This has easily been one of the most peculiar first rounds in recent memory. There were shocking picks. There are some surprise players still available. Here are my most interesting storylines following the first round.
1. Jimmy Clausen is still available: When this began, who would have expected that arguably the second-best quarterback in the draft wouldn't go in the first round? On the plus side, Clausen got to spend several hours with Erin Andrews. On the down side, he lost millions and millions of dollars. There was a lot of talk of teams trading back into the first round to get a quarterback, but they didn't have to following Clausen's descent.
2. Tim Tebow caused a stir: Everyone expected the selection of Tebow to turn heads, but not like this. To select Tebow 25th overall, Denver gave the Ravens pick 43, 70 and 114. There were rumors of interest in Tebow from Denver this week, but considering they have Kyle Orton and Brady Quinn, it seemed unlikely. But as we found out in this draft, anything is likely.
3. Buffalo drops the first bombshell: With Fred Jackson and Marshawn Lynch, it wasn't expected Buffalo would take a running back early. But the Bills did by picking up C.J. Spiller ninth overall. They passed on Clausen and offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga to select Spiller, which was a surprise. Fans over at Buffalo Rumblings seem content with Spiller, but when is he going to get the ball?
4. Jacksonville one-ups the Bills: Before people could calm down on the Spiller pick the name Tyson Alualu was being called out by NFL commissioner Roger Gooddell. Alualu is an animal. He plays with a lot of emotion and toughness. He's perceived as a second-round pick. To call it a reach is a stretch.
Bizarre stories define 2010 NFL Draft first round
5. Trades aplenty: We expected plenty of trades on the second day of the draft. But they happened a lot on day one. In all, 10 of the first 32 picks were involved in trades. None more so than pick 24. It went from New England to Denver to Philadelphia to Dallas. Finally Dallas used it on Dez Bryant, which wasn’t a surprise at all.
6. Oakland makes sense?: The
were supposed to take Jason Pierre-Paul or Bruce Campbell. It was supposed to be a good laugh for all. But Raiders owner Al Davis is the one who is cackling this evening. With Rolando McClain, he made the safe pick. He took a guy who is a thumper with a bad attitude on the field. Al Davis made a smart pick. How bizarre is that?
7. St. Louis sitting pretty: With the first pick in the second round, the Rams are probably hearing a lot of calls. Namely, they may be hearing from Cleveland, Buffalo and Carolina who may target Clausen. All of that interest could drive up the price for the pick.
8. Sergio Kindle may be a wanted man: For about half of the last 10 picks of the first round, commenters on MTD thought the Texas pass rusher was going to be the pick. But he never heard his name called. He could be another hot commodity on the second day of the draft.
9. San Francisco hits a dinger with linemen: The 49ers were one of two teams coming into Thursday with two first-round picks. The 49ers soundly crushed a home run with their picks. San Francisco traded up to take offensive tackle Anthony Davis. It didn't seem like they needed to, but he's the one guy they absolutely had to come out of the draft with. They used their other pick on guard Mike Iupati. Like I said a month ago, if the Niners went tackle and Iupati, they'd have their offensive line set for years.
10. Demaryius Thomas goes before Dez Bryant: Just about everyone expected Dez Bryant to slip in the draft. But few thought that Thomas, who is recovering from a broken foot, would go ahead of Bryant. The Broncos picked Thomas with the 22nd pick while Bryant went to Dallas with the 24th pick.
11. Philly moves on Brandon Graham: When Philadelphia traded up to the 13th pick, the assumption was that the Eagles were after safety Earl Thomas. But the Eagles threw everyone for a loop by picking the Michigan defensive end. Graham has been a riser during the offseason, but to go to Philadelphia was a surprise.
