The 1st round was filled with great talent. And still you had teams reach and players fall. There weren’t too many losers in the 1st round, but there was definally some big time winners. I know i said i would break down the rounds as they went, but i was at the Ravens spring football festival, which was awesome and then the Orioles game against Texas. Here i will break down the 1st round, sleepers, value picks, etc. Here we go.

The sleepers- Detroit TE Brandon Pettigrew- I know some people thought they would take a LB here at #20, but Pettigrew is a great recieving TE to go with an already good WR core that Detroit has built in the offseason. Pettigrew has great hands and runs good routes, he also creates seperation from LB’s.   My second sleeper is Baltimore OT Michael Oher. Even though it wasnt Baltimore’s biggest need, they always take the best overall player availiable, and that was Oher at #23. Oher has great stregnth, good feet and is very versitale, as he can play both tackle positions. This gives the Ravens a great, young OT to match with Jared Gaither for the future.

The reaches- Oakland WR Darrius Heyward-Bey. This hurts to put him in this catagory as a Terp fan and a huge DHB fan, but when Oakland has Michael Crabtree fall right into their lap, and they didnt take him just because they didnt have a timed 40! c’mon now, Oakland. San Fran is thanking you right now. Heyward-bey is a great WR prospect who is fast,strong, has great hands and is a big play threat, but his inconsistency at times was the main concern for Darrius. He is the WR of the future for Oakland and the automatic #1 target for good QB Jamarcus Russell, but the question is, can he stay consistent enough for that offense to be succesfull. He is the typical boom-or-bust pick. My second reach is the Colts at #27 with Uconn RB Donald Brown. He is a great Running Back, but he was definally not the best availiable at the spot. They, like Oakland had a great RB fall right to them in Chris Wells, but they passed on him. And the head scrather is they took a Joseph Addai clone, its not a bad thing, but most NFL teams are switching to the fast back-bruiser combo, and thats what Wells is and they needed that.

The fallers- SF WR Michael Crabtree. I cant believe Crabtree fell this far to #10. He was undisputedly the #1 reciever in the draft and he fell at least 6 slots from where he was projected to go.  He is a WR that runs great routes and has great hands, and he is a game changer as well. San Fran got the great #1 reciever to help out Shaun Hill, as he probably is the starter in 2009( another MD alum).This was definally the easiet pick in the draft, just with Crabtrees natural talent alone. my second faller is Arizona RB Chris ”Beanie” Wells. Wells was a great back for OSU for 3 years, putting up great numbers. He is a big back that has decent speed and has great vision and can break tackles and run people over. Arizona definally got their feature RB, and this probably means the end for Edgerrin James. The only downfall is Wells durability.  He should be a great back.

the expected- Detroit QB Matt Stafford. He was the undisputed #1 pick in my mind. He has a great arm and is accuarte, and most importantly for Detroit, is a natural born leader. Detroit definally got their franchise QB, something they have been looking for a long time. And this should make Calvin Johnson’s production go up in 2010( scary, huh?), the year i say Stafford starts, his 2nd yea0r, theres no harm in letting him carry a clipboard and adjust under Culpepper for a year. A lot better that throwing him to the wolves. My second expected pick was Tampa Bay QB Josh Freeman. Freeman is your typical boom-or-bust type pick. He can be great like Phllip Rivers or a bust like Tim Couch. He does have greay leadership skills and a great arm, but he is very raw and will take about 2 or 3 years to be ready. It looks like Byron Leftwich is the short term solution.

the winners of round 1- Detroit, San Francisco, Jets, Broncos, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Arizona, Green Bay

the losers of round 1- Oakland, Houston, San Diego, Colts

Thats it for now, check back soon for round 2