A couple of thoughts on the draft.

The ESPN coverage, I thought, was better than the NFL Network. Mostly on these broadcasts, I’m looking for some disagreement, and I like some honesty. That is, I want to hear the analysts point out a few of the potential flaws with picks. ESPN did a better job in this area.

I’m not a big Jon Gruden fan, but he was going to bat for Manziel – that he should be picked a lot sooner – and he pointed out some red-flag concerns with some of the picks. Cleveland selected cornerback Justin Gilbert, and Gruden pointed out that Gilbert can’t/won’t tackle, and rolled a lowlights film to support the idea.

Gruden argued that Greg Robinson may have problems with holding at the pro level. Showed a few plays where Robinson grabbed guys on got away with it.

Somebody, I think it was Gruden but might have been Kiper, pointed out that Eric Ebron doesn’t block. Again, they had a lowlights reel. Gruden noted that Ebron rarely ever lined up at tight end. Lions will use Pettigrew as their regular blocking-type tight end, and Ebron will usually be lined up outside, I figure. A couple months back, Joseph Fauria was saying that his goal was to be the Jimmy Graham in this offense. Fauria’s goal now should be to be on a 53-man roster on opening day. Not much of a market for 6-foot-7 tight ends who don’t block.

I had low expectations for Ray Lewis. He’s still making the conversion from player to analyst, but I appreciated that he was willing to say he’d take Khalil Mack before Jadeveon Clowney because he thought he had more heart. On too many picks, Lewis’ summary was pretty much, “that’s a great pick.”

NFL Network tried to go with a compare/contrast deal with players. They would show a play or two of the player, then a play or two of an NFL player who is similar. Brandin Cooks and Antonio Brown, Kelvin Benjamin and Brandon Marshall. That kind of thing. I didn’t think that was effective. With limited air time to work with, don’t show me Antonio Brown to talk about Cooks. Just show more Cooks.

Big hat tip to Marshall Faulk, who completely nailed the Saints’ pick. Everyone else on the set guessed they were going defense. Faulk reasoned that if the Saints were trading up, it would be for an offensive player who would have an impact right away. And with Darren Sproles traded, Brandin Cooks would be the guy. Faulk nailed that one.

Given where they landed, I think those in fantasy leagues – for this year or in a dynasty – have to think about selecting Cooks ahead of Watkins, Evans, Beckham and Benjamin. Roger Goodell announced the pick as "Cook" rather than "Cooks".

I didn’t hear anybody criticize Buffalo, which I thought was weird. Giving away next year’s first-round pick, that’s huge. Sammy Watkins looks great, but which would you rather have: Watkins and no first-round pick next year? Odell Beckham and next year’s first-rounder? Or even a trade down to get Brandin Cooks and pick up an extra pick in 2015? I love Watkins, but I would prefer the Cooks/Beckham options there.

Rams are getting patted on the back, but I disagree. Why didn’t they take the Buffalo trade? Bills could have taken Watkins No. 2, Rams would have still gotten a good tackle (Taylor Lewan or Zack Martin) and picked up a first-rounder for next year. To me, either Lewan or Martin plus a 2015 first-round pick is way better than Greg Robinson.

I would have liked to have heard some voice of reason with Kelvin Benjamin. At 6-foot-5 and 240 pounds, he runs a 4.61. He’s basically a tight end. So I think it’s worth mulling the possibility that he simply won’t be able to get open at the NFL level. Think of Mike Williams (Southern Cal) and Reggie Williams. The defensive backs are a lot bigger, faster and better in the NFL. Maybe Benjamin will turn into another Plaxico Burress, but if you’re a Panthers fan, I think you have to be worried about him.

Mel Kiper described Jadeveon Clowney as the best pass-rushing prospect since Bruce Smith in 1985, but never went into any detail to explain why. 40 time? Strength? Moves? What? Clowney had only 3 sacks as a senior. Kiper argued that was due to Clowney being blocked by two, three and even four guys on every play. That idea, however, wasn’t supported in his highlights package. They showed about a half dozen sacks and big hits by Clowney, and he was blocked by one guy on all of them. If he was blocked by three and four guys regularly, it would have been interesting to see.

I’m guessing that none of the three first-round quarterbacks will start on opening day. I heard the Jacksonville GM, Dave Caldwell, on the radio this morning, and he says his hope is to have Blake Bortles sit all year.

Tennessee’s putting together a big, nasty offensive line.

St. Louis is putting together a great defensive line.

Cleveland and Minnesota did a nice job of moving around. Vikings moved up from 40th to 32nd to get Teddy Bridgewater. I thought on that one the Seahawks would have been more interested in trading for a 2015 first-round pick rather than moving down. Seattle has everything it needs right now,

ESPN kept zooming in on Johnny Manziel as he slid in the draft, and what’s he supposed to do? What look is it that a player should have so it doesn’t look disappointed or concerned? Manziel was in a no-win situation. Why didn’t Teddy Bridgewater get the same treatment (with ESPN zooming in on him after pick)? If you’re a maybe first-rounder and aren’t sure if you’re going in the top 5 or maybe not even in the first round, maybe best to just skip the draft.

Nobody really knows whether Bortles, Manziel or Bridgewater will have the best career. The staff that just got fired in Cleveland spent $100,000 studying this, looking at all of the quarterbacks of the last 20 years. Physical measurements, Wonderlics, college stats, how many games they started and everything else. It was the conclusion of that study that Bridgewater would be the best pro.

Are the Texans going to go Carr shopping again? They need a quarterback, and the best one available is David Carr’s little brother? Could they? Would they? Derek Carr’s highlight package looks awfully impressive; he can really gun it. Barry Sanders and Walter Payton both had brothers who were NFL players but not great NFL players. Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck both had dads who were mediocre pros. I think you look at each player on his own merits, and if Carr’s the guy, you select him.

—Ian Allan