As long as the NFL Draft was, I found myself constantly keeping tabs on it this weekend. I wanted to know where the quarterbacks were going and what teams were going to select the available Rutgers players. I was even interested in seeing if Mel Kiper’s hair would stay up the entire time (It did).
Here are some of my observations:
Pick I Really Like: Chad Henne, 2nd Round, Miami Dolphins – The NFL’s worst team did a wonderful job getting themselves a starting quarterback for this season — without having to give up their first-overall pick.
Many analysts predicted Henne would be selected in the first round, but that changed when the Baltimore Ravens traded up for Delaware’s Joe Flacco. No other clubs needed to fill the Q.B. position that bad, meaning the fish could sit and wait a little bit longer.
Once the Green Bay Packers went with Brian Brohm 56th-overall, the Dolphins had no choice but to grab the Michigan product with the next pick. After Henne, 36 players went by before the next quarterback was taken.
Behind center, the Dolphins have Josh McCown and John Beck. Both are not being viewed as the long-term answer for Miami and Henne could be starting in no time. In fact, Atlanta’s Matt Ryan and Henne are the only two rookies with a legitimate shot to be their team’s opening day quarterback.
Pick I Don’t Like: Sam Baker, 1st Round, Atlanta Falcons – The Falcons traded back into the first round to select a guy who would have likely fell to them in the middle of the second.
Baker only had a decent senior season, missing a number of games with broken ribs and a torn hamstring. He also blames his short arms as the reason his stock plummeted at the NFL combine. Not kidding.
I’m not saying Baker will be a bad player, but the Falcons used a first-round pick on him — one they received from the Washington Redskins for two second-round picks. Haven’t we learned how valuable picks are in the second round? After all, the New Orleans Saints considered Jeremy Shockey’s trade value at a second-round pick. The Falcons could have possibly had two 5-10 year players. Now they have just one — possibly.
If anything, Baker always has a fallback plan: His father is the commissioner of the Arena Football League.
Best Draft: Washington Redskins – The ‘Skins traded their 21st-overall pick to the Falcons for two second-round picks and a forth-rounder. With those second-rounders, Washington grabbed both wide receivers they targeted with their first-round pick: WR Malcom Kelly and WR Devin Thomas. With their initial second rounder, it also allowed them to get one of the top tight ends in the draft, USC’s Fred Davis. Davis and Chris Cooley will create a strong tight-end tandem in Jim Zorn’s west coast offense.
The Giants’ Draft: The Giants get an A-minus. They didn’t have many holes to fill in the draft; the ones they did, they added very good players. The biggest vacancy was at safety, which was left open after Gibril Wilson decided to play for the Oakland Raiders.
With their first-round pick, Big Blue grabbed Miami safety Kenny Phillips. Then, in the third round, they picked up often-troubled wide receiver Mario Manningham. I like that pick – a lot. It only cost them a third-rounder and the Giants needed an extra wide receiver to throw into the mix. The Giants are not an organization that will put up with players who get into tons of trouble off the field, so consider this one a risk-and-reward situation.
I also like them taking former Kentucky quarterback Andre Woodson. That most likely means the end of the time riding the bench for another former Wildcat (Jared Lorenzen) and Anthony Wright. Manning, David Carr and Woodson give the Giants a strong depth chart at QB.
The Jets’ Draft: The Jets and head coach Eric Mangini were able to get the playmaking defender he coveted in pass-rusher Vernon Gholston. The man is a beast, and some considered him a Top 3 pick. The Jets got him sixth overall.
The addition of tight end Dustin Keller as the 30th pick overall will bolster this area of the club, but I think it was too early to grab him. The selection of Erik Ainge I really like though. He’s not a standout-type quarterback, but with Chad Pennington and Kellen Clemens, he might turn out to be the best of the bunch. I’m going with a C-plus.