NFL Draft: Round 2 Starts With Steals

If you ever needed proof why the NFL Draft is so much more than a one-round affair, or why teams will trade NFL vets for second round picks, you might have your proof with the start of today's second round.

With the #33 overall pick and first in the second round, the Cardinals took Michigan's Alan Branch. They had to give up a fourth round selection to move up for this pick, but it says here it will be worth it. At one time Branch was being mentioned as the possible #2 overall pick, before concerns over motivation and production dropped him down the board. Even with those issues, Branch is huge and versatile and can anchor either a 4-3 or a 3-4, giving the Cardinals a lot of options. With Levi Brown (probably will play right tackle to protect Leinart's blind side) and Branch, Arizona just got a lot more physical up front. Hey, maybe they are finally "getting it."

With the very next pick, the Bills (who also traded up), snatched up stud linebacker Paul Posluszny from Penn State. He's smart and aggressive and while Urlacher comparisons might seem a bit extreme, he appears capable of replacing London Fletcher in the Bills' four-man linebacking corps.

The second round begins with a bang.

NFL Draft: Win-Win Trades

You often hear the term win-win after a trade, but rarely does that turn out to be the case. I remember people calling the Celtics-Blazers draft day trade a win-win last summer, when Telfair was swapped for the pick that ultimately netted Brandon Roy for Portland. How did that work out?

However, during the first round of the NFL Draft today, I think we might have seen two actual win-win deals.

Browns-Cowboys

The first - and bigger deal - was between Cleveland and Dallas, as the Browns sent their 2008 #1 pick (and another '07 "first day" pick) to Dallas for the #22 selection. With that draft choice, the Browns took Brady Quinn, their QB of the future (and who knows, maybe the present), and a guy they were strongly considering at #3. Now they can pay him a lot less money, keep some pressure off (and limit the Tim Couch jokes), AND protect him with the best offensive lineman (best overall prospect, perhaps?) in the draft in Joe Thomas. Stellar work by the Browns. Plus, they have Jamal Lewis as a stop-gap at running back, which means they can gamble on a guy tomorrow or just wait until next year. As for Dallas, they will undoubtedly get a much better pick next year in the Browns' first rounder. Despite Cleveland's good moves today, it is highly unlikely they will win more than eight games in the loaded AFC, which means the 'Boys are looking at probably a #14 pick or higher (probably quite a bit higher), in what projects to be a better draft. They didn't need Quinn because they have Romo (unless they were looking at Brady as a holder) and there really wasn't anybody else at #22 with as much value as an upgraded pick. Very smart move.

Jags-Broncos

I also really liked this deal for both teams. The Broncos are in need of a pass rushing phenom and by moving up four picks, they were able to get Jarvis Moss of Florida. Not only did this guy dominate Ohio State in the national title game, but my experiences with NCAA Football 2007 on X-Box lead me to believe that he is the best end on planet earth. The video game version of Moss is unblockable. (By the way, I'm thinking of grading all the first round picks this way. Any thoughts?) Expect Moss to flourish in a limited roll next year while being groomed as the next great speed rusher. I think he can match Adam Carriker and Jamal Anderson and even rival Gaines Adams in the long run. As for Jacksonville, this was some deft work. They got the guy they wanted - stud safety Reggie Nelson - AND a third and sixth round pick. Not bad. Nelson gets to stay in state and challenge for an immediate starting gig with playoff contender. Nelson was one of my favorite college players last year and the way he nearly single-handedly beat Florida State and then overcame his mother's death to lead the Gators in the title game was inspiring.

First Round grades of A's for all four teams. Good to see teams willing to make mutually beneficial deals as well.

Chiefs to Trade LJ?

I know I am late to this party, but I blame that on the NBA Playoffs. Who can be bothered with every little NFL rumor that goes floating around the Internet? Except the possibility that the Chiefs might trade Larry Johnson is a pretty big rumor. Johnson has rushed for 3,416 yards and in 28 career starts (122.0 yards per game). Oh yeah, and he's scored 42 touchdowns in those contests. That is ridiculous.

So why would the Chiefs trade him?

Well, one reason is the nature of running backs. Last year we saw the Colts let Edge go and then win the Super Bowl. My buddy Gabe Higa once compared running backs to a set of tires. Never pay too much, feel free to burn them out, and then be sure to swap them out for a new set the first time you see a good bargain. That is kind of how the NFL looks at backs. Younger is better, cheaper is better, and so on. With a handful of intriguing backs in this draft, it makes some sense that the Chiefs might go that route.

Another possibility is that Johnson has worn out his welcome in some way. We know he had a hard time sitting on the bench under Vermeil (the famous "diapers" comment), but he also seemed to grow frustrated last year when asked to carry such a heavy load. He sounds a little like Goldilocks. Everything has to be just right. If the Chiefs aren't in the mood to put up with that, it makes sense to move him while he still has value. (Plus, he didn't exactly light up the Colts last year in the playoffs.)

However, that brings us to the last point. What could KC conceivably get for him? Clinton Portis brought the Broncos Champ Bailey, so that seems to be the best case scenario. Meanwhile, all Thomas Jones got the Bears was a better second round pick. I'm sure Johnson would bring something closer to Bailey, but you never know when it comes to dealing running backs.

And, of course, it could be that the Chiefs are merely bringing all these backs in to add depth, as the Star speculates.

All I know is that the more LJ is in the papers, the better it is for me, because it opens the floodgates to all kinds of Larry Johnson "Serial Father" jokes, thanks to the fact that he shares a name with the former New York Knick.

Raiders Must Take Quinn

I know there is plenty of time for NFL Draft conjecture, but now that we know Oakland has the top pick in the 2007 Draft, let me just say that Oakland absolutely has to take Brady Quinn.

They passed on Matt Leinart and Jay Cutler last year because they supposedly had quarterbacks for the present (Aaron Brooks) and the future (Andrew Walter). The guy they took instead – safety Michael Huff - had an up-and-down season (at best) and while he might wind up being worth the #7 pick, I don't see how Oakland can remain convinced that they are set at the quarterback position. Even an organization as out of touch as the Raiders has to realize they need a new signal caller.

Brooks is clearly done as an NFL quarterback, but it was the play of Walter in 2006 that made for the bigger story. While it is true that the former Sun Devil played for a very bad coach, had an offensive coordinator fresh off a Bed And Breakfast stint, was armed with a #1 wide receiver that rarely tried, and dropped back behind the worst offensive line in football, that still doesn't excuse just how awful he was. Walter completed 53.3% of his passes, threw 13 picks with just three touchdowns, and compiled a horrific 55.8 QB rating. Plus, he mouthed off a couple of times and showed very few leadership qualities. Oh yeah, and he was also injury prone. Pretty solid all the way around.

Fortunately for the Raiders, Quinn looks like the real deal. Unfortunately for the Raiders, Quinn's biggest weakness is the pass rush. When he has time to throw he can dice up any defense, but when the rush is on (see: the UCLA and Michigan games), he has a rough go of it. This means that if Oakland is to draft Quinn, they will need to spend the rest of their offseason fixing that miserable o-line. They need a new ... well, pretty much everything, including left tackle (Robert Gallery isn’t very good, folks).

In fact, the offensive line is so bad that the Raiders may be tempted to go that way on draft day, especially with Wisconsin's Joe Thomas available. To me this, would be a mistake, as would the selection of Georgia Tech's Calvin Johnson, because while you need to give a quarterback blocking and a guy to throw to (and with Moss on his way out, Johnson could slide right in), you need the quarterback first and foremost.

And the Raiders definitely don't have that.

Beating Around the Bush

I wasn't planning on throwing up another post until the games started on Saturday, but I feel that it is absolutely neccessary to address what I like to call the Reggie Bush Madness. It is a disease that is spreading rapidly and today it infected my boys Kornheiser and Wilbon over on PTI. They spent a signficant amount of their time (although it might have been less than 5%, which basically means it didn't happen, according to fraudulant writer James Frey) today discussing why Bush won't be a legit every-down back in the NFL. They said he wasn't big enough, that he should be used like Marshall Faulk, and that LenDale White has between a 40 and 50 percent change of rushing for more yards at the next level. Um ... what is going on here?

It's not just the PTI guys. The whole world seems to be turning against Reggie. Out of sight, out of mind. Nobody is remember the incredible runs, the consistency, the vision, the toughness. Whatever. Anyone who doubts this guy is going to regret it. As for his size, he's 6'0 and 200. He will easily add 10 pounds in the NFL, which means that he will be much bigger than Warrick Dunn (one of the best backs in the league now that they finally just let him run despite being "too small"), as big as Curtis Martin (over 14,000 career rushing yards), as big as Clinton Portis (runs exclusively between the tackles now in Washington), bigger than Tiki Barber (1,860 rushing yards last year to go with 17 appearances on late night talk shows), and only a few pounds lighter than Edge and LT. Did anyone catch Tatum Bell this year? He's a shade under six feet and right around 210 pounds. Reggie Bush is going to be a faster, better version of that. But yeah, go ahead and doubt him.

Bearing Down for Draft Day

The best player in the 2005 Draft

I've never been a huge NFL Draft guy. The combines, rumors, mock drafts, Mel Kiper's toupee ... it just didn't do it to me. Even last year when I was in New York during the draft, I was far more interested in following the NBA playoffs and charting my fantasy baseball team. And world events, of course.

For some reason though, I've become intrigued with this draft. It has something to do with two stud running backs coming out of Auburn and even more to do with two unbelievable wide receivers. But mainly, living here in Chicago, I'm curious to see what the Bears will do. Most of the speculation has them going for a big running back, likely Cedric Benson. I believe this is a big mistake. If Ronnie Brown slips to #4, fine, take him. If he's not there though, you have to go with Mike Williams. The former USC star is only going to be the best player out of this draft, so it wouldn't be a bad idea to nab him. Especially when you consider that if they don't get him, division rival Minnesota will.

Since I'm always interested in helping out the good people of Chicago, here are the guys that the Bears should take this weekend:

First Round - Mike Williams. A no-brainer. Ronnie Brown and Braylon Edwards are the only other guys in this draft that can be as good as Williams, but they will probably be gone by #4. Even if they were around, Williams is the guy. Ever since he made that transcendent catch during his sophomore year (the one handed palm-job in the back of the end zone - a catch that was the football equivalent of Tiger Woods' amazing chip on the 16th at Augusta), I've just known that this guy was going to destroy the NFL. Why pass on a sure thing?

Second Round - Eric Shelton. Here is where you take your big, bruising back. Shelton is wildly underrated coming out of Louisville and a perfect compliment to Thomas Jones.

Third Round - No Pick. They should try to trade for a pick and take Bryant McFadden, an exciting defensive back out of Florida State. He might be gone by the third round, but there's a chance he could slip.

Fourth Round - Marion Barber. There are some terrific running backs in this draft, so I say take another one. Barber is another strong runner that reminds me a bit of Rudi Johnson.

Fifth Round - Adrian McPherson. When Chad Hutchinson is your backup QB, it can't hurt to take a signal caller. McPherson is a gamble because of his checkered past, but he'll probably be the most talented player taken on the second day.

Sixth Round - Jared Newberry. I've heard good things about the outside linebacker from Stanford. Chicago is pretty loaded on defense, but it doesn't hurt to grab a young guy that plays hard.

Seventh Round - Brandon Jones. Back to offense! This Oklahoma receiver is wildly underrated and I think he'd be a real nice addition to a group that will be headlined by Muhammad and Williams.