NFL Draft

[Jedi Master Carr]

Well the big day for Mel Kiper is here :p and one of the longest days if you dare watch it. It starts in about 12 hours and this draft looks very interesting and very unpredictable, even though the first two picks are guarenteed (Carr, no releation, has signed with the Texans, and Peppers has signed with Carolina) after that it becomes murky though because all eyes will be on Detroit to see who they take, they are the key for the next 10 picks. Nobody knows who they will take though they are rumored to be thinking about taking Harrington and they should there starting QB is nothing better than a 3rd stringer and Harrington is going to be awesome I think. If that doesn't happen then we might have a huge trade 5 picks down between Kansas City and Washington (Snyder is in love with Harrington) and it could be a big trade for the Chiefs if it happens. The Chiefs could take Harrington there are people in the organization who wants him but they have one QB and have other needs (especially defense) and those picks would really help.
A couple more things might go down, Bledsoe might get traded somewhere (The Bills are interested) there are other possible trades and what not. I think it will be a wild draft and it will be interesting to see what happens tomorrow.

[CMJ]

I'm interested to see where Roy Williams goes....as I believe he's the best player in the draft. That guy is gonna redefine the Safety position.

I can't say I'll be watching it all day(I'll be watching the NHL playoff and writing), but I'll check in every hour or so.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I doubt I will watch it all day (they have 15 minutes between picks so it takes forever) I will watch to see what my teams (KC does) I want them to get Simms, out of NC, he is awesome and would really secure that DL of theres but he might be gone and then I would just make that Washington trade. I think Williams could go anwhere from 4 to 14 from what I hear, Dallas is interested in him and there are other teams interested in him to, I think he will be a great pro and who ever gets him will get one of the best safetys for the next ten years.

[CMJ]

Yeah...the 15 minute thing does make the day last years. ;) Of course the 1st 2 picks should go within like 5 minutes, so we'll be ahead of schedule early on. :)

[Sumor Rayial]

Well the first two picks aren't going that fast but Carr was just taken and their talking about the Panthers pick now.

As for watching it. Nope, other than the fact that we only get it for like 2-3 hours up here on TSN I got better things to do with 2-3 hours. I usually check the NFL website every hour or so for picks.

My team (49ers) is pretty much up in the air. They need OL help and probably some secondary help too.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Well Detriot made the correct call in getting Harrington, the QB they had was terrible and they needed another one. Now I am waiting on my team hoping that Sims drops to 8th.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Wow Dallas ran out of time try to work out a trade and almost blew the trade (Minnesota could have gotten up and made a pick if they had wanted to) But the Dallas made the trade with Kansas City who then selected their man Sims :) I am happy now he really helps our team we need somebody who can stop the run.

[Jedi Master Carr]

The draft is over and the first 3 rounds finished and so far no real surprises. I am glad the picks that my team (The Chiefs) made they really improved their DL which was awful last year and one of their main needs of improvement. I look at this way NE had a similar record last year and one of the things that made them better defensively was the 6 pick Seymour a DT and we did that at the exact same pick so maybe we can do the same thing or least make the playoffs.

[Sumor Rayial]

Well San Fran picked up some secondary help in Mike Rumph out of Miami (Fla). They traded their 2nd rounder to Buffalo for some later draft picks. Then in the 3rd they picked up Saleem Rasheed, a Middle Linebacker out of 'Bama, though from his bio and the 9ers needs he'll probably be moved to the outside spot.

Tomorrow is where the 9ers have the most of their picks though.

[JonathanLB]

"The draft is over and the first 3 rounds finished and so far no real surprises."

Well, I thought Harrington's #3 pick was nice, a bit of a surprise.

I saw analysts saying he was going to go 8th and I kept thinking, DANG, these people are seriously stupid if they don't pick him early.

Harrington is the man. Mark my words, he will prove a better QB than Carr BY FAR in the years ahead. His leadership abilities and presence are going to make him a truly great QB even in the NFL. The verdict on Carr is still out, but to pick him over Harrington was a big mistake. They will learn that in time.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I agree with you Jon, the reason I said no real surprises is that people start saying a couple of days ago that Detriot was going to take him. They would have been stupid not to IMO. Sure it would have been great for my team KC to get him but we really needed a DT more so I am fine that Detriot that franchise needs something good to happen to it.

[JMK]

Yeah yeah, but who did the fish get???:D

[Jedi Master Carr]

They didn't have a pick in the first two rounds because of the Ricky Williams trade but I guess he is at least worth the first round pick.

[Figrin D'an]

It also now appears that the Patriots and Bills are going to get a deal done to send Drew Bledsoe to Buffalo, in exchange for the Bill's first round pick next year. (This seems even more likely now that New England took Rohan Davey in Rd. 4) If the deal does indeed happen, it is definately a good trade, IMO. Bledsoe is a big time QB, which the Bills desperately need, and another first round pick next season is a great pickup for the Pats.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I am glad for Drew but I am not sure if I like trading within the division but it will make the Bills-Pats games even more interesting :)

[CMJ]

Yeah..tell me about it Carr. Maybe my beloved Bills might make some noise this year. Yes..I'm a Bills fan...so I expect to be picked on. :P I don't care, I'm tough.

Overall I thought we drafted rather well to be honest. I'm gonna have to examine all the picks from everyone to see what team drafted the best overall...but I thought the Cowboys did very well yesterday.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I was happy with how my team (Chiefs) did, we mostly drafted defense but that is what we needed, so hopefully our defense will be better because of it.

[CMJ]

Kansas City did really well from what I read. Here's a good story from their website...

Weeks of speculation and mock drafts, predications and suggestions, even mocks of mock drafts have finally ended. When the dust settled Sunday the Chiefs happily reported that they had accomplished their number one mission of bolstering their defense, utilizing four of their five choices on that side of the ball to make great strides in improving their defensive depth.

"We've concluded what I think everyone would say would be a defensive-oriented draft for the Kansas City Chiefs," Chiefs President Carl Peterson said Sunday night. "Four of our five draft choices are on that side of the football and I think philosophically (head coach) Dick Vermeil and myself and (Vice President of Player Personnel) Lynn Stiles and our coaches wanted to put some emphasis there. As it fell that's where it ended up."
After nearly 18 hours of drafting, here’s the blow-by-blow of how the weekend unfolded for the Red and Gold.

First, Kansas City ended up trading up with Dallas to select their top candidate DT Ryan Sims with the sixth pick in the first round. Then, sitting in round two with the 43rd pick overall the Chiefs looked at their draft board and still had two top-rated players worthy of that choice: a WR and another defensive lineman. They chose to stay on the defensive, picking DE/DT Eddie Freeman from Alabama-Birmingham.

In Day Two, the Chiefs set their sights on FB Omar Easy from Penn State, LB Scott Fujita of California and LB Maurice Rodriguez from Fresno State.

DT RYAN SIMS (6-4, 311) – Round 1 (6)
If DT Ryan Sims made life this interesting on his first day with the club, think how exciting he is going to be on the field this fall. In a last-minute effort, the Chiefs traded first-round picks with Dallas in order to move up to the sixth overall position to nab the 6-4, 311-pound senior from North Carolina.

With Dallas on the clock with the sixth pick, things got exciting in the last few minutes. Peterson was diligently on the phone with Dallas working out the terms of a trade to move up to that slot. Just before the 15-minute time limit for the sixth selection was about to expire, Kansas City exchanged their first round pick (eighth overall), their third round pick (75th overall) in 2002 and a sixth-round choice in 2003 to move into the sixth position to select Sims.

The Chiefs organization had identified Sims as their top choice early on, and on Saturday they did exactly what it took to get him. Peterson told reporters that Minnesota, who held the seventh overall pick, was anxiously waiting to take Sims with their choice.

"Our defensive coaches and personnel staff had him rated at the top and it didn’t change," Peterson said. "Believe me, I think we have analyzed the defensive tackle position for this year coming out. He kept coming out on top. He has all those attributes you look for not only on the field but off. We couldn’t find any holes."

Vermeil expressed interest in filling the need for defensive help and when the head coach at North Carolina and long-time friend, John Bunting, gave Sims a high recommendation, it was too much to pass up. Bunting, who was an assistant coach with the Chiefs, worked as a defensive coordinator under Vermeil with the Rams and was also a key defensive player on Vermeil and Peterson’s Super Bowl XV, squad in Philadelphia.

"I don’t think there’s any flaws," Vermeil said about Sims. "What he needs is experience and a lot of hard work. He’s got the strong lower body, the power, the explosiveness to get around a guy quickly. He gets to the quarterback in a bad mood."

Sims finished his collegiate career with 167 tackles (83 solo), 14.0 sacks and 28 tackles for a loss.

"[Kansas City] is a wonderful place," Sims said minutes after being selected. "I’ve been thinking about being a Chief for a while since coach [John] Bunting was filling my head about how great Coach Vermeil was. I’m just elated right now, this is a dream come true."

The 2001 All-America selection is the first North Carolina player taken by the Chiefs since RB Ethan Horton was selected in the first round in ’85. Taken with the sixth overall selection in the draft, Sims was also Kansas City’s highest selected player since they took LB Derrick Thomas with the fourth pick in ’89.

DE/DT EDDIE FREEMAN (6-5, 310) – Round 2 (43)
In the second round Kansas City selected another defensive lineman, Eddie Freeman from the University of Alabama-Birmingham with the 75th overall pick. Listed as a DE/DT, Freeman is a 6-5 senior originally from Mobile, Alabama who tips the scales at 310 pounds.

As a four-year starter for the Blazers, Freeman compiled 184 tackles (107 solo), 14.5 sacks and 36 tackles for a loss. The big anchor on UAB’s "Steel Shield" defensive front also forced four fumbles, recovered three fumbles and deflected 15 passes.

The Chiefs front office was excited that Freeman was still available with their pick, and concluded that more defensive help was best for the franchise.

"He’s a very, very intense kid," Vermeil said. "Very tough. When you visit with him he just keeps moving forward till he’s really just on the edge of the chair like he’s ready to get in the four-point stance. That’s the kind of kid he is."

FB OMAR EASY (6-1, 244) – Round 4 (107)
With their first selection of Day Two, Kansas City switched sides of the ball and addressed an offensive need. With only two fullbacks on the roster, Tony Richardson and free agent acquisition Paul Shields, the Chiefs drafted Penn State’s Omar Easy to add depth and youth to the position.

Easy spent much of his collegiate career playing tailback for the Nittany Lions, gaining 659 yards with five touchdowns on 155 carries (4.3 avg), hauling in 26 passes for 250 yards (9.6 avg) and one score. The Jamaican-born prospect combines power speed and should serve as a duel threat in the Chiefs backfield and on special teams.

LB SCOTT FUJITA (6-5, 248) – Round 5 (143)
The Chiefs returned to addressing their defensive needs by selecting LB Scott Fujita from California. After enrolling at Cal as a walk-on, Fujita worked his way to becoming a two-year starter at outside linebacker.

Peterson dubbed Fujita as "the smartest member of the team," in large part to his 4.0 grade point average and his expectations of earning a Master’s degree in education in a few weeks. The adopted son of Japanese parents also graded out at the high end on nearly every physical test, possessing the all-around athletic acumen of what Vermeil termed "Olympian."

In his senior season at California, Fujita recorded 60 tackles (43 solos) with 2.5 sacks (-23 yards) and seven tackles for loss (-35 yards), deflecting three passes and causing a pair of fumbles.

LB MAURICE RODRIGUEZ (6-1, 237) – Round 7 (221)
Kansas City concluded its 2002 draft by selecting back-to-back linebackers when they chose Maurice Rodriguez with their seventh-round pick following the selection of Fujita. Peterson was excited that they were able to get such a talented player that deep into the draft. The Fresno State alum had a breakout senior season, manning the weakside outside linebacker position and leading a very successful Bulldog team in tackles.

The hard-hitting, Visalia, California native finished his career with 133 tackles, including 95 (61 solo) during his senior campaign. He also compiled 3.0 sacks and nine tackles for loss in starting 13 of 32 career games played.

"I am not a guy that gets all fired up about this is the greatest draft and this is the greatest first round pick we've ever had in our lives, and you can't wait until you see him on the field," Vermeil concluded Sunday. "Hey, only time will tell. But because of the effort our people have made to do it right we'd like to think it's a very positive draft."

[Jedi Master Carr]

Cool, thanks, I think the Cheifs drafted pretty good, I really like Sims I hope he pans out as well as the last time we picked 6th, Derrick Thomas was just a special player though too bad he had to die like he did. Sims is also compared to Sapp so I think we might have something with him. The second guy looks pretty good too, we need a lot of help on the DL and the adding of two LBs will help at least at Special teams overall I liked how we drafted.

[CMJ]

Yeah...I think KC did well. Hell even their bottom round ppl look like they could be solid. Vermeil made alot of progress with that squad at the end of last season...they're a sleeper.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I think they could win their division, Oakland is getting old, Denver has got a lot of problems with injuries (Davis, Griese, Mcaffery) and SD isn't really going anywhere. I think they are one team that could surprise people like NE and Baltimore have in the last two seasons, I also think the Colts will be dangerous too I really like what Dungy is doing there.