Quick Reactions to 2009 NFL Draft

As many of you know, the NFL held its annual rookie draft this past weekend. Below is not a detailed analysis, merely some quick reactions from a fan of the sport:

• As a 49ers fan, I have to start off by saying MICHAEL CRABTREE, HELL YES! For those of you that don't know, the Texas Tech alum is arguably the best WR in the draft and one of the best skill players overall, and was notably passed on by the Oakland Raiders (but more on that later). Overall a very solid draft for San Francisco that addressed many holes, and I believe we can contend this year and are only a year or two (or a couple good trades) removed from being an all-out title contender. Other highlights from the draft included RB Glenn Coffee (Alabama) who will provide a nice compliment in the backfield to Frank Gore.
• LOL at the Oakland Raider's passing of several key players, most notable the aforementioned Crabtree, for Maryland's WR Darrius Heyward-Bey. Not a bad player at all, but the fact of the matter is they could have traded down and still picked him up. At their position, even though Al Davis covets speed above all else, I still can't see why they chose Darrius over Jeremy Maclin (Missouri). That old geezer continues to bring down what was once the most feared franchise in the game. But at least with the botched 1st round pick they still got a good prospect; their 2nd round stunner was picking up a Saftey in Michael Mitchell (Ohio) that was projected to go undrafted. At least pick him up on Day 2 instead of completely wasting this pick! Alas, Raiders fans are too blinded by their unconditional love that they cannot see how far this ship is sinking. I still predict that they will at least sign Michael Vick out of prison next year to give them a tad more credibility after JaMarcus Russell further proves his ineptitude at the QB postion this year.
• The Philadelphia Eagles had a very strong showing. LeSean McCoy (Pitt) and Jeremy Maclin are both playmakers that fit the Eagle's system perfectly and will have immediate impacts complimenting Brian Westbrook and DeSean Jackson, respectively.
• Graham Harrell (Texas Tech) and Chase Daniel (Mizzou) both went undrafted? Really? Two Heisman finalists that hold a bevy of records? Granted, there is a distinction sometimes between college talent and pro talent, but surely these guys are better than some of the other QBs drafted, especially in the later rounds.
• Matthew Stafford (Georgia) went No. 1, as predicted. Yawn. Brandon Pettigrew (Oklahoma St.) at #20 further bolsters the Lion's offense... but they have so many holes on both sides its hard to see them really doing that much. They are young though, so maybe in a few years we will really see how dominant this offense can be with these guys being added to last year's core talent duo of RB Kevin Smith and WR Calvin Johnson.
• I don't really understand the Jets moving up to grab Mark Sanchez. Granted, he is a phenomenal college QB with the tools to be a great NFL QB, but I don't think it really fits a Jets organization that hasn't even given its supposed future QB (now former) Kellen Clemens a chance. Objectively speaking, they gave up a lot to get Sanchez and would probably have been better seeing how Clemens does and even draft somebody out of next year's outstanding QB class that inlcudes Tim Tebow, Sam Bradford, and Colt McCoy. Stupid.
• Back to the Niners, the one thing we seem to be lacking is a true franchise QB to carry us like the legendary Joe Montana and Steve Young, and a role that even Jeff Garcia did a pretty good job filling for awhile. Alex Smith has that potential if he can stay healthy. Shaun Hill is solid but not great. Nate Davis (Ball State) is pretty overrated in my opinion, but maybe he'll turn out to be something we arn't anticipating. I still wish the 49ers stepped up and got Matt Cassell...