NFL Draft Hangover

Notables from the NFL draft:

1. Matthew Stafford seemed very relaxed on draft day. It must be nice knowing you are getting millions of dollars of guaranteed money prior to being selected. That’s enough money to forget it is still the Detroit Lions. However, there is upside here – Dante Culpepper has been improving (that is, he has lost nearly 30lbs) and has looked good during workouts. If Culpepper can hold out long enough for Stafford to learn the system, he’s got some nice weapons to throw to (including first rounder Brandon Pettigrew).

2. Picks 4-7 would determine the tone for the rest of the day. All of the drama would take place during this 35-40 minutes. It surely did not dissapoint. Watching the Jets trade up to the 5th pick to take Mark Sanchez was a stunner. Rex Ryan now has a rookie quarterback that can control the offense. Couple that with 3 solid running backs, and vastly improved and explosive defense…sounds a whole lot like the Ravens system.

2(a). Darrius Heyward-Bey. I never have and will never understand the logic of the Oakland Raiders. I think they seriously do things out of spite. I have no problem whatsoever with the selection, but trade out to another team and get an additional 3rd-4th rounder (at least…). I projected Bey going to the (Jets) Browns at 17.

3. The Buccaneers not only drafting Josh Freeman, but trading up to draft Josh Freeman. Surprise move, to say the least. Freeman has raw talent but will need to learn the pro system before he will produce. One must think he has to make the team first, as the Bucs usually have an average of 7 QB’s at the start of training camp…

4. Giants found their potential replacement to Burress with Hakeem Nicks. I really, really like this pick. He looked great in the skills competition and the combine and could be a potential impact player week 1.

5. The drafting of not one, but two centers in the first round. First time that has happened since 1983. That being said, I don’t understand Eric Mangini’s moves, at all. Trading down twice to draft a center in the first round. They easily could have drafted Mack round 2 at the 36th pick, and could have taken the falling Maclin at 17 or 19.

Next week I will analyze the rest of the draft, along with rankings of impact rookies for the forthcoming fantasy football season.