It’s the Official Running Diary of the 2010 NFL Draft, coming to you live from my couch. Get excited! We’re kicking off the broadcast from Radio City Music Hall in New York City with all of the usual suspects: Steve Young, Chris Berman, Mel Kiper Jr., Mel Kiper Jr.’s Hair, the gang is all here folks. The one ongoing subplot that I’m really going to miss from this year however, is trying to figure out which pick Jets fans are going to boo. With the 29th pick in the first round, it’s a safe bet that the Jets organization has a free pass this year, meaning that no matter who they pick, they can count on only a fraction of the boos they would normally get. With their recent offseason acquisitions of Antonio Cromartie, LaDainian Tomlinson, Santonio Holmes and Jason Taylor, I’d say that Jets fans are pretty content with where they are right now.
But hey, you never know. That’s why they play the game, and that’s why I’m doing a running diary. I’m planning on going for at least the first 15 picks tonight, or more, depending on how everything unfolds. The Giants are slated for the 15th pick as of right now, but there is a possibility that they may try to trade up for Alabama linebacker Rolando McClain. We’ll see. Aaaaaand we’re off!
7:15 p.m. – This year’s top prospects, at least the ones who have chosen to show up, are being introduced to the crowd at Radio City Music Hall. Luckily, neither Tim Tebow nor Colt McCoy chose to make the trip to New York for the first day of the draft, avoiding an unfortunate Aaron Rodgers-type situation where they’re sitting all by themselves at pick number 30 while the camera pans over to them nervously tapping their feet and Chris Berman makes awkward jokes.
7:19 – This event just proves how football-obsessed we Americans are. No other major sport’s draft comes even close to being the spectacle that the NFL Draft is year after year. The NHL and MLB drafts aren’t even televised and even the NBA Draft, which is the closest in comparison, only lasts one night and two rounds. The NFL Draft is now being spread across three separate days, with pretty much wall-to-wall television coverage. Astounding. It’s almost like the Super Bowl of the offseason now.
7:21 – ESPN returns from commercial to show us Oklahoma quarterback and possible #1 overall pick Sam Bradford sitting at his table and trying his hardest to avoid eye contact with the camera. Right now, Jon Gruden is continuing his assault on Bradford and the rest of the top quarterbacks in this year’s draft. I agree with him 100%. A quarterback like Bradford that ran out of a spread offense in college is a complete crapshoot in the NFL. I know the Rams will probably blow their #1 pick on him, but I don’t know if it’s the right pick. Personally, I would take Ndamukong Suh. I don’t run an NFL team though.
7:26 – Tom Jackson agrees with me. “The best player in this draft, in my opinion, is Ndamukong Suh.” I knew I liked Tom Jackson. He’s tied with Mel Kiper Jr.’s hair right now for my favorite panelist. The Rams are on the clock in less than 4 minutes. I like that for the first time in at least a few years, we don’t really know who the number one pick will be. At least St. Louis has saved us some kind of suspense. It’s the least they could do.
7:28 – My new favorite subplot for this year’s draft is seeing what moves, if any, the Pittsburgh Steelers make in an attempt to dump Ben Roethlisberger off on another team. I’m crossing my fingers and hoping to hear Roger Goodell get up to the podium and say “With the number one pick in the 2010 NFL Draft….WE HAVE A TRADE! The St. Louis Rams have traded their pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers for Ben Roethlisberger and his shady bodyguards.”
7:31 – And the broadcast has officially begun. The tension is palpable. Chris Berman says, “I”m excited! THIS IS A FOOTBALL DRAFT!” Thanks Chris, I’m excited too. Goodell is headed to the podium to kick off the proceedings. I think he’s been taking speech lessons from President Obama during the offseason. After a moving speech, he announces that the St. Louis Rams are now on the clock. Ten minutes and counting. If they take more than 7 minutes to make this pick, they should have it taken away. They’ve been on the clock for three months now.
7:35 – Gruden: “The Rams need a quarterback….they were one win away from winning zero games last season.” Bradford is on the phone with someone right now. I have a feeling it’s Dan Rooney. “Hey, how would you like to have Ben Roethlisberger’s job this year son? Some quick questions first…”
7:37 – Here we go…..and it’s Sam Bradford! The number one overall pick….guys….what a surprise, right? The first pick, not surprisingly, is booed by the New York crowd. They love booing at any chance they get in New York. I guess it was the Rams that Bradford was on the phone. Hey, anytime you have the chance to draft a quarterback that missed his entire senior year due to injury and plays in one of the most quarterback-friendly offenses in college football, you have to do it, right? I mean, there’s never a risk in taking a quarterback number one overall. Just ask the San Francisco 49ers.
7:41 – On the clock right now, the Detroit Lions. I think Suh is a perfect pick for the Lions. He’s a perfect pick for any team actually. His impact alone will be good for at least two wins during the season. The guy eats offenses alive. Plus, they improved from 0 wins in 2008 to 2 wins last year. That means they’re due for 4 wins this season.
7:44 – “With the number two pick in the NFL Draft, the Detroit Lions select….Ndamukong Suh, defensive tackle, Nebraska.” I called that one. With the first two obvious picks out of the way now, we can start getting to the interesting part now. By the way, the crowd isn’t booing as Suh walks on stage for his photo-op with the commish, they’re just saying, “SUUUUUUUUUH!”
7:46 – Suh is a very well-spoken young man. Chris Berman enlightens us by explaining that Ndamukong means, “House of Spears,” after his brief interview with Suzy Kolber. By the way, good ol’ Suzy is aging pretty well. Just saying….
7:49 – Now on the clock, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They shipped Byron Leftwich to Pittsburgh a few days ago. So who is their starting quarterback for 2010? Josh Johnson or Josh Freeman? Which Josh is it? Will they take Oklahoma’s Gerald McCoy with the third overall pick? We’re going to find out soon…the pick is in!
7:51 – With the third overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers select….Gerald McCoy, defensive tackle, Oklahoma.” So, we’ve had three picks already, two of them have been defensive tackles from Big XII teams, two of them have been from Oklahoma, and one of them is a McCoy, and it’s not even Colt! What a turn-of-events this evening folks! Oh boy.
7:54 – I wonder how Colt McCoy feels right now. Not only was he not the first quarterback taken in the draft, but he wasn’t even the first McCoy. Poor kid, that’s what you get for taking your team to the BCS Championship game and then getting hurt on the third play.
7:55 – According to Chris Berman, this is the first time since 1966 that the first three picks have all come from the same conference. Interesting fact nugget. Now on the clock…the Washington Redskins. They’ve certainly made a big splash during this offseason, snatching Donovan McNabb from Philadelphia and adding the Ghost of Willie Parker to a backfield that already features the Ghost of Larry Johnson. Certainly a much-improved football team that will almost definitely start out the season 5-2 and then end up with an 8-8 record.
7:58 – And the Redskins take….offensive tackle, Trent “Silverback” Williams. Wait, what? I didn’t know that we were throwing nicknames in there too now. What is this, a UFC draft? Trent Williams is from….quick, take a guess….Oklahoma! How about this: four picks now, and three of them are from Oklahoma. Unbelievable. Were there any other teams in Division I football last year? Are we sure of this? All four players from the Big XII. I want to see this streak kept alive now. Kansas City is going down the 2009 Oklahoma Sooners roster right now going, “Damn, they took all the good ones!”
8:05 – We’re back, and we see Tennessee safety Eric Berry on the phone with someone. Then he turns to the camera and we hear him say, “I’m gonna be a Chief!” Thanks a lot guys. Are we going to completely throw out the element of surprise this year? Why are we doing Roger Goodell’s job for him? LET HIM DO HIS JOB, ESPN. STOP RUINING THE FUN.
8:07 – Sure enough, Goodell announces that the Chiefs select Berry less than two minutes later. A safety going 5th overall is almost unheard of, but according to Gruden, he “blew the combine away with his ball skills.” No jokes here. No really, I’m good.
8:09 – The Seahawks are now on the clock. I’m thinking Russell Okung…let’s see if I’m right. The pick is in and Goodell is heading to the podium now. I also just remembered that the Mets are playing. No score in the bottom of the 4th. Thanks for reminding me.
8:11 – Let’s see what Pete Carroll does in his first NFL Draft in over a decade. Tell me it wouldn’t be funny if he took someone from USC here, just as a joke. You’re right, it wouldn’t be that funny. Is Mark Sanchez still available? Under two minutes on the clock now, it’s crunchtime for the Seahawks.
8:14 – I just checked the box score of the Mets game. It’s the 5th inning and they don’t have a single hit. Again. They had 1 hit until the 7th inning last night. This team cannot hit. Anyway, the Seahawks take Russell Okung, offensive tackle from Oklahoma State. Yes, that’s yet another player from the Big XII. If you’re scoring at home, that’s now 5 Big XII players in the first 6 picks. Four players from the state of Oklahoma. I know, enough already. Cleveland Browns on the board right now for the 7th pick. This draft is flying by!
8:20 – Are the Cleveland Browns really considering taking Jimmy Clausen? Aren’t they tired of drafting overrated Notre Dame quarterbacks about 50 picks higher than they should be drafted? Come on Cleveland, don’t make this mistake again. Brady Quinn, version 2.0.
8:23 – Oh look at this, Joe Haden is on the phone with someone, tears of joy streaming down his face. I wonder who the Browns are going to pick. YOU RUINED THE SURPRISE AGAIN?!? You have got to be kidding me.
8:24 – Yup, it’s Joe Haden taken 7th overall by the Browns, cornerback from Florida. He looks extremely happy, actually a lot happier than someone who just got drafted by the Cleveland Browns should be. Good for him though. By the way, Cleveland Browns fans, welcome to the Jake Delhomme Era! That should be fun.
8:27 - The Oakland Raiders….here we go! Always exciting and unpredictable when Al Davis is making the decisions. Trade for Ben Roethlisberger? Come on Al, you know you want to….
8:28 – Al Davis: “Can we draft JaMarcus Russell again? No? Are you sure? Damn.”
8:29 - Damn you Oakland Raiders! They took our player! Rolando McClain would have fit in so well in Giants blue. That is deflating. Okay, I’m moving on now. Actually a good pick by Oakland for a change. Is Al Davis still alive?
8:31 – Uh oh, the Bills have their pick in already. And it’s…..C.J. Spiller! My favorite player from this year’s draft. I loved watching him play at Clemson, actually got the chance to see him light up Florida State in person last November. What an electrifying running back, he completely rewrote the ACC record books. I’m excited to see how he adapts to the NFL, although admittedly I’m not that excited to see him stuck in the forgotten snow drifts of Buffalo. Very surprised to see him taken this early. I knew he was good, but didn’t think he was top-10 good. Maybe it’s the shortage of quality running backs in this year’s draft. Either way, I’m going to enjoy watching him torch the Jets.
8:33 – Only an hour into the draft and we’re already getting set for the 10th pick. The Jacksonville Jaguars are on the clock. We’ll be back after these commercials that are most likely going to make me hungry, even though I can’t get up to eat anything because I’m afraid I’ll miss something important. Can I get delivery to my couch right now?
8:37 – Top of the 6th inning now, Mets still only have 1 hit. I’m glad we’ve gone back into our “Let’s Not Break the Baseball” mode after that brief two-game winning streak.
8:38 – And the Jaguars take Tyson Alualu, defensive tackle from California, our first real surprise of the draft! Mel Kiper Jr.’s Hair says, “It’s not a surprise he went in the first round, but it is a surprise that he went 10th overall.” So that basically means that he’s good, but not worth a top-10 salary. That’s it.
8:41 – We have our first trade of the night, as Denver ships its number 11th pick to the San Francisco 49ers. The Broncos will only move back two spots to the 13th pick. The Niners’ pick is in, so let’s see why they decided to trade up….
8:43 – With the 11th pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, the San Francisco 49ers select….Anthony Davis, offensive tackle, Rutgers! Alright, a fellow Rutgers alum goes 11th! I’m ecstatic, although not all that surprised. Davis was far and away one of the best offensive tackles in the nation for the last few years. I mean, anyone that can make Mike Teel look good, has to be worth an 11th overall pick. Let’s see if he can do the same for Alex Smith/Shaun Hill/whoever starts for that team.
8:46 – Now the Dolphins have given up their number 12 pick to the San Diego Chargers. No details on the trade yet, but the Chargers have their pick in already, so they apparently know who they want. They need a running back…let’s see what the Bolts do.
8:48 – I know we’re talking about football right now, but how many times are we going to put our ace out on the mound and then not support him with any runs, or even any hits for that matter. His last start against St. Louis, we had 0 runs and 1 hit in 9 innings. Today? Zero runs and 1 hit through 5 innings. Poor Johan.
8:49 – And the Chargers select….Ryan Matthews, running back, Fresno State. Clearly the second best running back in the draft behind Spiller. I think this is a good pick. They need a running back after sending Tomlinson to the Jets and Matthews fits the Chargers offense very well, he has a similar style to Tomlinson and will compliment Sproles perfectly as a pass-catching back.
8:52 – Denver sends its 13th pick that it just got from San Francisco to Philadelphia now. Hey look at this, it’s our first “EAGLES SUCK!” chant of the night! I knew the New York fans had it in them. Philly is most likely going after Earl Thomas to fill the hole at safety that Brian Dawkins left when he went to Denver last year. Chris Berman tell us that Earl Thomas plays piano in church. I knew there was a reason why I tuned in to watch the draft. The knowledge just flows like wine!
8:55 – So, with the 13th pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, the Donovan McNabb-less Eagles select….Brandon Graham, defensive end, Michigan. OH WHAT A TWIST! We just spent 5 minutes listening to everyone at ESPN explain why the Eagles were taking Earl Thomas, and then they go ahead and they…don’t pick Earl Thomas! That’s why we watch, for the suspense and the drama. Goodell is booed throughout his entire announcement, and then the anti-Eagles chants start up again.
9:00 – Seattle is on the clock next at number 14, barring more trades. The Giants haven’t traded up, so I guess they are content with their 15th pick, which is coming up sooner rather than later…and that means that this running diary is coming to an end. Somehow, I’ve cranked out almost 3,000 words in an hour and a half and I’m quickly running out of gas here folks. The Seahawks are now set to make their second pick of the first round already.
9:03 – Hey, the Mets are on the board! David Wright doubled to bring home Reyes and then Francoeur drove him in with an RBI single two batters later. 2-0 Mets, and finally someone decided to step up and save Santana from another No Decision.
9:06 – The Seahawks swoop in (see what I did there?) and take Earl Thomas with the 14th pick, the guy everyone was convinced that the Eagles would take with the 13th pick. So now we get to hear more facts and tidbits about Earl Thomas. It’s like he was picked twice!
9:07 – And here is the moment we’ve been waiting for…the New York Giants are on the clock. The “Let’s Go Giants” chants are starting up at Radio City Music Hall and all the Giants fans (and probably the Jets fans too) are saving up as much air in their lungs as possible in preparation of booing pretty much anyone that we pick. I’m excited for this pick, and also excited to end this running diary and get something to eat, because I’m starving and these Taco Bell Tortadas are even starting to look good at this point.
9:11 – Here we go, getting ready for the Giants pick now at number 15. Two more minutes left on the clock. Who will it be? Mike Iupati, guard from Idaho? Jason Pierre-Paul? We’ll see soon enough. Steve Young: “How embarrassing…HOW EMBARRASSING…for the New York Giants to be 30th in defense.” Thanks, Steve. Thanks a lot buddy. Keep twisting that knife.
9:13 – And the Giants select…Jason Pierre-Paul, defensive end from South Florida. I love it. Love this pick. First of all, anytime you can improve on a category that you finished 30th in last season, that’s making strides. I love defense, and I love this guy’s talent. I watched him play in the Big East, and watched him even terrorize Rutgers a few times. Great pick, and I hope to see him have an immediate impact on the defensive line, especially in stopping the run and closing down the gaps. I see him being very similar to Justin Tuck a few years down the road.
All in all, I’m pretty satisfied with the way the first round has gone so far. Spiller went 9th, Rutgers tackle Anthony Davis goes 11th and we pick up a quality defensive end from South Florida in Jason Pierre-Paul. That’s all for me, I’m going to call it a night. It’s been real, enjoy the rest of the draft.
