1) The Raiders signed Charles Woodson for his second stint with the team after a band of Raiders fans came out to the team's headquarters to urge him to sign. Hey, if you're at the tail end of your career and a terrible team can bring out numerous fans to support you, you might as well join them, right? (I suppose the motto in this case would be "If you can beat 'em, join 'em.")
2) Former Stony Brook running back Miguel Maysonet was signed by Philadelphia as an undrafted free agent, then cut (after receiving a 10K signing bonus), then signed by the Browns. I was all ready to make fun of the analysts who called him a top UDFA, but then he was signed again, so clearly, someone liked him, so...yeah. My argument is invalid.
3) Long snappers! No one cares, but per longsnap.com, six long snappers were signed as undrafted free agents and seven more were given tryouts.
4) Super Bowl L will be in San Francisco's currently nonexistent Levi's Stadium, while Super Bowl LI will be held at Reliant in Houston, which is also the home of the Texas Longhorns football team.
Friday, May 24, 2013
Monday, May 20, 2013
UDFAs! or: Whatever Happened to That Guy?
Players like Kurt Warner and Arian Foster are evidence of how important undrafted free agent signings can be. The archetypal undrafted free agents would be a player deemed too small or a product of their system, a one-time hot prospect who suffered a severe injury; a former basketball or rugby player looking to make it big; a local hero getting a chance under the bright lights; a top high schooler who never made it in college; a pure athlete with little football experience; a big talent with a bad attitude; or a one-season wonder. Even as recently as last year, unknown wide receiver Rod Streater became an impact player for Oakland.
This year, Lawrence Okoye was one of the highest-priority undrafted free agents. A Brit who participated in the Olympics last year, Okoye was called an "Adonis" by coach Jim Harbaugh and has great potential if he can adapt well to playing football. San Francisco also signed another player who's undergoing a position change, former Minnesota Gophers quarterback and current tight end Marqueis Gray.
The other UDFA signing you'll hear everyone talking about was Buffalo's signing of Da'Rick Rogers, a wide receiver, from Tennessee Tech by way of Tennessee, who fell because of character problems, like seemingly everyone. People are already talking about Rogers as a potential starter opposite Steve Johnson, but if he really is a probable starter, wouldn't he have been drafted?
I don't quite understand why Collin Klein is so widely ignored. He was a Heisman candidate in college...doesn't that count for something? The former quarterback was signed by Houston and is likely going to be converted to tight end.
Speaking of quarterbacks, teams often use undrafted players to fill their third or fourth quarterback spots. And clearly, some teams like to stay local; Baltimore signed Trent Steelman from Army, New Orleans signed Ryan Griffin from Tulane, Detroit signed Alex Carder from Western Michigan, Jacksonville signed Jordan Rodgers from Vanderbilt (yes, he's Aaron's brother), and Kansas City signed Kansas' Dayne Crist. Others didn't follow this pattern, taking their UDFAs from across the country, but they were not in the majority.
Other notable quarterbacks include Clay Belton from Findlay, a school which claims to be the "largest private university in northwest Ohio." Woohoo. He was signed by Miami. That's going to be a big change for him. Belton actually has a large chance of making Miami's roster, given that they have very little depth at the position. The most highly touted undrafted quarterback, Tyler Bray, joined Dayne Crist on the Chiefs. Don't be surprised if either one plays this season. With the Chiefs, anything could happen.
I was going to make a comment about the Falcons signing Casey Barth, brother of Bucs kicker Connor, but then I read that he was cut 11 days ago, along with someone named Momo Thomas. So much for that clever piece of trivia.
The Raiders, my favorite team, didn't get any big-name UDFAs (is there such a thing?) but they did sign Rice RB Sam McGuffie, one of my favorite college players, as well as some defensive lineman with three consecutive A's in his name.
Another different-sport conversion: Wisconsin-Milwaukee basketball player Demetrius Harris, whose Twitter page is still plastered with images of his former sport.
I noticed that the Chargers signed a cornerback named Marcus Cromartie. That rings a bell. Oh, that's right, there's another cornerback named Antonio Cromartie, a cornerback named Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, and a safety named Da'Mon Cromartie-Smith. Yes, those three are related. No, Marcus is not related to them. No, you weren't the only one who was surprised.
But yeah, there are many, many more UDFAs, and you can see if your favorite hometown player made a roster here: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000164809/article/undrafted-rookie-free-agents-for-all-32-nfl-teams (Hopefully your favorite hometown player hasn't been cut by now like Casey Barth and Momo Thomas.)
Draft season is officially over, but minicamps are going on right now and rookies are getting their first opportunities to impress. More articles in the coming days!
This year, Lawrence Okoye was one of the highest-priority undrafted free agents. A Brit who participated in the Olympics last year, Okoye was called an "Adonis" by coach Jim Harbaugh and has great potential if he can adapt well to playing football. San Francisco also signed another player who's undergoing a position change, former Minnesota Gophers quarterback and current tight end Marqueis Gray.
The other UDFA signing you'll hear everyone talking about was Buffalo's signing of Da'Rick Rogers, a wide receiver, from Tennessee Tech by way of Tennessee, who fell because of character problems, like seemingly everyone. People are already talking about Rogers as a potential starter opposite Steve Johnson, but if he really is a probable starter, wouldn't he have been drafted?
I don't quite understand why Collin Klein is so widely ignored. He was a Heisman candidate in college...doesn't that count for something? The former quarterback was signed by Houston and is likely going to be converted to tight end.
Speaking of quarterbacks, teams often use undrafted players to fill their third or fourth quarterback spots. And clearly, some teams like to stay local; Baltimore signed Trent Steelman from Army, New Orleans signed Ryan Griffin from Tulane, Detroit signed Alex Carder from Western Michigan, Jacksonville signed Jordan Rodgers from Vanderbilt (yes, he's Aaron's brother), and Kansas City signed Kansas' Dayne Crist. Others didn't follow this pattern, taking their UDFAs from across the country, but they were not in the majority.
Other notable quarterbacks include Clay Belton from Findlay, a school which claims to be the "largest private university in northwest Ohio." Woohoo. He was signed by Miami. That's going to be a big change for him. Belton actually has a large chance of making Miami's roster, given that they have very little depth at the position. The most highly touted undrafted quarterback, Tyler Bray, joined Dayne Crist on the Chiefs. Don't be surprised if either one plays this season. With the Chiefs, anything could happen.
I was going to make a comment about the Falcons signing Casey Barth, brother of Bucs kicker Connor, but then I read that he was cut 11 days ago, along with someone named Momo Thomas. So much for that clever piece of trivia.
The Raiders, my favorite team, didn't get any big-name UDFAs (is there such a thing?) but they did sign Rice RB Sam McGuffie, one of my favorite college players, as well as some defensive lineman with three consecutive A's in his name.
Another different-sport conversion: Wisconsin-Milwaukee basketball player Demetrius Harris, whose Twitter page is still plastered with images of his former sport.
I noticed that the Chargers signed a cornerback named Marcus Cromartie. That rings a bell. Oh, that's right, there's another cornerback named Antonio Cromartie, a cornerback named Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, and a safety named Da'Mon Cromartie-Smith. Yes, those three are related. No, Marcus is not related to them. No, you weren't the only one who was surprised.
But yeah, there are many, many more UDFAs, and you can see if your favorite hometown player made a roster here: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000164809/article/undrafted-rookie-free-agents-for-all-32-nfl-teams (Hopefully your favorite hometown player hasn't been cut by now like Casey Barth and Momo Thomas.)
Draft season is officially over, but minicamps are going on right now and rookies are getting their first opportunities to impress. More articles in the coming days!
Friday, May 17, 2013
Day 3
It seems like the whole football community loses interest in the draft by Day 3. Only very enthusiastic fans watch. The draft is in the middle of the day, not primetime or even the late afternoon. Most sports fans devote their attentions to the end of the NBA season, or hockey, or NASCAR, whatever. Even the commentators often seem to ignore picks to talk about storylines from earlier rounds. In fact, only the actual NFL teams seem to take an interest, and even then, general managers will take "flyers" on high-risk players in the later rounds. With that in mind, we begin our coverage of the fourth round.
Because of the nature of the last few rounds, there aren't quite as many notable picks. The Eagles took Matt Barkley after trading up to the top pick of the round, introducing another questionable quarterback into the competition. This induced a run on quarterbacks, with the Giants taking Ryan Nassib (possibly Eli's successor?), the Raiders taking Tyler Wilson (he's been impressive in minicamps so far), and the Steelers taking Landry Jones (he was once regarded as a first round pick.)
Green Bay also surprised by taking Johnathan Franklin, their second running back of the draft, and perhaps the second best running back in the draft as well. With more smart drafting by Ted Thompson and the rest of the organization, the Packers continue to cement their place atop the NFC North division. They are assembling a rather intimidating running back-by-committee system to complement their excellent passing game.
Another pick I appreciated was the last pick of the fourth round, made by Atlanta using a compensatory selection. They took Levine Toilolo, tight end from Stanford and former target of Andrew Luck during his time there. Toilolo will be a great successor for Tony Gonzalez. (Also, he has a cool name.)
In the fifth round, Denard "Shoelace" Robinson was taken by the Jaguars. (He earned this nickname for playing with shoelaces untied. Seems like too much of a risk when one false step can cost you millions of dollars.) From what the media have said, he's the reincarnation of Kordell Stewart (who isn't even dead), a player capable of playing basically every skill position. I don't quite understand the NFL's tendency to convert mobile quarterbacks to other positions, (Antwaan Randle El, Matt Jones, Josh Cribbs, Josh Nesbitt, Armanti Edwards, Marcus Vick...the list goes on and on), but Robinson will likely fit in anywhere the Jaguars put him.
The Seahawks drafted a player who was arrested right before the draft. Character concerns, maybe? I guess taking anyone in the fifth round isn't too much of a risk, but still...
The Vikings said goodbye to the NFL's most vocal punter, Chris Kluwe, and replaced him with Jeff Locke from UCLA. (Postscript: Weeks after the draft, in need of a replacement for Shane Lechler, Oakland signed Kluwe.)
There were some more advances on the running back front as Arizona selected Stanford runner Stepfan Taylor to bolster an inconsistent, no-name backfield, while Miami chose Mike Gillislee from Florida to replace Reggie Bush (hopefully).
(Speaking of fifth round picks, the Chiefs released their fifth round pick from last year, cornerback DaQuan Menzie. Don't you give a mid-round pick more than one year to develop and improve? Yeah, I thought so too.)
Oddly, players who called out the NFL were selected early in the sixth round. Nick Kasa alleged that he was asked about his sexual orientation at the combine, and Ryan Swope complained about being compared only to white receivers.
It was another running back-heavy round, and teams were digging deep to find hidden talent. The Panthers added Kenjon Barner, another Oregon running back, while the Cardinals doubled up with Andre Ellington, the Raiders took little-known Latavius Murray, and the Buccaneers took Miami's Mike James. Running backs made up over 18% of the round's picks.
Not many notable prospects fell to the seventh round. Several quarterbacks were chosen, however. The Chargers made an interesting move by selecting Southern Utah quarterback Brad Sorensen to develop under Rivers, although he hasn't played against much high-level competition. The Broncos got VERY lucky when highly touted quarterback Zac Dysert, who shares an alma mater with Ben Roethlisberger, dropped to them at #234. The final quarterback chosen in the draft, Sean Renfree, will definitely help the Falcons, who have serious backup quarterback issues.
Mike Mayock praised the Ravens for their choice of Elon wideout Aaron Mellette four picks later. Perhaps he'll help them fill the hole left by Anquan Boldin.
The last drama of the draft was saved for the Colts' choice of Mr. Irrelevant, tight end Justice Cunningham from South Carolina, making him the second Colt in a row to be chosen as Mr. Irrelevant, and the second South Carolina player in recent years.
However, the drama was not over with the final pick of the draft. In some ways, the UDFA signings are even more exciting than the draft's later rounds. Local heroes, injury risks, boom-or-bust and one-year wonders will all find new homes. Numerous undrafted free agents, including a British discus thrower, a Heisman Trophy finalist, a YouTube sensation from Europe, and a dynamic, troubled wideout, were sent onto the open market, where teams would bid for their services.
Because of the nature of the last few rounds, there aren't quite as many notable picks. The Eagles took Matt Barkley after trading up to the top pick of the round, introducing another questionable quarterback into the competition. This induced a run on quarterbacks, with the Giants taking Ryan Nassib (possibly Eli's successor?), the Raiders taking Tyler Wilson (he's been impressive in minicamps so far), and the Steelers taking Landry Jones (he was once regarded as a first round pick.)
Green Bay also surprised by taking Johnathan Franklin, their second running back of the draft, and perhaps the second best running back in the draft as well. With more smart drafting by Ted Thompson and the rest of the organization, the Packers continue to cement their place atop the NFC North division. They are assembling a rather intimidating running back-by-committee system to complement their excellent passing game.
Another pick I appreciated was the last pick of the fourth round, made by Atlanta using a compensatory selection. They took Levine Toilolo, tight end from Stanford and former target of Andrew Luck during his time there. Toilolo will be a great successor for Tony Gonzalez. (Also, he has a cool name.)
In the fifth round, Denard "Shoelace" Robinson was taken by the Jaguars. (He earned this nickname for playing with shoelaces untied. Seems like too much of a risk when one false step can cost you millions of dollars.) From what the media have said, he's the reincarnation of Kordell Stewart (who isn't even dead), a player capable of playing basically every skill position. I don't quite understand the NFL's tendency to convert mobile quarterbacks to other positions, (Antwaan Randle El, Matt Jones, Josh Cribbs, Josh Nesbitt, Armanti Edwards, Marcus Vick...the list goes on and on), but Robinson will likely fit in anywhere the Jaguars put him.
The Seahawks drafted a player who was arrested right before the draft. Character concerns, maybe? I guess taking anyone in the fifth round isn't too much of a risk, but still...
The Vikings said goodbye to the NFL's most vocal punter, Chris Kluwe, and replaced him with Jeff Locke from UCLA. (Postscript: Weeks after the draft, in need of a replacement for Shane Lechler, Oakland signed Kluwe.)
There were some more advances on the running back front as Arizona selected Stanford runner Stepfan Taylor to bolster an inconsistent, no-name backfield, while Miami chose Mike Gillislee from Florida to replace Reggie Bush (hopefully).
(Speaking of fifth round picks, the Chiefs released their fifth round pick from last year, cornerback DaQuan Menzie. Don't you give a mid-round pick more than one year to develop and improve? Yeah, I thought so too.)
Oddly, players who called out the NFL were selected early in the sixth round. Nick Kasa alleged that he was asked about his sexual orientation at the combine, and Ryan Swope complained about being compared only to white receivers.
It was another running back-heavy round, and teams were digging deep to find hidden talent. The Panthers added Kenjon Barner, another Oregon running back, while the Cardinals doubled up with Andre Ellington, the Raiders took little-known Latavius Murray, and the Buccaneers took Miami's Mike James. Running backs made up over 18% of the round's picks.
Not many notable prospects fell to the seventh round. Several quarterbacks were chosen, however. The Chargers made an interesting move by selecting Southern Utah quarterback Brad Sorensen to develop under Rivers, although he hasn't played against much high-level competition. The Broncos got VERY lucky when highly touted quarterback Zac Dysert, who shares an alma mater with Ben Roethlisberger, dropped to them at #234. The final quarterback chosen in the draft, Sean Renfree, will definitely help the Falcons, who have serious backup quarterback issues.
Mike Mayock praised the Ravens for their choice of Elon wideout Aaron Mellette four picks later. Perhaps he'll help them fill the hole left by Anquan Boldin.
The last drama of the draft was saved for the Colts' choice of Mr. Irrelevant, tight end Justice Cunningham from South Carolina, making him the second Colt in a row to be chosen as Mr. Irrelevant, and the second South Carolina player in recent years.
However, the drama was not over with the final pick of the draft. In some ways, the UDFA signings are even more exciting than the draft's later rounds. Local heroes, injury risks, boom-or-bust and one-year wonders will all find new homes. Numerous undrafted free agents, including a British discus thrower, a Heisman Trophy finalist, a YouTube sensation from Europe, and a dynamic, troubled wideout, were sent onto the open market, where teams would bid for their services.
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Day 2
Welcome back to the Natural Football Log for our (somewhat overdue) review of Days 2 and 3 of the draft!
After the events of Thursday night, a dark shadow had fallen over the media. The two most overhyped players, Geno Smith and Manti Te'o, were still undrafted. "What to do?" one reporter asked. He looked visibly shaken. Then, a hero emerged. "I know," this reporter said. "Let's just forget about the other 220 draftable prospects!! We only care about these two, right? The best quarterback in a class of bad quarterbacks and a guy who fell for an imaginary girlfriend while failing against top competition? Right?"
And so, the media spent ALL of Friday talking about Smith and Te'o. There wouldn't be a breakthrough on that front for a while. When the draft reopened, the first player taken was not Smith, as many speculated, but safety John Cyprien from Florida International. (What does that school's name even mean?) The 49ers owned the next pick from the Alex Smith trade, but they sent it to Tennessee so they could take Justin Hunter, one of the multitude of Tennessean receivers in the draft.
The circus came to town again for the Eagles. Would they draft Smith or Te'o??? After all, said everyone, they have needs at both positions. Nope, they just took Zach Ertz, tight end from Stanford, which was a pretty safe pick. Whoever starts at quarterback is going to need a reliable target, after all. (No one seems to notice that the Eagles have multiple starting-caliber quarterbacks on their roster, after all.)
After Detroit drafted cornerback Darius Slay (which is a pretty cool football player name), Cincinnati used one of its Carson Palmer picks to select a running back. Not Eddie Lacy, the one everyone expected, but Giovani Bernard from UNC. It was becoming pretty apparent that this round was going in a different direction from what most had expected.
The media could breathe easy when the Chargers, perhaps one of the least interesting teams in the league, drafted Manti Te'o to spice things up. No doubt, he is a quality player. However, the new regime under Tom Telesco is going to have to take that quality with the attention that comes with drafting such a widely known player. (And he's not widely known for good reasons, either.)
But wait, there's more! The New York Jets took Geno Smith off the board, spelling eventual doom for Mark Sanchez. While New York insists that Sanchez is the starter, there's no way a prospect like Smith is going to hold a clipboard all season. Calling it now - Smith replaces Sanchez in Week 7 after a 1-5 start.
Things started to slow down after ESPN's two favorite players were drafted. The 49ers took recovered defensive end Tank Carradine. Then, the Bills made a very smart pick by taking Robert Woods, who was Matt Barkley's primary target at USC. He seemed to disappear from the minds of draft analysts after originally being one of the draft's top prospects.
The Raiders made a smart pick! I know, it may be hard for some of you to believe. Drafting offensive tackle Menelik Watson ensures that their quarterback, whomever that may be, will have good pass protection down the road.
Defense ruled the next 14 picks, as only three were offensive players (weird), and all were skill position players (weirder), and two of those were tight ends (weirdest). Most notably, the 49ers, who possessed an excess of picks, traded up for TE Vance McDonald (not a huge surprise since all every mock draft talked about is how much Jim Harbaugh loves multiple tight ends) and the Ravens traded up to select linebacker Arthur Brown. I think the Seahawks got the better end of this trade, though; moving down six spots and gaining two picks in the process.
At #26, the Broncos selected one-time Heisman finalist Montee Ball, who chose to stay for his senior season last year after receiving a mediocre grade from the draft advisory board. I think it's a good pick, as the Broncos don't have anyone great at running back. The other significant result of this pick was that Eddie Lacy, running back from Alabama, continued to fall...and the Packers, in dire need of a competent running game to take the pressure off of Aaron Rodgers, took him gladly at #29. This may have thwarted the Seahawks, who took running back Christine Michael immediately afterward.
And so, the second round came to a close. Fortunately, though, another round was about to begin.
The Chiefs spent their pick, the first of the round, on tight end Travis Kelce, brother of an Eagles offensive lineman. An inordinate number of tight ends were taken from the mid-second to early third rounds, an interesting trend in a draft that was rather unpredictable.
The next big news came several picks later. In the midst of a three-cornerback run, Arizona selected Tyrann Mathieu, another extremely publicized player who made a bizarre appearance on the cover of ESPN's draft preview. Honestly, what message does that send? Featuring a mid-round prospect who was kicked off his college team for violating team rules (i.e. failing drug tests)? Mathieu also planned a draft party to celebrate becoming a first-round pick, which never happened. The Cardinals, undaunted by this ridiculous character risk, selected Mathieu and announced that he would be moved to safety.
Later, the Buccaneers put some pressure on Josh Freeman by selecting Mike Glennon. (That is, not Matt Barkley or Ryan Nassib.) Perhaps this competition is what Freeman needs to elevate his game and establish himself as a consistent starting quarterback. Or, alternatively, this competition may be what Freeman needs to lose his job to Mike Glennon and be traded to the Raiders for 7 first round picks after Matt Flynn tears his ACL in Week 16. Hey, you never know.
Next, the Cowboys actually made a smart pick by taking somewhat-local wide receiver Terrance Williams, who was one of RG3's favorite targets at Baylor.
The rest of the round was rather uneventful. The Dolphins took an offensive tackle, something they definitely needed after losing former #1 overall pick Jake Long in free agency; the Bills took extremely fast wideout Marquise Goodwin; and, strangest of all, the Patriots reached for two players from Rutgers, cornerback Logan Ryan and safety Duron Harmon, the latter of whom was originally a late-priority undrafted free agent on Mike Mayock's draft board. The 49ers traded once again to select defensive lineman Corey Lemonier in the Packers' spot. The Rams selected West Virginia wideout Stedman Bailey, pairing him with his former teammate Tavon Austin. The best pick of the round, at least according to NFL.com's grading system, was the Giants' selection of Texas A&M end/linebacker Damontre Moore.
After three compensatory picks, the most questionable of which was Kansas City's selection of inconsistent Arkansas running back Knile Davis, Day 2 ended, bringing with it most of the draft's intrigue. However, the landing spots of highly touted quarterbacks Matt Barkley and Ryan Nassib were still unknown. Nassib wasn't going to his college coach Doug Marrone's Buffalo Bills, so where would he end up? Would an opportunistic contender snatch him up, hoping to develop him as their quarterback's successor? And would Barkley's junior season's film be enough to earn him an early pick on Day 3? The quarterback questions and many others would be answered in the draft's last four rounds.
After the events of Thursday night, a dark shadow had fallen over the media. The two most overhyped players, Geno Smith and Manti Te'o, were still undrafted. "What to do?" one reporter asked. He looked visibly shaken. Then, a hero emerged. "I know," this reporter said. "Let's just forget about the other 220 draftable prospects!! We only care about these two, right? The best quarterback in a class of bad quarterbacks and a guy who fell for an imaginary girlfriend while failing against top competition? Right?"
And so, the media spent ALL of Friday talking about Smith and Te'o. There wouldn't be a breakthrough on that front for a while. When the draft reopened, the first player taken was not Smith, as many speculated, but safety John Cyprien from Florida International. (What does that school's name even mean?) The 49ers owned the next pick from the Alex Smith trade, but they sent it to Tennessee so they could take Justin Hunter, one of the multitude of Tennessean receivers in the draft.
The circus came to town again for the Eagles. Would they draft Smith or Te'o??? After all, said everyone, they have needs at both positions. Nope, they just took Zach Ertz, tight end from Stanford, which was a pretty safe pick. Whoever starts at quarterback is going to need a reliable target, after all. (No one seems to notice that the Eagles have multiple starting-caliber quarterbacks on their roster, after all.)
After Detroit drafted cornerback Darius Slay (which is a pretty cool football player name), Cincinnati used one of its Carson Palmer picks to select a running back. Not Eddie Lacy, the one everyone expected, but Giovani Bernard from UNC. It was becoming pretty apparent that this round was going in a different direction from what most had expected.
The media could breathe easy when the Chargers, perhaps one of the least interesting teams in the league, drafted Manti Te'o to spice things up. No doubt, he is a quality player. However, the new regime under Tom Telesco is going to have to take that quality with the attention that comes with drafting such a widely known player. (And he's not widely known for good reasons, either.)
But wait, there's more! The New York Jets took Geno Smith off the board, spelling eventual doom for Mark Sanchez. While New York insists that Sanchez is the starter, there's no way a prospect like Smith is going to hold a clipboard all season. Calling it now - Smith replaces Sanchez in Week 7 after a 1-5 start.
Things started to slow down after ESPN's two favorite players were drafted. The 49ers took recovered defensive end Tank Carradine. Then, the Bills made a very smart pick by taking Robert Woods, who was Matt Barkley's primary target at USC. He seemed to disappear from the minds of draft analysts after originally being one of the draft's top prospects.
The Raiders made a smart pick! I know, it may be hard for some of you to believe. Drafting offensive tackle Menelik Watson ensures that their quarterback, whomever that may be, will have good pass protection down the road.
Defense ruled the next 14 picks, as only three were offensive players (weird), and all were skill position players (weirder), and two of those were tight ends (weirdest). Most notably, the 49ers, who possessed an excess of picks, traded up for TE Vance McDonald (not a huge surprise since all every mock draft talked about is how much Jim Harbaugh loves multiple tight ends) and the Ravens traded up to select linebacker Arthur Brown. I think the Seahawks got the better end of this trade, though; moving down six spots and gaining two picks in the process.
At #26, the Broncos selected one-time Heisman finalist Montee Ball, who chose to stay for his senior season last year after receiving a mediocre grade from the draft advisory board. I think it's a good pick, as the Broncos don't have anyone great at running back. The other significant result of this pick was that Eddie Lacy, running back from Alabama, continued to fall...and the Packers, in dire need of a competent running game to take the pressure off of Aaron Rodgers, took him gladly at #29. This may have thwarted the Seahawks, who took running back Christine Michael immediately afterward.
And so, the second round came to a close. Fortunately, though, another round was about to begin.
The Chiefs spent their pick, the first of the round, on tight end Travis Kelce, brother of an Eagles offensive lineman. An inordinate number of tight ends were taken from the mid-second to early third rounds, an interesting trend in a draft that was rather unpredictable.
The next big news came several picks later. In the midst of a three-cornerback run, Arizona selected Tyrann Mathieu, another extremely publicized player who made a bizarre appearance on the cover of ESPN's draft preview. Honestly, what message does that send? Featuring a mid-round prospect who was kicked off his college team for violating team rules (i.e. failing drug tests)? Mathieu also planned a draft party to celebrate becoming a first-round pick, which never happened. The Cardinals, undaunted by this ridiculous character risk, selected Mathieu and announced that he would be moved to safety.
Later, the Buccaneers put some pressure on Josh Freeman by selecting Mike Glennon. (That is, not Matt Barkley or Ryan Nassib.) Perhaps this competition is what Freeman needs to elevate his game and establish himself as a consistent starting quarterback. Or, alternatively, this competition may be what Freeman needs to lose his job to Mike Glennon and be traded to the Raiders for 7 first round picks after Matt Flynn tears his ACL in Week 16. Hey, you never know.
Next, the Cowboys actually made a smart pick by taking somewhat-local wide receiver Terrance Williams, who was one of RG3's favorite targets at Baylor.
The rest of the round was rather uneventful. The Dolphins took an offensive tackle, something they definitely needed after losing former #1 overall pick Jake Long in free agency; the Bills took extremely fast wideout Marquise Goodwin; and, strangest of all, the Patriots reached for two players from Rutgers, cornerback Logan Ryan and safety Duron Harmon, the latter of whom was originally a late-priority undrafted free agent on Mike Mayock's draft board. The 49ers traded once again to select defensive lineman Corey Lemonier in the Packers' spot. The Rams selected West Virginia wideout Stedman Bailey, pairing him with his former teammate Tavon Austin. The best pick of the round, at least according to NFL.com's grading system, was the Giants' selection of Texas A&M end/linebacker Damontre Moore.
After three compensatory picks, the most questionable of which was Kansas City's selection of inconsistent Arkansas running back Knile Davis, Day 2 ended, bringing with it most of the draft's intrigue. However, the landing spots of highly touted quarterbacks Matt Barkley and Ryan Nassib were still unknown. Nassib wasn't going to his college coach Doug Marrone's Buffalo Bills, so where would he end up? Would an opportunistic contender snatch him up, hoping to develop him as their quarterback's successor? And would Barkley's junior season's film be enough to earn him an early pick on Day 3? The quarterback questions and many others would be answered in the draft's last four rounds.
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