NFL Draft 2013: Stories of the First Round
By John Adair
With the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft in the books, there are many story lines heading into Friday’s second round.
Eric Fisher and Luke Joeckel were locks for the first two picks; it was just a queestion of who the Kansas City Chiefs would take first overall. Andy Reid and company selected Fisher, leaving Joeckel for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Miami Dolphins then struck a deal with the Oakland Raiders to move up to third overall. Miami gave up swapped first-rounders and gave up their second round pick to do so. With the third pick, most expected the Dolphins to select an offensive lineman such as Lane Johnson to protect last year’s first-round pick Ryan Tannehill. Instead, they went with Oregon’s Dion Jordan to add another athletic pass-rusher off the edge to compliment Cameron Wake.
With the Buffalo Bills on the clock with the eighth overall pick and the New York Jets rumored to select West Virginia wide-out Tavon Austin if he was still on the board when it was their turn to pick, the Saint Louis Rams jumped up to the eighth slot. It was clear why they made that jump; the Rams selected Tavon Austin, the best overall prospect according to many experts.
After Austin was off the board, the phrase “Roll Tide” has never been so fitting. Alabama saw three of its key players from the National Championship team back-to-back-to-back. Dee Milliner, Chance Warmack, and D.J. Fluker went to the Jets, Titans, and Chargers respectively.
Perhaps the biggest reach of the first round, the Buffalo Bills selected Florida State quarterback E.J. Manuel with the sixteenth pick. Buffalo traded back from the eighth spot after being rumored to be interested in Ryan Nassib, new head coach Doug Marrone’s quarterback at Syracuse, with that pick. It wasn’t definite that the Bills would take a quarterback with the sixteenth selection, but if they were to take a quarterback, Nassib would be the guy; or so we thought. Manuel was a shocking pick by the Bills at sixteen. Regardless, Manuel was the first and only quarterback off the board in the first round.
Sharrif Floyd, once viewed as a top-five prospect, fell through the cracks all the way to the 23rd pick, where he was taken by the Minnesota Vikings. Two defensive tackles were taken before him, Star Lotulelei and Sylvester Williams.
Linked to Manti Te’o, the Minnesota Vikings dangled their second, third, and fourth round picks in front of the New England Patriots to try to get back into the late first-round. New England agreed to the trade, giving Minnesota the 29th pick. The move was rumored to be to take Te’o before he fell to the Baltimore Ravens, where he would be Ray Lewis’ replacement at middle linebacker. Instead, the Vikings took Cordarelle Patterson, a wide-receiver from Tennessee.
The Rams were on the clock for the second time with the 30th pick. With that pick, they selected an inside linebacker; his name was not Manti Te’o. Jeff Fisher decided on Alec Ogletree from Georgia instead.
Super Bowl Champions, the Baltimore Ravens, were on the clock with the 32nd pick to close out the first-round. In most opinions, the Ravens would be thrilled if Manti Te’o fell to them with the last pick, past Chicago and Minnesota. Te’o was on the board when the Ravens were on the clock, but they elected to pass on him as well. Baltimore went with Matt Elam, a safety from Florida, instead.
With all that said, there were five trades, a few reaches, and some big names left on the board heading into Friday night. Geno Smith, Manti Te’o, and Matt Barkley are still waiting to hear their names called. Don’t forget about Tyrann Mathieu either. The “Honey Badger” has a chance to go in the second-round on Friday. If a team can get Mathieu in a good situation and keep him out of off-field trouble, Mathieu could be a difference-maker right away in the NFL. However, Mathieu’s struggles are well-documented and he didn’t play football this year after being removed from LSU’s team prior to the season.
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