NFL Draft Recap: Our View From the Bay

Instead of rushing to conclusions, Russ and I decided to let the draft excitement dissipate before giving you our draft recap. After a couple days of thinking it over, we finally have it for you. Better late than never, right?
Russ: Mike Singletary had not only his fingerprints on the 2010 draft selections but stamped his feet all over the selections the Niners made. With former GM Scot McCloughan fired a month before the draft for what can only be described as Vin Baker syndrome, Singletary took the opportunity to have a much stronger say in who was picked, and it showed. He prides himself on his vision of having big, strong, physical players who enjoy hitting people in the mouth, and that vision was fulfilled with drafting two offensive lineman, T Anthony Davis and G Mike Iupati, in the first round. In the second round, they received a bargain when big hard hitting safety Taylor Mays fell to them in the second round, and Singletary hopes to turn him into this generation's Ronnie Lott. I loved this draft for two reasons:

1) It addresses the major need from last year in the offensive line. which really held back the offense.
2) We did not draft a QB, which doesn't affect the confidence of Alex Smith, but also means Singletary thinks he can get the job done. Right now I have to trust him.

Langston: For the first time since Jon Gruden and Bruce Allen were in town, the media around the country have come to a collective agreement that the Raiders put together a smart and conservative draft. In the first and second round, they picked MLB Rolando McClain and DL Lamarr Houston. Both will start immediately and offer the team some versatility, allowing them to add more looks to the defense, making them less predictable and much harder to gameplan against. McClain led Alabama's 3-4 and could become the heart of the defense for the next decade, while Houston can play the end in a 3-4 and tackle in a 4-3. In the third round, they got OT Jared Veldheer who was the only offensive lineman to finish in the top 10 in all combine events and was an All-American in division II. It wasn't until the fourth round where the typical Davis/Raider picks started to show up, when OT Bruce Campbell and WR Jacoby Ford (the fastest at the draft) were drafted. However both were graded in the fourth, eliminating the risk and raising the reward of drafting the two physical specimens.

Even with these sensible picks, it wasn't a superior draft until they traded to acquire QB Jason Campbell, which only cost them a fourth-round pick in 2012. Campbell is an instant upgrade over all of the QBs on the roster and provides hope that games will no longer be thrown or fumbled away. Overall it was a fantastic draft for the Raiders as they drafted three guys who can start immediately, traded for three guys who will contribute (Quentin Groves, Campbell, and Kamerion Wimbley), and upgraded both sides of the ball. This may bring some false hope for myself and the rest of the Raider faithful, but after years of watching JaMarcus Russell I think we deserve that much.

Russ' Winners: Ask me again in three years. I can't give you draft grades one week after the draft. It's dumb and pointless.

Langston's Winners: Bob Stoops, Jimmy Clausen
Three of the first four picks and four total first-round picks in this years draft played for Oklahoma. While the 8-5 record with this great group of players leaves a lot to be desired, the fact that they got drafted so high should help recruit the next batch of student-athletes whilst on the recruiting trail.

While Sam Bradford and Tim Tebow get the recognition and financial security of being first-round picks, Clausen goes to a team that has both playoff talent and a lack of depth at the QB spot. He should be able to compete with Matt Moore from the start, and has plenty of options to succeed in the passing game. If Jon Fox finally realizes that he can run the ball 90% of the time and win, don't be surprised to see Clausen as the next rookie starter in the playoffs.

Russ' Losers: Broncos, Bills

No surprise who the major loser was this year, as the Broncos selected Tim Tebow towards the end of the first round at pick 25, a shocking pick that was several picks higher than many draft experts expected and on top of that cost the Broncos three draft picks in the process. The picked just reeked of arrogance by Josh McDaniels, a young and cocky head coach who has wanted to do things his way ever since he arrived in Denver. This pick ignored major needs in other areas on the team in order to stroke his ego and prove his worth as a NFL head coach by proving everybody wrong and turning Tebow into a respectable NFL QB on his watch. Now McDaniels has tied his future as Broncos head coach and probably as a head coach on the NFL level on a QB who's best traits involve him as a person and not for any discernible abilities as an NFL QB. Tebow's leadership qualities and intangibles will mean nothing if he can't get on the field and that will be McDaniels' project for the forseeable future.

I put the Bills on this list because they refused to make a splash and draft a name QB to install some level of excitement in the fan base for the future. Both Jimmy Clausen and Colt McCoy could have been had and would have upgraded their weakest position on the roster. They are rolling into the year with Trent Edwards, Ryan Fitzpatrick, and Brian Brohm. Another long year is in store for the Bills and you can probably expect more games in Toronto in the future.

Langston's Losers: Broncos, Rams, Sam Bradford
The Broncos picking Tebow in the first round was quite possibly the worst pick in the draft. Not because he'll be terrible, in fact, I think he could be a good quarterback in the league if given the right opportunity. But because they have a lot of needs and quarterback should be the least of their worries. Last year they traded their franchise QB to get Kyle Orton and a bunch of picks and then followed it up this offseason by trading for Brady Quinn. Those two names aren't going to put the fear of God, let alone Gumby, into anyone, but adding a QB who is years away from being serviceable makes absolutely no sense.

The weird thing about having the first pick in the draft, is it's both a blessing and a curse. After a terrible season, you need your choice of the top talent to try and rebuild the mess you call a football team. However, you also have to fork over first pick money to a guy who has yet to play a down as a professional. Oh and to make it better, your biggest need is QB and the best one on the board might be injury prone and hasn't played more than a couple games in the past year. Good luck with all that.

Sam Bradford, as the number one pick is now the face of a franchise that was lucky to win one game a season ago. If the team loses, it's all his fault. The press will ignore the terrible offensive line, the lack of receiving threats, the aging franchise running back, the defense that was outscored by almost 300 points in 2009. Sure, he will be given a grace period, but if he hasn't mastered the pro-style offense by year three, the word bust enters the picture. And if they fail to contend by year four.. well, actually, it won't matter. By then, the team will be back in Los Angeles and no one will care what they're doing.