Breaking down the draft Pt3-rounds 2 and 3

So who were those players taken late on Saturday during this past draft? Why will most of them stick around longer in the NFL then a few of the first rounders?

Everyone is still talking about Kevin Kolb’s selection at #36 to the Eagles, but what was more noticeable to me was that 2 more QB’s came right off the board over the next 7 picks (John Beck of BYU at #40 to Miami and Michigan State’s Drew Stanton at #43 to Detroit). I was surprised that ten QB’s were chosen over the two days when this was considered a weak draft for the position. Weaker still was the class of Running Backs, yet 23 were chosen over the entire 2 days of the draft. 23! I feel that all five of the round 2 and 3 selections at RB will contribute to their teams. Brian Leonard (Rutgers-#52 to the Rams) will have an impact as a change up guy for Steven Jackson. You can expect Kenny Irons and Chris Henry selected back to back by the Bengals and Titans, to also be early contributors. I was shocked to see Tony Hunt last as long as he did into the third round.
The most selected draft choice this year was DB, where exactly 50 were chosen. That could mean 2 things. Either every NFL team needed Defensive backfield help or the Positions were deep with talent. Round three saw the biggest run of one position, receiver, in any recent draft I could remember. At one point 7 of 8 picks in a row were Wide Outs, with the 8th being a Tight End. Four OL’s who slipped down into round two were Arron Sears, the Tenneesse OG who fell to Tampa, OG Justin Blalock of Texas who went to the Falcons, and Tony Ugoh , the Arkansas OT who went to the Colts, as well as USC OC Ryan Kalil , who went to Carolina at #59. Ugoh was the most interesting of these three, as he had been rated a mid-to-low first rounder at one point.
He had slipped due to a poor pro day workout and a lack of work ethic. By the same token on the other side of the pit, Alan Branch had the same issues, and he only slipped to the first pick of the second round. I even commended The Cardinals early on day two for grabbing two pit studs (Levi Brown at #5 and Branch at 33, even though I feel Brown still went a bit higher then he should have).

Out of 1500+ Draft eligible players, maybe 1/3rd of those are capable of playing at the next level in some way, shape or form (NFL, CFL, AFL AFL2, or NFL Europa). Of those 500, 255 were drafted, so what about the others? They are UDFA's (undrafted free agents) and over 200 of them have already been signed to teams, including 13 with the NY Giants. In our final installment of Breaking down the draft we will examine these UDFA's, and wrap-up our Coverage with some info on day two players. We will then begin to prepare for the 2008 Draft, while shifting our focus to the 2007 College and Pro seasons, and of course, Fantasy Football and it's relationship to all of this. Again please, anyone with a comment or Question, I can be reached at: bill@fieldposition.com