Kovacevic: This first round didn't exactly help

Mar 19, 2025 • Invalid Date

Let's face it: It was fun. Good, relaxing fun.

You know, the way sports used to be back when there were sports.

Through the four-hour first round of a truly extraordinary NFL Draft last night, LSU quarterback Joe Burrow was sentenced to a career in Cincinnati from his parents' sofa, Jon Gruden exposed what appeared to be the Raiders' prospect rankings in what appeared to be his kitchen, Roger Goodell curiously switched from suit-and-tie to a sweater halfway through conducting all this from his man-cave -- Mr. Roger? -- but hey, it got done.

And again, it was fun. Speaking only for myself, I'd begun smiling ear to ear at about 6 p.m. in anticipation of an actual thing to cover, and it didn't disappoint in any capacity.

Speaking for the Steelers, who finally get busy tonight in the second round, 49th overall ... eh, we'll see.

In an ideal scenario, the Bengals would've bungled having the No. 1 overall pick, as only they could do. They could've heeded Carson Palmer's weird last-minute public pronouncement that his former team would have a "tough decision" to make between Burrow and Ohio State edge rusher Chase Young. But they didn't. Instead, Mike Brown, forever one of the league's most miserable owners, personally approached Burrow early Wednesday to welcome him to the franchise, after which the expected pick was made.

In an ideal scenario, the Browns would've been the Browns with the No. 10 overall pick and pursued another toy or trinket to add to their collection. Particularly with every one of all these wide receivers still on the board. Instead, since they're now overseen by former baseball exec and analytics whiz Paul DePodesta, they served up meat and potatoes by taking a long-needed offensive tackle, Alabama's Jedrick Wills. After which DePodesta would softly explain to Cleveland reporters that he was the "No. 1 tackle on our board."

In an ideal scenario, the Ravens, fresh off going 14-2 with a record-setting offense, wouldn't have fortified the softish second layer of their defense with the No. 28 overall pick. So when the Seahawks, picking just before them, chose a linebacker, it'd have been wonderful if they'd taken LSU's Patrick Queen, most prognosticators' best left at his position. But Seattle instead surprised with Texas Tech's Jordyn Brooks, gifting Queen to Baltimore.

All three AFC North opponents got better, notably the best of them. And not just in the way that all teams get better in a draft. Each did the exactly right thing.

And that wasn't all that went awry for the Steelers.

In an ideal scenario, five or fewer of the vaunted receivers, a class that runs 8-10 deep depending on the scouting service, would've been taken away on the first day. Nope. It was six. And the sixth of those, annoyingly enough, was Arizona State's Brandon Aiyuk, the one I'd most hoped to see fall to the Steelers. It might've been a bit naive, as he'd been slotted as an early second-rounder, but it wasn't unthinkable. Now, the next-best receiver, USC's Michael Pittman, another potentially fine fit with Plaxico Burress' size but superior speed, has to slip 17 whole spots.

Finally, in an ideal scenario, the Steelers would've, at the very least, had another potentially fine fit at running back make it their way. And that wasn't just thinkable. It'd been almost universally anticipated. But with the evening's 32nd and last pick, the Super Bowl champion Chiefs snapped up LSU's Clyde Edwards-Helaire to augment their own lacking running game and present Patrick Mahomes with an equally dynamic target out of the backfield.

I did say it was fun, right?

So, who's left?

Dale Lolley dives into that with a full list of 25 candidates, and I'll add here that it now looks a lot likelier that the Steelers will stick with the standard best-available strategy.

If Pittman arrives, he could be the one. If not, Baylor's Denzel Mims comes with a similar size-and-speed profile. An oversized field-stretcher is a beautiful weapon to wield, especially when it's Ben Roethlisberger doing the wielding. Besides, if a JuJu Smith-Schuster extension doesn't occur -- and he'd either not earn one or price himself out, depending on the extreme -- he'll be a free agent in 2021, and receiver will again be a position of need.

If Pittman's gone, it's got to be the top remaining running back. That could be Georgia's D'Andre Swift, the consensus top back entering the draft, but he already shouldn't have fallen this far. That also could be Ohio State's J.K. Dobbins, who headed Dale's board at the position. Florida State's Cam Akers, another back commonly attached to the Steelers, could be there, too.

If all of those options are somehow stripped away?

Um, force one?

Seriously, I can't imagine finding an appetite for another safety, even though there'll be attractive options there in Minnesota's Antoine Winfield Jr., Alabama's Xavier McKinney and LSU's Grant Delpit. The Steelers already have the NFL's best safety in Minkah Fitzpatrick, and the other starter is another recent first-rounder in Terrell Edmunds. Plus, in general, opting to fortify an already excellent defense flies in the face of the window firmly set by a 38-year-old franchise quarterback.

Remains to be seen how much fun this second night will be.

• The league and the various TV broadcasts involved -- principally ESPN and NFL Network -- did exemplary work. Really, can't say enough about it. They were sensitive to the coronavirus shutdown without being excessive. They spared no effort or expense to offer all the best graphics, highlights and connections to countless people scattered all over creation. Goodell was uncomfortably goofy at times, but that'd happen in any setting.

• We needed this. Thank you, NFL.

• Burrow grew up two hours from Cincinnati, in Athens, Ohio, so he should know better, but it's at least cute that he spoke this to the media last night: "I'm going to come in and try to be the best player I can be and help build a culture of winning."

• It'll take a ton more than Burrow, but I much prefer his chance of growing quickly over the other three quarterbacks taken -- Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa to the Dolphins, Oregon's Justin Herbert to the Chargers, Utah State's Jordan Love to the Packers -- if only because he'll be throwing to A.J. Green and Tyler Boyd.

• Aaron Rodgers, as fiery and territorial as any quarterback in the game, will just love having an understudy on hand in Green Bay, huh?

Well, if he kicks up any dust, maybe he can be reminded that he was once one of those in Brett Favre's shadow.

• Line of the night came from Mike Zimmer, the Vikings' sharp-tongued coach, when asked what he thought of the Packers getting Love: “I think Rodgers should retire.”

• The Browns aren't home free with Wills. Because they already signed veteran right tackle Jack Conklin out of free agency, Wills will need to switch from right to left for the first time, and that's no given. Not to mention, when he messes up, he'll be doing so on Baker Mayfield's blind side. The historical list of awesome rookie left tackles is short.

• Complete list of players picked who'll be better than Minkah:

...

• For the record, forensics experts -- or bored people on social media -- determined that Gruden didn't actually show the Raiders' board but, rather, a cold listing of all prospects ranked by their times in the 40. Which everyone has.

Still, I won't dispel the myth if you don't: