What makes the second round of the NFL Draft such fertile ground for talent? During Week 1, players drafted in the second round of 2008 draft made it look easy -- and for more than half the price of a first-round selection, which made it look like twice the bargain.
Denver's Eddie Royal, who caught nine passes for 146 yards and one touchdown Monday night in Oakland, was the fifth wide receiver selected in the draft. He turned around cornerback DeAngelo Hall so many times he looked like a 10-year vet.
Royal is as cool and calm about being in the NFL as a guy who had been to five Pro Bowls. He didn't sense the pressure of starting on national TV in a season-opening game. He was as matter-of-fact about his stellar performance as an athlete that is only a year removed from college could be. He didn't even have time to watch the game tape or the postgame TV highlights, because he was getting ready for Sunday's game against San Diego. His biggest issue was that his mom just learned how to text message and was so excited during the game that she sent him lots of messages.
In Philadelphia, another second-round wide receiver was tearing up the field. Eagles rookie DeSean Jackson, the seventh wide receiver taken last April, caught six passes for 106 yards and topped it off with 97 more yards on eight punt returns.
Both Jackson and Royal had to step up and deliver because of injuries to starters. They both came to camp knowing they would make the team, but never really expecting to start on opening weekend. Consequently, they did not feel the pressure a first-round player has from day one.
Chicago's second-round pick, running back Matt Forte of Tulane, ran through the Colts defense the way general managers would love to see a high first-round guy do it. Forte, the sixth running back selected in the draft, wound up with the third-best day in the league with 123 yards on the ground. Throw in a 50-yard touchdown run and three receptions, and a star was born.
Forte is a guy who overcame having a bulls-eye on his back at Tulane as the most obvious threat on the field to be one of the most productive backs entering the draft. As a second-round pick, he was not under the same microscope as the five guys taken in the first round (Darren McFadden, Jonathan Stewart, Felix Jones, Rashard Mendenhall, Chris Johnson). Neither was Ray Rice, another second-round runner -- the seventh back taken -- who had 25 touches in the Ravens' win over the Bengals.
Two rookie corners got the call to start in Week 1 and both were drafted in the second round. The Chiefs put Brandon Flowers in the starting lineup. Kansas City coach Herman Edwards told me Flowers was relaxed and that the game wasn't too big for him. He finished up with six tackles -- and you know he was a target, as most rookie corners are in the NFL.
In New Orleans, where the secondary has been a weak spot on the roster for a few years, second-round pick Tracy Porter from Indiana delivered against the 2007 division-champion Tampa Bay Bucs. Porter was in on three tackles and had two passes defended.
Flowers was the sixth corner taken, while Porter was the seventh corner selected. None of the five first-round corners selected in the draft started for their respective teams.
It would be easy to say NFL personnel people miss the boat in their evaluations. It would seem obvious to some that the first-round money is a big mistake. It may be, but time will tell.
When I got a chance to sit down and really talk with first-round players during my years in the NFL, the same theme came out so often: The expectations they put on themselves to play at a high level right away caused problems. The pressure to perform well early from the media and fans ate away at them, as did the sense of living up to the money they were paid.
Look at how much pressure Vince Young is feeling right now in Tennessee. He's not alone. Once a first-round player, always a first-round player. That is the reality. Young is injured, the fans are booing him and he has thought about leaving the game because it isn't fun for him. Those are legitimate feelings, and I have been with high first-round players that struggled to handle all that comes with being a first-round selection.
Unless you have spent time and really listened to what many of these guys go through, it's hard to understand. On the other side of the coin, I can't remember when a second-round player stopped by my office to just talk about the pressure. In fact, there was usually looseness and a relaxed style possessed by these second-round athletes who were, in many ways, as talented as their first-round counterparts.
Flying under the radar helps second-round picks perform. It's not surprising that this group is paying such high dividends so early this season.
