This past draft, Michael Crabtree of Texas Tech dropped to tenth, and the San Francisco 49ers thought they were getting the deal of a lifetime. Many speculated that he should have gone much higher, at least at number seven. Instead, the Oakland Raiders choose wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey with their seventh pick, surprising everyone. Al Davis is known for his random, weird decisions, though, so I guess none of us were too surprised.
Now, the 49ers kind of wish they would have passed on Crabtree as well. The rookie, who hasn’t even played in an NFL game yet, is demanding a …read more

Graham Harrell has the most career touchdown passes in Division I, and he broke tons of school and conference records. That apparently doesn’t mean a lot in the NFL, though. This Texas Tech quarterback wasn’t drafted, and although he later worked up with the Cleveland Browns, no one ever offered him a contract. Everyone says that he’s the product of a great offense, not a talented player on his own.
This week, though, Harrell announced that there would be football in his future. He’ll get the chance to prove people wrong as he plays with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the CFL, …read more

An update from a story reported on EMQB earlier today: Texans are no strangers to bad weather, but a storm today hospitalized 12 people when the roof of a Dallas Cowboys rookie minicamp collapsed today, according to reports. Around 60 other people escaped the falling debris with just minor cuts and bruises. 10 people were taken away by ambulance, while two others voluntarily went to the hospital later. Rumors say that 5 of the people injured were players.
Dr. Paul Pepe, head of Dallas EMS, says that no one is in a life-threatening situation right now. Names haven’t been announced for …read more

Want to see who your favorite team drafted? Here’s the 2009 NFL draft by NFL team (rather than by round) for the AFC (NFC here). When you see them all in a grouping, it definitely gives you a more accurate view of how the draft turned out in general for each team. (The 7th round is going on right now, so those picks may not be reflected yet.)
Baltimore Ravens

Michael Oher, OT, Ole Miss
Paul Kruger, OLB, Utah
Lardarius Webb, CB, Nicholls State
Jason Phillips, ILB, TCU
Davon Drew, TE, East Carolina
Cedric Peerman, RB, Virginia

Buffalo Bills

Aaron Maybin, DE, Penn State
Eric Wood, C, Louisville
Jairus Byrd, CB, …read more

Want to see who your favorite team drafted? Here’s the 2009 NFL draft by NFL team (rather than by round) for the NFC (AFC coming soon). When you see them all in a grouping, it definitely gives you a more accurate view of how the draft turned out in general for each team.
Arizona Cardinals

Chris Wells, RB, Ohio State
Cody Brown, OLB, Connecticut
Rashad Johnson, S, Alabama
Gregory Toler, CB, St. Paul’s College
Herman Johnson, OG, LSU
Will Davis, DE, Illinois
LaRod Stephens-Howling, RB, Pittsburgh
Trevor Canfield, OG, Cincinnati

Atlanta Falcons

Peria Jerr, DT, Ole Miss
William More, S, Missouri
Chris Owens, CB, San Jose State
Lawrence Sidbury, DE, Richmond
William Middleton, CB Furman
Garrett …read more

Here are your top ten 2009 draft picks. You can click on any of the links below to read more about the first five picks. Over, most teams have pretty solid players, despite the lack of hype about any amazing players this year.

Matthew Stafford, Quarterback, Georgia to the Detroit Lions
Jason Smith, Offensive Tackle, Baylor to the St. Louis Rams
Tyson Jackson, Defensive Tackle, LSU to the Kansas City Chiefs
Aaron Curry, Linebacker, Wake Forest to the Seattle Seahawks
Mark Sanchez, Quarterback, USC to the New York Jets
Andre Smith, Offensive Tackle, Alabama to the Cincinnati Bengals
Darrius Heyward-Bey, Wide Receiver, Maryland to the Oakland Raiders
Eugene …read more

The Browns should have had this pick, but they traded with the New York Jets. What did the Jets give up for Mark Sanchez? This round’s first and second round picks and three current Jets players. Some fans are crying about this pick. Other fans are extremely happy.
#5 2009 Draft Pick – Mark Sanchez, Quarterback, USC
I think that happiness will die quickly. Sanchez might prove me wrong, but they really need a franchise quarterback. This is a tough, tough, tough place for him to be. The Jets are the only team in their division without a great quarterback…and I think …read more

Regardless of whether or not he’s a good player, Aaron Curry is a good person. He got me a little choked up, actually, when he was picked. Oh, and did you know that the kid with him is a leukemia patient from St. Jude’s? That’s just awesome. You can really tell that Curry’s first concern is providing for his family, and he credited his mom with giving him everything to make this career possible.
#4 2009 Draft Pick – Aaron Curry, OLB, Wake Forest
Let’s talk about his abilities though – he’s solid. I agree with what the experts have been saying …read more

Matt Stafford went first, as expected. The Rams weren’t exactly happy with that, but they had to have expected it. St. Louis had a number of choic when it came to players, and many even suspected that there would be a trade. Some expected Mark Sanchez, and Eugene Monroe was also likely considered. In the end, they went with left tackle Jason Smith. The Rams need him, and that’s definitely solid pick as second, in my opinion.
#2 2009 Draft Pick – Jason Smith, Tackle, Baylor to the St. Louis Rams
He’s great at what he does, and he really has the …read more

Michael Silver at Yahoo! Sports has an interesting article posted – an ultimate mock draft that pretends that all of today’s NFL players can be drafted. Here are his top ten:

Detroit Lions – Larry Fitzgerald, WR
St. Louis Rams – Peyton Manning, QB
Kansas City Chiefs – Tom Brady, QB
Seattle Seahawks – Matt Ryan, QB
Cleveland Browns – DeMarcus Ware, OLB
Cincinnati Bengals – Ben Roethlisberger, QB
Oakland Raiders – Chris Johnson, RB
Jacksonville Jaquars – Alber Haynesworth, DT
Green Bay Packers – Joe Thomas, OT
San Francisco 49ers – Adrian Peterson, RB

It’s interesting that he things the Lions would pick someone other than a quarterback. But, as …read more