Reaching

We knew the first two picks long before Roger Goodell had been showered with boos by restive Jets fans as he walked to the podium.  I guess we knew the first four picks – though not in order – as Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, Trent Richardson and Matt Kalil were taken by Indianapolis, Washington, Cleveland and Minnesota, who looked into the box and found hope. 

Let’s see if it all makes sense…

#	Selection
1	Colts, QB Andrew Luck – What’s the chance the Colts have their QB of the Decade?  Now if they can only find a new offensive line, a running back and a major upgrade on defense.
2	Redskins, QB Robert Griffin III – I still suspect the Reversal of Fortune clause in the Shanahan’s deal with the Dark Lord is still in effect.  This bodes ill for RG III.
3	Browns, RB Trent Richardson – The next Emmitt Smith.  Colt McCoy is not the next Troy Aikman.  Unless we’re discussing concussions.
4	Vikings, OT Matt Kalil – Christian Ponder approves of this draft choice.
5	Jaguars, WR Justin Blackmon – Blaine Gabbert seems more Terry Bradshaw than Troy Aikman.  Blaine Gabbert seems more Roman Gabriel, actually.  Anyway, the Jaguars now have their triplets in Gabbert, Blackmon and the mighty, mighty Maurice Jones-Drew.
6	Cowboys, CB Morris Claiborne – Cowboys move up to continue improving their pass defense.
7	Buccaneers, S Mark Barron – So far, this Tampa Bay draft class grades out as an “A.”
8	Dolphins, QB Mark Tannehill – So what else was Miami supposed to do?  Weeden?  Too old to be the QB of Future. Tannehill is a reach and worse, he’ll probably sit behind Matt Moore his rookie year, but the Dolphins, with Tannehill’s college coach Mike Sherman now their offensive coordinator, had to make this pick.  And no.  He’s not the next Dan Marino.  Sorry, Dolphins’ fans.
9	Panthers, ILB Luke Kuechly – Carolina took care of business on offense with Cam Newton and look for their defensive anchor of the decade in Kuechly.  Can’t you hear Joe Buck saying, “They’re not booing, they’re yelling ‘Luke!’”  I love guys whose names sound like boo!
10	Bills, CB Stephon Gilmore – I’d be giddy if I was a Bills’ fan.  Then I’d remember I live in Buffalo.
11	Chiefs, DT Dontari Poe – I would’ve taken Fletcher Cox.
12	Eagles, DT Fletcher Cox – Good call!
13	Cardinals, WR Michael Floyd – Larry Fitzgerald gets a wing man.
14	Rams, DT Michael Brockers – An uncrazy Albert Haynesworth?
15	Seahawks, OLB Bruce Irvin – If the Patriots had taken Irvin in the 2nd Round I would’ve thought it was a good pick.
16	Jets, DE Quinton Coples – The Ghost of Vernon Gholston says “Woooooo! Wooooooooo!”
17	Bengals, DB Dre Kirkpatrick – If you could just replace your entire defense with the 2011 Alabama defense wouldn’t you do that?
18	Chargers, OLB Melvin Ingram – So, the one knock on Ingram was that his arms were too short.  Or not ideal in length.  Whenever I would read this I would picture a football player with T-Rex arms.  Those are short arms!  I’m guessing Melvin Ingram’s arms aren’t quite that short.
19	Bears, OLB Shea McClellin – The next Mike Vrabel playing for Chicago?
20	Titans, WR Kendall Wright – Jake Locker’s new best friend.
21	Patriots, DE Chandler Jones – Linked to the Patriots in numerous mocks.  Fits the dimensions of the prototypical Belichick OLB.  The Patriots clearly liked Jones more than Whitney Mercilus and were afraid the Texans did, too.
22	Browns, QB Brandon Weeden – Still not feelin’ Troy Aikman here.  Nice knowin’ ya, Colt McCoy.
23	Lions, OT Riley Reiff – No doubt a solid pick but offensive linemen are boring.
24	Steelers, G David DeCastro – Ditto.
25	Patriots, ILB Dont’a Hightower – Inside linebacker is a position of strength with Jerod Mayo and Brandon Spikes but Hightower is supposedly versatile enough to play on the edge and get after the quarterback.  The Patriots moved up to get him so Belichick must have role ready and waiting for the ‘Bama defensive captain.
26	Texans, OLB Whitney Mercilus – A lot less expensive than Mario Williams.
27	Bengals, G Kevin Zeitler – See notes above re: offensive linemen and boredom.
28	Packers, OLB Nick Perry – The Pack adds a bookend for Clay Matthews.
29	Vikings, S Harrison Smith – The consensus second-best safety in the draft manages to avoid sliding into the second round.
30	49ers, WR A.J. Jenkins – WTF?  Seriously, WTF?
31	Buccaneers, RB Doug Martin – Didn’t LaGarrette Blount warn Tampa Bay management not to draft Trent Richardson?  He didn’t say anything about Doug Martin, though, did he?
32	Giants, RB David Wilson – So many running backs in the 1st Round.  That’s crazy, isn’t it?

It’s totally crazy.