NFL Draft Day Preview
- Author: Min-Q Kim
- Posted on: Tuesday April 20, 2010 at 1:00 PM
- Filed under: sports, nfl, nfl draft, sam bradford, ndamukong suh, gerald mccoy, russell okung, eric berry, st. louis rams, detroit lions, tama bay buccaneers, washington redskins, kansas city chiefs, exclusive
It's become an event in and of itself. NFL Draft Day, where every college football player is elevated to the Second Coming, with NFL teams laying at their mangers frankincense and myrrh. Thursday night, 7:30PM on ESPN, the NFL Draft will give you hope renewed for the upcoming football season, no matter who root for.
It can be a glorious moment for your team. The dawn of a new era. The awakening of stones...
It can also be an agonizing affair for teams and their fans. The Jets, before recent years, have made some all-time blunders in the draft, famously picking Ken O'Brien over Dan Marino, and passing on Warren Sapp (despite the pleas of their fans) for Kyle Brady. Who's Kyle Brady? Exactly.
We've read up, and we're thinking 2010's first five picks go down like so:
1. St. Louis Rams - Sam Bradford, QB (Oklahoma)
All reports say this is a done deal. The big, talented quarterback overcame shoulder surgery that shortened his senior year at Oklahoma, to shoot back up the draft board. He won the Heisman Trophy in his junior year, throwing a gaudy 50 TDs to only 8 interceptions, and would have been the first pick last year had he not decided to finish school. At 6'4" 225 lbs, he is the prototype franchise QB, and has all the tools to become great. It's just a shame that he has to play for the Rams.
2. Detroit Lions - Ndamukong Suh, DT (Nebraska)
He won pretty much every defensive award in college football last year, even nabbing the 2009 AP Player of the Year award - becoming the first defensive player to win the honor. The Lions desperately need an impact player on their defensive line, and when they look at Suh, they must put up one index finger and mouth quietly to themselves: "The One." Not only that, turns out he's a hell of a guy. Upon signing his first NFL contract, Suh has promised to donate $2 million to his alma mater's strength and conditioning program and $600,000 to endow a scholarship at Nebraska's College of Engineering.
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Gerald McCoy, DT (Oklahoma)
They're looking for the next Warren Sapp and they think McCoy fits the bill. He's as talented (some think more) than the decorated Suh, but either way, the Bucs will take whichever of the two is available at this spot without as much as a stutter.
4. Washington Redskins - Russell Okung, OT (Oklahoma State)
Washington just acquired a premier signal caller in Donovan McNabb, and now have to get down to the business of keeping him upright. Okung may have been the choice here even without the McNabb trade (the other option was taking Notre Dame QB prospect Jimmy Clausen), but with the former Eagles QB now in the fold, Okung is a foregone conclusion here.
5. Kansas City Chiefs - Eric Berry, FS (Tennessee)
Tennessee represent! The Chiefs could go in a couple directions with this pick, but Safety is quickly becoming a glamour position in the NFL, and Eric Berry is the class of this incoming crop. Scott Pioli helped build a championship defense in New England, so he saw first hand the value of center fielders like Lawyer Milloy and Rodney Harrison. Some have the Chiefs going Offensive Tackle here, but there's no way they pass on a talent like Berry. He might turn out to be the best player in this draft.
So! Bradford, Suh, McCoy, Okung, Berry. That's our board. Who you got?? It's Draft Day baby!
(Photos: Getty Images)
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