Day 1 Draft Notes

One day down, one day to go. The NFL Draft yesterday was very exciting to watch. A lot of cheers and a lot of boos.

• The Seahawks took Aaron Curry because he was the best available player. They did not think he would fall to them, but because he did, he was taken.
• The Jets did NOT give up too much in the Mark Sanchez trade. Brett Ratliff is a backup, Abram Elam was replaced over the off-season, and Kenyon Coleman can be replaced via the draft. While the Jets did not take a WR in round one, there is still a Brandon Tate or a Juaquin Iglesias in the later rounds.
• The Raiders will regret picking Darrius Heyward-Bey over Jeremy Maclin AND Michael Crabtree. Heyward-Bey impressed the Raiders with his 4.3 40-time, but that is it. He is fast, but does not have all the skills necessary to become an elite WR like Crabtree or Maclin.
• The Bills had one of the best drafts in the first round. Aaron Maybin is a great defensive end and they help solidify their offensive line with Eric Wood and Andrew Levitre.
• The Broncos missed out in the first round for their franchise QB - twice. They could have easily traded up for Sanchez, but chose not to and he ended up going to the Jets. After picking Knowshon Moreno #12, they still had the #18 pick, but Tampa Bay traded up two slots to steal Josh Freeman from the Broncos.
• The Eagles stole Jeremy Maclin from everyone. No one thought he would fall that low and even though they picked DeSean Jackson (Cal) last year, they still need help at WR. Plus, Maclin was the best player taken in that situation.
• The Lions answered their QB needs, but they did not help their offensive line or defense. Brandon Pettigrew is a receiving tight end, not a blocking one. Detroit also made the mistake of taking safety Louis Delmas (Western Michigan) over Patrick Chung (Oregon) and William Moore (Missouri). Those picks may come back to haunt them.
• Even though the Browns were smart by trading down, and down, and down, their first pick (Alex Mack) was not such a smart one. He is good, but they could have taken a different, more talented player (Michael Oher).
• I like the first round picks by the Dolphins (Vontae Davis/CB/Illinois) and the Giants (Hakeem Nicks/WR/UNC). Both can make any play explosive and are both highly touted draft prospects. Davis will help Miami's secondary and Nicks will help the Giants recover from the whole Plaxico Burress fiasco.
• Every Patriots fan is disappointed with their day-one draft, but I do not understand why. Patrick Chung is one of the best safeties in the draft and will help their secondary. He and Brandon Merriweather will frighten the opposing teams' passing games. They also drafted cornerback Darius Butler (Connecticut), who will also help their secondary. Butler and Ellis Hobbs can make a good duo at the cornerback position. New England had a surprising, underrated draft.
• With Cleveland taking Brian Robiskie (Ohio State) and Mohamed Massaquoi (Georgia) in the second round, that may be an indirect sign of what Cleveland will do with Braylon Edwards. Edwards wants a new team and now the Browns have two young wide receivers who can both suffice.
• James Laurinaitis (Ohio State) and Ray Maualuga must be regretting not entering the draft last year. Both of them were shoe-ins for being in the top-10, but neither one of them declared. Now, Laurinaitis was the 35th overall pick (St. Louis) and Maualuga the 38th overall pick (Cincinnati). Those are good picks for both teams, but as for contracts, it can only be a dream for Laurinatis and Maualuga.
• Miami surprised many by taking QB/WR Pat White (West Virginia) with the 44th overall pick. White can help with the wildcat offense and while he could have slid down more, he was actually a fairly decent pick.
• Oakland's other mistake was taking Michael Mitchell (Ohio) in the SECOND round. He could have slid down to the later rounds of the draft, but they took him in the SECOND! William Moore from Missouri, one of the best safeties in this draft class, was still available and they still passed on him. Unbelievable.
• The Cowboys had the worst draft - they took no one. They gave up their first round pick (#20 overall) to the Lions in the Roy Williams and sat at #51. They traded that pick away to the Bills for a few picks on day two. Cowboys' fans must hate Jerry Jones right now, as he has not helped their future at all.
• Picks 53-55 (LeSean McCoy - Philadelphia, Phil Loadholt - Minnesota, William Moore - Atlanta) are all great picks that fill voids and accomplish needs. Moore was probably the most surprising name to see down there, as he could have easily been taken #33 overall.

Day 2 may not be as exciting as day 1, but there is still a lot of intrigue with it. Day 2 begins in a few hours from now, so let's get ready.