Ravens strike gold with Clayton
By Randy Mueller
ESPN Insider
Archive

As teams go back to the drawing board for Day 2 of the draft, here is a look back at some Day 1 highlights – from a front office perspective:

Analysis: First round | Second round | Third round | Day 2 look-ahead


Best move
The Saints gave up a third-round pick in 2006 to move up three spots and get ahead of Carolina to draft OLT Jammal Brown from Oklahoma. In doing their homework, the Saints knew the Panthers had Brown high on their draft board and that his toughness and passion were what John Fox & Co. were looking for.
No in-house consensus could be found regarding Alex Barron, the somewhat underachieving tackle from Florida State, so the Saints pulled the trigger, leap-frogged a division rival and beat them to the punch on Brown.
Surprise pick
If you'd have told me Jacksonville would have picked WR/TE Matt Jones (Arkansas) and OLT Kalif Barnes (Washington) in the first two rounds, I would not have batted an eye. It's how they got them that makes you shake your head.
Barnes was rated by most as a first-round tackle, most likely the third one to come off the board in the middle or end of the round. Jones, a project who has played about 20 plays at receiver, was supposed to be an option at 31 for Philadelphia. Instead, the Jags took a giant leap of faith and selected Jones at 21; somehow Barnes fell to them at 52 in the second round. It's like two pars in a row on the golf course for some of us. You don't have to describe it – just mark down two 4's.


Some things never change
With the 22nd pick in the first round, Ozzie Newsome, the Ravens' front-office guru, took this year's version of Ed Reed or Todd Heap – Mark Clayton from Oklahoma.
Clayton is a very polished receiver who will play early in his career and have people asking how Baltimore got him at 22. Sometimes it pays to not overthink your position in round one and just have patience. Ozzie is the master of that and may have struck gold once again with Clayton.


Intriguing pick of the day
When Matt Millen was quoted in a local paper last week as saying "by Saturday we will have no holes to fill," we should have known anything would be possible. With the Lions having a need or two on defense, Millen went against that conventional wisdom and drafted a falling star in WR Mike Williams from USC. It sounds great on paper, and Detroit will be a fantasy-football guy's dream, but let's see how Steve Mariucci handles the cries that are sure to follow about playing time and working in a three-receiver set more than 30 percent of the time.

Dilemma of the day
You could see this one coming a few miles away, but when speculation began late last week that Cal QB Aaron Rodgers might fall to the bottom of the first round, you figured things would get uneasy in Cheese-land.
With Brett Favre's future in limbo beyond this year, Packers fans are screaming for a plan to replace him. Unfortunately for head coach Mike Sherman and new GM Ted Thompson, they are also screaming for a legitimate defense to slow somebody down as well. With a first-year GM (armed with a long-term contact) and a coach entering the last year of his contract, the different timelines to win are obvious.

Rodgers might have been the best selection for the Packers as an organization, but I'm not sure it helps Sherman and his staff win games this year. That is what's called being stuck between a rock and a hard place if you're Thompson. Hopefully, Sherman gets an extension and everybody wins.


Greedy Bills
It has been no secret the Bills have wanted to trade disgruntled running back Travis Henry. The three most likely suitors were the Cardinals, Bucs and Eagles. Ouch, not so fast. All three teams drafted running backs on Day 1 instead of folding to the high demands of the Bills. Now, Buffalo must deal with Henry for 2005 or be willing to take a second-day choice this year or maybe a 2006 choice.
Stay tuned, Day 2 should be just as interesting.