NFL Draft - Stretch Run

They've already had the longest first round in history, but I think the third round should go a bit more quickly. Actually, to start off with picks are going so quick that the commentators are falling behind.

Truth be told, my main concern in this round is whether or not Michael Bush gets drafted or not. Atlanta drafts 11th in this round, so the question is whether Bobby Petrino takes him. As I said before, I doubt Petrino has final say on the pick, and with Warrick Dunn and Jerious Norwood on the roster, the Falcons may not be in the market for running back. Of course, having those two mean the Falcons could take Bush without the concern of needing him to play too quickly. But they may have other needs they want to address.

Sean Salisbury is usually a moron, but he made a good point about Amobi Okoye when Mark May said Okoye needs to bulk up. Salisbury asked why a 6'2" 302 pound guy needs to get bigger.

Well, Atlanta passed on Bush which wasn't unexpected. Looking ahead, his best chance to go this round are probably Philly or Chicago as both teams have two picks. Philadelphia really could use a big back to complement Brian Westbrook, and I know they've talked to Bush recently. Chicago (foolishly) traded Thomas Jones so they could be interested in getting another back to spell Curtis Benson.

Well, they didn't take him. This is problematic because I want Bush to go in the third round, but the only team left who would probably take a running back is Oakland, and I don't want to see him go there. Oakland didn't take him either so he's going to be a day two pick. It's a damn shame too. I was so happy when he said he was going back to UL for his senior year, but now I wish he'd left then. He probably would have been a second round pick instead of waiting until the second day due to breaking his leg in the first game of the year. Some UL fans think he should have taken a redshirt year and gone back to UL for next season, but I don't think that would have made that much of a difference. The belief is that he probably wouldn't be completely healthy until the start of the season which means he would miss most of fall practice and most likely be out of shape. In that condition, it's unlikely he could move back into the first round. He would also be taking a risk of another injury which could really drop him in next year's draft.

That was a long draft. Over 11 hours. I'd like to do it again tomorrow for rounds 4-7, but I've got to drive to Louisville so the best I can probably do is a final recap tomorrow night.