This was probably the cloudiest first-round in several years. No one knew who could wind up being the 32 players taken in the first round, much less what team would take them and in which order they would fall.
But of all the uncertainties, the biggest question mark and wild card in this whole process was former Florida quarterback Tim Tebow. There were talks that the Buffalo Bills were making a feverish attempt to trade back up into the first round to take Tebow, but the Denver Broncos jumped up with an offer the Baltimore Ravens could not refuse.
In return for taking the Ravens’ pick, the Broncos parted ways with a second, third, and fourth-round pick. It’s an incredible hall that made Ozzie Newsome’s “eyes pop” and should really help the Ravens fill some need areas.
Tebow probably won’t start in his rookie year, but he will definitely be given the chance to win the job. The Broncos gave up too much for him not to give him a chance early, so I think he’ll definitely be starting by 2011.
Even if Tebow doesn’t win the job, I expect that Josh McDaniels will find a role for him. He’s an incredibly athletic player who could probably make an impact in the Wildcat or in some other gadget role.
- St. Louis Rams – Sam Bradford | QB | Oklahoma
- Detroit Lions – Ndamukong Suh | DT | Nebraska
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Gerald McCoy | DT | Oklahoma
- Washington Redskins – Trent Williams | OT | Oklahoma
- Kansas City Chiefs – Eric Berry | S | Tennessee
- Seattle Seahawks – Russell Okung | OT | Oklahoma State
- Cleveland Browns – Joe Haden | CB | Florida
- Oakland Raiders – Rolando McClain | LB | Alabama
- Buffalo Bills – C.J. Spiller | RB | Clemson
- Jacksonville Jaguars – Tyson Alualu | DT | California
- San Francisco 49ers – Anthony Davis | OT | Rutgers
- San Diego Chargers – Ryan Matthews | RB | Fresno
- Philadelphia Eagles – Brandon Graham | DE | Michigan
- Seattle Seahawks – Earl Thomas | S | Texas
- New York Giants – Jason Pierre-Paul | DE | USF
- Tennessee Titans – Derrick Morgan | DE | Georgia Tech
- San Francisco 49ers – Mike Iupati | OL | Idaho
- Pittsburgh Steelers – Maurkice Pouncey | OL | Florida
- Atlanta Falcons – Sean Weatherspoon | LB | Missouri
- Houston Texans – Kareem Jackson | CB | Alabama
- Cincinnati Bengals – Jermaine Gresham | TE | Oklahoma
- Denver Broncos – Demaryius Thomas | WR | Georgia Tech
- Green Bay Packers – Bryan Bulaga | OL | Iowa
- Dallas Cowboys – Dez Bryant | WR | Oklahoma State