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By: Jonathan Reynolds

The 2011 NFL Draft and to me it was really strange. Detroit had one of the best picks of the entire draft taking Nick Fairley at #13 overall. Fairley was a beast all year for Auburn and at times was mentioned as a potential #1 overall selection. Not to mention the fact that Detroit landed Ndamukong Suh with their first pick in 2010. I do not want to be an offensive coordinator in the NFC North for the next 10-12 years and having to deal with the Suh/Fairley combo. I understand that Fairley had some questions surrounding him going into the draft, but to snag a hell raising D Tackle at #13 is a steal if you ask me. Some will say that he has work ethic issues, or that he only was the man for a season at Auburn and he hasn’t proven himself. Trust me, if he can be a man amongst boys in the SEC for even just ONE season, I want that guy over some dude who dominates the MEAC for 4 years.

While we are on the subject of 1st round shockers, let me drop this little nugget on you. Atlanta did everything, but sell the farm to come up to #6 and take Alabama WR, Julio Jones. When I first saw this happen, I sort of threw my hands up in the air with a “what in the…” look on my face, and then I thought about it. How many 1st round picks pan out? What is going to happen with Free Agency? I mean this is a different scenario this year because in years past, NFL teams would have already filled a few holes in the with free agency. The more I thought about the drastic move up, the more I loved it! Atlanta had holes on defense going into the 2011 season. They needed a pass rusher. At the same time ATL was crucified for being a bit too vanilla last year later in the season. So what did they do? Oh I don’t know, went out and made a bold move taking a 6-3 220lb wideout who ran a 4.34 at the combine…no big deal. I hate to say it, but this guy has the potential to be the next Andre Johnson. The guy looks like he’s carved out of stone and he runs a sub 4.4, and he has crazy hands?? I love the deal. So Falcons fans? Calm down, step back from the cliff….and for once, drink the kool-aid because it looks like 2011 (if there is a season) looks like a great year to be on the wagon.

WINNERS AND LOSERS; Teams that killed it in the draft and teams that got killed.

Winners:
• New Orleans Saints – New Orleans was aggressive and really made some noise during the Thursday night portion of the draft. They snagged Cameron Jordan, a guy who had been linked to the Patriots all week, with the 24th overall pick and addressed their need for an athletic pass rushing DE. Don’t be surprised to see Jordan make an impact as a rookie. Then the Black and Gold made an extra bold moving by trading up to grab Heisman winning RB, Mark Ingram from Alabama. The Saints gave 5 different guys the chance to win the starting RB job last year and no one really made a strong case to own it. Ingram will remind Saints fans of one of their favorites, Deuce McAlister. He isn’t going to blow you away with speed and 85 yard TD runs. But, he can be your workhorse and a tough short yardage guy for the next 5-7 years. To top it off New Orleans took one of my sleepers in the 3rd round with Martez Wilson LB, Illinois. Wilson is 6-4, 250 lbs, and ran a 4.4 40 at the combine….that is INSANE! If he can behave off the field Wilson could really make in impact on the Saints D as early as next season.

• Cincinnati Bengals – The Bengals started their 2011 Draft off with what I would call a bit of a reach. They chose A.J. Green WR, Georgia with the #4 overall pick. I know the “experts” love Green but for some reason, I don’t buy him. He just didn’t blow me away. Never had more than 57 receptions in a season and never had a 1,000 yard receiving season. However, he did play in the SEC (where WRs typically don’t excel )and he played on a Georgia offense that wasn’t exactly lighting the scoreboard up. But he is tall and has great hands and Ochocinco is playing soccer right now and T.O. is about as old as Biletnikoff. So, I would rank that a solid pick all things considered. Then Cincy backed that up with one of my favorite picks in the draft when they chose Andy Dalton QB, TCU in the 2nd round.

Why do I like Dalton? It’s really easy. THE GUY WINS GAMES. Bam, enough said. 34-3 as a starter. Ok ok, he played in a so so conference and wasn’t on TV every Saturday like Cam Newton but 34-3 speaks for itself. QB is the most important position in professional sports and they got a guy who flat out wins ballgames. That is what I want on my team. Don’t be surprised if Dalton is the most successful QB to come out of this draft when you look back in 15 years later. Then Cincinnati took my other favorite under the radar player, Dontay Moch LB, Nevada. This guy killed it at the combine. 6-1, 247 lbs, and ran a 4.4 40 at the combine. This guy has the potential to be a real terror coming off the edge in that Mike Zimmer defense.

Losers:

• New England Patriots – I can’t even believe that I am putting the Pats in this category. They are the most well run organization in the NFL. Best coach. Best QB (maybe of all time). They are well known for stockpiling picks and they had 6 in the first 3 rounds….six picks! Then they go and pretty much lay an egg. They took Nate Solder OL, Colorado with the 17th overall pick. Ok, this is a solid pick I guess. They need OL help, so I’ll give them a pass with this one. The problem is they had 2 picks in the first round and they didn’t get a pass rusher which is what they needed the most. Early in the second round they took Ras-I Dowling CB, Virginia. I like Dowling, but he has had massive injury concerns and they drafted Devin McCourty in the first round last year, and he was one of the best CBs in the league last year. I don’t know, I just feel like they reached with Dowling when there were some great DE or OLB options out there. The Pats selected two non descript RBs for their next two picks (Shane Vereen, Cal and Stevan Ridley, LSU) and then the biggest head scratcher of all. With the 74th selection overall, they drafted Ryan Mallett QB, Arkansas. This guy is not even close to being a good fit in New England and I’m not even talking about his off the field problems. He has a cannon for an arm but the guy has proven to be a liability off the field, and I don’t really know if he has the ability to handle a Bill Belichick system.

Well those are a few of my thoughts on the 2011 NFL draft. I just hope that we can have football in the Fall, so I can see how wrong I was in all of my predictions, that is always fun. Mr. Commissioner I am really sorry that you got booed at the draft but let’s be honest…”WE WANT FOOTBALL”.

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