Draft Thoughts and Surprises

Even though I was invested in the Bucs draft class, that doesn’t mean I can’t pay attention to the rest of the draft. I watched a lot of college football last year, and I got familiar with many players. Here are my thoughts on the draft.

• It surprises me that the second QB taken was Joe Flacco. From the start people were hailing Brian Brohm as the second overall QB in the draft.
• Brian Brohm and Chad Henne, two of the top quarterbacks, fell far in this draft.
• No faith in Aaron Rodgers? The Packers not only picked up Brian Brohm, but they also nabbed Matt Flynn. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
• I hate that Chad Henne fell as far as he did. I also hate that he wound up with the Dolphins. I only hope that he can be the face of that franchise and turn them around.
• For somebody that won two Rose Bowls and led the elite USC team, John David Booty fell far in the draft as well. I hate that for him, but I hope he does well with the Vikings.
• Colt Brennan also fell far, which is unwarranted. I wish he could have wound up with a better team, but maybe he will take the starting reins away from Jason Campbell, and lead the Redskins.
• Rashard Mendenhall, one of the top running backs in the draft, fell to the 23rd spot, to a Pittsburgh team that isn’t hurting for a running back. I hope they can utilize him effectively.
• Chris Johnson, the running back from East Carolina, was selected in the first round, over several, if not better candidates. This was a surprise.
• Mike Hart should have never fallen as far as he did. He was picked 202nd in the draft, in the 6th round. With all the waiting, he at least wound up with a very good Indianapolis team.
• The Cincinnati Bengals grabbed Jerome Simpson, a wide receiver out of Coastal Carolina, when three of the top wide receivers were still available. Truly a questionable move.
• I hope to see Tom Zbikowski shine in the NFL. Too bad he wound up with Baltimore, but they usually are pretty good defensively.
• This is the feel good story of the draft. Caleb Campbell played for Army, and was good enough to be draft eligible. If he wasn’t selected by a team, he would more than likely be shipped overseas. If he was picked, he would get to play in the NFL, and not have to worry about shipping out. It took until the 7th round, pick 218, but Campbell was finally selected by the Detroit Lions. Kudos to the Lions for selecting him. His getting chosen or not could literally have meant life or death. I wish him the best. I hope that he becomes a house-hold name in the league.
• Remember the guy from Appalachian State who blocked the Michigan field goal that secured an App. St. win? That guy is Corey Lynch, and he was selected 177th overall by the Bengals. Good luck to him. 
• You know the linebacker that plays for the Bucs by the name of Barrett Ruud? Well, his younger brother Bo was drafted this year. He was drafted in the 6th round, unfortunately by the Patriots.
• J Leman (LB, Illinois), Paul Smith (QB, Tulsa), Davone Bess (WR, Hawaii), Ryan Grice-Mullen (WR, Hawaii), and Danny Woodhead (RB, Chadron State) went undrafted. All five are very good, capable players, who went home without a team. I hope they can find their way into the NFL and put every team to shame that didn’t draft them.

Yes, it was a very interesting draft to say the least. I hope the players who didn’t find homes can get on a team. I wish luck to all the Bucs draft picks, but also to several others who were mentioned above.