Thoughts on Draft Day #1 … Friday Cup O’Chiefs
From the Truman Sports Complex
So much to cover in what was a wild and wooly first round of the NFL Draft; here are random thoughts galore on what went down Thursday night.
CELEBRATING CHIEFS DECISION TO PASS ON OKUNG
It was a big day for the new GM-coach combo with Seattle in John Schneider and Pete Carroll.
And it started out very good for the Seahawks thanks to the Chiefs decision to pass on OT Russell Okung (left) at the fifth slot, drafting instead Tennessee safety Eric Berry.
The Seattle draft room watched the Chiefs move with some anxiety, especially offensive line coach Alex Gibbs, who definitely wanted to put Okung in a Seahawks uniform.
“I was scared to death because I know the line coach there (Chiefs OL coach Bill Muir) very well and he wanted this kid as bad, or worse, than I did,” Gibbs told the Tacoma News-Tribune. “And he didn’t get him. So we quickly texted him and said, ‘Ha, ha,’ and all that good stuff. We’re all in the same community and we all think together so that’s kind of the way it is.”
Seattle has to go down as the gold medal winner in the first round, getting Okung and then adding Texas safety Earl Thomas with the 14th pick. Okung was considered the best offensive lineman in the Class of ‘10, while Thomas was thought by some to be the equal if not better than Berry as a safety. Carroll also went for Thomas rather than his former Southern Cal safety Taylor Mays.
For a team that struggled last year, it was a nice double for Carroll to begin the rebuilding process.
Kudos to the Lions as well, getting the big man Ndamukong Suh, and then trading back into the bottom of the round to pick up RB Jahvid Best out of California.
BRADFORD IS GOING TO CRACK $50 MILLION
The first pick went down as expected as the Rams did something they should have done many, many times over the years – they went for a quarterback in the first round. This time, it just happened to be the first pick of the draft in Sam Bradford.
Representing Bradford in contract negotiations will be former Chiefs guard and uber agent Tom Condon. If I know Condon, there’s one figure on his mind – $50 million in guaranteed dollars for Bradford.
Two years ago, Condon got the first quarterback taken in the ‘08 Draft, Matt Ryan a six-year deal with $34.7 million in guaranteed money. Last year, Condon represented Matt Stafford, the first choice in the ‘09 Draft. He inked a six-year deal with the Lions for $42 million guaranteed dollars.
The progression figures to push Bradford to a six-year deal with $50 million guaranteed.
FOR SOME PERSPECTIVE
Ran into Len Dawson Thursday night at the Chiefs and when he was selected in the first round of the 1957 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers he got a $2,000 signing bonus. That was the only guaranteed money in his deal.
WHERE THE WIND COMES SWEEPIN’ DOWN THE PLAINS
Would somebody explain to me how come Oklahoma wasn’t able to compete for the national championship in 2009? Three of the first four players selected in the NFL Draft were Sooners: Bradford, DT Gerald McCoy and OT Trent Williams.
Obviously Bradford’s shoulder injury was the key moment in the season for Bob Stoops and his club. But what talent OU had and it couldn’t produce a title. Also going in the first round from the Sooners was TE Jermaine Greshman, selected by Cincinnati. CB Dominque Franks should hear his name called Friday in the second round.
Certainly it was a big night for the Big 12, as the conference had the first four players selected and nine overall in the first-round. The SEC was next with six, followed by the ACC with four and then the Big East and Big 10 with three each.
JUMPIN’ JOSH FLASH IS A GAS, GAS, GAS
The Denver Broncos were busy beavers in the first round. By the time the smoke cleared they had replaced their traded away passing duo of ‘08 (Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall) with WR Demaryius Thomas and QB Tim Tebow (left).
To get that done Broncos coach Josh McDaniels had his hands on six different first round picks at some point. Denver held No. 11-13-14-22-24-25. McDaniels ended up using No. 22 and 25 to get Thomas and Tebow.
Overall, there were 15 different trades of 11 first-round picks, but no deals involving choices No. 1 through 10.
MOVING ON UP TO THE EAST SIDE
The trade activity in the first round came down to teams spiking in on specific players. San Francisco saw the top offensive tackles go in the top 10, so they moved up to No. 11 from No. 14 so they could get Rutgers OT Anthony Davis.
Looking for a replacement for LaDainian Tomlinson, the Chargers jumped all the way from No. 28 to No. 12 in a deal with Miami so they could get RB Ryan Mathews out of Fresno State. Philadelphia was very intent on moving up in the first round to get defensive help and they went from No. 24 to No. 13 so they could grab DE Brandon Graham.
Denver made moves to get both of their guys, as did Dallas, who went from 27 to 24 so they could draft WR Dez Bryant.
It’s enough to make your head spin and spin and spin. There were seven trades Thursday night and they involved 24 total draft picks in all seven rounds.
WHAT HAS SUDDENLY GOTTEN INTO THE RAIDERS?
Look out Chiefs fans … it suddenly seems like the Oakland Raiders have begun to do business like a real NFL team.
First, they were not very active in free agency, as they didn’t throw money at their problems. Second, they apparently for the first time had a list of players that they would not draft because of character concerns.
And then with the eighth pick in the first-round they didn’t go for some workout freak, or some track star that can run fast but not play a lick. They went out and drafted Alabama LB Rolando McClain (getting hugs from Mom.) That’s a solid addition for the Silver and Black.
SURPRISE, SURPRISE, SURPRISE
The biggest “who he” was No. 10 choice Tyson Alualu out of the University of California, who went to Jacksonville a good 32 slots ahead of where most observers thought he would land. It wasn’t necessarily a bad choice, but it was surprising.
That Mizzou LB Sean Weatherspoon went as high as No. 19 to Atlanta was a bit of an upset. The Chargers grabbing Mathews at No. 12 was certainly a choice that was out of synch to pre-draft predictions.
But nothing tops Tebow and his selection at No. 25 by Denver.
PERSONNEL FILE FOR THURSDAY, APRIL 22
First-round trades
San Francisco gets pick No. 11 from Denver for pick No. 13 and pick No. 113 in the fourth round.
San Diego gets pick No. 12, pick No. 110 in the fourth round and pick No. 173 in the sixth round from Miami for pick No. 28, pick No. 40 in the second round and pick No. 126 in the fourth round, along with LB Tim Dobbins.
Philadelphia gets pick No. 13 from Denver for pick No. 24, picks No. 70 and 87 in the third round.
Denver gets pick No. 22 from New England for pick No. 24 and pick No. 113 in the fourth round.
Dallas gets pick No. 24 and pick No. 119 in the fourth round from New England for pick No. 27 and pick No. 90 in the third round.
Denver gets pick No. 25 and pick No. 119 in the fourth round from Baltimore for pick No. 43 in the second round, pick No. 70 in the third round and pick No. 114 in the fourth round.
Detroit gets pick No. 30 and pick No. 128 in the fourth round from Minnesota for pick no. 34 in the second round, pick No. 100 in the fourth round and pick No. 214 in the seventh round.
Great start to the draft. It sounds like we got a player who’s not only an outstanding talent but also a tremendous person with the “right stuff” as well. Go Chiefs!
Would like our next pick to be either a WR, Tate or Shipley, and DT, Cody or who else. Or LB and Center. Or any combination although center is a long shot. Hope we stay away from TEs or LSU guys for a couple of rounds.
I say, the Chiefs should just keep taking the best player on their board, LSU or otherwise.
I think Clausen could be next .
Someone has to let go of that ball quicker , and that hitting on the run is not a joke . Time to quit jacking around !
I’m very happy with Berry as our first pick. I think he’ll be a really good player for us for a long time…and eventually a leader on this team.
I’m with el cid…I’d like to see Tate, Shipley, Cody, maybe Walton at Center. Also agree we don’t need a TE. These next picks are big. Here’s hoping we get some guys that can come in and play right away.
Just a few thoughts…
Congratulations to Jacksonville for making the first “wtf” pick this year. Thank God it wasn’t us again.
I wonder how hard Charlie Weis is trying to talk Pioli into taking Clausen with our first second-round pick? I hope Pioli isn’t listening.
Tebow to the Donks? Wow. Who saw that one coming? I actually like the kid, and have been pulling for him to do well…just to prove everyone wrong. I may have to re-think that now.
And good luck to Sean Weatherspoon down in Atlanta. I like this guy…and I think he’s going to be a really good player in the NFL.
I am hoping for either Cody or Kindle at 36 and then Tate or Asamoah at 50. I would be happy with any of those.
I like the pick. With that being said I think Berry is going to be in the box making tackles all year unless something spectacular happens. Our defense is still awful. Two straight games of 250 yards allowed on the ground, and mainly up the middle of our defense is still a huge problem. I won’t be negative because I think this was a good pick. Until we have a decent pass rush and can stop the run we are still going to be getting pounded on defense, and Berry will be getting a shoulder work out. I Forget Clausen, that is a luxury /best player available we can’t afford to take. I say we need to get a NT, and offensive lineman that can contribute this year, and we need to do it tonight. I really feel we are going in the right direction. I think our secondary is set for now, now our front 7 needs a major lift.
I love the Berry pick. I would like to see perhaps Cody or Kindle with our first 2nd rounder. However, Kindle may be gone. With the later pick I would like Shipley or perhaps Tate. I like having two 2nd rounders in a deep draft. We also have the extra 5th rounders to move up if we desire.
There are so many good players left it is hard to imagine what the Chiefs board looks like at this point. Berry is a great person and he may or may not be a great NFL Safety. But I can’t believe that Pioli passed on Okung. I thought there might be a possibility that Pioli would make a trade back into the first round to get Buloga but the price was probably too high. I hope that we can still get a decent OL and WR in the second round or third round. Who do you go with if Tate and Kindle are both sitting there at #36?
Seahawks, 49ers, Lions, and Broncos had a great first day draft. Maybe it was Josh McDaniels input that made the Patriots such good drafters in the past.
Is it me or did Tom Jackson during the draft on ESPN just about loose it when the Donkeys drafted Tim Tebow. He clearly was upset about the pick was looking like it was the end of the world. If it wasn’t for self control i’m sure his comments would be headlines this morning.
I noticed the same thing WattzUp. Jackson looked like he had to spit out something nasty in his mouth.
I really enjoyed last nights draft. As Bob pointed out there was both drama & surprises. I fully expect the Chiefs to be trading alot of picks tonight.
Now on to Rounds 2 & 3. I want a NT, LB & WR in that order. OL in the 4th or 5th. Maybe a late Round. QB
Go Chiefs.
As a Sooner, I’d like to point out that Jermaine Greshman missed the entire 2009 season due to injury. The Sooners had much of the top talent in the NCAA sitting in the trainers room most of the season, which is why they weren’t in the national title picture.
True Red & Gold says,
“Seahawks, 49ers, Lions, and Broncos had a great first day draft. Maybe it was Josh McDaniels input that made the Patriots such good drafters in the past”,
I know we dont know how the players will turn out in the NFL, but i thot the donkeys took the place of the raiders this year????
You pick the so called 4th best qb 2nd and pass on the best rec in bryant???
like I said, they could end up a genius, but initially I think the donkeys picks were a joke!!!
Do you think Pioli/Weiss/Crennel/Haley got any sleep last night?…..Doubt it. These guys are workaholics and I like it. They WILL rebuild the Chiefs back into a Super Bowl caliber team. GO CHIEFS!!!!
Wattz Up and Jimbo.
I noticed the same thing, and I was thinking the same thing as he was.
I have a buddy and a family member both donkey fans, I just turned and laughed at them when they picked Tebow, and they almost blew up at the tv. My brother in-law said he may convert over to a chiefs fan because of there 1st 2 picks, he HATES Tebow, now he is their qb,!! HA! but I told him we didnt want his donkey loving but anyway!!
Did you guys know the Chiefs passed up on four trade down potentials that’s including the Jags picks to get Berry.
I hope it was worth it as deep as the second round is this year. I like Berry and am not upset because he isn’t a reach.
Bruce Campbell, Sergio Kindle, Roger Saffold, Terrance Cody, Charles Brown, Jon Osomuagh Daryl Washington, These guys will be gone by the time we pick at 50.
So who do we get at 36? I like Cody but Linval Joseph will be down there.
Sergio Kindle should have been an OLB that was in the first round of any other draft except this years. Probably a ten sack guy. But Ricky Sapp could be down there at 50 or maybe in the 3rd.
Saffold would sure up the right side of the line nicely right away. As would Campbell.
Jon Osomuagh would replace the aging Waters if not this year then next.
Darryl Washington has the versatility and the speed to play inside and outside line backer but Spikes or Lee will probably be down there in the 3rd.
I am really perplexed I hope the Chiefs have themselves a stud ready to play guy with the next pick I sure am glad I am not in there shoes right now.
Shocker pick: Taylor Mays. You want to talk about one heck of a secondary. Too many other needs I say but if they picked any of those guys it doesn’t hurt my feelings.
My hope is that Albert comes along at LT-we passed on the best Left Tackle in the draft for Berry, Berry better be all he is cracked up to be. Not a bad pick, but O’Kung was the right pick. Time will tell. A linebacker or NT has to be next or the Safety pick means zip. Our nexy best pick if not Tate will have to be Blair White or Jordan Shipley, Sean Lee would be interesting
Problem with Clausen, “supposedly” immature in attitude, has skills and may be a future star but only if he matures. Do not know if he is worth even a 2nd round pick?
Just heard good stuff about a WR Binn. He can be a return man also. Maybe Tate and Binn in the second but then we would have to trade Bowe…..so…..I am just dreaming.
Hey, Mad Chief, Berry is the first of my 4 rookie starters. Just need 3 more.
Jimmy Claussen. Lobbying by Charlie Weis?…..NAAAAH
It’s another smoke screen by our guys…. How in Hell can Jimmy Claussen make any sense for us at 36, when we could have some of these guys to strengthen positions of need: Tate, Cody, Lee, Joseph, Troup, Shipley, a center, a tight end…
Saffold and his versatility would welcome too. He can play just about any position up front
el cid says:
“Hey, Mad Chief, Berry is the first of my 4 rookie starters. Just need 3 more.”
Yes indeed. Hopefully by the time I go to bed tonight, we’ll have those other three. Or, at least two. Possibly one tomorrow.
Totally agree with you on Clausen, btw. Skills…yes. Questionable maturity level and leadership abilities? Pass.
I will laugh my butt off if Tebow is the next John Elway. I love this guy and as much as I don’t like the donkeys I will be rooting for Tebow.
It’s hard to tell really who is the better players until they play in the NFL. Tebow 4th best? really how do you know that, just like Tom Brady was only the 50th best QB when he was drafted, now he is the 1st or 2nd best, so really it doesn’t matter what they rank them at until they finally play. It’s crazy, even the safety from Texas some scouts believed he is equal or better then Berry?? I wouldn’t know though, I dont follow college..
Tebow was a ballsy pick by McDaniels, no doubt. But, he just might make it. McDaniels may end up looking like a genius.
But…I’d take a guy like that, with some mechanics issues. That can be coached and developed. He has the leadership abilities and maturity level. He has the “drive” and determination. Those things you can’t coach. You either have it, or you don’t.
That’s why I don’t want Clausen.
Denver has Orton, Quinn, and Tebow, seems like a conflict just waiting to happen. Oakland got a good player in McClain. The Chiefs draft will be defined by today even with additional picks tomorrow. These kid picked today will let us peek into the front office. Will there be more money dumped into DL? Will Albert be a bust at LT and have to move? Is it time for Waters to move over or on? Do we get the help we need at LB? With all the TEs on the roster will we need another “answer” there? Can we trade anyone who does not fit? Today will tell the tale.
Good pick not the right pick.
True Red & Gold,
If you are going to be rooting for Tebow in a Donkeys uniform, we will have to change your name to just Red & Gold, not “True” Red & Gold!!! ha
just kidding
Finally a playmaker!!!! Hats off 2 u Pioli great job…now we should take a chance at 36 and grab Sean Lee who is a stud or maybe even give Clausen a look. We can probably get Cody at 50, I believe his weight problems are shying away teams.
I don’t think Cody will last until 50 with the 3-4 being the defense of choice recently. Good nose tackles are hard to come by.
Thanks gorillafan,:) it is a conflict of interest I know
Gary you summed up how I feel about our 1st pick. I felt exactly the same way last year when we passed on the LTs. It just seems like we keep making 1st round picks on D and our D isn’t getting much better. Hopefully Berry will get us over the hump.
Hey I bet Jimmy Clausen may just go and ride the pine out in Minnesota for a year under one of the best quarterbacks to ever lace them up. Then with his anger of everyone doubting him he will just light the NFL up with Percy Harvin Adrian Peterson Sidney Rice and company.
I don’t like Jimmy Clausen as a Chief but would not be surprised if we grabbed him.
I really like Benn but I think Tampa is going to swipe him up for Josh Freeman.
St. Louis sent Adam Carriker packing to the skins so I bet they grab Brian Price.
I don’t know what a cat bird seat is but the Chiefs have a lot of good players to choose from. I wonder who they think fits as a need and quality I cant wait till tonight and Bobs coverage tomorrow.
Injury concerns for Kindle which helps explain his fall out of the 1st round. Someone will take a flyer on him in the 2d round if their own medical analysis can be rationalized enough.
Meantime, the Chiefs had private workouts/in-depth interviews with these likely suspects for 2d round consideration:
NT Cody of’Bama, CB Thompson of Cal, CB Cox of OkState, S Nate Allen of So.Fla, S Taylor Mays of USC, CB Chris Cook of UVA, CB Brandon Ghee of Wake Forest, OT Saffold of IU & OLB Gibson of Ohio State.
In other words, the Chief’s staff has more than passing information on all the above guys and if enhanced information is translated to KEEN interest then your picks #36 and #50 could quite possibly come from the above list.
If I had to narrow it down to just a few names, based on what I’ve heard, read and viewed, my short list would be:
NT Cody
OT Saffold
CB Cook
By the way, not for nothing, the Chiefs also had private workout and spent time with Eric Berry as well.
Danny, do you have any links backing up that the Chiefs had 4 offers? Nothing like that has come from Arrowhead (not quoted by Bob or kcchiefs.com) and it certainly isn’t like the Chiefs anymore to make that information public. So I’m just wondering where your information is coming from because Pioli was quoted as saying something like “our store was open for business and we had a lot of people just walking by”.
Jerry, for what its worth, Albert only gave up one sack his rookie year (9 last year). New coaches, new system last year, so what makes you think he’s the player we saw the first year and not the second?
I believe Brian Waters when he says Albert is a left tackle, and am very glad we chose Berry instead of Okung.
WE might have had 4 offers, but werent good enough to trade, anymore can make an offer…..
As for Okung, we have a left tackle. how do you know albert or okung can play the right side effectively??? we also have a left guard, proven center, we are way ahead starting this year with just wiegmann on the roster than we were last year. YES, we must draft a good o-liineman or 2, but we didnt HAVE to do it with our 1st pick. I like where we are right now
As the time is drawing closer…I’m getting a seriously bad feeling that the Chiefs are going to make a “WTF? pick” tonight. Like picking Clausen…or something of that nature. I hope I’m wrong.
Cannot see that. Pioli, if anything, is not much of a chance taker. The Berry pick wasn not safe like last year’s Jackson but not a reach or out in left field.
I expect a trade for picks if possible, or more likely, kid who fill positions as opposed to the best athlete and let him play. One OL, one DL, one LB of some sort, and WR. Hopefully staying away from QB, TE, RB (to early, maybe Sat), and of course no punters or kickers (let them be free agents for training camp).
i would hope the chiefs would grab a LB or two, there really aren’t that many on this team that does much other then DJ when he played last year, hopefully a year of sitting the bench will light a fire under his ass and he’ll get back on to the field, we’ll see. Also Tamba is a good one, but I still think of him as a DE…
I think that Alberts is a LT, he went through a Blocking scheme change last year, it’s not the easiest thing to pick up and be perfect at, but he did play alot better at the end of the year when it looked like he finally grabbed the scheme…
McCluster picked, seems a little light but may answer the returner we have not had since Vanover.
Cid…didn’t we have some guy named Hall?