PETER KING FROM SI-"THE FIRST ROUNDS GOOD,BAD, AND UGLY

[Bretsky]

The first round's good, bad and ugly

Dolphins mystify, while Bengals, Browns do very well
Posted: Saturday April 28, 2007 6:49PM; Updated: Saturday April 28, 2007 7:53PM


DETROIT -- Quickie review of the first round:

WEIRDEST PICK: Wideout/return man Ted Ginn Jr., No. 9 by Miami. I don't understand how the Dolphins try to upgrade on Wes Welker when there's a strong quarterback prospect, Brady Quinn, sitting there.

BEST VALUE PICK: Cornerback Leon Hall, No. 18 by Cincinnati. He's not the best cornerback anyone's ever seen, but he's the Eagle Scout type the Bengals had to have and he was the best corner on many teams' boards.

BEST EXAMPLE OF AN OWNER LEARNING HOW TO OWN: Washington's Dan Snyder refusing to mortgage the future and trade every pick of value in 2008, which is what he'd have had to do to get Calvin Johnson from the Lions. Smart. And LaRon Landry was the top defensive player on Washington's draft board.

THE "THEY'D BETTER KNOW WHAT THEY'RE DOING" PICK: The Patriots usually do, so you've got to look at the selection of the most troubled player in the first round, Miami safety Brandon Meriweather, and think they can keep him on the right path. "I'm not a thug,'' Meriweather said last week. "I'm not a bad guy.'' He fired three shots at an assailant last summer, then was a key stomper in that brutal Miami-Florida International brawl last fall.

PICK I LIKED THE MOST: Brady Quinn, No. 22 by the Browns, who had the guts to go get a guy they thought was the fourth or fifth player on their board -- trading their first-rounder in 2008 in the process. Risky, yes. But if you truly think you've got a quarterback of the future, and can get him for a relative song, you do it.

PICK I LIKED THE LEAST: Justin Harrell, No. 16, by Green Bay. Receiver, Green Bay. You need a receiver. Or two. Hope there's one you like left in round two. Or Randy Moss.

Five Things I Think I Think After Round One
1. I think I love the Cleveland-Dallas trade for the Cowboys too. As you'll learn in the next Monday Morning Quarterback, Dallas had a big victory here.

2. I think I spoke too soon this afternoon about the quickness of the first round. Six hours, eight minutes. Ugggggh. The longest in draft history.

3. I think Mike Martz is still doing backflips over getting Calvin Johnson on his team, right here in Detroit, just upstairs from where I'm watching the draft.

4. I think the Patriots did well getting a first-rounder from San Francisco in 2008 for the 28th overall pick this year. Really well. This was a first-round-poor draft. And next year, the Pats will have a higher pick, most likely.

5. I think I'd like to know what in the world happened to Alan Branch ... 33rd overall. Sheesh. While the world was focused on Quinn, Branch sank like a stone.

[Bretsky]

On a sidenote, the one thing writers assume, as King did, is teams should find a way to fill their deepest needs. They ignore the BPA belief when writing these articles.

Some of us are on one extreme or the other on this belief; I lie somewhere in the middle.

[BooHoo]

It is interesting to hear both announcers and team officials talk about "team needs" and "best player available" all in the same breathe. What gives? Is this all just double talk or what??????

[retailguy]

It is interesting to hear both announcers and team officials talk about "team needs" and "best player available" all in the same breathe. What gives? Is this all just double talk or what??????

It's all double talk. ALL OF IT. No one knows....except those who think they know. and even they don't know, what they don't know.

[falco]

It is interesting to hear both announcers and team officials talk about "team needs" and "best player available" all in the same breathe. What gives? Is this all just double talk or what??????

It's all double talk. ALL OF IT. No one knows....except those who think they know. and even they don't know, what they don't know.

unless you are a giant glass of kool aide. then you know everything.

[red]

well, to me this pick didn't even come close to filling a big need

and i don't see how the hell he was the BPA

[retailguy]

well, to me this pick didn't even come close to filling a big need

and i don't see how the hell he was the BPA

BPA is kind of subjective when you think about it.... Welcome back Red. We've missed you...

Justin Harrell is clearly a better player on paper than, um, say Brady Quinn. But he did fill a bigger need than Brady Quinn, for this year anyhow.

[BooHoo]

I get confused when listening to other teams when talking about their picks. This guy filled this need, this other guy filled that need. etc. So most teams don't select by BPA but by need?????

[Bretsky]

well, to me this pick didn't even come close to filling a big need

and i don't see how the hell he was the BPA

Brady Quinn was probably the BPA on most draft boards at 16 if you throw need out the window

[Bretsky]

well, to me this pick didn't even come close to filling a big need

and i don't see how the hell he was the BPA

Welcome back Red

As you recall I was in love with Meachem, but regardless I felt TT should trade down and pick up a 2nd and draft Bowe or Meacham.

As it turned out Denver wanted to move up and they did right behind us; we could have had Meachem with their pick along with an extra high pick....which was my vision if it worked.

I just hope he's a pro bowler because at that pick we really don't need another guy equivalent to what we have in Corey Williams.

[oregonpackfan]

This quote of "PICK I LIKED THE LEAST: Justin Harrell, No. 16, by Green Bay. Receiver, Green Bay. You need a receiver. Or two. Hope there's one you like left in round two. Or Randy Moss." is most interesting.

He is right that the Packers need a receiver(you know how I feel about Randy Moss) but does not given an opinion of what he things about Harrell.

It seems King is of the "Draft according to needs" kind of guy.

[Bretsky]

This quote of "PICK I LIKED THE LEAST: Justin Harrell, No. 16, by Green Bay. Receiver, Green Bay. You need a receiver. Or two. Hope there's one you like left in round two. Or Randy Moss." is most interesting.

He is right that the Packers need a receiver(you know how I feel about Randy Moss) but does not given an opinion of what he things about Harrell.

It seems King is of the "Draft according to needs" kind of guy.

Had TT traded up to get a top tier receiver such as Jarrett or Sydney Rice in round two I think a lot of us would feel much much much better about taking a player at a positive on strength in round one.

[retailguy]

Had TT traded up to get a top tier receiver such as Jarrett or Sydney Rice in round two I think a lot of us would feel much much much better about taking a player at a positive on strength in round one.

Bretsky,

This is the problem with the draft. You get 7 choices, unless you trade down 40 times, then you get a bit more. But not enough to fill every hole, and not enough to draft all needs you have.

Kind of like buying a car on the internet... You get what you get. Then you need to fill in the gaps, and until this year, I didn't know you do that through summer cuts... Learn something new every day!

[wist43]

Again, you have to build a team, and I firmly believe that there were potential pro bowl calibur players at positions of need still on the board at 16.

TT seems to think that BPA will build him a team... it's much more likely to get him a collection of good players, constant turnover, and no cohesive plan for actually getting to the point where the roster is flush, or at least flush enough, across the board to win a championship.

How can he "plan" to build, if his plan is predicated upon luck of the draw??? Do any of you really doubt that TT would, in a blink, draft another DT in the 1st round next year if a DT is his BPA???

I can see a future under TT where we draft good players, but the roster always has holes b/c TT won't work the system to ensure that he is getting good players to fill needs.

[Bretsky]

Again, you have to build a team, and I firmly believe that there were potential pro bowl calibur players at positions of need still on the board at 16.

TT seems to think that BPA will build him a team... it's much more likely to get him a collection of good players, constant turnover, and no cohesive plan for actually getting to the point where the roster is flush, or at least flush enough, across the board to win a championship.

How can he "plan" to build, if his plan is predicated upon luck of the draw??? Do any of you really doubt that TT would, in a blink, draft another DT in the 1st round next year if a DT is his BPA???

I can see a future under TT where we draft good players, but the roster always has holes b/c TT won't work the system to ensure that he is getting good players to fill needs.

Yup