Surprising NFL Draft; Eight is Enough

I watched a grand total of 15 minutes of the NFL Draft. There were a couple reasons for this. I spent most of Saturday with my realtor and most of Sunday running errands. Then there's the fact I cannot stand ESPN's mind-numbing coverage. The artificial delivery wears thin and only becomes managable (sometimes) when Buckeyes are involved. This year's iteration of the draft saw eight Buckeyes selected.

The headline grabber was Ted Ginn going to the Dolphins at #9 - a full ten spots ahead of where most felt he'd be picked. Miami passed on Brady Quinn to gain Ginn's dual threat services and by doing so, generated a cascade of boos from the Miami faithful and articles that castigate the pick. Some go as far to bring up the idea that Ted never goes across the middle which, miraculously, translates to the value of his worth as a receiver. Nevermind the fact that there are several examples that discount this idea - some even in my video section. Not to say Ginn loves to go across the middle - few receivers do - but one has to step over numerous positives to bring it up.

Piggybacking on the Ginn surprise was the freefall of Troy Smith and the resurgence of Roy Hall. For Smith, his national title game made little difference. His combine and private workout - along with a case of the munchies - were the main reasons for the drop. The Raven's get a player who will rededicate himself, learn the playbook and mentor under good friend Steve McNair. Hall has no one to thank other than himself for a 4.38 second burst a few weeks ago. That 40 time alone moved the behemoth receiver up the charts and past others, like the Heisman Trophy winner. Even as late round picks, both players find themselves in excellent situations.

In reality, the whole Ohio State portion of the draft can be termed surprising. Gonzo went late in the first which wasn't a shock but it was his ceiling. Pittman was thought to be the third best back available but he slipped all the way to the 4th round which cost him considerable dinero. Eight total players was probably the max we were going to get and few thought - just a few weeks ago - Hall or Jason Richardson would even be picked. All told, Ohio State's two first round picks moves them past USC for the most first round selections. If you are keeping score at home, we've had 7 first round picks in the last two years and 17 players drafted overall. Not shabby.

There are still some players looking to go the free agent route. Do not be surprised to see Stan White, Jr., TJ Downing, Brandon Mitchell, Justin Zwick, David Patterson and Antonio Smith latch onto a team in the next day or so.