The Agony and the Ecstasy of the 2013 NFL Draft
The first round of the NFL Draft had more than it share of surprises last night.
Unexpected developments surfaced early, with most of the first ten picks being either offensive or defensive linemen. As one NFL expert said, the big uglies are this year's quarterbacks of the draft.
Speaking of the glamor position, another surprise was only one quarterback being taken and zero running backs.
Not only that, but the one signal-caller selected was neither Geno Smith nor Matt Barkley. Instead, EJ Manuel of Florida State got the call to come on down by none other than those eclectic -- that's a more positive spin than saying puzzling -- Buffalo Bills. The deviation from draft guru scripts didn't stop there, either.
The Chicago Bears and the Minnesota Vikings, who were both at one point thought to be interested in drafting Manti Te'o, passed on him when it was time for them to go on the clock. The Vikings didn't pass just once, but twice in the first round.
No one was willing to waste a first round pick on Te'o. Barring a jump to an online fantasy league, he'll most likely be picked up in the second round along with Alabama running back Eddie Lacy, and quarterbacks Geno Smith and Matt Barkley.
At least Te'o was smart enough to stay in Hawaii during the draft. We had to watch poor Geno Smith suffer through the first round. Smith apparently was led to believe that he would be the first quarterback taken. Oh well.
It was reported at one point last night that Smith would not be back for Round Two, but he, or at least his agent, had a change of heart.
The news from the draft wasn't all off-script. The SEC, as expected, dominated the selections with 12 first-round choices, including three in a row from national champion Alabama, which saw the Tide rolling through picks 9,10, and 11.
The Big Ten had no players taken in the first round. It's been that kind of year for them.
The second and third rounds of the draft are under way today, and the rest of the draft will continue through the weekend.