After watching the entire first round of the 2010 NFL Draft (three and a half hours), I wanted to share some of my thoughts with you, my loyal readers. So, here they are, some of the best and worst decisions from round one:
Winners:
- Seattle Seahawks – They got their left tackle of the future in Russell Okung, then took a Bob Sanders-like safety in Earl Thomas. Both players should be able to immediately step in and be productive.
- Green Bay Packers – The Packers needed offensive line help and that’s exactly what they got when tackle Bryan Bulaga fell into their laps. He should be able to get significant playing time this year and help protect Aaron Rodgers.
- Indianapolis Colts – Outside linebacker/defensive end Jerry Hughes is the perfect player for the Colts system. He will most likely be the eventual successor to Pro-Bowler Dwight Freeney.
- Detroit Lions – Once the Matt Millen era ended, the Lions started to draft quality players. This team is loaded with talent now, after getting the best player in the draft, defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, and lightning quick running back Jahvid Best in the first round. They will be a playoff-caliber team in a couple years.
- Big 12 Conference – The Big 12 had nine players drafted in the first round, including five of the first six picks. Commissioner Dan Beebe should be proud.
Losers:
- Jacksonville Jaguars - They made the biggest reach of round one when they picked defensive tackle Tyson Alualu with the tenth overall pick. Many scouts believed Alualu was a second rounder at best. The Jags could have done so much more with this pick.
- Buffalo Bills - They got a great player in running back C.J. Spiller, but who is going to block for him? The Bills had much more glaring needs they should have addressed in the first round, including quarterback and offensive line.
- New England Patriots - They got a great player in defensive back Devin McCourty, but I think they should have taken Jerry Hughes or outside linebacker Sergio Kindle, both of whom would have fit the Patriots 3-4 system perfectly.
- Jimmy Clausen - It was predicted by some that Clausen would fall all the way to the Vikings with the 30th pick. But, not a lot of people predicted he would fall out of the first round entirely. The Carolina Panthers got great value when they took him with their second round pick.
Best Value: Dez Bryant to the Cowboys at #24. He’s a top-10 talent who slipped because of “character issues” that I’m not sure I see. He’ll be a solid receiver to use alongside Miles Austin and Roy Williams.
Worst Value: Tyson Alualu at #10. Once again, there’s simply no way he should have gone this early. At the very least, if the Jaguars were really sold on him, they should have traded down a few spots.
Best Trade: The Denver Broncos did a good job maneuvering their way through the first round. They made some trades, gained some picks in later rounds, and still managed to grab wide receiver Demaryius Thomas and quarterback Tim Tebow.
Worst Trade: The San Francisco 49ers probably didn’t need to trade up from 14 to 12 in order to take offensive tackle Anthony Davis. I don’t think the Miami Dolphins would have taken him at 13, so the trade didn’t make much sense to me.
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The Jags picked up a sleeper at pick 180, Southern Illinois running back Deji Karim.He actually was the runner up for the Walter Payton Award which is the Heisman Award in the FBS.