Eagles biggest 1st-round surprise?

Well, it was a whirlwind of a first down.

Thanks for those of you who joined me for the live chat. It was a lot of fun to break down the action as it was happening.

Someone asked what the biggest surprise of the first round was.

Let's start at the top. At No. 3, the Kansas City Chiefs taking LSU DE Tyson Jackson caught some by surprise. However, Jackson's stock had been soaring in the days leading up to the draft. I believe Sports Illustrated had him going in the top five, and I saw ESPN's Michael Smith predict that Jackson would go third on Saturday morning.

The next pick that comes to mind is the Raiders selecting Maryland WR Darrius Heyward-Bey at No. 8. But if Al Davis is involved, can we really call anything surprising? NFL insiders had been predicting for weeks that Davis was obsessed with speed, and therefore he'd go with Heyward-Bey or Jeremy Maclin.

And that bring us to the Eagles. Trading up was not a surprise. The Eagles have been one of the most active teams in the league in terms of draft day deals over the past five years or so. But that they traded up for Maclin was pretty surprising. If it were a running back, defensive end, defensive back or even offensive lineman, I would have been less shocked.

So what do you think? What was the biggest surprise of the first round?

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During the season, we did a feature called "Optimist/pessimist" here at MTC after every game. Basically it illustrated that there are two ways to look at every situation. I thought now would be a good time to bring it back with the Maclin pick.

The optimist says...

Phenomenal pick. Everybody wanted another weapon. The fans. The media. Donovan McNabb. And they went out and got one of the biggest playmakers in the draft. A guy who can be a threat on offense and special teams. How about the speed McNabb now has to work with? DeSean Jackson. Kevin Curtis. And now Maclin. McNabb will be throwing bombs all season. Plus they just got more versatile. Can you predict where Maclin, Jackson or Brian Westbrook are going to line up on any given play?  Good luck with that, defensive coordinators. Between the Maclin pick and the revamping of the offensive line, the 2009 season is looking promising. Don't forget. This team was one drive away from the Super Bowl last season. Is it August yet?

The pessimist says...

Are you serious? A DeSean Jackson clone? Why do we need two of the same player? My question is this. If they were going to draft a receiver in the first round, why not just deal the first-round pick for Anquan Boldin?! A guy who is proven, physical and a better complement to what they already have? I don't get this front office and I never will. By the way, what happened to the thought that they would commit to the running game next season with the new fullback and offensive line? I guess that has fallen by the wayside. Good luck running the clock out in the final minutes of close games with Westbrook and... Lorenzo Booker? Yeah, that sounds promising. And I'm sure they won't have any short yardage problems either. These guys never cease to amaze me.