Andy Richardson
With the first round in the books, I've got a few thoughts about the various picks. And I promise that unlike the bulk of the national media, I'm thinking about other stuff besides where Tim Tebow was selected.
Bills take Spiller: Didn't see that one coming, but maybe I should have. This is the organization, of course, that drafted Willis McGahee in the first round when they already had Travis Henry. Different decision-makers, but sometimes history repeats itself. GM Buddy Nix says this doesn't mean Marshawn Lynch will be traded. Sure. That should happen in the next few days.
I can't blame the Bills for making a move to excite their fan base; nor can I blame them for not being enamored of the options at quarterback. But a team whose offensive tackle situation is as shaky as Buffalo's is seems to be taking quite a risk not selecting one of the top ones when they're in position to do so. On the bright side, they'll probably be there again next year. As for Spiller himself, Buffalo had better hope he's the next Barry Sanders, because in their offense, I guarantee he'll get paid similar attention by opponents. What else do they have to account for?
Chargers take Mathews: Gotta respect the Chargers for jumping all the way up to grab the only other clear franchise running back in the draft. There's little doubt he'll be their opening day starter and featured runner right away. Check out the guy's highlight package from the New Mexico Bowl; he's faster and more powerful than you'd expect. I've got a trade in for the 2nd overall pick in my upcoming dynasty draft. Right now I'm hoping Spiller goes at No. 1.
Lions take Jahvid Best: Lot of talk about this pick, how the Lions have finally turned the corner and so forth. I remember similar excitement a few years back when they used the exact same pick on Kevin Jones. Not that that was a bad pick, but I'm not sure what to make of Best just yet. I don't want to overrate the concussions that ended his college career, but the fact that he himself is reportedly worried about them makes me a little nervous. That said, he's definitely a weapon that will make things easier for Matthew Stafford.
Bryant to Cowboys, Thomas to Broncos: These were the clear top two wideouts in the draft, and they went to teams where they should make an immediate impact. Roy Williams will likely open training camp as the starter ahead of Bryant. For right now I'm going to say, who cares. Bryant is more talented and should take that job away fairly quickly. I think a lot of teams will be sorry they passed on him.
As for Thomas, well, Josh McDaniels calls him a faster Brandon Marshall. He may be right. Denver certainly has an opening for a top wideout, so he should be the No. 1 right away. Too bad their three quarterbacks aren't any good. Which is a nice segue into...
Broncos select Tebow: I'm a Josh McDaniels skeptic. I'm not at all surprised that he believes he can turn Tebow into a franchise passer, but he also believed his team was better off without Jay Cutler, that Brandon Marshall wasn't worth the headache, that Brady Quinn was worth trading for, and now that Tebow was worth three picks to move up for (after spending most of the first round moving down). I just don't buy that the guy really knows what he's doing. All I know is that he's confident he does.
The good thing for Tebow is that he's gone to a team with a fine offensive mind running things. The bad thing for Tebow is he's gone to exactly the situation I thought was a concern: no quality quarterback ahead of him, so there will be a tendency to rush him on the field before he's ready. I expect him to be in the lineup by late in the season, and that's too soon.
Bengals select Gresham: Nice offseason for Carson Palmer; first Antonio Bryant, then Jermaine Gresham. Cincinnati's offense has needed a weapon at tight end for years, and now they've got one. I'm picking 11th in my dynasty draft at present, and right now Gresham is one of the guys I expect to be looking at with that pick.
One more thought: I don't mind the primetime first round. But I think the next two rounds need to start earlier than 24 hours later. In the future I hope they consider putting the first round on Friday night, and rounds 2-4 on Saturday, starting at noon.
Because 24 hours of people talking about Tim Tebow before we get another draft pick is too much.
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