Media outlets across the country and the 'net will be full of characteristic draft analysis, some of which will herald the quickened pace the reduced time allocations produced. For example, this year's opening round was a full three hours shorter than last year's.
Who was taken and by whom, in what order and why will not be examined here or now. Instead, some attention will be devoted to who remains, as there are significant surprises, including several who had been projected by many to appear in Round One. Instead, they must hope to go in Day Two or will be left to humble themselves as undrafted free agents.
The Joe-Thomas influence was evident, too. Eight OL went by choice 26, once Atlanta dealt into Washington's choice at 21, presumably afraid Houston would claim USC's OLT Sam Baker at 23. (The Texans ended up dealing down to 26 and settling for Va Tech OLT Duane Brown. Neither Baker nor Brown were commonly projected for Day One much less Round One.)
Conversely, no wideouts were chosen til overall selection 33, when StL nabbed Donnie Avery, the Houston Cougar and the first of ten second-round WRs.
Nonetheless it was the WRs who heavily populated the most-disappointed list, no doubt because it is one of the most difficult to transition to between the collegiate and NFL levels. Possibly Wonderlic scores factored---though it may be irresponsible to so speculate. Possibly the knowledge shown to be deficient during pre-draft interviews exposed those whose names have yet to be called as risky early-round selections, at least insofar as immediate impact might be concerned. If a team must wait more than a year for a youngster to get with the program, it may as well avoid investing a high pick in him.
LSU's Early Doucet and Florida's Andre Caldwell---two guys who also have in common knowing what it feels like to help keep OSU from experiencing a National Championship victory---are among those thought to possibly be first-rounders who have to be wondering "What happened?" right about now. Michigan's Mario Manningham, Oklahoma State's Adarious Bowman and Louisville's Harry Douglas are three other wideouts who'd found their ways onto early mock drafts, but knew better than to expect such good fortune by the time late April rolled around.
Running backs Kevin Smith (Central Florida) and Jamaal Charles (Texas) also had reason to think they might already be affiliated with some club in the league by now. Similarly, DBs Chevis Jackson (LSU), DeJuan Tribble (Boston College), DaJuan Morgan (NC State), Reggie Smith (Oklahoma), Chris Godfrey (Iowa) and Justin King (Penn State) were thought to possibly have at least round-two grades. The same might've been said of DL Ahtyba Rubin (Iowa State), Red Bryant (Texas A&M), Dre' Moore (Maryland), Marcus Harrison (Arkansas), Pat Sims (Auburn) and both LeRoy Guion and Andre Fluellen of Florida State.
Consequently, many of these names figure to go off the board by the time the Cleveland Browns enter the fray with choice 122, as should LBs Beau Bell (UNLV), Ezra Butler (Nevada-Reno), Vince Hall (Virginia Tech), Phillip Wheeler (Georgia Tech), Tavares Gooden (Miami), Dan Connor (Penn State) and another Va Tech Hokie, the slender and mobile Xavier Adibi.
As for good news for Cleveland fans, there is a reasonably decent chance at least one of these edge-rusher candidates could still be there in Round Four: Chris Ellis (Va Tech), Bruce Davis (UCLA), Jeremy Geathers (UNLV), Darrell Robertson (Georgia Tech), Cliff Avril (Purdue) and Jeremy Thompson (Wake Forest)
What was interesting was seeing teams feel compelled to deal in front of someone else in order to assure themselves access to a specific athletic target. When the Jets jumped back into Round One, for example, logic suggested they were trying to keep someone from getting to the Giants or the Dolphins, the two clubs selecting immediately after the #30 choice acquired from GB. Could it be a safety the Jets coveted, since the Giants were known to want one (and did, in fact, select one)? The sixth-best CB? Or was it a QB they wanted before Bill Parcells' Dolphins could nab him?
Amazingly, it was Purdue TE Dustin Keller they felt they had to have, even with the top-rated WRs still available, as well.
Earlier, JAX went all the way from 26 to 8 so as to draft Gator DE Derrick Harvey, bestowing upon him the distinction of possibly being the most over-drafted of the top 20---though the newest Arizona Cardinal, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, the former Tennessee State CB, threatens to ultimately secure that honor.
Many justifiably praise Kansas City for its productive drafting, but it may be Bill Belichick's New England Patriots who seem to have done the reaching. Admittedly, pre-draft projections mean very little, but no one else had Tennessee LB Jerod Mayo rated tenth overall or Colorado CB Terrence Wheatley worthy of a second-round selection. Mayo was a very likely first-rounder, but Wheatley has a chronically-injured wrist, reportedly shies from tackling, lacks toughness, does not play with intensity and isn't expected to ever become an every-down performer. Then again, there is always a place for a nickel back and the Pats do have a legacy of winning.
The run on OTs between 12 and 26 was somewhat expected, though not to such an extent. What moreso stunned was Tennessee's selection of East Carolina speedster Chris Johnson at 24, particularly inasmuch as they last year at this time fell apparently in love with Arizona RB Chris Henry and spent a second-round pick to secure him.
Look for Johnson to be employed in a Reggie-Bush-like manner, appearing in the slot, running reverses, catching swings and screens and wheel routes, as well as returning kicks. As a multi-dimensional weapon, Johnson just might provide QB Vince Young with the type of assistance he was hopeful of seeing from this year's draft.
That it came in a relatively small-school RB instead of a big-name WR is what made Johnson's selection so unexpected. An explosive player who is a threat to score on every touch because of his world-class speed, Johnson is somewhat Metcalf-like and may eventually revert to fulltime WR employment.
The Titans, of course, remain in play for one of the aforementioned WR leftovers, as well. The Jets figure to get involved, too, and should also look hard at a strong-armed thrower like San Diego State's Kevin O'Connell.
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