Best and worst of first day

[cubuffsman78]

Top 5 first days
1. New England Patriots
Picks - 34. Oregon SS Patrick Chung, 40. Boston College DT Ron Brace, 41. UConn CB Darius Butler, 58. Houston OT Sebastian Vollmer.
The Patriots owned the draft in the second round with four picks. Their first three selections were fantastic, too. First, they grab Chung who was one of the most underrated players in the draft. He's a big time difference maker in the secondary. Then, with back-to-back picks, they nab Brace and Butler. Brace is their future at NT, while Butler can step in and play immediately as at least a nickel corner, if not start. Vollmer might have been a reach, but he's a versatile lineman, who Bill Belichick will get a lot out of. Anyone else tired of the Pats rocking in the draft? This is why they are the best franchise in the NFL.

2. New York Giants
Picks - 29. North Carolina WR Hakeem Nicks, 45. Virginia LB Clint Sintim, 60. UConn OT William Beatty.
Beatty might have been the steal of the second round. He's an athletic OL and could be a LT in the league for 10 years. I liked him more than Eugene Monroe, who was taken eighth overall by Jacksonville. The Giants simply did a great job of not reaching, but still filling their three biggest needs beautifully. Sintim isn't a great pass rusher, but he's exactly the type of LB the Giants value. He will have success getting into backfields in the NFL on blitzes because of the other pass rushing threats owned by the G-Men. Nicks has the best hands in the draft and the Giants are better served taking him than trading for Braylon Edwards, who has some of the worst hands in the NFL.

3. Philadelphia Eagles
Picks - 19. Missouri WR Jeremy Maclin, 53. Pitt RB LeSean McCoy.
Speed kills and the Eagles just acquired a lot of it. In the draft commentary, I compared the speed owned by Philly to what was at the University of Florida this past season. Maclin will line up opposite DeSean Jackson, who is one of the fastest WRs in the league. I think Maclin is a better underneath route runner and will complement him well. Then, the Eagles add McCoy, who is a younger version of Brian Westbrook. He's perfect for the system ran in Philly. It's frightening to think of how fast this team can be. They need to adopt the spread offense New England has begun using.

4. Washington Redskins
Picks - 13. Texas DE Brian Orakpo.
Only one pick here, but it didn't take the 'Skins long to submit this one. They let 15-20 seconds elapse from the clock and that's only because it took that long to call their representative in New York, who then had to walk up to the podium to turn in the card. It seemed like record time for a pick. Washington's biggest need for three seasons has been finding a pass rusher who can line up opposite Andre Carter. Mission accomplished. Orakpo is the best DE in this draft and an elite pass rusher. As a Cowboys fan, I just ranked Dallas' three division opponents in the top five. Not a good thing. Dallas has 12 second day picks. Hopefully, the 'Boys can make up some ground. As for Orakpo against Dallas, his presence means about 25 more false starts for Flozell Adams next season. Wonderful.

5. San Francisco 49ers
Picks - 10. Texas Tech WR Michael Crabtree
Again only one pick, but this was a heck of a pick. Crabtree was considered by some to be the best player in the draft. For him to fall to San Francisco is a huge steal. It's the biggest steal of the first round, actually. Now, the 49ers have to find someone better to throw him the ball, but look at the weapons San Fran is forming around whoever their QB of the future might be. There's Crabtree at WR, Frank Gore at RB and Vernon Davis at TE. The offense is starting to get the potential to be lethal.

Worth noting: Seattle Seahawks, Denver Broncos. Tennessee Titans, Green Bay Packers, St. Louis Rams

Worst 5 first days
1. Oakland Raiders
Picks - 7. Maryland WR Darrius Heyward-Bey, 15. Ohio S Michael Mitchell.
This is terrible. There's a reason the Raiders are the worst franchise in all of professional sports. How do you think the players already on the team are feeling? QB Jamarcus Russell: "You just took that guy over Crabtree?! Why didn't I hold out for two more years?!" CB Nnamdi Asomugha: "Michael Mitchell? Michael Mitchell?! What the...?! Who is that guy?! How am I supposed to be the best CB in the league if you can't provide at least a decent safety behind me?!" Seriously, Heyward-Bey over Michael Crabtree is a joke and I like Heyward-Bey. He's no where near the same type of talent. But he ran a 4.3 and apparently that's all Al Davis looks at. New Head Coach Tom Cable had to be muttering curse words in Davis' direction in the war room. Mitchell was a fifth-round pick at best and there's a chance he wouldn't have even gotten drafted. I didn't have him ranked on my safety board. What else should we expect from the Raiders, though?

2. Detroit Lions
Picks - 1. Georgia QB Matthew Stafford, 20. Oklahoma State TE Brandon Pettigrew, 33. Western Michigan FS Louis Delmas.
The Lions didn't add the pieces in the right spots that make rebuilding the easiest. Delmas was the best pick they made, but there are bigger needs at more important positions like on the OL and DL and at CB and MLB. Stafford shouldn't play for at least another season. I'd give him two. I'll withhold judgment on his ability for when he gets his chance, but I'm not optimistic going in for him. This team needed something other than a TE at 20, too. They had a chance at Michael Oher, who play right guard at worst. All they got at TE was a possession guy, who is a decent blocker, but not as good as hyped on television. Pettigrew cannot stretch the field. Personally, I think Matt Millen snuck back into the office to make the Pettigrew pick.

3. San Diego Chargers
Picks - 16. Northern Illinois DE/LB Larry English.
The Chargers had one of the biggest reaches of the day with English. He looks stiff to me on his feet vs. playing with his hand on the ground. Not to mention, he would have been available later in the round. Find a trading partner. Or has GM A.J. Smith ticked off that many teams in the NFL with his arrogance that he can't?

4. Kansas City Chiefs
Picks - 3. LSU DE Tyson Jackson
Speaking of finding a trading partner. I expected more out of new GM Scott Pioli. This is a bad pick. The worst of the first round. Maybe the Chiefs should be No. 1 on this list. Jackson is a space eater and nothing more. Does he fit the 3-4 scheme? Yes he does. Does that make him worth the pick? Not even close. The Chiefs had a chance to grab an impact player here and instead wasted the pick on a guy who will get 20 tackles and 3 sacks a season. He's not a good pass rusher in a 4-3. What makes Pioli think he will be in the 3-4? But DL aren't supposed to be pass rushers in the 3-4 right? Check out New England's 3-4 scheme, which is the same Pioli and Co. will want to implement in KC. They use Richard Seymour, Vince Wilfork, Ty Warren and Jarvis Green to rush the passeer as much as anyone else on the team. Jackson doesn't have as much skill as any of those four players to get into the backfield.

5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Picks - 17. Kansas State QB Josh Freeman
Not only did the Bucs reach for a QB, which everyone saw coming, but to make it worse they traded up two spots to select him. The Bucs got spooked by the thought of Denver selecting him, which wouldn't have happened. So Freeman just cost two picks to take. That's right. A guy who won't see the field for at least two seasons cost two picks. They better hope Byron Leftwich can stick around a couple seasons. In fact, they might want to sign him to an extension of the 2-year deal they gave him. Don't wait for it to expire. Extend him now.