Call It Tradition: Josh's 2008 NFL Draft Review, Part 2 of 2

Picking up right were we left off yesterday, mid-first round . . .

With Tatum Bell its only capable proven back, Detroit spits the bit on running backs, much like its predecessors, goes for OT Gosder Cherilus outta BC. Strange. But not as peculiar as Baltimore, who traded up and down before settling in at eighteen and selecting Delaware (they have football?) QB Joe Flacco. Big arm who's a work-in-progress. Carolina added to its haul with Pitt lineman Jeff Otah before Tampa Bay got a nice piece with Kansas CB Aqib Talib at twenty. Atlanta follows the big guy trend with its second round pick, USC tackle Sam Baker.

Dallas goes for Arkansas RB Felix Jones at twenty-two, then trades up to twenty-five to get South Florida CB Mike Jenkins. With the Pac-Man trade on top of it, Dallas has turned its secondary into a position of depth where a week ago it was weak. Honestly, a fantastic weekend performance by Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who also got Texas A & M TE Martellus Bennett and Georgia Tech tailback Tashard Choice on day two.

Back to Felix Jones for a second. You can easily manufacture the argument that he is in a better position to have a successful rookie year than his former Hog teammate Darren McFadden. With the Raiders, D-Mac's numbers will probably be muted a bit for at least a year or two, based on the team's feeble surrounding roster of talent alone. On the flip, Jones steps right back into a change-of-pace role with Dallas that suited him perfectly at Arkansas. With bowling ball Marion Barber pounding it between the tackles, watch Felix swing it to the outside as much as he can next year, breaking it for a a couple of big plays every week.

Pittsburgh lucked into Illinois horse Rashard Mendenhall #23, and got huge WR Limas Sweed from Texas in the second, making Big Ben happy. I thought Tennessee reached for East Carolina halfback Chris Johnson next; just because somebody runs a ridiculous 40 yard dash (Johnson ran a 4.24) doesn't make them an NFL star. Give me the proven SEC commodity over the small school speedster any day of the week.

Three West Coast teams followed. Houston got offensive lineman Duane Brown in a dull move, while San Diego picked up CB Antoine Cason. Seattle drafted USC edge rusher Lawrence Jackson and San Francisco took NC State DT Kentwan Balmer. Cool name, but I don't know if he can play as a starting nose in the NFL....

The Jets traded up at thirty and added Purdue TE Dustin Keller in the move mentioned above, then took small school CB Derrick Lowery in the 4th round, Tennessee QB Erik Ainge in the fith (I wanted Kentucky QB Andre Woodson there, but oh well), Kansas WR Marcus Henry in the sixth and Arkansas OT Nate Garner in the seventh. Throw in #6 overall Vernon Gholston, and all in all, Gang Green did pretty okay for themselves, even without D-Mac. I mean, defensively, the front seven has been entirely rebuilt, and should be significantly better next year, but you still have to question the offense. Even with all the moves up front, Leon Washington is still the only home run hitter on the team. And they've still gotta figure out who the starting quarterback is . . . Kellen Clemens? Chad Pennington? Someone else?

8-8 in 2008 sounds about right for the Jets.

The Super Bowl Champion New York Giants close the first round with Miami S Kenny Phillips. A need move, but solid nonetheless.

And oh yeah, in case you were wondering, that Giants fan friend of mine is cockier than ever these days . . . Thanks a lot, Eli.

-JAB