The first day of the new-look, stream-lined 2008 NFL Draft came to a close shortly before 8 p.m.
The Indianapolis Colts passed on LSU receiver Early Doucet at No. 59, deciding instead to take Arizona State center Mike Pollak.
The Green Bay Packers chose Auburn cornerback Patrick Lee at No. 60, and the Dallas Cowboys grabbed Texas A&M tight end Martellus Bennett at No. 61.
The New England Patriots took Colorado cornerback Terrence Wheatley with the No. 62 pick, and the New York Giants closed the day at No. 63 with USC cornerback Terrell Thomas.
Doucet enters Day Two of the draft as ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper’s No. 5 remaining prospect and No. 2 remaining wide receiver.
Several other former Tigers hope to be selected Sunday including quarterback Matt Flynn, running back Jacob Hester, cornerbacks Jonathan Zenon and Chevis Jackson, safety Craig Steltz, linebacker Ali Highsmith, offensive linemen Will Arnold and Carnell Stewart, tight end Keith Zinger and punter Patrick Fisher.
The Pittsburgh Steelers chose Texas receiver Limas Sweed at No. 53.
Sweed, once projected as a first-round pick, entered the draft as ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper Jr.’s No. 1 wide receiver.
The Titans followed the Steelers’ pick by choosing Eastern Michigan defensive end Jason Jones at No. 54.
Baltimore added to its backfield at No. 55 by selecting Rice’s standout running back Ray Rice, and then Green Bay and Miami picked back-to-back quarterbacks at No. 56 and No. 57.
Green Bay selected Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, also once considered a first-round prospect, and the Dolphins added Michigan quarterback Chad Henne to an already complicated quarterback situation in Miami.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers then selected Appalachian State wide receiver Dexter Jackson at No. 58.
I continue to have my fingers crossed that Indianapolis will take him at No. 59.
Philadelphia continued the run on wide receivers by selecting California’s DeSean Jackson at No. 49.
Arizona followed the Jackson pick by choosing Miami defensive end Calais Campbell at No. 50.
Washington selected Oklahoma receiver Malcolm Kelly at No. 51, and Jacksonville used the No. 52 pick to grab Auburn defensive end Quentin Groves.
Jackson, Campbell, Kelly and Groves all spent time this season as projected first-round picks.
LSU receiver Early Doucet continues to wait as more receivers go off the board.
Washington has grabbed two of the draft’s top receivers in Kelly and Michigan State’s Devin Thomas as well as USC tight end Fred Davis.
I still have faith that Doucet will be selected before the end of the round.
He has generally been considered a second-round pick, dropping slightly into the third round in just a couple mock drafts.
The Indianapolis Colts have the most interest in him, according to local draft analyst Mike Detillier, and would likely take him should he drop to them at No. 59.
Doucet is friends with Colts running back Joseph Addai and has worked with Colts quarterback Peyton Manning in Manning passing camps.
After Detroit selected Colorado linebacker Jordon Dizon, the Cincinnati Bengals chose Coastal Carolina receiver Jerome Simpson at No. 46.
Simpson is the sixth receiver selected this round, coming after a stretch of 5 wide receivers in 10 picks.
Houston’s Donnie Avery began the trend, being picked by the St. Louis Rams.
Michigan State’s Devin Thomas, Kansas State’s Jordy Nelson, Indiana’s James Hardy and Virginia Tech’s Eddie Royal mark the other wide receivers picked.
The top five receivers remaining on ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr.’s Big Board are Texas’ Limas Sweed (No. 1), California’s DeSean Jackson (No. 3), Oklahoma’s Malcolm Kelly (No. 4), Michigan’s Mario Manningham (No. 7) and LSU’s Early Doucet (No. 9).
At least a few of this bunch are likely to go off the board in the second half of this round.
All five began the scouting process rated much higher overall before falling this low.
Concerns about Doucet include his sub-stellar 40-yard dash time and his durability.
Injury or durability concerns also surround Sweed, Jackson, Kelly and Manningham. Manningham also reportedly concerns teams from a character standpoint.
The Philadelphia Eagles selected Notre Dame defensive tackle Trevor Laws at No. 47, and the Washington Redskins just selected USC tight end Fred Davis at No. 48.
The Saints selected Indiana cornerback Tracy Porter with the No. 40 pick.
The Bills selected Kiper’s No. 5 receiver, Indiana’s James Hardy, at No. 41, followed by the Broncos’ taking Kiper’s No. 8 receiver, Virginia Tech’s Eddie Royal at No. 42.
Minnesota traded for Philadelphia’s No. 43 pick and chose Arkansas State safety Tyrell Johnson, and Chicago selected Tulane running back Matt Forte at No. 44.
The Seattle Seahawks selected Notre Dame tight end John Carlson at No. 38.
The ESPN analysts were surprised when the ‘Hawks did not pick Purdue tight end Dustin Keller near the end of the first round.
The San Francisco 49ers then chose USC guard Chilo Rachal
at No. 39.
The Saints are now on the clock, and the ESPN analysts are talking a Saints’ trade for Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey.
The No. 40 pick has been rumored to be part of a potential deal for Shockey for some time now.
The Giants also want the Saints to give up safety Roman Harper, according to reports.
The Miami Dolphins kicked off the second round by selecting Clemson defensive end Philip Merling at No. 32, and then the wide receivers started coming off the board.
The St. Louis Rams selected Houston receiver Donnie Avery at No. 33 overall.
Avery became the first receiver selected this year despite being ranked the No. 14 receiver on ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr.’s “Big Board.”
Avery was quickly followed by Kiper’s No. 2 receiver, Devin Thomas, being selected No. 34 by the Washington Redskins with the pick they received from the first-round trade with the Atlanta Falcons.
The Kansas City Chiefs selected Virginia Tech cornerback Brandon Flowers at No. 35 to help build the secondary behind No. 5 pick, LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey.
The Green Bay Packers used the No. 36 pick they received from the Jets to select the third wide receiver in five second-round picks in Kansas State’s Jordy Nelson.
Nelson was the No. 6 receiver on Kiper’s Big Board.
The Atlanta Falcons selected Oklahoma linebacker Curtis Lofton at No. 37.
The Texans selected Virginia Tech tackle Duane Brown with a No. 26 pick that was traded twice today.
The San Diego Chargers selected Arizona cornerback Antoine Cason, the 2007 Thorpe award-winner for best cornerback in the nation, at No. 27.
The Seahawks, who moved down from No. 25 in a trade with the Dallas Cowboys, selected USC defensive end Lawrence Jackson at No. 28.
San Francisco selected North Carolina defensive tackle Kentwan Balmer at No. 29 to play the nose tackle in their 3-4 defense.
The Jets had their fans screaming at the draft as they traded a second-round and a fourth-round pick to move up to the Green Bay Packers’ No. 30 pick and select Purdue tight end Dustin Keller, who recorded the best vertical leap and 40-yard dash time of any tight end at the NFL Combine.
The Super Bowl champion New York Giants closed out the first round at No. 31 by selecting Miami safety Kenny Phillips.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Kansas cornerback Aqib Talib at No. 20, trying to improve upon this past season’s playoff squad.
The Bucs’ and Saints’ division rival Atlanta Falcons traded up to No. 21 to select USC tackle Sam Baker to help protect No. 3 pick Matt Ryan.
The Dallas Cowboys selected Felix Jones, the second Arkansas running back chosen, with the No. 22 pick to complement Dallas running back Marion Barber III in the backfield.
While I expected the Jones pick, the Pittsburgh Steelers surprised me by selecting Illinois running back Rashard Mendenhall at No. 23. Mendenhall slid further than ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. has expected, but I didn’t think the Steelers would grab another speed back to play with Willie Parker.
The Tennessee Titans surprised former 49ers quarterback and current ESPN personality Steve Young by picking East Carolina running back Chris Johnson — and not Michigan State wide receiver Devin Thomas.
I love Young, but he’s done a poor job of prognosticating the picks and an awkward job of filling the voids in between picks.
The Cowboys just selected for the second time in the first round, picking South Florida cornerback Mike Jenkins.
The ESPN analysts said that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said while the team just acquired maligned Titans’ cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones, the team would draft as though they had not completed the deal — because Jones has not yet been reinstated from his suspension.
ESPN football reporter Chris Mortensen also suggested the Cowboys are considering moving cornerback Anthony Henry to a safety spot.
The Broncos ended the string of defensive selections from No. 5 to No. 11 by selecting Boise State tackle Ryan Clady at No. 12.
The selection of Clady sparked a string of offensive players, particularly linemen.
The Carolina Panthers followed the Broncos’ pick by taking Oregon running back Jonathan Stewart at No. 13, and Chicago selected Vanderbilt tackle Chris Williams at No. 14.
The Chiefs moved up from No. 17 to No. 15 to select Virginia guard Branden Albert, Arizona chose Tennessee State cornerback Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie (cousin of San Diego cornerback Antonio Cromartie) and the Detroit Lions chose Boston College tackle Gosder Cherilus with the No. 17 pick received from Kansas City in the trade.
The Baltimore Ravens remained active, making their second trade of the round.
The Ravens traded down from No. 8 to No. 26, allowing the Jaguars to choose Florida defensive end Derrick Harvey, and then traded back up to the Houston Texans’ No. 18 pick to choose Delaware quarterback Joe Flacco.
The pick marks the third time a Division I-AA or Football Championship Series quarterback has been selected in the first round. Phil Simms and Steve McNair are the previous first-round I-AA selections.
The Philadelphia Eagles followed the Flacco pick by trading out of the No. 19 pick and allowing the Panthers to select Pittsburgh offensive tackle Jeff Otah.
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