This weekend saw the conclusion of the NFL's annual rookie draft. The event, which was first held in Philadelphia in 1936, was held at Radio City Music Hall, making it New York City's 31st straight year as host. Officially, the NFL calls it the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meetings," but for simplicity's sake, we're going to stick to calling it the "NFL Draft."
While it involves no actual sports action, the NFL Draft intrigues us because it is always rife with surprises. Mel Kiper Jr. can spend a whole year planning out his mock draft board, getting insider information from personnel guys in every franchise, and there is still no way he will get all 31 first round picks right, much less the harder-to-forecast later rounds.
Coaches and general managers have to look a few picks ahead and wait for the perfect time to make their moves, just in case other teams are looking at the same player. In many ways the draft, which started as a simple, unscientific selection process -- like picking basketball teams on a playground -- has come to resemble a game of chess.
And now that ESPN broadcasts it live and the NFL has become so popular, it has also turned into quite a spectacle.
While I certainly don't claim to possess more football knowledge than the experts who get paid to know the game and make the selections, there are a few teams who clearly got better deals than the others. So which teams look to benefit most from this year's Draft?
Tennessee: While many NFL experts seem to think Vince Young is a few skills short of the necessary set for a successful NFL quarterback, his ability and desire to make game-changing plays should benefit the Titans. In his physical stature, Young resembles the Titan's long-time signal-caller Steve McNair, who rumor has it will be released in the coming weeks. Now it's up to Young to prove he's ready to be a starting quarterback in the NFL, which is always a lot to ask of a rookie.
But it wasn't just the Titan's first-round pick that makes their weekend a success; with the 45th overall selection, the Titans stole University of Southern California running back LenDale White. White was projected to go somewhere around the 11th pick in the Draft as late as last week, but after he suffered a torn hamstring a few weeks ago, and teams questioned his work ethic, his stock slid.
The fact that White was passed over by every team in the first round is only going to push him to work harder, and yesterday he added, "Right now, I'm looking at a 31-team chip on my shoulder." Tennessee is hoping Young and White can return them to the success they enjoyed when McNair and Eddie George were still healthy and productive.
Arizona: To be fair, half the reason Arizona makes this list comes from an off-season trade, but in combination with its draft pick, it's only a matter of time before the Cardinals make it back to the playoffs.
With the 10th overall pick, the Cardinals took Matt Leinart, who many experts assumed would be selected as one of the first three picks, and sometime before Vince Young. After signing running back Edgerrin James from Indianapolis a month ago, the Cardinals should have a potent offense.
Leinart is a sound, smart quarterback who will likely do great things for the Cardinals down the road, and the fact that he slipped to the 10th pick might be a good thing. It certainly took Ben Roethlisberger less time to make an impact than it has taken Eli Manning.
Denver: The Broncos passed up on drafting a rookie wide receiver in favor of trading for a proven one. Dealing a pick to Green Bay, the Broncos acquired disgruntled veteran Javon Walker.
But the Broncos biggest move was picking up Vanderbilt phenom Jay Cutler. Jake Plummer might have had a great year in 2005, and might have a few left under his belt at the age of 31, but Cutler should help the Broncos to many more years of success after he learns the ropes.
A number of other teams made some smart selections, including New Orleans, which got a chance to pick up USC running back Reggie Bush after Houston passed on him in favor of rejuvenating its defense with defensive end Mario Williams. With the off-season addition of Drew Brees at quarterback and the opportunity to play real home games at the Superdome, New Orleans could finally turn things around.
