The 2013 NFL Draft results are in, and with the first big flurry of football news since the end of the season, there’s plenty for fans to talk about. Discussion of all the picks and the undrafted free agents is taking place around the SB Nation network, with some highlights presented below.
2013 NFL Draft buzz: Matt Barkley in Philadelphia, big changes in Dallas and more
There’s plenty to talk about now that the draft is finished, from how Matt Barkley might fit into a Chip Kelly offense to why Miami was so set on getting Dion Jordan.
Al Bello
Matt Barkley's fall to Day 3 of the draft was one of the bigger stories over the weekend, and the fact that he was selected by the Chip Kelly-coached Philadelphia Eagles just made things even more puzzling. Many were expecting Kelly's offense to look like it did when he was the coach of the Oregon Ducks, but Barkley is a straight drop-back passer. Dan Kadar took a detailed look at how Kelly and Barkley might fit together.
The Miami Dolphins made the draft's first big move when they traded up to land Oregon defensive end Dion Jordan. Dolphins blog The Phinsider has a rundown of Miami's entire draft, evaluating everyone from Jordan down through Miami's 7th round pick, Arkansas safety Don Jones.
In contrast to Miami, the Dallas Cowboys traded down and started their draft with a player who won't attract nearly as much attention as a pass rusher. They took Wisconsin center Travis Frederick at No. 31 overall, a position many thought was high. Cowboys blog Blogging the Boys might have thought that, but with the second-round selection of tight end Gavin Escobar, they began to see a plan emerge, and by the end of the draft they saw big changes coming to the Dallas offense.
It might be a bit premature for draft grades, but that doesn’t stop many from doing the best they can and many more from being interested anyway. SB Nation collected draft grades from around the league, so you can check out both how your team is viewed and how their rivals seem to stack up.
The draft isn’t the last word in team development, of course, and every team participated in the flurry of undrafted free agent signings. SB Nation’s free agent tracker is keeping an eye on those developments, and breakdowns for many individual teams are available at Mocking the Draft.
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