The day after the draft and everyone wants to declare the winners and losers. Not so fast. As I spent every waking moment with the 'Godfather' of the draft, Gil Brandt, we both decided that the teams are doing such a great job of evaluating talent and stacking their draft boards with a clear understanding of what value is that a couple of things rang true this weekend.
1. If there is an elite player in the draft at the top and you have the pick, just take the player no matter what your history is. I talked with Lions coach Rod Marinelli soon after their selection of receiver Calvin Johnson and he made it clear that past history didn't have one thing to do with the selection. Johnson was the best player graded in the draft process and the Lions were not going to pass the opportunity to select him just because Mike Williams and Charles Rogers didn't work out in the past. Not enough credit was given to general manager Matt Millen for doing the right thing.
2. If a player you want is a few spots away, pull the trigger on the trade -- no longer can you sit back and hope a player falls to you. The Jets targeted cornerback Darrelle Revis weeks ago, and when they got within 12 picks, they made the call. We are in an era of making a move in the draft or lose the player you want.
3. Teams know when the talent pool at a certain position is lean, and if you need a player from that pool, go get one. The left tackle position had only a few top players and two teams were willing to give next year's first-round picks to get one -- the 49ers, who took Joe Staley, and the Colts, who wanted the last quality left tackle left on the board and gave away next year's first-round pick, which should be about selection No. 30, for Tony Ugoh. When Arizona took Levi Brown at the No. 5 spot, the ability for the Redskins to trade their pick at No. 6 slipped tremendously. Washington still got a great player in safety LaRon Landry, but if teams were giving first-round compensation for the other tackles, then Brown could have been a windfall for the Redskins.
4. Hard to believe that LSU and Ohio State both had two receivers drafted before USC had either one of their receivers drafted. Is it possible Dwayne Jarrett and Steve Smith would have been bench warmers in Baton Rouge and Columbus?
Finally, the draft isn't an exact science but it is getting closer all the time. Gil Brandt beat me once again in predicting the top 100 players drafted. Gil had 88 of the top 100 and I had 81. I'm getting closer, but beating the Godfather of the draft probably will never happen for me. The biggest and most impressive treat for me every year is sitting through the entire draft with Gil, who knew every player without looking at a note.
