Luke Easterling's Draft Analysis:

Forum: Talk Bucs | Special Report: NFL Draft

Brady Quinn hinted on the first day that the Baltimore Ravens showed potential interest during his free-fall.

The Ravens, however, waited until Day 2 before taking a big-name college QB. Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith lasted until the final round of the fifth round, No. 174 overall, before going to Baltimore.

That leaves Chris Leak still on the board.

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We’re at the point of the draft where take more notice of the guys who haven’t been taken, rather than the ones who are gone.

The talking heads on ESPN are talking about all the reasons why Troy Smith and Chris Leak are good enough to take their teams to a championship game, but not good enough to be taken at this point - halfway through the fifth round.

Delivery, height, mechanics, the system ... either way, we wait to see which teams will take a chance on a Heisman Trophy winner and national champion.

Meanwhile, Jeff Rowe of Nevada went to Cincinnati with the 151st overall pick.

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Gotta give some props to USF beat writer Brett McMurphy, who predicted in his Bulls Report blog that USF linebacker Stephen Nicholas could go to the Atlanta Falcons with their fourth-round pick.

Sure enough.

The Falcons, now led by former Louisville coach Bobby Petrino, took Nicholas with the 109th overall pick in the fourth round.

Nicholas was projected as a third- or fourth-round pick, so his wait didn’t last too long.

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The New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers apparently wanted to address their wide receiver situations at the draft. They did so, in a big way.

The Oakland Raiders, a day after acquiring Mike Williams from the Lions, traded Moss to the Patriots for a fourth-round pick.

The Seattle Seahawks, meanwhile, also acquired a fourth-round pick by dealing for Gators receiver Darrell Jackson to San Francisco.

Both the Patriots and 49ers got big-time targets at a bargain. Figure Bill Belichick will be able to reign Moss in, while Jackson - provided his knee is healthy - gives young QB Alex Smith a dependable target and immediate upgrade.

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The Jacksonville Jaguars have dipped into Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference to take the draft’s first small-school prospect.

The Jags stuck with defense in the 2nd round, selecting Hampton LB Justin Durant.  In the first round, the Jags took Florida S Reggie Nelson.

Durant was the first player in MEAC history to be named Conference Defensive Player of the Year three times.  Durant helped lead the Pirates to three consecutive 10-win seasons. 

Durant’s teammate at Hampton, CB Travarious Bain, is projected as a mid-round selection.

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Earlier in the off-season, Panthers WR Keyshawn Johnson said that USC WR Dwayne Jarrett would’ve been better off staying in school for one more year.  Now, Johnson will have a front row seat to see if he’s right.

Johnson, the last receiver to be chosen with the #1 overall pick, is a guest analyst on ESPN’s coverage of the draft, and spoke with Jarrett on the air following the team’s selection.  Quite and interesting moment, no doubt, for a someone who likely is speaking to his replacement.  Jarrett’s skill set is mirrors that of Johnson: great size, hands and fearless over the middle, but suspect speed.

WR might not have been a huge area of need for the Panthers, but I believe they got a great steal nabbing Jarrett at #45 overall.

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There was much speculation that someone at the top of the 2nd round would be looking to take a QB.  Very few would’ve expected the team to be the Eagles, and the QB to be Houston’s Kevin Kolb.

Throughout the first round, the names that were mentioned as 2nd-tier QBs were BYU’s John Beck, Michigan State’s Drew Stanton, and Stanford’s Trent Edwards.  The Eagles went with Kolb instead, who will fill the back-up spot behind Donovan McNabb, who is still rehabbing from a severe knee injury.

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We have begun the 2nd round of this year’s draft with two trades.

The Cardinals traded up to #33 with Oakland, choosing Michigan DT Alan Branch.  Buffalo then traded up with Detroit at the #34 pick to acquire Penn State LB Paul Posluszny.

Branch, who was projected as a top-10 pick as early as a month ago, has seen his stock drop due to concerns about his consistency and effort.  If he can maximize his natural ability, the Cards could be getting a big steal.

The Bills have now solidified their two biggest areas of need.  The loss of Willis McGahee opened a huge hole at RB, while the departure of London Fletcher left a gap at middle linebacker.  In the first round, the Bills addressed the RB position by taking Cal’s Marshawn Lynch.

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When ESPN approached then-NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle, asking to televise their yearly college player selection meeting, they were met with much laughter.  Since then, things have changed just a little bit…

This year’s coverage includes a round-table of fiery personalities.  We have Chris Berman, who has been anchoring the coverage for years now, Hall Of Fame QB Steve Young, Panthers WR Keyshawn Johnson (a surprising gues appearance), NFL Know-It-All Chris Mortensen, renowned draft guru Mel Kiper, Jr., and Mel Kiper, Jr.’s hair, which should be credited with much of his prognosticating success, in my opinion.

Keyshawn has been a pleasant surprise in this year’s coverage.  He’s weighed in nicely on every subject, has been extremely articulate, and has (for the most part) set aside his bais towards WR prospects.  He may have found a career for his post-NFL career days.

Kiper is up to his old tricks, trying to inform the general public about their respective teams’ choices.  He makes interesting statements, though, such as questioning Brady Quinn’s accuracy while the screen is showing pass after perfectly-placed pass being thrown by Quinn on the highlight reel.  Could it be the Kiper doesn’t actually know everything there is to know about the draft?  It’s possible, but his hair probably knows the rest.

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Brady Quinn knew this was possible.  He just didn’t think it would be this bad.

We are more than half-way through the first round, and Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn is still on the board.  Miami passed on him at #9 in favor of Ohio State WR Ted Ginn, Jr., and it looks like Quinn could fall even further.

The next 8 picks or so all belong to teams who don’t a franchise QB at this time, and certainly couldn’t afford to pay one selected this high in the draft. 

This is what the next few picks look like, in terms of the teams’ QB situations:

16. Green Bay - Brett Favre, Aaron Rogers
17. Jacksonville - Byron Leftwich, David Garrard
18. Cincinnati - Carson Palmer
19. Tennessee - Vince Young
20. New York Giants - Eli Manning
21. Denver - Jay Cutler
22. Dallas - Tony Romo

The next logical spot for Quinn might not be until #23, where the Chiefs sit.  However, even the Chiefs have a young QB in Brodie Croyle, who has made great strides in the team’s offense, so it’s possible he could fall even past them.
We’ll keep you posted on how this turns out.

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The Browns have selected Joe Thomas out of Wisconsin with the 3rd overall selection.

It will be interesting to see what the Bucs do at #4, with Thomas and Johnson both off the board.  Look for the Bucs to either trade down, or select Gaines Adams and still try to trade with the Lions for Johnson.

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The Lions have selected WR Calvin Johnson at #2 overall. 

Now we get to see if they keep him, or decide to trade him.  Tampa Bay is still in the mix to trade for his rights, which would allow the Lions to trade down to #4 and select Clemson DE Gaines Adams, who they are said to be extremely interested in.

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ESPN’s Michael Smith is now reporting that the 49ers are working on a deal with the Seahawks to acquire WR Darrell Jackson.  The ‘Hawks would reportedly get a 4th round selection selection from the ‘Niners.  The deal would be contingent on Jackson passing a physical.

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It’s offical.  LSU QB JaMarcus Russell has been selected by the Oakland Raiders with the #1 overall pick in this year’s draft. 

Let’s see what happens at pick #2 now, with Calvin Johnson still on the board.

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Sources have told ESPN’s Michael Smith that the Raiders will indeed select LSU QB JaMarcus Russell with the first overall pick in today’s draft.

Two sources, one close to Russell and one close to the Raiders, have reported that the team called Russell Friday to inform him that he would be today’s top selection.  Oakland also reportedly flew offensive coordinator Greg Knapp to New York on Thursday to meet with Russell.  The two sides have still not agreed to a contract.

Remember, his is still Al Davis we’re dealing with here, so this could be nothing more than a fake leak.  If this is true, however, let the bidding war for Calvin Johnson begin at the #2 spot.

Stay tuned to the NFL Draft Report for up-to-the-minute updates and analysis throughout the NFL Draft.

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