2010 NFL Draft Day 1 Winners and Biggest Losers

Day 1 of the 2010 NFL Draft is in the books and it proved to be a wild one. There were several trades, some winners and some loser. It may have been one of the most unpredictable drafts in recent memory.

Day 1 Winners:

San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers traded up to the 11th pick in the draft and selected arguably a top three offensive tackle in Anthony Davis, then with the 17th pick selected the best OG in the draft in Mike Iupati of Idaho. Head coach Mike Singeltary loves his lineman on both sides of the ball, and he made it loud and clear in the first round. The 49ers have two new linemen that can start as rookies.

Detroit Lions

The Lions have a new front office and already they are showing how much the quality of an NFL team's front office means to a team. So far this off season they've signed defensive end stud Kyle Vanden Bosch, cornerback Chris Houston and underrated defensive tackle Cory Williams. They continued the rebuilding of their defense by drafting perhaps the best player in the draft with the second overall pick, Ndamukong Suh from Nebraska. They followed up that pick with a trade with the Minnesota Vikings and acquired the #30 overall pick in the draft where they selected Jahvid Best of California. When healthy, Best is as good as any running back in this draft. The draft is only through the first round and already the Detroit Lions appear to be on the upswing and may have one the toughest defensive lines in the league this year.

Green Bay Packers

The Packers could not have scripted it any better. Bryan Bulaga out of Iowa fell right into their lap at #23. He was clearly the best player available and also their biggest need. The Packers needed to solidify the offensive line after a year where Aaron Rogers was among the most sacked QBs in the league. Bulaga should be a starter by the end of his first season given the aging group of linemen they currently have and their history of injuries.

Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks had two huge areas of need coming into the draft OT where longtime starter Walter Jones appear to be retiring and Safety where they only have two players under contract on the roster. With the sixth overall pick in the draft they got an exceptional value in Russell Okung who I feel is the best OT in the draft and should make an immediate impact on the Seahawks OL. With the #14 selection they take Earl Thomas who is without a question the second best Safety prospect in the draft. Any time you come out of the first round with two projected starters, you are a winner.

Day 2 "biggest losers"

Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jaguars needed a defensive tackle; nobody would argue that but picking Tyson Alualu at #10 left just about everyone scratching their heads. I didn't see any mock drafts that suggested that Alualu would even be drafted in the first round, much less #10 overall. It's puzzling why they chose Alualu with Dan Williams still on the board. They may have wanted to trade down and couldn't find a good trade, but it's just terrible to reach that far.

Denver Broncos

Josh Daniels continues his destruction of the Denver Broncos. After running Cutler and Marshall out of town (which may turn out not to be a bad thing), now he reaches at least a round to pick Tim Tebow. Tebow is the most likely bust of the draft. The only thing saving the first round being a total loss in spite of having two picks is that they took Demaryius Thomas with the #22 pick.

Jimmy Clausen:

Just about everyone thought Clausen would be drafted in round 1, though in the past few days it was believed he could possibly drop to #30. The speculation is that his perceived immaturity is what has hurt his stock to this point. However, I feel that someone will be trading up to the first two pick of round 2 to select Clausen. He's just too talented to stay on the board for very long in day 2.

Conclusion:

In spite of several trades happening and a few very questionable picks (Matthews and McClain going as high as they did), most of the rest of the players were drafted in the right portion of the 1st round. It's also notable that the Vikings passed on Jimmy Clausen and traded out of the 1st round and into the 2nd pick in round 2. This leads me to believe that the Vikings are not that interested in him and there could be a bidding war for the 1st and 2nd picks in round 2 for those who want Clausen. Look for teams like the Vikings and Bears to jockey for position a lot in day 2 as both have several players that they are interested in and could be trading up and down.

Sources:

http://www.nfl.com/draft/2010