FTR: The entirety of the CLE/CAR trade was: Browns got picks 52 ( Owusu-Koramoa) and 113 Panthers got pick 59 (T. Marshall) and pick 89 (later traded to Hou)
And the very next pick (#114) now belongs to Atlanta after a trade with Denver in the second round. I have two early fourths to look forward to as well.
Damn I missed the Steelers picks yesterday. Crashes out in the hotel room after a long day at the Mall of America. I love the Freiermuth pick. His nickname of Baby Gronk is spot on for what he brings to the table. He reminds me of a more athletic Heath. I love the Green pick as well. A big area of need and he will have a chance to start day 1. A humble kid who works hard. Plus his run blocking is elite which helps Najee and Co. Playing between DeCastro and Dotson will help his growth as well.
Without going back and looking it over since last night, Browns, Chargers, and Bears are picking some really good players. Maybe I just didn't make it far down the alphabetical team order when I was looking before bed, though...
According to Browns brass, they were planning to take JOK in round one, but didn't expect Newsome to be there for them at #26. CLE figured the Notre Dame LB would be one of the first off the board on day 2, thus out of their reach. Word is, there was a lot of pacing going on in Berea as JOK slipped past pick 40, and that was when they started working the phones hard trying to make it happen.....Outstanding move IMO. Berry and Depodesta definitely on top of their game.
One other item that jumped out at me looking over what I missed in rounds 1-3, particularly because I made the trade with Joe (Atlanta trading with New Orleans) in the first round. Seems clear that real life teams agree that it's perfectly fine to trade with a division rival. Part of it is that denying yourself a good move just because your potential trade partner is in the same division simply doesn't make sense. But one thing that has changed recently - and that may have changed some minds on the conventional "wisdom" - is adding the third wild card team per conference to the postseason. It's still true that if you make a really bad trade, it's a double-whammy because your rival reaps the rewards. But if a trade really is a win-win, you aren't necessarily hurting yourself by having the trade also help your rival. There's room for both of you in the playoffs.
Dallas's trade in the first was very interestingly a case of, "One of our division rivals is going to get this player, might as well squeeze them for it while we can".
Just watched the video of the new Falcons head coach and GM taking questions from the media after day two. Had to laugh. These guys might be rookies in their new positions, but they deflected questions like seasoned pros. They gave answers to every question but really didn't say a bloody thing.
Chalk up two more Safety's for the Raiders (Moehrig and Deablo), to go along with recently re-signed Karl Joseph. And this all on the heels of drafting Jonathan Abrams.. I'm starting to think (former NFL Safety) Mike Mayock might just have a thing for Safeties.
JFTR: We need one more RB to come off the board and the Draft Projection Contest will be complete.... I'll get scores out shortly after.
