Grading a draft hours after the picks are made is more stupid than doing mock drafts. No one can properly grade a draft an hour later, a week later. Even a month later. No player has played a game. CBS Sportsline's Pete Prisco slapped the Buffalo Bills with an "F" for drafting Florida St. quarterback E.J. Manuel with the sixteenth pick of the first round. Prisco says that Manuel is no Cam Newton. I'm not sure why he has to be but even Cam Newton wasn't Cam Newton an hour after he was selected first overall in 2011. Well, Cam Newton was Cam Newton but he wasn't Cam Newton the professional quarterback until he played some NFL games. Let E.J. Manuel step on a football field before labeling him a failure. I give Pete Prisco an "F" for premature grading.
With Utah defensive tackle Star Lotulelei still on the board, the Carolina Panthers took all of 30 seconds to get their pick in.
I'm still a little stunned that the Minnesota Vikings found Florida defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd still available when their turn came up at #23 in the first round. Stunned and very happy.
Some Vikings fans are grumbling that the team spent too much to move back into the first round to select Tennessee receiver Cordarrelle Patterson. They did give up a lot. A 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 7th is a lot to give up for one pick at the bottom of the first. Having extra picks allows teams to spend if there's a player that they really like. The Vikings entered the draft with eleven picks. They could afford to move up nearly an entire round so they did. General manager Rick Spielman dictated the Vikings draft rather than letting it come to him. I really think that the bitchy fans were more upset about not having anything to watch yesterday.
The Vikings gone fishin' yesterday.
USC quarterback Matt Barkley and Syracuse quarterback Ryan Nassib had the day off as well.
Congratulations to Manti Te'o for his draft selection by the San Diego Chargers. They even traded up to get him in the second. The team that Junior Seau likely made Hawaii's team is a perfect fit for Te'o. He finally gets a chance to put this circus behind him and he can finally concentrate on football. Best of luck to him.
I think that I like new New York Jets general manager John Idzik. I didn't really know much about him beyond the fact that he spent about twenty years in the personnel side of football before he finally got a shot at running a team. He deals with the media really well which has to be a chore in any city, let alone New York. Any general manager of a team with quarterbacks like Mark Sanchez, Tim Tebow, and now Geno Smith is going to get a lot of dumbass questions from the media. Idzik dealt with those questions smoothly and with humor yesterday.
That Jets press conference was the longest that I've ever seen head coach Rex Ryan go without speaking.
Not only did the Chargers do well to draft Te'o in the second they got a real steal in the third with Cal receiver Keenan Allen. He can do anything on a football field but run real fast. Despite not having great timed speed, Allen has always been fast enough. He's a first round talent and the Chargers are going to be real happy.
With Alabama tackle D.J. Fluker in the first, Te'o in the second, and Allen in the third, I like the Chargers draft.
Another draft that I like is that of the St. Louis Rams. That is only if Georgia linebacker Alec Ogeltree can stifle his demons and let his incredible athleticism shine. West Virginia receiver Tavon Austin was their big offensive addition but I thought that it was a smooth move to add Austin's smooth receiving teammate Steadman Bailey in the third. Quarterback Sam Bradford is going to be happy with both Mountaineers.
Tennessee had a terrific draft. Alabama guard Chance Warmack, Tennessee receiver Justin Hunter, Connecticut corner Blidi Wreh-Wilson, and Missouri linebacker Zaviar Gooden should all make significant contributions. If quarterback Jake Locker takes a big step in his develpoment, the Titans could make a run at Houston and Indianapolis in the AFC South.
The Super Bowl champs made some nice moves in the first two days. Safety Ed Reed and linebacker Ray Lewis are future Hall of Famers and pretty much impossible to replace. The Ravens tried in selecting Florida safety Matt Elam in the first and Kansas St. linebacker Arthur Brown in the second. Missouri Southern defensive tackle Brandon Williams also adds to the defense. These are three excellent football players.
Despite not having a single pick on the second day, I love what the Minnesota Vikings have done in the 2013 NFL Draft.
I had Alabama running back Eddie Lacy penciled in for the Green Bay Packers in the first round. They were smart to wait as they were able to grab him in the second.
It was surprising to see only three receivers selected in each of the first two rounds. It's a passing league. Receivers should be flying off of the board. Despite the lack of numbers at the top of the draft there are a lot of real nice receivers in this draft. They just don't have that size-speed combination that so many teams desire. Robert Woods and Keenan Allen are tremendously skilled, polished and ready receivers. Woods goes to the Bills in the second. Allen to the Chargers in the third. Markus Wheaton has more of the speed that teams like but not much of the size. He went to the Steelers in the third. Terrance Williams is a tremendously polished receiver from Baylor. As pro-ready as any receiver in the draft. The Cowboys got him in the third. There was a little run on the receivers in the third when four were selected over a span of six picks. That brought the numbers up to eleven receivers selected during the first two days.
After skipping the fun yesterday, the Vikings have to wait through another 22 picks before they are on the clock today. I'm hoping for linebackers A.J. Klein of Iowa St. and/or Khaseem Greene of Rutgers.
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