NCAA Scouting First Round Analysis by Jody Jamieson April 24th 2010
1. St Louis Rams Sam Bradford
I never believed the Rams would trade out of the number 1 slot and despite the temptation to take Suh or McCoy, they couldnt possibly pass on the quarterback. Solid pick.
2. Detroit Lions Ndamukong Suh
Easy pick. DT was a need, and an elite DT like Suh was never going to be passed up.
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Gerald McCoy
Another easy pick. McCoy is not only an excellent DT, but a perfect fit for their defense. Wow the draft is making a lot of sense this year…
4. Washington Redskins Trent Williams
…till now. Look, Williams isnt a bad pick by any means, but I was amazed they passed on Okung to take Williams. Okung is a franchise left tackle, while Williams is a franchise right tackle with some good left tackle potential. Williams will work out, but the Skins will be very disappointed if it isnt at left tackle.
5. Kansas City Chiefs Eric Berry
The Chiefs could have went in a couple of different directions here and while safety is seen by many as a risk at #5 they have picked up the best safety prospect in years. Berry has Ed Reed potential and thats all you need to know. Would you draft Ed Reed #5 overall? Of course you would.
6. Seattle Seahawks Russell Okung
Okung falls into Seattles lap and Pete Carrolls first draft pick as Seahawks Head Coach is the long term replacement for Walter Jones.
7. Cleveland Browns Joe Haden
Its a little tough to slate teams like Cleveland whatever they pick due to their plethora of needs. Thankfully they actually did the right thing here and picked up an excellent cornerback. Rome wasnt built in a day, but this is a solid start to the draft for Eric Mangini.
8. Oakland Raiders Rolando McClain
Lets be honest. Everyone loves the Raiders in the Draft. Theyre always good for a laugh. This year, while it was completely bizarre to go inside linebacker here, they actually made quite a solid pick for once. Theres been a lot of talk about them switching to a lot of 3-4 looks in 2010, and McClain is a decent fit in both systems. And he didnt run a great 40 time either. Maybe the world is changing…
9. Buffalo Bills CJ Spiller
Buffalo have so many needs its unbelievable, so its natural they would take a player in a position need right? Well despite having Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson on the roster, they take the running back, despite their glaring lack of a quarterback, left tackle and pretty much everything else. No doubting Spillers talent, but this is a strange move. Look for the Bills to be picking in the Top 10 again next year.
10. Jacksonville Jaguars Tyson Alualu
How did this happen? Im never doing a mock draft ever again. Alualu projects as a nice 3-4 player, so its only natural you draft him for a 4-3 defense with a Top 10 pick, right? Insanity.
11. San Francisco 49ers Anthony Davis
Davis is a great talent with high bust potential. His work rate has been put into question big time during the draft process, which makes me amazed that he was taken by a Mike Singletary team. Time will tell on this one, but Im sceptical.
12. San Diego Chargers Ryan Matthews
Im really not a big fan of Matthews and it surprised me a lot that they were willing to move so high for him. Running back is now an obvious need for the Chargers, but this was a reach.
13. Philadelphia Eagles Brandon Graham
The Eagles are too arrogant to admit theyre rebuilding, and this pick solidified their belief they are restocking rather than rebuilding. They did a marvellous job picking up draft picks in an effort to build for the future, only to give up two third rounders to move up 11 slots to take a marginal 4-3 DE. Graham is really a 3-4 rush linebacker, and with Earl Thomas and Derrick Morgan on the board I was disappointed.
14. Seattle Seahawks Earl Thomas
Why are people passing on Clausen? Thomas is an excellent pick for the Seahawks, but they had a chance to walk out of this draft with the best left tackle and potentially the best quarterback. Still as I said, if theyre passing on the quarterback at least they picked an excellent player.
15. New York Giants Jason Pierre-Paul
JPP has major major bust potential, so its a surprise that the Giants were willing to pass on Morgan to take him. While the Giants had a disappointing 2009, theyre not far away from another deep playoff run, so taking a risk on Pierre-Paul isnt the worst thing they could do.
16. Tennessee Titans Derrick Morgan
Tennessee lucks out as the best DE falls into their lap. When you take into account that defensive end was their biggest need, and it was a very successful first round for the Titans.
17. San Francisco Mike Iupati
They should really have taken Clausen here, but Iupati is an excellent guard who is an excellent pickup. Still a guard over a quarterback? Surprising, but solid nonetheless.
18. Pittsburgh Steelers Maurkice Pouncey
Love this pick. Pittsburgh got some major help on their much maligned offensive line.
19. Atlanta Falcons Sean Weatherspoon
Falcons fans will love him. I actually got this pick right in my mock too! Atlanta continues the bizarre trend of picking the best players available in a position of need.
20. Houston Texans Kareem Jackson
Im a big fan of Kyle Wilson, so Id argue this should be the pick, but Jackson is going to be a solid NFL corner so Im not going to slate this. Theyre really not far away from being a playoff team and Friday nights draft may decide if its going to be this year for the Texans.
21. Cincinnati Bengals Jermaine Gresham
This pick shocked me in a good way. The Bengals had a phenomenal 2009 Draft and while I was surprised they took a vertical tight end in the first round, they definitely did the right thing.
22. Denver Broncos Demaryius Thomas
I can understand why they passed on Dez Bryant. The reason they got rid of Brandon Marshall is because he was a knucklehead, so drafting Bryant may be replacing like for like. However Thomas is not they guy you take instead. He has major technique issues and I dont believe hes a first round talent.
23. Green Bay Packers- Brian Bulaga
What a perfect pick. Part of me believes that wherever Green Bay were picking theyd have taken Bulaga. By far my favourite pick of the night.
24. Dallas Cowboys Dez Bryant
Much like the Bulaga pick, this makes perfect sense too. Bryant will love the spotlight, and Jerry Jones likes a challenge. If they channel the right kind of energy from Bryant, theyve got a fabulous pick. Time will tell if he stays on the straight and narrow, but its a scary prospect for the rest of the NFC East.
25. Denver Broncos Tim Tebow
Ill get to the positives first. I do believe that Tebow can become an NFL quarterback. He strikes me as the type who will not be denied. Im delighted that Tebow got picked in the first round and Im really rooting for him to be a success. HOWEVER how can you possibly pass on Clausen here and pick such a project? This is potential suicide from McDaniels.
26. Arizona Cardinals Dan Williams
Clausen, Clausen, Clausen, CLAUSEN!!!!! Yet another solid pick where it really should have been Jimmy Clausen. On the plus side their defense should be solid enough to give Matt Leinart plenty of room for error. And hes likely going to need it.
27. New England Patriots Devin McCourty
Id slate this pick for not being Kyle Wilson, but I think that McCourty is a much better fit for the Patriots defense than Wilson, so it makes sense.
28. Miami Dolphins Jared Odrick
This is a solid pick for the Dolphins. They really need to address their pass rush in the second round, but for now they added a solid player who will slide into 3-4 DE from the get go.
29. New York Jets Kyle Wilson
Darrelle Revis, Antonio Cromartie and Kyle Wilson? Yeah I think Ill take my chances with running the ball. Expect you cant run on the Jets. Their defense is amazing.
30. Detroit Lions Jahvid Best
What a shame for Best. If you go at the start of the first round youll make bazillions of dollars but play for a bad team. If you go at the end of the first round you wont get nearly as much money, but at least youll get to go to a good team. Best got the worst of both worlds as the hapless Lions trade back into the first round to pick him up. They have a nice 1-2 punch in the backfield now, but they still havent addressed their offensive line, so the running game wont work anyway.
31. Indianapolis Colts Jerry Hughes
It remains to be seen how Hughes is going to fit into that defense, but the Colts pick perhaps the best player available.
32. New Orleans Saints Patrick Robinson
For the second year in a row the Saints take a cornerback in the first round. They also took Tracy Porter early in Round 2 in 2008, which makes this a surprising pick. Malcolm Jenkins will likely be moved to free safety once Robinson makes the grade as a starter.
NCAA Scouting
