Pos NFL Draft Thoughts

Why in the world would the Eagles or Giants, both in desperate need of a #1 receiver, decide to reach for rookies to fill their needs via the draft, instead of making a deal for proven NFL receivers on the market? That’s mind boggling.

The talking head who made the most sense on ESPN over the weekend was easily Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young when he continued to press the point that if you don’t have a top-flight quarterback, you have a hard time CONSISTENTLY winning football games. He especially ridiculed the Broncos for trading a proven commodity, leaving a huge hole at the most important position on the football field in Denver. At least, they got some value in return (two first rounders).

Who was the best tight end available in the draft? Easy. Tony Gonzalez.

I hope the Lions nailed it taking Stafford, but I have one concern with him going in – he might have had the best collegiate skilled players in the country around him. His running back at Georgia was the first back taken in the draft, one of his receivers was taken in round 2 by the Browns, and the so-called experts claimed he had a stud freshman catch balls as well for him in 2008. The dude had help.

I heard a funny line that supposedly came from either the Raiders’ front office or coaching staff in terms of why they took a safety from Ohio University relatively early on in the draft when most other NFL teams didn’t even have him listed on their draft board. Oakland’s people claimed “he really came on strong the past couple weeks.” This begs the question – What games did the young man play in this April? Clearly, the Raiders and many other NFL teams, value what they see after the football season more than what the players did when they actually wore pads in the fall. That makes absolutely no sense to me and never will, no matter how they spin it.

I love the New York media. Many on the coast are already predicting Mark Sanchez as the “2009 AFC Rookie of the Year,” comparing his swagger to Joe Namath and giving him my favorite tag of all – “franchise quarterback.” I guess we can soon expect ESPN to be doing daily updates from Jets’ camp on how Sanchez is adapting to his new team.

Now, let's look at the Browns' draft.

If you read my previous entry, you were aware I preferred quality over quantity in terms of draft philosophy and that I wanted Cleveland to come away with a minimum of two of the following five players (in order of importance), in the 2009 draft – Crabtree (TT), Maualuga (USC), Jenkins (OSU) Moreno (GU) and Wells (OSU).

And yes, the way the draft evolved, they could have easily had a combination of the two considering Maualaga’s free fall into the second round, as well as other factors.

Am I upset? No. Disappointed? Yes.

Remember, the first commandment when following sports is NEVER COMMENT ON A PLAYER YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN. Therefore, I will wait and see how the Jets’ players acquired on Saturday play for Cleveland this fall, along with how Mangini’s draft choices perform in 2009. That only makes sense, right?

Nonethess, I do have some general observations to make.

I thought Robiskie was a reach where they took him. He may be the most polished receiver coming out due to the good blood lines, but having seen him play extensively at OSU, he look like a good #3 NFL receiver who has a chance to be a decent #2. To me, that’s third round territory at best. There is one caveat in his favor however - in his senior season, he had a freshman quarterback throwing him passes who couldn’t hit the ocean with a flat pass even if he was standing in it. Hopefully, he'll be a solid #2 - a guy who consistently moves the chains for you.

As for their other picks, including their first round (center Alex Mack), I can’t comment until I see them play some. Sorry.

One thing is for sure, the Browns did well in the draft in terms of cumulative ACT/SAT scores. Several of their picks were Academic All-Conference and/or Academic All-American performers. I am not making light of this fact. I would much rather have smart guys that can play over C students and/or morons that can play. Intelligent football players pick the system up much quicker (can you spell Cedric Benson), don’t make the same mistakes over and over again and are less likely to cause the head coach to have to answer that 3.a.m. phone call informing him one of his players just got picked up for DWI, was hauled off to jail after trashing a nightclub or was arrested for trying to buy some coke from an undercover cop.

So what do we know about Mangini and company at this point.

First, they wanted quantity in terms of players in an attempt to plug the numerous holes likely to be found on the 4-12 team, Second, they didn’t give “Butterfingers” away – which is good. Remember, if he plays well in ’09 for Cleveland, he can’t walk away unless the Browns get a #1 and a #3 in return. So what’s the rush to deal him? Third, they like smart football players – nothing wrong with that. That formula works fine in New England. Next, he (Mangini) does have a sense of humor and/or pulse – when he indicated former ball boys (himself and Robiskie) become success stories. And finally, this organization is not going to win any style points in terms of how they go about their business (i.e. very vanilla like approach). That’s all well and good, as long as that vanilla approach results in many more wins than losses during his tenure in Cleveland instead of mediocrity – which is what is already on Mangini’s three-year New York Jets’ coaching resume.