DawgTalkers.net Forums The Archives 2013 NFL Season NFL Draft (2013) ESPN: Day 1 Winners and Losers ......

Well .. as far as they know anyway.

Let's hope they're right though, that we were a winner. LOL

If I had to pick a winner, it would be the Saints. They addressed 2 of their biggest needs with 2 of the top players at their respective positions. Really well done for a team already possessing Super Bowl talent.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/draft2011/columns/story?columnist=clayton_john&id=6445044

NEW YORK -- Day 1 of the NFL draft was full of surprises.

No one figured that four quarterbacks would go in the first round, and the biggest surprise was that Christian Ponder went to the Vikings at No. 12. The Ravens shook up the latter part of the first round by letting their 15 minutes elapse but still coming back and getting cornerback Jimmy Smith of Colorado. The Chiefs made a couple of trades but added a wide receiver, Jonathan Baldwin.

The first round zipped by in three hours and 30 minutes, but there were plenty of winners. Of course, there were losers too.

Losers
1. Roger Goodell: As commissioner, you have to accept the praise. On Thursday night, he had to endure the boos from fans at the draft who aren't happy about the NFL's current labor problems. At the beginning of the draft, Goodell had to go to the podium and politely calm down attending fans who chanted, "We want football!'' At times, the scene was painful. Goodell had to stand by the podium and look like a father trying to quiet kids who were making too much noise in the house. Goodell has been a popular commissioner among fans, but until the labor problems are resolved, he will remain a target for criticism. It goes with the job.

2. Clemson defensive end Da'Quan Bowers and Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett: In a draft that featured a record 12 defensive linemen drafted in the first round, Bowers, once considered to be the best of the group, had to be stunned not to hear his name called. Worries about the long-term health of a surgically repaired knee scared teams off. Down the line, teams must figure he'll need a microfracture surgery. No one expected four quarterbacks to go in the first 12 picks, but Mallett's character and maturity questions left him sitting through the first round. The story going into the second day is whether he will go in the second round. Mallett is a top-15 prospect, but he suffered a huge loss seeing the other quarterbacks go so far ahead of him.

3. The NFC West outside of St. Louis: Listen, we're not debating the values of cornerback Patrick Peterson going to Arizona or linebacker Aldon Smith going to San Francisco. Peterson could be the next Charles Woodson. The 49ers desperately need pass-rushing help. The Seahawks stunned everyone by taking offensive tackle James Carpenter. But the knock on the division is that none of its teams took a quarterback in the first round. I know the 49ers are going to re-sign Alex Smith and the Cardinals might add Marc Bulger. But in a quarterback-driven league, to see three NFC West teams in desperate need of quarterbacks pass on the position is still stunning. At the moment, Sam Bradford of the Rams is the division's only legit starter.

Winners
1. Cleveland Browns: Earlier in the day, Browns quarterback Colt McCoy said that team management was going to get him some offensive help. Alabama wide receiver Julio Jones would have been the perfect choice with the sixth pick in the first round. But sometimes teams can make offers you can't refuse, and that's what Atlanta did. Browns boss Mike Holmgren traded the No. 6 pick (Jones) to Atlanta, dropping down 21 picks in the first round but gaining a second-rounder, a fourth-rounder and two picks next year -- in the first and fourth rounds. Sure, it would have been nice to add a big, fast threat for McCoy and the offense. But the Falcons feel they might be one offensive player from a trip to the Super Bowl, while the Browns have to rebuild an entire roster. The Browns had to take that offer.

2. Jacksonville Jaguars: The Jaguars finally get a break. For years, they were looking for the heir to David Garrard's starting job at quarterback. Thanks in part to the 49ers' not taking a quarterback and the Titans' taking Jake Locker with the eighth pick, the Jaguars accomplished something that they might not have done until the 2012 draft -- they got their quarterback, Blaine Gabbert. Once Gabbert fell to the 10th pick, the Jaguars traded up with the Redskins to get him. The cost was a second-round pick. Had they tried to move up from the second round to get a quarterback, they might have had to sacrifice a first-rounder in 2012. Drafting at No. 16 originally, the Jags weren't in a good spot to get one of the top-rated quarterbacks. Getting Gabbert was like hitting the lottery, particularly in a division that has elite quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Matt Schaub.

3. New Orleans Saints: Face it, the NFC South is turning into an arms race. The Panthers added quarterback Cam Newton. The Falcons got Julio Jones for Matt Ryan. The Bucs' Josh Freeman is considered one of the league's next elite quarterbacks. But the Saints stayed ahead of the curve by drafting a pass-rushing defensive end, Cameron Jordan, and a running back, Mark Ingram. Sure, it cost a first-round pick next year to add Ingram, but this division is becoming more competitive each year. No team in the division is as deep as the Saints for running backs. They have Reggie Bush, Ingram, Chris Ivory and Pierre Thomas. Getting Ingram almost reminds you of the time the Saints took Deuce McAllister when Ricky Williams was on the roster. The Jordan pick was just lucky. The Saints were drafting 24th and got an impact sacker, which was their biggest need.

John Clayton, a recipient of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's McCann Award for distinguished reporting, is a senior writer for ESPN.com.

Saints did good.

So they wrote this before we gave away our 3rd round pick?

Just kidding.

I hope.

Not that it really matters much, but he's got a few details incorrect, Holmgren didn't make that trade, Heckert did and Dimitrof mentioned that they don't feel as if they are "1" player away so that's not why they did the deal.

That according to another article I read on the Chicago trade issue thread

Quote:

---

Losers
1. Roger Goodell:

---

I think Goodell did a fantastic job. He knew it was coming, he had 2 great comments "I want football too" and "I hear ya" - neither in a condecending tone. Had DeSmith been up there, he'd have gotten the same reaction. Can't consider him a "loser" in that regard imho.

Quote:

---

Winners
1. Cleveland Browns

---

It could even end up better. Think about this...if there is no rookie cap this year, the Browns saved about $33m on his contract (about 5m/year) plus got Taylor, a 2nd and a 4th this year, plus a 1st and 4th next year - all for what turned out to be Julio Jones and a 3rd rounder. With the saved money, maybe the Browns go out and get a Santonio Holmes or Sidney Rice in free agency (they'll cost more than the 33m, but the 33m would be a huge dent in either of those salaries).

Ask yourself:
Which would you rather have - Julio Jones and the 3rd rounder or the extra picks, Taylor and the potential to sign an impact free agent? Easy decision.

Don Banks view on the trade (from the Atlanta side, but you can see he likes what the Browns got from it):

Quote:

---

• Speaking of scrutiny, Atlanta gave up a ton-and-a-half of draft currency to move up 21 spots to No. 6 and take Alabama's Jones. And I love it. You need to have some conviction in this draft business, and Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff is in no short supply of either belief in his own judgment or a sense of moxie.

Earlier this month, when I spoke to Dimitroff about this draft, he repeatedly returned to a theme of being willing to take a chance in the first round -- if you think you have identified a difference-maker for your team.

"You cannot be afraid to go for it when you get the chance to make something big happen,'' he said. But I didn't know he meant that big. The Falcons sent five picks to Cleveland for the No. 6 slot: This year's first- (27th overall), second- (59th) and fourth-round (124th) picks, as well as next year's first and fourth. That's not Herschel Walker deal territory, but you can see it from there.

Dimitroff looked at his 13-3 Falcons and deduced their top need was for another impact receiver to pair with All-Pro Roddy White. Atlanta was clearly not going to be able to consistently beat the likes of New Orleans in its division and Green Bay in the NFC unless it could increase its explosiveness on offense. The playoff-opening rout at home against the eventual Super Bowl-champion Packers merely showed Dimitroff how much firepower his team lacked.

Is Jones worth that kind of bounty? The track record of first-round receivers emphatically says no. But if he helps the Falcons maximize the window of Super Bowl opportunity they currently have, at what price that kind of glory? I give Dimitroff credit for going all in, and rolling the dice on a player he believes will help Atlanta reach elite status.



Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/don_banks/04/29/round1.snaps/index.html#ixzz1KvXLCzuI

---

Mostly New York fans; they'd boo their mothers for making their beds.

Looks like the ravens are picking torrey smith, so now it's all up to us. Watch us pick some guy no one has ever heard of....

Greg Little, WR North Carolina

Just clickin,
Will someone look at ALL THE TALENT the Browns passed up to make that trade??You really cannot say we gained anything in the first round because the position we traded down to, he had to LOOSE a pick to move backup!! The first and fourth round pick next year could another first round pick that is again at 25+.

If the browns wanted to move out of the top 10, then it should have fallen to no further than 20th and picked up a player from that team that started. Because when you give up a top 10 pick, you loose a starter!

Yeah, because there has never been a starter picked outside the top ten.

...........and as the dolt earlier said "throw out those 4th rounders anyway"...lol

I just can't wait till the pick we got from the Broncos for Quinn rolls around.

"I wonder what caliber gun Heckert used in that hold up?"

Funny to declare the browns a "winner" because of the extra picks but what did we do with them.
1) we drafted a fat DT with endurance issues and we dumped a fat DT who was a pro bowler..I would say that pick was a push until you consider Carimi a fantastic OT was available. I want to gag. we filled a self created hole with the same type of player, well a younger lesser version.
2) we get a DE with some off field issues, maybe it works out, it was a need
3) we get a WR predicted to be a 5th rounder in the second...boy am I excited.
4) we get a lb/fb and are dumping Vickers, impressive.
5) we get a short cb who gets burned deep
6) a slow free safety
7) a short, slow footed OT
8) and a TE who cannot block
I am underwhelmed. while we were a "winner" on paper, what we did with our picks...
hey, maybe our fat poorly conditioned DT will not be a fat poorly conditioned pro.
maybe a DE with off field issues will become a model citizen.
Maybe a 5th rd wr taken in the 2nd will surprise and be a breakout player
mabe the slow afoot OT will not do a john St. Clair imitation
maybe the slow FB will make us all feel better about dumping Vickers.

I think the trade was great, yet we did little with the picks. i hope I am as wrong
as i was on Peyton Hillis.

Akjoe said we had a crappy draft. You know what that means.

Heckert didn't go with some of the more well known names, but I believe he stuck to his board, and didn't shy away from it. I'm good with all the picks. Dont really care for a FB and TE, but we all know with a new regime, they will give those guys opportunities to prove themselves.. If they are good, then they will help us win ball games.

Your probably right. I hope you are and we got a bunch of Ham Sandwiches

Everyone is entitled to an opinion until they take the field.
1.Would you rather have had us draft a thin dtackle at 250? He's younger and was wanted by at least a few teams. There was a lot of talent available at the time and we took the guy who graded the best (or so we are told). Carimi would have been a great choice. So would about 10 other players. Hopefully Taylor is the force that our defense needs.
2.Would you rather take a pass rusher who *isn't* a tough guy? I didn't know about off the field issues except for 1 bar / campus fight in college. I have gotten into more than that at parties but I don't think I am going to jail anytime soon.
3. We got a wide receiver that many thought would go between the 2nd and early 4th. I know everyone has opinions but I had yet to see a single call for him to go in the fifth. I had actually heard by a few that he could have been a LATE ***** last few picks late **** first rounder if he would have had a solid season this past year ... but it's hard to do that when you don't play.
4. We added a fullback who is a short yardage specialist and can either block, catch, or run the ball. He can help spell Hillis like so many clamored for if we don't count on hardesty. By the way ... he also was an all - pac 10 linebacker, so he might be able to help in other areas if necessary.
5. and 6. .... do you really expect us to pick up starting talent in the 5th and 7th rounds? but ... the corner did run a 4.29 40 ... and SI.com did call him "the fastest man who was at the combine" ... for what it's worth. We need speed and I don't mind seeing it added in the 5th and in the secondary at that.
7. Short? I suppose I can understand the concern ... but is there a difference between Joe Thomas (6'6), Alex Mack (6'4), Eric Steinbach, (6'6), Floyd Womack (6'4), Shawn Lauvao (6'3) and Tony Pashos (6'6) Billy Yates (6'2).... and also Pinkston? He's listed at (6'3) .... I guess I just don't see what an INCH makes ... unless you also believe that Drew Brees (6'0), Brett Favre(6'2) and Colt McCoy (6'1) can't play quarterback because they are too short ...

8. Can't block? I had honestly never heard anything about this so I can't comment on the blocking. No concerns from what I saw or read.... BUT it could be that he needs to work on blocking because he was a pure wide receiver until this past season when he went to tight end. Seems a little similar to Evan Moore. Could be a matchup problem in the works, and he should have great hands and athleticism.

By the way ... we have 9 picks already for next year's draft.

kinda funny how all those guys over at NFL network keep praising our draft. Jason La canfora or however u spell his name said the Browns may have landed the 2nd best receiver in the draft. Damn to think we reached all the way to the 2nd when we could have gotten the 2nd best receiver in the 5th. Butch davis all over again.

Bill Parcells on his draft special said, Phil Taylor (our fat d-lineman at 335lbs.) is the safest pick in the first round. Phil Taylor was heavier than that previously and has lost weight. I probably would have gone in another direction on a lot of picks, especially both in the 4th round and later. I don't like getting another FB while Vickers is in his prime, but maybe the FB we drafted will be a special teamer.

The picks kind of grew on me the more that I read about them. It would have been nice to have Sam Acho or that that Tackle from Indiana. I pray that the GM knows a lot more than we do and actually picked the right players, unlike the previous GMs.

The first rounder next year is great, especially if we are in position to get Luck then.

Go Browns!!!

No Emoticons were injured in the making of this post!

Who we like and don't like simply doesn't matter. It would be nice if we all were head over heels in love with every pick. But that's never gonna happen.

What matters is that Heckert and Shurmur like these guys. Since I trust those two more than any GM/HC combo we've had since '99 I have a good feeling about this Draft.

Let's hope we have a season to see how these guys shape up.

I hate to say this but what if... Jones goes down with an injury?

They have nothing to show for it this year and they give up next years #1. That's not to say that it will be all that high since they got the #27 selection without him being on the team and they could do so again.

It's just a 'what if' scenario.

Better yet, what if Matt Ryan tears his knee up?

Ok, I don't wish injury on people. I just hope Atlanta flops. I'm not looking for us to have a huge year with a tough AFCN. So my guess is probably picking close to the top 10 again. Would love for that second pick in the 1st be around the 20 spot, or around 10 picks after the first. Of course, I wouldn't be upset if Atlanta tanks and we flourish, and their pick is first.

I was only looking at it from the p-o-v of this years draft and what they gave up to get Julio Jones and what could happen.

Man! It would completely suck to be them to have given up so much to get a player to have that player injured and unable to play.

Rob Rang from nfldraftscout gives the Browns an A

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/story/15008443/final-nfl-draft-grades-and-analysis

Cleveland Browns: A

With the bevy of picks acquired in their trade with the Atlanta Falcons' move up for Julio Jones, as well as savvy drafting, the Browns enjoyed as strong a 2011 draft as any team in the NFL. Baylor's Phil Taylor was typecast as strictly a 3-4 nose guard by some, but his success in the Big 12 came as a 4-3 defensive tackle and he'll star in a similar capacity for the Browns. In the second round the Browns added underrated pass rusher Jabaal Sheard and one of the more athletically-gifted receivers in the draft in Greg Little. Little could prove a better value at No. 59 than Jones will prove at No. 6, especially considering what the Falcons gave up for Jones. With four picks in the fourth and fifth rounds, the Browns continued their re-tooling into a more traditional West Coast Offense, adding an athletic tight end in Jordan Cameron, a do-everything fullback in Owen Marecic and a solid interior line prospect in Jason Pinkston