NFL Draft 2010: First Round Winners and Losers

That's right, the biggest NFL event since he was hired and Pete Carroll is my cover picture for winners. People in Seattle hope that's an indication of the future as the Seahawks are one of a few teams I think really made out in the first round.

At the end of the slide show, on the last page you'll also find a list of my 10 best available as the second round gets under way tomorrow night.

Also stay tuned to my page all day tomorrow for updates as trades are announced throughout the day.

Seattle Seahawks

Okay so the cat's out of the bag that the Seahawks are on this list, but how could they not be?

Seattle manages to add what many considered to be the top tackle prospect in this draft class with the sixth overall pick, and a game changer in the secondary with the 14th overall pick.

Having a guy like Earl Thomas behind the linebacking corps they've got in Seattle can only mean good things for that defense.

Thomas should be an immediate starter and impact player in Seattle, and Okung should step in immediately to try to protect Hasselbeck's blind side and keep him healthy for the first time in a long time.

San Francisco 49ers

I know, I know it's almost cheating to take two of the teams who made two first round selections as winners in the draft, but I'm gonna do it anyway, so there.

Seriously though, the 49ers had my absolute favorite draft, possibly of all time.

While I'm not so sure about taking Davis over Bulaga, or even other guys that were available at 11 like Earl Thomas, Brandon Graham, or Derrick Morgan, I do buy into grabbing big guys to play on the offensive line and supporting your current skill position players.

I absolutely love this draft for the 49ers, and can't wait to see both what they do with their next picks, and how these guys' careers blossom into one of the strongest lines in the NFL. If Smith can get his act together and on the same page with Crabtree, the 49ers could perhaps bloom once again into relevance in the league, and constant Super Bowl contention.

It's smart picks like this: building from the inside out that leads to a great team.

Green Bay Packers

The first round couldn't have gone much better for Green Bay if they were directing the other teams pick by pick.

Having a stud tackle (even if he ends up on the right side) available with the 23rd overall pick is a dream come true, and I'd be remiss if I didn't mention them here.

Denver Broncos

That's right, I did it. I took ALL THREE teams that made two selections in the first round. Oh well. Deal with it.

The Broncos get an A+ from me specifically for being able to both address a need (WR) and take a guy McDaniels likes (Tebow) in the first round, while still maintaining multiple picks in the upcoming round tomorrow, and extra picks on Saturday as well.

I've been saying for as long as anyone would listen that one of these days Tebow will lead a team to the Super Bowl. Who better to coach him up than the guy who coached Brady and Cassel to become successful QB's?

(Although it would be fair to say that using the word "successful" to describe Cassel's' career is premature and overly optimistic at best.)

Still, I think McDaniels could get Tebow to a point he can win Super Bowls, and McDaniels has made it clear that personality matters a lot more than skills.

Not that the players they took didn't have skills, but the trades they've made were highly skilled players they'd rather get rid of than deal with the headaches from.

No matter what, mark my words, Tebow will lead the Broncos (barring trade or injury) to a Super Bowl within the next five years.

Losers

Every draft has losers as well, teams that reach for a guy and waste a pick they need not have used, or teams that select guys that don't seem to fill needs, leaving obvious glaring gaps on their football team with few options after the draft to fill them.

Who fits that category so far this year? Let's see...

Jimmy Clausen

While he may look happy in the picture above, at the combine, I can promise you that tonight Jimmy Clausen is anything but happy, as he goes to bed without a team and without an NFL job as of yet.

Jimmy Clausen, so far has been the biggest loser and is the second highly touted Notre Dame QB in recent memory to see himself fall out of the top ten where he was originally thought to be going.

Brady Quinn, the other Notre Dame QB saw his plunge mercifully end at 21, but then getting a contract together was something of an issue as Brady still wanted to get paid like a top five QB, when he was instead a late first round QB.

It will be interesting to see how the financial side of things works out for a guy like Jimmy Clausen, on top of how interesting it would be to see where he ends up going.

New England Patriots

Bill Belichick is famous for seemingly mind-boggling moves that turn out to be strokes of genius, so I hesitate to put him on this list.

That being said, I thought there were quite a few players that would have made great Patriot picks, Sergio Kindle, Ricky Sapp, Corey Wootton, Dez Bryant, Kyle Wilson, and Jared Odrick to name a few.

McCourty wasn't really one of them, and while I get that he's versatile, my thinking is that he'd have been there halfway through the second round, why use a first rounder on him when you could take another one of those guys and most likely still get McCourty later?

New York Giants

I'm very disappointed with the Giants draft only because I feel like Pierre-Paul is such a one dimensional player that he's just not worth that high a pick.

I'd be willing to bet there were other teams looking to move up to grab players, and that they likely could have dropped down a few spots, picked up some picks in the process, and still gotten Pierre-Paul four or five slots later.

That being said, Pierre-Paul is a rare physical talent, and that sort of thing can't be taught. Going by the, I can teach you how to be a football player, I can't teach you how to be agile, nimble, and quick at 6'5'', 265 lbs theory, I get the draft pick, but I still don't like it.

Detroit Lions

While Detroit did the right thing with second overall and picked up Ndamukong Suh, a Pro Bowl DT for many years to come, I really have to question moving back into the first round to pick up oft injured, man of glass Jahvid Best.

Didn't Kevin Smith of the Lions already have injury problems himself? Seriously, do people never learn anything?

Second Round Tomorrow Night

That's the story of the first round, I'll be updating tomorrow, so come back and see where and when guys like Colt McCoy and Jimmy Clausen end up going.

My 10 best Available As of the End of the First Round:
1 Sergio Kindle, LB, Texas
2 Brian Price, DT, UCLA
3 Taylor Mays, S, USC
4 Jimmy Clausen, QB, Notre Dame
5 Everson Griffen, DE, USC
6 Carlos Dunlap, DE, Florida
7 Golden Tate, WR, Notre Dame
8 Charles Brown, OT, USC
9 Arrelious Benn, WR, Illinois
10 Bruce Campbell, OT, Maryland