Every year, the NFL Draft surprises me with some of the players not selected. Tyler Palko not getting drafted was something of a surprise, but in the context of this draft, it seemed that a lot of teams either were not overly enamored with the QBs available or just didn’t even come close to having a need. Only 11 QBs were drafted and there was no point where a run on QBs happened.

Other QBs of note, not drafted: Jared Zabransky (Boise St.), Chris Leak (Florida), Matt Moore (Oregon St. — and who Jaworski was banging the drum hard both days) and Luke Getsy (Akron). Yeah, thinking about it, the QB play in college football this past season was hardly awe inspiring. Conference USA had more QBs drafted (2) than the combined total of the SEC (1), Big 12 (0), ACC (0) and Big East (0). Yes, some has to do with underclassmen who start and a couple who came back for a senior season. Still, that says something about the overall quality of QB play.
That Clint Session went in the 4th round while H.B. Blades was drafted 6th is just one of those things that boggles my mind. I get that physically Session looks like the better prospect; but after 3 years or so of muttering/screaming/sighing “tackle, don’t hit” when Sessions gets in on a play, some attention should have been paid to which player was more productive. I hate ripping Pitt players, even when they piss me off, but Sessions has a more extensive injury history and less productivity than Blades. Sessions has never gotten the fundamentals with any consistency. He’ll do it for a while, but he quickly slips back to trying to hit and not thinking. Well, at least Sessions thanked the coach that got him to this point.

“I owe a lot to Coach Wannstedt for my development the past couple of years at Pitt, and he raved about me,” Session said. “I dreamed about this for a long time, and it finally played out for me. I’m going to get a chance to play in the NFL, I’m so excited about that.”

If you watched the draft coverage, you know it was a surprise to ESPN that Sessions was selected. They had no film ready for him.

Glad that Palko and TE Steve Buches are getting free agent shots with New Orleans and St. Louis respectively. Kind of surprised Punter Adam Graessle hasn’t signed a deal yet.

Only one Big East team didn’t have a single player drafted. Not Syracuse. Not UConn. Not Cinci. West Virginia. Go figure. That’s stunning. Their Center, Dan Mozes, won the Rimington Award for best Center and teams didn’t even blow a 6th or 7th round pick on him. All because he lacks ideal size.

It was great seeing Revis drafted at #14 by the Jets. On opening day, that means he’ll be lining up against either Donte Stallworth or Randy Moss of the Patriots.  Welcome to the League, Darrelle.

Surely you’ve seen by now that Darrelle Revis was taken by the New York Jets with the #14 overall pick in the NFL Draft. Any thought of him getting to stay in Pittsburgh was wiped out when he was taken one pick ahead of the Steelers after the “J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets” traded up. Hey, at least he didn’t go to the Patriots.

ESPN Insider has a final breakdown on the selection.

Scouts take: With both of the top two corners available and the Jets’ top need a corner, they decided to pull the trigger on the day’s first trade and pick up Revis. Although Revis can take too long to change directions at times and has some problems matching up with explosive slot receivers, he is still a first-round talent. More importantly, his instincts should make him an excellent fit for head coach Eric Mangini’s defensive schemes and he is a playmaker who can make a difference.
He could also make an impact as a punt return man, which is probably one of the bigger reasons the Jets chose Revis over Leon Hall. Another reason may be Revis’ fluidity. He does a slightly better job of opening his hips when he’s forced to turn and run downfield, so he’s less likely to get beat deep when left on an island.

It’s a bit ironic that he could end up taking the starting spot from another Pitt Panther, Hank Poteat.

The next Pitt player to be taken was picked today in the 4th round. Clint Sessions was taken 37th in the round (136 overall) by the Indianapolis Colts. The only lock to be starting at LB for the Colts in MLB Gary Bracket, leaving the OLB spots open for competition. He might not get a ton of time this year but in the future he might see some playing time.

Not long ago, with the #5 pick in the 6th round (179 overall), HB Blades was taken by the Washington Redskins. On ESPN’s TV coverage and their website, they keep reminding us that Blades lacks size and bulk for his position.

One player still waiting and hoping for his name to be called is Tyler Palko. He’s left with other QB’s like Florida’s Chris Leak and Boise State’s Jared Zabransky.

Sure, sure Darrelle Revis will be going in the 1st round, maybe somewhere in the teens. That’s a given. What is unknown is where H.B. Blades and Tyler Palko will go in the draft — beyond being second day picks.

Based on the draft guides (ESPN, Pro Football Weekly and Sporting News), Blades has remained consistently projected to go in the 4th round, + or – 1 round. The knock on his size, is actually a common theme for many of the linebackers in the draft.

• Jon Abbate, Wake Forest, 245, 5′ 10+”
• Buster Davis, FSU, 244, 5′ 9+”
• Sam Olajubutu, Arkansas, 227, 5′ 8+”
• H.B. Blades, Pitt, 247, 5′ 10+”

And of course, they all cite NFL linebackers like Zach Thomas, London Fletcher and Sam Mills as undersized linebackers who succeeded.

The common theme for the successful undersized players, is that they are energy guys or “high motor” players. Not necessarily the fastest, the strongest or such. Instead, they are the most tenacious and hard working. In that way, I like both Abbate and Blades to have success in the NFL.

Blades can’t wait to find out where he is going, and is ready.  Blades has the added advantage of having played special teams at Pitt. The versatility is important, especially since it is the most likely place he will see action with a team as a rookie.

As for Palko, he’s been projected as a 6th or 7th rounder. He is appealing as a late grab since he has played in both the pro sets the past two years and the West Coast offense before that.

Plus, it would seem his agent, Ralph Cindrich, has been coaching him to play up being the son of a high school coach and that he’s been around football his whole life. Not a bad approach, as he’s trying to sell himself to coaches and GMs who are essentially football lifers themselves.
With the Rams, he grabs the Marc Bulger link — late draft pick, Western PA, not too big, Big East school. Palko has also had visits to the Ravens.

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin held a press conference yesterday and discussed many topics including Alan Faneca’s contract as well as the upcoming draft. Revis is nowhere near a lock to stay in Pittsburgh but the possibility is definitely there.

“He’s got a nice combination of size and speed, and he’s a young guy. You would imagine there’s a lot of football in front of him,” Tomlin said of the Aliquippa native, who declared for the draft after his junior season at Pitt. “He seems to have his head on straight and he’s a sharp young man, so he has a lot of things that are attractive about him.”

The Steelers don’t have a ton of places where they need to bring in a new player (and were probably one of the best 8-8 teams in NFL history) but positions like cornerback and linebacker might be in for some change. Look for both Revis and PSU’s Paul Posluszny to be very possible choices.

I also have a feeling Revis would love the opportunity to stay home and move to the locker room down the hall from Pitt’s.

While the NFL draft stock of most Pitt players are for the second day:  H.B. Blades has him anywhere from round 3-5, Tyler Palko maybe 5-7, Adam Graessle 6-free agent and Clint Session as a free agent. Darrelle Revis has remained consistently ranked in the teens to low-20s. I previewed him for AOL today. Let me know what I got dead wrong.

Peter King at SI.com sees little difference between the top-two corners in the draft.

6. Darrelle Revis (VIDEO), Leon Hall (VIDEO). Leon Hall, Darrelle Revis. Pick a corner, any corner. I bet NFL teams would be 17-15 in some order or 16-16 if you asked which corner they had rated higher, Pitts’ Revis or Michigan’s Hall. Opening-day 2007: Hall’s your man. Reliable, big-game-tested. Opening-day 2009: Maybe Revis, who’s slightly bigger with a little more potential. They are so similar, in fact, that Hall was .01 faster in dashing 10 yards (1.45 to 1.46) and Revis .01 faster in the 40- (4.38 to 4.39).

Kind of surprising that there’s been virtually no movement, other then a slight uptick after the WVU-NFL contingent found itself looking at some 24 combined games of unpaid leave. High character will matter a little more in this draft and Revis has never even had a whiff of problems.

Unlike Chris Taft from a couple years ago, Aaron Gray’s draft status has remained relatively unchanged in over a year. He is still expected to be taken in the first round, somewhere in the 20s. For the NBA, he is a solid, unremarkable, serviceable big man. He will be a good back-up occasional starter for years. This is not a bad thing.

Hoopsworld.com has a good profile and explanation for his draft status.

He might be big, but size sometimes takes away from speed and explosiveness, which limits his ceiling on the defensive end of the floor in the NBA. Many scouting reports call his inability to block a ton of shots or rebound out of position his greatest weaknesses. That doesn’t mean he’s not going to try; it just means that he’s not particularly athletic.

But how many freakishly athletic true centers are really out there? Teams are always taking gambles in the draft, especially on big guys, and there are plenty of teams that could use a backup center (or even a starter) with a chance to put some points on the board, post up for a few easy ones, command a double-team, work some passes off the block. Gray can do those things, which is why you should expect to see him off the board in the first round of this June’s draft. He’s probably not a lottery pick, but he could fall somewhere in the 15-25 range, especially to teams like Detroit, Washington, and (why not) his home-state team, the Philadelphia 76ers, who if the season ended today would pick right around 18.

Sounds about right.

From Chris Dokish at Panther Rants, we get an update on how former CB Darelle Revis ran his 40 yard dash. I’m never been a huge fan of so much being made on fractions of a second but perhaps that’s why I’m blogging and not scouting for an NFL team.

Former Pitt cornerback Darrelle Revis may have solidified his spot in the 1st round today as he reportedly ran a sub-4.40 40 yard dash today in Pittsburgh. There is no exact official time since many different NFL personnel time him at the same time, but times ranged from 4.36 to 4.40, with most timing him at 4.38.

Obviously he did not lose any speed while waiting for weeks during the season for an opposing QB to throw the ball his way.

I know, “now?” Well, I don’t want to forget about these little things.

The draft combine is underway. There are some Pitt players in attendance, beyond Darrelle Revis. ESPN’s got a list of top players by position with point scores (1-100, though 30 seems to be the lowest number for any of the attendees) going into it (Insider subs.).

• Adam Graessle gets tied in a group of 3 punters at the bottom with a score of 30.
• At QB, Tyler Palko was listed at 11th with a score of 45 (Luke Getsy clocked in at 30).
• For Inside Linebackers, H.B. Blades goes in with a grade of 61 for 10th.
• Darrelle Revis is the second ranked CB at 91. Leon Hall of Michigan is ahead with a 95.

Whoever helped edit and check the list must be a Virginia fan. Every Virginia Tech player finds themselves coming from Virginia Polytech Institute.

Then there is the looming time of Spring Practice. It starts March 17 for Pitt, and ends April 14. Whee. Tom Deinhart at the Sporting News has a superficial look at the priorities on offense and defense for teams in the Big East.

OFFENSE

1. QB Tyler Palko started the past three seasons. He’s gone. The battle will rage.
2. Dave Wannstedt wants a better ground game. But the best running back options may not arrive until August: LeSean McCoy.
3. Every starter but the center returns on the line, but depth must be augmented to help the ground game.

DEFENSE

1. The linebacker corps must be overhauled with the departure of H.B. Blades.
2. The line must improve and get stronger after the team finished next-to-last in the Big East in rush defense and last in sacks.
3. Darrelle Revis bolted early for the NFL, leaving a big hole at a corner spot.

Scary that he’s actually understating the priorities with the linebackers. Really, you could just put in big 42-point font size under defense: HELP!!!

God help us, the one thing that could allow Rhoads to keep his DC job for another year. Expectations for the defense will be so low, that anything above completely sucking could be perceived as progress.