Although we won't truly know that quality of the players drafted for a few years from now, it's not too difficult to pick out which players drafted in last night's first round were the best and worst of the first round. While everyone knows the top three of Sam Bradford, Ndamukong Suh, and Gerald McCoy, since they were picked in the top three, it's had to say they were the best pick of the round. Likewise, if someone was expected to get selected at the bottom of the round, it's just as hard to say they were a steal. It's the guys who no one expected to be taken at the top as well as the ones who were expected to go a lot higher that fall into what could be labeled and the "reach" or "steal" of the first round.
So let's name our top two in both categories and then open it up for debate in the comments below.
As far as the guy who made everyone's eyebrows go up when his name was called, Tyson Alualu getting selected with the ten overall pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars has to named the "reach" of the first round. Apparently, the Jags tried to drop back to take him but when they found no takers, knowing they had no second round pick this year, they felt they had no other choice as this was the player they had targeted.
The other player that I'd call a "reach" has to be everyone's list and that is the Denver Broncos' selection of QB Tim Tebow. The Broncos traded up and gave our Baltimore Ravens their 2nd, 3rd and 4th round picks for the right grab Tebow with the 25th pick.
In the "steal" category, to me the guy who fell the furthest was the one that so many Ravens' fans would have loved to hear his name called as the team's first pick of this draft. However, that was not to be and for whatever reason, CB Kyle Wilson fell right into the laps of the New York Jets with the 29th pick in the first round. After an excellent Combine and an even better Pro Day, most people had Wilson going in the mid-to-late teens. Combining Wilson with Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie, the Jets have a solid secondary to contend for the Super Bowl after making it to the AFC Championship Game last season.
After Wilson, the best "steals" of the draft have to be the consecutive picks of both OT Bryan Bulaga at #23 to the Green Bay Packers and Dez Bryant to the Dallas Cowboys at #24, as both were originally considered Top Ten talents, but also fell down the board as the round progressed.
At the same time, as former GM and NFL Network Analyst Charlie Casserly said, the key is not where these guys are drafted, but how they end up performing on the football field.
Of course, QB Jimmy Claussen went undrafted in the round, so he cannot be considered in this debate, as he still remains to be drafted but is widely considered the top prospect remaining in the draft. Therefore, with all this in mind, let the debate begin!