NFL draft

A few thoughts on Day 1


The first two picks in the first round went as expected: Matt Stafford to Detroit and Jason Smith to the Rams.
At three, the Kansas City pick, things got weird. The Chiefs turned up their nose at Aaron Curry and instead took LSU defensive end Tyson Jackson. The earliest most people saw Jackson being picked was mid first round, but the Chiefs saw something more in him. Physically he is perfect for end in the new KC 3-4 defense, but isn’t known to be much of a pass rusher. They overreached.
Seattle got lucky with Curry at 4, but paying big bucks to another OLB isn’t going to sit well with unhappy veteran Leroy Hill.
Mark Sanchez went at 5, which calmed the ESPN hosts down some. They looked like they were going to cry when he didn’t get picked earlier.
Knowshon Moreno going at 12 surprised me. I thought he’d fall into the 24-32 range. Good for him, but the young man should have put on a decent suit and represented.
Moreno will be joined in Denver by Tennessee DE Robert Ayers, who the Broncos plan to bulk up for their new 3-4. The wheeling dealing Broncos also added a cornerback and a safety for the defense and a TE in a busy round 2. That might mean a deal for veteran TE Tony Sheffler is coming. A Jay Cutler pal, he may be on his way out.
Two centers went in the first round, a real rarity. Cleveland traded down repeatedly and then took Cal center Alex Mack. The need reinforcements up front but a C was definitely not what their fans were hoping for out of the fifth overall slot. Eric Wood from Louisville went to Buffalo.
A third C went in round two but the Seahawks might move Max Unger to guard or tackle.
The Falcons got a solid player in DT Peria Jerry. Cornerback was an even bigger need, but DT needed bolstering as well. They got another solid player in the second round in Missouri safety William Moore. Both should quickly start.
Georgia’s Mohamed Massaquoi made a big senior season count and went in round two. That’s pretty good considering how bad he was as a junior. The Browns took him and Ohio State’s Brian Robiskie, which could mean they want to unload unhappy veteran Braylon Edwards.
The Patriots traded down and piled up four second picks. All four can help. Ron Brace will work up front. Darius Butler and Patrick Chung will boost the secondary. Surprise pick Sebastian Vollmer was my dark horse player this year. Apparently the Pats felt the same way about him
Auburn’s Sen’Derrick Marks probably made a mistake coming out early but the Titans liked him enough to take him at the bottom of round 2. In round one, they finally broke down and drafted a wide receiver, big Kenny Britt.