NFL draft winners, losers
Who won and who lost in the first round?
Winners:
Eagles: The Eagles got a defensive tackle who should fit immediately in their attack-minded front four and, if he pans out, will be the quarterback menace you need in the pass-happy NFL. Somewhere, Jim Washburn is in a dark, isolated room playing death metal and drawing up new plays.
NFC East Fans: There were aggressive moves throughout the division and some marquee names added to the already heated competition. Robert Griffin, III, Morris Claiborne and Fletcher Cox were all considered elite talents – perhaps all worthy of top-10 selections in some analysts' eyes. Should be fun to watch them all try to unseat the Giants and battle for years to come.
Tom Brady: The all-everything, model-marrying Uggs spokesman (and quarterback) has done all he could to carry the Patriots, but the New England defense isn't what it was during their dynasty days. They ranked 31st in yards allowed last year. The usually stingy team traded up twice to upgrade, though, landing defensive end Chandler Jones and linebacker Dont'a Hightower. As if he needed it, Brady had another reason to be happy.
Dontari Poe: The big defensive tackle saw his stock explode at the Combine but it was thought to sink just as quickly as people realized that his size and athleticism didn't translate into big plays at Memphis. Apparently Kansas City wasn't so concerned, using the 11th overall pick to reel him in.
Browns: They got a rugged running back, Trent Richardson, who should fit in well in the rust belt and a potential starting quarterback, Brandon Weeden, with a relatively low investment at 22. Weeden is already 28 and may have to start immediately, but he has a much more established track record than the more highly-rated Ryan Tannehill.
Losers:
Jets: A dysfunctional team that constantly boasts of its ability but came up terribly short in 2011 used its first pick on Quinton Coples, a temperamental defensive lineman whose on-field effort didn't always match his talent. This is supposed to end well?
Dolphins: We'll be the first to argue that you need a quarterback to compete. But he has to be a really, really good quarterback. Especially when you take him eighth overall. Ryan Tannehill sounds like a classic desperation pick after the true top tier quarterbacks were gone. He only has 19 college starts and if he's forced to start early in his career, things could get even uglier in Miami.
Melvin Ingram: At one point Ingram was considered a top-10 pass rusher. But the South Carolina product dropped below competitors such as Coples and West Virginia's Bruce Irvin. He didn't go until 18, to the Chargers.
Roger Goodell: Not sure why, but fans were still angry at the commish. Last year he was booed because the league was in the midst of an ugly lock out that at the time showed no signs of easing. Thursday? It wasn't too clear, unless Saints fans had arrived en masse. The only cheers he got came at the end of the night, when he announced the "world champion" Giants had made their pick.
Mock drafts: Who out there had the Cowboys moving up six for Claiborne? How about Mark Barron at seven to the Buccaneeers after Tampa Bay traded back? Anyone have the Jaguars moving up for Justin Blackmon? The opening of the draft was another reminder that the selection process is too unpredictable and teams too good at hiding their true intentions to make mock drafts worth much -- and certainly not worth the outsized attention they draw in the weeks leading up to the big show. Even the teams that spend months planning for this don't know what's going to happen on draft night. Somehow, though, we have a feeling this lesson will be lost by, oh, November, when fans of teams that are out of contention start looking ahead to the draft again.