In the 2010 NFL Draft, two teams enter with with picks in the first round. Seattle will be selecting 6th and 14th, and San Francisco with have the 13th and 17th picks. For the most part there are teams that trade up and acquire another first rounder every year.
In 2007, Cleveland selected Joe Thomas 3rd overall, and did not wait to see if Brady Quinn would fall to them in the 2nd Round. They traded with Dallas and moved up to take the Notre Dame quarterback. Their two selections have been half right. Thomas has developed into one of the premier tackles in the league. Quinn held out, watched Derek Anderson have a great season, never did develop into a quality starter and was traded to Denver. Also in 2007, San Francisco had two picks, selecting Patrick Willis and Joe Staley. Their picks have fared better than Cleveland. Willis is one of the best middle linebackers in the game, and Staley, while not nearly in the class of Thomas, has produced far more at tackle than Quinn did at quarterback.
In 2008, five teams wound up with two first round picks. The pair of picks taken by Atlanta have been by far the best of the bunch. Matt Ryan has started since Day 1, and led the Falcons to the playoffs in 2008 and their first ever back-to-back winning seasons in franchise history. Baker was thought to be a reach when the Falcons moved up to take him, but he has been a solid tackle, and he looks to protect Ryan for years to come.
In 2009, four teams had two picks in the first round. Detroit had an opportunity to follow the Falcons plan and take a franchise quarterback and left tackle, but after selecting Matthew Stafford first overall they passed on Michael Oher and picked tight end Brandon Pettigrew. While Pettigrew may develop into a quality tight end, Oher had a great season with Baltimore and looks to be their long term answer to replace Jonathon Ogden.
But the best pair of picks may turn out to be Green Bay in 2009, with their selections of B.J. Raji and Clay Matthews. Raji looks to be the run stuffing nose tackle they need for their 3-4 defense, and Matthews showed that even though he was a bit overshadowed at USC by fellow linebackers Brian Cushing and Rey Maualuga, he excelled in his rookie season.
With the depth of talent in the 2010 NFL Draft, it will be interesting to see if either Seattle or San Francisco will trade down and stockpile picks or hold onto their selections. I have Seattle taking Bryan Bulaga and C.J. Spiller, and the 49ers taking Trent Williams and Sergio Kindle. Seattle needs to replace Walter Jones, and Pete Carroll might be looking to use Spiller the same way he did with Reggie Bush at USC. I can see them holding onto both selections. San Francisco is looking for a tackle to pair up with Staley, and there is plenty of depth at the position. If they can trade down and possibly select Charles Brown or Anthony Davis, and even get Kindle or maybe Taylor Mays later in the first round look for the 49ers to be active trading partners in the opening round of the 2010 NFL Draft.
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