Well, Day 1 of the 2009 NFL Draft has come and gone, with the obvious being that with all the Mock Drafts by all the experts, no one came even close to expecting the results that we saw, with all the trades and surprising picks, especially the Ravens selections.
However, the more you think about it, the more it begins to make sense. Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome knows the strength of a team comes from its core, and he saw weaknesses on both sides of the ball. Those weaknesses are now definite strengths going into the 2009 season.
The disappointment of the casual fan, and we all were grouped in there for a while esterday before it began to sink in to the loyal, knowledgeable readers of the Beatdown, was that this is still going to be a great draft for Baltimore.
The TV experts are probably going to give us an average grade, as we passed over a bunch of big name players to grab the guys we did, and neglected to get a wideout with our first pick. However, as I said in one of yesterday's post, this team was one game away from the Super Bowl, so we must be close with what we have, and with Derrick Mason, Mark Clayton and Todd Heap, we have a pretty decent set of starting receivers for Joe Flacco to throw to. In addition, we should have a healthy Demetrius Williams back to stretch the field, and have promising second year guys such as Marcus Smith and Justin Harper just waiting for their chance to prove that we didn't need a big name receiver.
Day 2 of the draft is where Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome shines anyway. This is where he will find the next great Ravens Pro Bowler. The pick will be coming fast and furious starting at 10am, in just a little bit from the tie of this post. The Ravens currently only have three picks in the remaining five rounds. The Ravens still have the 24rd pick of round 3, the 23rd in round 4 and the 25th pick in round 6. They traded the other two picks, one last season and the other to move up in the first round yesterday. However, don't put it past Ozzie to make a trade to garner another one or two.
Use this post as the Open Thread and let's get it going!