Don Banks of SI.com shared his snap judgments from Day 1 of the NFL draft.
• Long live Goodell. The first two rounds of the draft flew by on Saturday, and we’ve got the Commish to thank for that with his new edict for up-tempo picking. Last year’s record first round took an agonizing six hours and four minutes, while the first two rounds this year were done in just 5:50.
Somehow, some way, NFL teams conducted their business more quickly, and the union still managed to survive. Praise be.
• If there was a position that got over-picked, it was offensive tackle, where a whopping eight players went, led by No. 1 overall selection Jake Long of Michigan. Five of the first 17 picks were tackles, counting Albert, the Virginia guard, who was taken by Kansas City and is projected as a left tackle in the NFL.
Nobody I talked to had any quibbles about the first six tackles taken, but many eyebrows were raised around the league by Atlanta trading back into the round at No. 21 with Washington to select USC’s Baker, who was seen as a second-round pick. Even more surprising was Houston taking Virginia Tech’s Brown with the 26th pick that once belonged to both Jacksonville and Baltimore on Saturday.
“Both of those guys, Baker and Brown, they’re not first-round picks,” a league scout told me. “They were second-round tackles. I was shocked by how quickly all those offensive tackles came off the board. I think once Gosder Cherilus went (to Detroit at No. 17), I think some teams panicked and overpaid for a tackle.”
Two excellent points. With the shorten time, Day 1 seemed to have a better pace and was more enjoyable (at least from a fans’ perspective). The shorten time between picks obviously didn’t keep teams from trading, either, which is big because how teams maneuver on draft day is a huge part of the event.
As far as the offensive tackles are concerned, I thought teams reached big time. The trade the Falcons made to get back into the first round and select Sam Baker was ridiculous. But then again, if these tackles pan out, it doesn’t matter how teams got them on draft day – the thing that matters is that they got them.
