Saturday, April 26, 2008

Tiger tandem taken on draft’s first day

I’m not sure if it was as long as The Godfather Trilogy, but I sat through the entire first and second rounds of the NFL Draft Saturday afternoon and evening. That’s about seven hours of flipping between ESPN, ESPN2 and the NFL Network.

I spent the first part of the draft hoping the Jets would not land RB Darren McFadden. Thanks, Raiders. I spent the second part of the draft hoping my woeful Dolphins would fill their quarterback needs. It took them long enough, but they finally called Chad Henne’s name with the 57th pick.

After some first round speculations, I was somewhat surprised to see Auburn defensive end Quentin Groves not be chosen until the 52nd pick overall, halfway into the second round, by Jacksonville. Six defensive ends were taken before him, so I suppose Groves has an opportunity to prove some NFL scouts wrong.

Groves was the first of two Auburn players chosen Saturday. Green Bay selected Tiger cornerback Patrick Lee, who had a strong senior season, with the 60th pick overall. Lee will get plenty of chances to prove his worth against fellow Packer draftee, quarterback Brian Brohm.

Sunday, I’d expect Auburn defensive tackle Pat Sims to be the first Tiger drafted, possibly in the third round. Others that might be selected today include offensive lineman King Dunlap, fullback Carl Stewart, defensive back Jonathan Wilhite, defensive back Eric Brock and tight end Cole Bennett. Auburn has a long history of proven fullbacks in the NFL (Tony Richardson, Heath Evans, Harold Morrow, Fred Beasley, William Andrews, to name a few), so you’d think Stewart, who has excellent hands, could be given a look.