Winners and Losers

After the 2010 NFL Draft, the league is totally different. Who would have thought that Tim Tebow would be the second quarterback taken in the draft? Who saw the Jaguars picking a player at #10 that most analysts didn't have in the first round at all? Not many people. However, many people did see the first six picks coming. After Joe Haden was drafted 7th by the Browns, everything went in a different direction. The bottom four picks in the Top 10 were surprising to me, especially C.J. Spiller being taken by Buffalo who already has two running backs. 15 of the 32 first round picks were offensive or defensive linemen. Anyway, every draft has teams that helped themselves and teams that hurt themselves. Here are my winners and losers for the draft.

Seattle Seahawks - Winners
Seattle got two great 1st round picks in Russell Okung and Earl Thomas. I was hoping that the Eagles would trade up and get Thomas. The did trade up, but drafted Brandon Graham, leaving the door open for the Seahawks to grab the former Texas Longhorn. Not only did they grab two impact players on Day 1, but I think Golden Tate was a great pick towards the end of the second round. Many had predicted them drafting C.J. Spiller. While they weren't able to get him, they brought in two solid running backs in Leon Washington and LenDale White. Pete Carroll really knows what he's doing, and maybe he can turn this team around.

New England Patriots - Winners
The Pats don't come to mind when people think of a great draft, but they had a lot of solid picks. I feel that their first round pick, Devin McCourty, is a little underrated. Almost all of New England's picks were solid, and they basically addressed every position they needed to. Aaron Hernandez was a great steal in the 4th round, and I also really like another one of the former Gators they drafted: Brandon Spikes. He has the potential to be a big threat for their defense as long as he can behave off the field. Overall, the Pats added a few guys that should be able to help them in the near future.

Buffalo Bills - Losers
I think that C.J. Spiller is going to be a great NFL player. But I was unhappy that one of my favorite college football players was drafted by a team that already had two solid running backs. The positions they needed help with most were everything but a running back, especially a quarterback and offensive lineman. However, they waited till the fifth and seventh round respectively to address those positions. They had three opportunities to get one of the four most notable quarterbacks in the draft, and they failed to do that. The Bills did not improve their chances of competing for playoff birth.