It was a great night in Philly as we had one of the most exiting opening rounds of the NFL Draft. There were trades galore with three of them landing quarterbacks in the top 12 picks. Seven of the top ten picks went to the offensive side of the ball, with three of those selections being wide receivers. In a draft loaded with defensive talent, the last thing I expected to see was three pass catchers go within the first nine picks.

The Browns finally did the RIGHT thing and selected the best player in the draft, defensive end Myles Garrett out of Texas A&M. Unless defensive coordinator Gregg Williams ruins the kid, I expect to see Garrett become a pro-bowl type player. I almost lost my lunch when the Bears gave up the house to acquire North Carolina quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. I just can’t wrap my head around what Chicago was thinking. I don’t believe anyone was attempting to trade up to the second selection to acquire the QB.

A few players slid but none worse the Alabama linebacker Rueben Foster. The one-time top five pick could not overcome his hideous offseason. Foster was kicked out of the combine in February for bad behavior, and had a drug test result come back as diluted this past week. He almost slid out of the first round before landing at pick 31.

Of all the quarterbacks selected in the first round, Patrick Mahomes of Texas Tech may be walking into the best situation. He will not be forced into action as he waits for Alex Smith to play out his remaining years. Mahomes should benefit and blossom under the tutelage of Andy Reid.

Finally, we said there was talent at tight end this year and that held true as there were three players drafted in the first round. Alabama’s O.J. Howard (Buccaneers), Mississippi’s Evan Engram (Giants) and Miami’s Davis Njoku (Browns) should all make an impact as pass catchers for their teams.

Here are my best and worst of Day 1 of the NFL Draft.

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Best Draft: New 49ers GM John Lynch killed it in his inaugural draft. The newbie ransacked the Bears to the tune of two 3rd round picks and a 4th just to allow Chicago to slide up one selection. San Francisco was able to select Stanford defensive standout Solomon Thomas with the 3rd pick overall. Lynch jumped back into the late first round to get top rated linebacker Rueben Foster out of Alabama. Great day 1!

Other Notables Include: The Browns selected Texas A&M’s Myles Garrett, and then made a trade back into the first round to acquire Miami speedster David Njoku. The Jets, Redskins and Buccaneers all benefitted by doing nothing but sitting and waiting for their picks. New York got the second best player in the draft as safety, Jamal Adams out of LSU dropped to pick 6. Washington was just as fortunate as Alabama defensive tackle Jonathan Allen slid to pick 17 and Tampa Bay was able to land Alabama tight end O.J. Howard with the 19th pick.

Top 3 Best Picks: Pick 6: Jets - Jamal Adams, S, LSU, Pick 31: 49ers - Rueben Foster, LB, Alabama, Pick 19: Buccaneers - O.J. Howard, TE, Alabama

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Worst Draft: This one is easy, the Bears. Chicago gave up way too much to move up one slot past the 49ers to select North Carolina quarterback Mitchel Trubisky.

Other Notables Include: Not too sure what the Bengals were doing selecting wide receiver John Ross out of Washington with the 9th pick overall. Ross is blazing fast, 4.22 speed in the 40, but he has had a number of injuries including to both of his knees.

Top 3 Worst Picks: Pick 2: Bears - Mitchell Trubisky, QB, North Carolina, Pick 9: Bengals – John Ross, WR, Washington, Pick 25: Browns – Jabrill Peppers, S, Michigan

Top 10 Available Players for Day 2 of the NFL Draft:

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  1. Dalvin Cook, RB, Florida St.
  2. Forrest Lamp, OG, Western Kentucky
  3. Joe Mixon, RB, Oklahoma
  4. Cam Robinson, OT, Alabama
  5. Tyus Bowser, LB, Houston
  6. Curtis Samuel, WR, Ohio St.
  7. Kevin King, CB, Washington
  8. Obi Melifonwu, S, Connecticut
  9. Jordan Willis, DE, Kansas State
  10. Zay Jones, WR, East Carolina

Robert Garcia @TexasTrinity

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