up from coaches before it became off-limits again. Anyways, back to the picks. Other quality players were picked in the second round. TCU’s QB Andy Dalton was selected 35th overall by the Bengals, while Colin Kaepernick QB of the Nevada Wolf Pack went to San Fran right after with the 36th pick. Some people don’t know if Dalton will make it in the NFL, criticized for only being good because he played for the Horned Frogs of the Mountain West Conference. One coach asked when they were looking at picking up Dalton said, “Has there ever been a red-headed quarterback in the NFL who’s really done well?” Let’s see. Other notables of the second round include Titus Young WR from Boise to the Lions with the 44th pick, Da’Quan Bowers DE from Clemson to Tampa (Mel Kiper had Bowers going very early, maybe even No. 1, but knee problems brought him all the way down to No. 51.)
In the last 5 rounds of Draft, most of the stars were already off the board. The rest of the notables include:
- Ryan Mallet QB Arkansas to New England in the third (was once considered to go first round)
- Sam Acho LB Texas to Arizona in the fourth
- Casey Matthew LB Oregon to Philadelphia in the fourth (Matthews comes from a family of NFL players, his brother Clay on the Packers)
- Ricky Stanzi QB Iowa to Kansas City in the fifth
- Jacquizz Rodgers RB Oregon State to Atlanta in the fifth
- Quan Sturdivant LB North Caroline to Arizona in the sixth
- Jerrell Powe DT Mississippi to Kansas City in the sixth
- Greg McElroy QB Alabama to New York Jets in the seventh
- And as always, “Mr. Irrelevant” – the last pick in the draft – Cheta Ozouqwu (yes, that’s how you spell it) DE Rice to Houston in the seventh. Don’t worry bud, you made it.
In the end I would say the “Winners” are probably satisfied with their picks. New England has a future in o-linemen and quarterbacks. Cleveland showed that it’s ready to compete in the AFC North, hauling in draft picks as well as notable players. Arizona added a lot of offensive weapons and added defensive reliability for the future – now they just need a QB. Houston picked many a d-linemen, hoping to make the franchise’s first postseason appearance, and New Orleans brought in some players ready to rebuild a Marshawn Lynch embarrassed defense and is ready to have another taste of Super Bowl glory. The losers in the case of this draft are mainly the fans. Thanks to the lockout being back, commissioner Goodell got an earful of “boo’s” and “We want football!” chants. His only response – “Me too.” The teams that are most likely “losers” would probably be Washington, who didn’t snag a quarterback that they’ll need when McNabb runs for his life after the lockout is over again; Miami, who did the exact same – overlooked the QB role; and Chicago, who couldn’t consummate a first round draft trade to Baltimore. Overall, the 2011 NFL Draft gave us a lot of excitement, in addition to anger and hope, over the three days it took place. Good luck rookies, beware the haze.
All we can ask for now is… football. Hope you’re happy NFL, hope you’re happy…
