That's right, folks. . .we'll be tracking the entire first round of the 2010 NFL Draft, complete with analysis of the picks as they happen. Remember, tonight we get the first 32 picks, the second and third rounds kick off at 5 PM Central tomorrow, and the rest will take place starting Saturday morning.
We'll definitely have posts for each of the Vikings' individual picks as they come up, but for discussion of the rest of the draft, this is the place to be. I'll have the first few picks here, and the rest will be after the jump.
Hope to see a lot of you out here this evening. . .we're an hour and a half away from Roger Goodell striding to the podium to announce the start of the first ever "prime time" draft, and I don't know about you guys. . .but I'm pretty darn excited for the whole thing. Enjoy the evening, ladies and gentlemen!
| Pick | Team | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | St. Louis Rams |
Sam Bradford |
Quarterback |
Oklahoma |
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Gonzonalysis: Well, no shock here, really. With the options that the Rams currently have at quarterback, Bradford was the correct pick for them at this spot. Cleveland apparently tried to trade up, to no avail. If he's the starter from Day 1, he's going to get killed, but hey. . .you have to start somewhere. |
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| 2 | Detroit Lions |
Ndamukong Suh |
Defensive Tackle |
Nebraska |
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Gonzonalysis: The Lions managed to not hose this up, which makes me sad as a Viking fan. Suh is a beast, and having to see him twice a year for the next decade is going to be bad for us. Suh will team with Kyle Vanden Bosch and Corey Williams to give the Lions a pretty darn good front four. |
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| 3 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
Gerald McCoy |
Defensive Tackle |
Oklahoma |
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Gonzonalysis: The Bucs' defense was pretty bad at all three levels last year, and they've decided to rebuild from the front. McCoy may or may not be Warren Sapp reincarnate, but he's a very good pick for the Buccaneers here. Now, after this pick, things are going to start getting interesting. |
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| 4 | Washington Redskins |
Trent Williams |
Offensive Tackle |
Oklahoma |
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Gonzonalysis: Three Sooners in the first four picks. . .yeah, they're pretty good. With the retirement of Chris Samuels, the Redskins had a big hole at left tackle, and they filled it here. Also, the Commissioner just announced him as "Silverback." Is that a nickname or something? These questions need to be answered, people! |
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| 5 | Kansas City Chiefs |
Eric Berry |
Safety |
Tennessee |
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Gonzonalysis: Hey, we can take players from teams that aren't in the Big 12! I'm not sure about the wisdom of the safety over Russell Okung here, but Berry is going to be a true impact safety for the Chiefs. And, in a semi-related story, my mock draft is 5-for-5 (probably soon to be 6-for-6). . .so I've got that going for me. Which is nice. Also, Berry's nickname is apparently "The Fifth Dimension." Of course, this means that this is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius in Kansas City. |
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| Pick | Team | Player | Position | College |
| 6 | Seattle Seahawks |
Russell Okung |
Offensive Tackle |
Oklahoma State |
|
Gonzonalysis: To outright steal from Bill Simmons, the Seahawks take the winner of this year's "guy that sounds Asian but he really isn't" competition. Good pick for Seattle, and they have someone that can slide right into the spot vacated by future Hall of Famer Walter Jones. And now, honestly, I don't know what Cleveland is going to do, and I sure as heck don't know what Oakland's going to do after them. |
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| 7 | Cleveland Browns |
Joe Haden |
Cornerback |
Florida |
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Gonzonalysis: The Browns' defense is atrocious last year, and Haden is easily the best corner in this year's draft. Yeah, he ran a bad 40 at the Combine. . .bit whoop. He's a great fit for the Browns, and will be a starter for them from Day 1. And with that. . .FIRE UP YAKKETY SAX, because it's time for the Raiders' pick! |
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| 8 | Oakland Raiders |
Rolando McClain |
Linebacker |
Alabama |
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Gonzonalysis: Wow, the Raiders make a pick that. . .makes sense!? Not to mention ticking off everybody in the New York/New Jersey area. This is actually a pretty good pick for the Raiders. McClain is a monster, and could very well be the next great Raider linebacker. |
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| 9 | Buffalo Bills |
C.J. Spiller |
Running Back |
Clemson |
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Gonzonalysis: Wow. . .totally did not see this move coming. The Bills' offensive line is bad, and they've had their problems with Marshawn Lynch, but wow. . .this is the second-biggest shock of the night, right behind the Raiders making a selection that actually makes sense from a football perspective. This is the first pick tonight I actively disagree with. |
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| 10 | Jacksonville Jaguars |
Tyson Alualu |
Defensive Tackle | California |
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Gonzonalysis: Whoa. . .I didn't even have this guy in the first round. Mayock is talking about his character and how hard a worker he is. Sounds like a good guy to put next to John Henderson inside for the Jags, and apparently he can play outside if necessary, too. I'll be honest, I don't know a whole lot about this guy. |
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| 11 | San Francisco 49ers (from Chicago Bears through Denver Broncos) |
Anthony Davis | Offensive Tackle |
Rutgers |
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Gonzonalysis: And so we have our first trade of the evening, as the Niners move up two spots, Denver moves down to #13, and gets a 4th (#113) from the Niners. I'm not sure why the Niners thought they had to get ahead of the Dolphins, because neither Denver nor Miami was going O-tackle here. Davis has some character issues, but apparently the Niners weren't terribly scared at that prospect. The trade still kind of confuses me, though. |
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| 12 |
San Diego Chargers (from Miami Dolphins) |
Ryan Mathews |
Running Back | Fresno State |
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Gonzonalysis: The Chargers move WAY up for this one, and Miami gets San Diego's second-round (#40) AND fourth-round (#126) picks to let it happen. And sweet, merciful crap, does this seem way too high for Ryan Mathews. Don't get me wrong, he's a nice back and everything. . .but the Chargers could have gotten him at #28! Why the heck did they have to move all the way up here for him? (San Diego also got LB Tim Dobbins, who was awesome in The Shawshank Redemption.) |
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| 13 |
Philadelphia Eagles (from San Francisco 49ers through Denver Broncos) |
Brandon Graham |
Defensive End |
Michigan |
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Gonzonalysis: The Eagles move up to #13 in exchange for #24 and TWO third-round picks (#70 and #87 overall). Graham is a pretty good pick to put on the other side of Trent Cole, but again. . .this is a trade where a team traded up for a guy that I, personally, don't think they needed to trade up for. But, hey. . .I don't run an NFL front office, so what the heck do I know? |
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| 14 | Seattle Seahawks (from Denver Broncos) |
Earl Thomas |
Safety |
Texas |
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Gonzonalysis: The Seahawks keep the pick. . .how unconventional. The Seahawks had an awful pass defense in 2009, ranking 30th in the league, and Thomas is a playmaker at the safety spot. He also has the ability to play a little corner. The knock is that his run support skills are a bit suspect, but he should be a good center fielder in the NFL. |
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| 15 | New York Giants |
Jason Pierre-Paul |
Defensive End |
South Florida |
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Gonzonalysis: He's a super freak. . .super freak. . .but can he get it done at the NFL level? The Giants could have taken a defender at any level to try to aid their 30th-ranked scoring defense. JPP is probably the biggest boom-or-bust guy in the first round, and it's going to be interesting to see how he fits in with the G-Men. |
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| 16 | Tennessee Titans |
Derrick Morgan | Defensive End | Georgia Tech |
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Gonzonalysis: Morgan is the best DE in the draft, in my opinion, and I'm pretty surprised that the Giants took Pierre-Paul over him. Morgan will probably start from Day 1 for the Titans. Good, solid pick. |
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| 17 | San Francisco 49ers (from Carolina Panthers) |
Mike Iupati | Guard | Idaho |
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Gonzonalysis: The Niners are really looking to solidify the O-line, what with taking Davis earlier and now the monster Iupati out of Idaho. Iupati can play either guard or right tackle, so they've upgraded more than one spot with this pick. This has got to anger the Steelers a bit. . .and hey, now that Jimmy Claussen has slipped past the Niners. . .there's really nothing to stop him from falling to #30. Just sayin' is all. |
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| 18 | Pittsburgh Steelers |
Maurkice Pouncey | Center |
Florida |
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Gonzonalysis: With all the turmoil in Pittsburgh, the Steelers needed to make a solid pick here, and that's what they've done. Pouncey can start at either guard or center for Pittsburgh, and will be an immediate upgrade. |
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| 19 | Atlanta Falcons |
Sean Weatherspoon |
Linebacker |
Missouri |
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Gonzonalysis: The Falcons really needed a pass rusher, but there really isn't a 4-3 guy left that fits the bill here. Weatherspoon is an immediate upgrade for the Falcons at the LB spot, with Mike Peterson getting up in years. |
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| 20 | Houston Texans |
Kareem Jackson |
Cornerback |
Alabama |
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Gonzonalysis: A little surprised to see Kareem Jackson go ahead of Kyle Wilson here. Jackson is a good, physical corner, and the secondary for the Texans has been a sore spot for as long as they've been in existence, so this is a pretty solid selection for them. |
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| 21 | Cincinnati Bengals |
Jermaine Gresham |
Tight End |
Oklahoma |
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Gonzonalysis: I really thought this would be where the Dez Bryant slide would end, but the Bengals opt for the tight end instead. This pick adds a dimension to the Cincinnati offense that was lacking. It will be interesting to see how he comes back from the knee injury that cost him his entire 2009 season. |
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| 22 | Denver Broncos (from New England Patriots) | Demaryius Thomas |
Wide Receiver |
Georgia Tech |
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Gonzonalysis: And Dez Bryant is NOT the first receiver off the board in the 2010 Draft. In terms of character, Thomas is pretty much the anti-Brandon Marshall, but at this point he's more of an athlete than a wide receiver. But Josh McDaniels thinks he can make it work, so Thomas is the pick. New England gets #24 and a fourth-rounder (#113 that the Broncos got earlier from San Francisco in an earlier trade) to let Denver move up two spots. |
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| 23 | Green Bay Packers |
Bryan Bulaga |
Offensive Tackle |
Iowa |
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Gonzonalysis: Well, the Packers needed to upgrade at the offensive tackle spot, and they got a guy that was projected to go in the Top 10 to fall right into their laps at #23. Hate to complement the Packers, but man. . .this is a pretty good pick. |
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| 24 |
Dallas Cowboys (from Philadelphia Eagles through Denver Broncos and New England Patriots) |
Dez Bryant |
Wide Receiver |
Oklahoma State |
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Gonzonalysis: Putting Dez Bryant into the Cowboys' offense? Man. . .that just doesn't seem fair. Talent-wise, Bryant is a huge steal here. . .attitude-wise. . .well, this is the Cowboys. They've never really let that get in their way before. |
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| 25 | Denver Broncos (from Baltimore Ravens) |
Tim Tebow |
Quarterback |
Florida |
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Gonzonalysis: Wow. . .the Broncos have gone all over the place today, and now they have Tim Tebow. If you would have bet me yesterday that Tim Tebow would go ahead of Jimmy Clausen, you would have told me that I was out of my mind. Yet, here we are. I don't know what Josh McDaniels has in store for the kid, but kudos to him for having the stones to pull the trigger on him at this point in the draft. The Ravens get a second-rounder (#43), a third-rounder (#70), and a fourth-rounder (#116) to let Denver make this move. |
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| 26 | Arizona Cardinals |
Dan Williams |
Defensive Tackle |
Tennessee |
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Gonzonalysis: Amazing that Dan Williams dropped this far. The Cardinals could have gone with Kyle Wilson or Sergio Kindle here, but Williams is just too good a value at this spot for Arizona to pass up. The Cardinals play that 3-4 defense, and Williams could step in at the nose from the get-go for this team. |
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| 27 | New England Patriots (from Dallas Cowboys) |
Devin McCourty |
Cornerback |
Rutgers |
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Gonzonalysis: Rutgers has two players going in the first round? When the heck was the last time that happened? But McCourty is going to be a very good corner in this league, in my opinion. He's not the biggest guy, but he's physical, and he's a great special teams player, too. |
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| 28 | Miami Dolphins (from San Diego Chargers) |
Jared Odrick |
Defensive End |
Penn State |
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Gonzonalysis: Very solid pick for the Dolphins here, as Odrick can play either tackle or end. With Miami being a 3-4 team, he'll more than likely play end, and at over 300 pounds, he'll be able to hold the point of attack. Again, good pick for Miami, and being able to take a lot of picks from the Chargers to drop to this spot and still get him is a huge bonus. |
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| 29 | New York Jets |
Kyle Wilson |
Cornerback |
Boise State |
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Gonzonalysis: The Jets go defense, and they get the guy that was the consensus #2 corner in the draft for most of the off-season. He's also a great return guy, and he's a great value for the Jets at this point in the draft. And now the Minnesota Vikings are on the clock! |
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| 30 | Detroit Lions (from Minnesota Vikings) |
Jahvid Best |
Running Back |
California |
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Gonzonalysis: Well, the Vikings trade out of the first round, where they can STILL get Jimmy Clausen (because the Lions have the second pick in the second round, and the Colts, Saints, and Rams aren't taking a quarterback). I'm still waiting to see what the Vikings got in return for this. . .trading with a team in the division, I hope it would be significant. Minnesota gets Detroit's second round pick (#34), their fourth-rounder (#100), and a seventh (#214). Minnesota sends their fourth-rounder (#128) to Detroit as part of the deal. On the Lions' front, they needed a running back, and Best is a good speed guy. His history of concussions has to scare people, but the Lions thought enough of him to grab him here. |
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| 31 | Indianapolis Colts |
Jerry Hughes |
Defensive End |
Texas Christian |
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Gonzonalysis: Interesting pick for the Colts here. Hughes is sort of a 'tweener, but it remains to be seen whether or not he'll be able to hold up in a 4-3 system like Indianapolis runs. He strikes me as more of a 3-4 outside rusher type. But Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis aren't getting any younger, and maybe the hope is that Hughes will be able to replace one of them in the near future. |
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| 32 | New Orleans Saints |
Patrick Robinson |
Cornerback |
Florida State |
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Gonzonalysis: Robinson is a solid cornerback, but the knocks against him have been his inconsistency. Still, this allows the Saints to move Malcolm Jenkins back to safety, potentially to replace Darren Sharper, and put Robinson in at a cornerback spot. |
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And there's your first round, ladies and gentlemen. There are plenty of interesting names that somehow fell out of the first round, and with the trade, the Vikings have the second pick when the action resumes tomorrow at around 5 PM Central time. We'll have more on that here in a little while.
Big thanks to everyone that came out tonight, even though our Beloved Purple didn't actually select any players this evening. Most assuredly, the action is going to be a bit more relevant to our interests tomorrow, and I hope to see a lot of you here again!