Dissecting the 2011 NFL Draft: Round 1

Following announcements that the lockout will be lifted, the football world is alive and kicking and the modified 2011 NFL Draft first round provided plenty of surprises!

Although the player lockout has now been lifted, NFL administrators still restricted draft-day trading to picks only. Player transactions could not be made, but there was still plenty of action in the short space of 32 selections.

As suspected, Auburn quarterback, Cam Newton was drafted with the first pick to Carolina.

Now with three QBs on their roster, who have only played one season or less, teams may consider trading for Jimmy Clausen whose opportunities will be very limited.

With considerable deficiencies in the offensive line at Carolina, Newton’s run game should be favourable over Clausen’s pocket passing.

Unable to trade up to #4 for AJ Green, the first shock move came from Atlanta.

Trading up to #6 from #26, the Falcons have also sent second and fourth round picks (59 & 124) on top of their first and fourth round picks in 2012.

A whopping five picks to move up and draft, wide receiver Julio Jones.

With no superstar receiver to subtract attention from Roddy White, Jones is set to really stretch opposition secondaries.

This bold move from the Falcons has ‘hit-or-miss’ written all over their 2011/12 season.

With six-time All-Pro tight end Tony Gonzalez at 35, this looks to be Atlanta’s Superbowl to lose.

Matt Ryan had a pro-bowl 2010/11 and with Jones as the last piece to their offensive puzzle, anything less than the Championship Game may see head coach Mike Smith looking for a new job.

The Cleveland Browns are the big winners of the first round.

Whilst Jones would have added a great weapon to young QB Colt McCoy’s offence, the Browns now have two second round selections and two fourth round selections.

For a team in the rebuilding phase like the Browns, they could not decline the Falcons offer.

Positional needs are the most obvious indicator into which player a team will draft. Heading into the day, San Francisco’s major needs were Cornerback and Quarterback.

Passing on both Prince Amukamara and Blaine Gabbert to draft defensive end Aldon Smith, leads me to question new head coach Jim Harbaugh’s agenda.

With three CBs and four QBs drafted in the first round, Harbaugh has a lot of faith in the depth of this draft.

Making a surprise pick at #8, the Tennessee Titans selected Washington QB Jake Locker. Widely tipped to be the third QB of the draft, Locker is likely to play much earlier than anticipated.

With the incumbent departure of Vince Young, new head coach Mike Munchak has quickly stamped his authority on the Titans.

A prototypical pocket passer, Locker is all professionalism. Opting to stay at Washington in hope of a national title, Locker is likely to enter the season as a starter ahead of the aging Kerry Collins, 38.

Questions over his accuracy stunted Locker’s projection to be the third QB of the draft. This is a huge risk for Tennessee, who will receive little compensation for Young.

With Locker drafted by Tennessee, the Blaine Gabbert slide had begun.

No team until Miami (pick 15) looked a good fit for Gabbert, who is the most NFL ready QB of this draft.

With Gabbert sliding, no one expected the Jacksonville Jaguars, one of the least QB needy teams, to trade up for him. Jacksonville traded up from #16 to #10 to select Gabbert while also sending their second round pick to Washington.

Within all the confusion and surprise, this move makes sense to me.

David Garrard (33) is not going anywhere yet.

Indianapolis will lose their stranglehold on the AFC South when Peyton Manning (35) leaves the game. This gives the Jags two years, to build Gabbert into the franchise QB.

With the Titans drafting Locker, look forward to the Jags and Titans fighting it out for the division in years to come with their young QBs.

It’s fantastic, when things just fall into your lap and the NFL were put on notice when Auburn defensive tackle Nick Fairley somehow slipped down to Detroit, at pick 13.

As the most explosive DT in the draft, I would have put my house on Fairley going in the top 10.

Lucky I didn’t!

Recording 13 sacks in the last College season, Fairley will immediately line up next to Ndmakong Suh and quarterbacks will have to look this pair in the eyes for the next ten years.

Dwight Freeney/Robert Mathis and Darelle Revis/Antonio Cromartie have shown us how destructive a defensive duo can be and Detroit had no hesitation taking Fairley.

Few teams have the strength to stop both Suh and Fairley.

Don’t be surprised to see 20+ sacks between this pair in 2011/12.

Most picks beyond 15 were reasonably predictable but the 2011 NFL draft has played out like none other because of the player-trading stipulation.

Coaches, who have made selections in the top 15, must now negotiate with their front offices to sign positional veteran free agents they’ve passed on.

The Winners
Cleveland – The Falcons have overpaid heavily to get Julio Jones.
Detroit – Nick Fairley fell into their lap. Their franchise will be built around Fairley and Suh.

The Losers
Reggie Bush – He’s been holding out for more money and New Orleans drafting up to take Mark Ingrham at #28 means Bush will have to settle for less or find a new home.
Jimmy Clausen – Unfortunate his team had the first pick. Any other team and he’d be assured the starting QB position.

The Jury is Out
Minnesota – Christian Ponder at #12 surprised everyone. Leslie Frazier is a thinker but I’m not sure he thought this through. Ponder is the most credentialed academic in the draft and QBs need smarts on the field but I’m pretty sure Minnesota could have drafted him in the second round if they waited. Ponder was the fifth QB on most analysts’ boards.

Was that serious?
Baltimore – 10 minutes isn’t enough time for them to make their choice. Sacrificing #26 to the Chiefs for taking too long, the Ravens almost lost another position when New England ran to make their pick. The Ravens are very lucky the Chiefs didn’t draft their cornerback Jimmy Smith, their biggest positional need.

Round 2 Spotlight
Andy Dalton and Ryan Mallet – The next best QBs available in the draft that are expected to go in the second round. Cincinnati, San Francisco, Washington, Miami and Seattle all need project QBs but that’s two QBs for four teams. Who’s willing to trade up in this QB top-heavy draft? Da’Quan Bowers. How far can a once top two pick slide?