By John Lanzafame
The lead up to this year’s NFL Draft was dominated by coverage of the lockout and the various legal decisions in the ongoing court battle; however, once the draft began, the attention finally returned to the players.
As always, there were teams scrambling to fill needs, made more urgent this year by the lockout and the inability to sign free agents prior to the draft. In addition to the blue chip prospects that came off the board early, there are some interesting players and compelling stories from the later rounds of the draft that are worth watching in the season to come.
OFFENSE
Cam Newton led an early run on quarterbacks, with six quarterbacks going in the first 36 picks. Newton went first overall, becoming the first player in 60 years to win the Heisman Trophy, a national championship and then be drafted first overall in the same year (since Leon Hart, Notre Dame, 1950).
In spite of the early run, Ryan Mallet, quarterback from Arkansas, who was widely thought to be a first round pick, ultimately fell into the third round where he was taken by New England as the 74th player selected. This provides Mallet an ideal developmental situation reminiscent of Aaron Rodgers’ fall to Green Bay in the 2005, where he was able to learn the offense as a back up to Brett Favre. Mallet will join a successful organization in New England and will have the opportunity to learn from 2010 NFL MVP quarterback Tom Brady, without the pressure to start any time soon – a luxury that the first round quarterbacks will not have.
Owen Marecic from Stanford is a player that seems like a throwback to the leather helment era of football. Not only did Marecic play both ways for Stanford, he played two extremely hard hitting positions as a linebacker and fullback. Marecic was taken by Cleveland in the fourth round with the 124th overall pick and is expected to play fullback in the NFL. Paired in the backfield with Peyton Hillis, the Browns could have an even more punishing running game this year.
DEFENSE
In what was deemed to be one of the deepest drafts in years for defensive linemen, an early run on quarterbacks and teams rushing to fill needs allowed Nick Fairley, considered a potential number one overall at defensive tackle, to drop to the Lions with the 13th pick, where he will line up next to the top defensive tackle from last year’s draft – AP Defensive Rookie of the Year Ndamukong Suh.
Casey Matthews, linebacker from Oregon, was selected by Philadelphia in the fourth round, becoming the latest member of the Matthews family to make it to the NFL, adding to their three generations of NFL excellence. He follows in the footsteps of Clay Matthews, Sr. who played with the Forty-Niners in the 1950s. Clay, Sr. had two sons who are NFL legends – Clay, Jr. and Bruce, who each played 19 NFL seasons and combined to reach 18 Pro Bowls. Clay Matthews III is currently a linebacker for the Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers.
Unlike first and second round prospects who are generally expected to contribute immediately, players selected in the later rounds may take more time to develop; however, NFL rosters are stocked with valuable contributors, and several superstars, who were further down the charts on draft day. While the report cards come out as soon as the draft is completed, only time will reveal who are the superstars and who are the busts of the 2011 class.
