It was an NFL draft of traders and Raiders.
It was a weekend of easy street (first-round picks, in total, are projected to receive a guaranteed $400 million), Madison Avenue (has Mark Sanchez mentioned he loves New York?) and tackle Michael Oher, the road (grader) not taken.
Actually, Oher was taken — selected 23rd by the Baltimore Ravens — but it was a lot later than he had hoped. Many people expected him to be a top-10 pick.
But that’s the way it goes with the country’s biggest non-sporting sporting event. Players rise, players fall. Teams deal — as the Cleveland Browns did, trading down three times before making their first pick — and teams dilly-dally, as the slow-on-the-draw Dallas Cowboys can attest. The clock ran out on them before they could make their first pick, at No. 51, prompting them to frantically trade the selection to Buffalo for later spots.
So who are the winners and losers from draft weekend?
It’s premature to say, of course, seeing as none of these players has even set foot on an NFL practice field, let alone played a snap. But there are plenty of players, teams and situations to watch.
Among them:
Darrius Heyward-Bey: The fact this fleet-cleated receiver’s running stride is even longer than his last name was irresistible to the Raiders, who took him seventh overall even though they could have grabbed Texas Tech’s Michael Crabtree. But the Raiders should be wary of this bit of NFL math: speed plus hands equals James Jett.
Larry English: You’ve heard of the Tampa-Two defense? Well, you might say San Diego’s No. 16 pick played in the Timbuck-Two at Northern Illinois, a school that before Saturday had never had a first-round selection. But Chargers general manager A.J. Smith has a keen eye for talent, and his team has had good luck with that school. It’s Michael Turner’s alma mater.
Philadelphia: For a while, the Eagles didn’t just have picks in the fifth round, they were the fifth round — owners of six of those selections. They dealt two to New England, however, and landed Ellis Hobbs. That reunites Hobbs and fellow cornerback Asante Samuel, the Patriots’ tandem during their 16-0 season.
David Buehler: The Cowboys already have an outstanding kicker in Nick Folk, so why take fifth-rounder Buehler, who was a workout wonder at the scouting combine? Maybe they have something bigger in mind for him — Safety? Linebacker? Coach? — and Buehler hinted at that while talking to Dallas reporters by phone Sunday. “I believe I’m a kickoff/special teams player, but I’m not positive,” he said, according to The Dallas Morning News. “I’m going in there with my eyes wide open.”
Cleveland Browns: The draft wasn’t a delicate dance for the Browns, but more like a moonwalk. They began the first round with the No. 5 pick, but wound up trading back three times, all the way to 21, where they took California center Alex Mack. It was a lot of drama for the un-splashiest of positions. But, hey, if it helps them. The Akron Beacon Journal might have put it best with this headline: “Draft day goes from ‘hoo hoo’ to ‘huh?’”
Michael Mitchell: More Raiders. ESPN’s Mel Kiper gave them an “F” after the first two rounds. That’s after Oakland took Ohio University’s Mitchell, who the puffy-coiffed pundit had ranked as the 73rd-best safety, evidently on the longest draft board known to man.
Sanchez: He took the latest possible red-eye flight back to New York on Saturday, and Sunday got a gold-star tour of the Jets’ facilities. He and a large entourage of representatives of the team and league stopped by Radio City Music Hall to speak with reporters who stuck around the second day. At one awkward moment during the news conference, a young “reporter” holding a video camera asked Sanchez a question for a colleague back at the office.
“Mark, this isn’t for me,” he assured Sanchez, “but how do you keep those curly locks so touchable?”
Man, that go-for-the-throat New York media can be so merciless.
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