5:17: So that’s it for the Daily Cal’s live blog of the NFL Draft. Chris Berman may have just put it best: this year’s Draft wasn’t “sexy.” Almost half of the first-round picks were lineman. A lot of skill players were passed over until the late first and early second rounds. Cal’s big-name receiver wasn’t taken until the 49th pick, although he did beat the changeover to ESPN2.

And yet, what’s strange is that DeSean still managed to become a big figure in the Draft. Along with the other big-name receivers, like Malcolm Kelly, James Hardy and Limas Sweed (who was finally picked 54th by the Steelers), Jackson’s name came up repeatedly mainly because he fell so far from where he was projected. Yes, he was called “diminutive” and “small,” but the ESPN guys talked several times about his speed and his playmaking ability. We’ll see how he holds up taking hits in the NFC East.

The Draft continues until the end of the second round this evening, with rounds three through seven tomorrow. Cal still has hopefuls for tomorrow—Lavelle, Justin Forsett and Thomas Decoud, to name a few. We’ll keep our fingers crossed for them as well. From all of us here at the Daily Cal Draft live blog—and by that I mean my roommate and myself—thanks for tuning in.

4:57: And there it is. DeSean Jackson goes to the Philadelphia Eagles with the 49th pick. I’m pretty sure there was a mock that predicted that. Just not in the second round. So DeSean goes to the Eagles, where he’ll be catching passes from Donovan McNabb and trying to boost a receiving corps that was anchored last year by Kevin Curtis, a 3rd-round pick out of Utah State in 2003.

4:52: DeSean is on the phone. I repeat, DeSean is on the phone. And wearing sunglasses indoors.

4:48: The Bengals take Jerome Simpson, a wide receiver from Coastal Carolina. Yes, it’s an obscure school. But he makes one-handed catches and he definitely jumped over a standing defender during a game. I guess DeSean never did that.

4:38: Now that the first round has passed, the question becomes: Will a Cal player be taken before coverage of the Draft gets shifted over to ESPN2? I mean, I’ve been typing for a while. Not sure my fingers can work the remote.

4:29: Wide receiver Eddie Royal goes to the Broncos. No more height excuses about DeSean since Royal’s 5-foot-10 on a good day. Except Keyshawn Jackson just referenced some “off the field character issues” in talking about D-Jax. I’m still not sure what these guys are referencing. Sure, he has a me-first attitude sometimes, but I can’t think of any off-the-field altercations, suspensions or troubles with the law in his time at Cal. Leave the “character issues” label alone.

4:19: James Hardy, wide receiver from Indiana, has been taken by the Bills. Hardy is 6-foot-5 and he had 36 touchdowns in his career at Indiana. Double digits each of the last three years. Eligible receivers are dwindling.

4:14: The house cameras haven’t shown DeSean for a while. Hope nothing tragic has happened. The Buffalo Bills are on the clock.

4:10: San Francisco takes an offensive guard from USC. This isn’t quite like watching Aaron Rodgers slide down the charts after Alex Smith was taken first in 2005, especially since DeSean isn’t the only wideout who’s having to wait. He is second on Kiper’s list of the top players available, right behind Malcolm Kelly.

4:01: Hey Lavelle Hawkins just cracked Mel Kiper’s list of the top five remaining wideouts! Nice work Hawk. At this rate you might be the first Cal player taken.

3:57: The 49ers are picking next, right after the Ravens. Did Jerry Rice sway San Francisco management into drafting his prototype?

3:48: Here we go. Michigan State receiver Devin Thomas is taken by the Redskins. Still on the board: guys like Limas Sweed, James Hardy, DeSean and, of course, Malcolm Kelly. I mean, who wouldn’t want a guy that can fire a team up with this?

3:43: And the first receiver taken is … Donnie Avery? From Houston? Ouch.

3:41: A 3 1/2 hour first round has come to an end. Lots of offensive linemen taken. No wide receivers. No DeSean. The 2nd round gives each team five minutes, so we’ll abandon the pick-by-pick format and just keep our fingers crossed for D-Jax.

3:35: The defending national champion New York Giants (?), with the final pick in the first round, take Miami safety Kenny Phillips. They were trying to draft Lawrence Tynes’ brother to seem edgier, according to my roommate, but he’d already used his phone call for the day. Zing.

3:34: This is crazy. There is one pick left in the first round and not one team has taken a wide receiver. This does not bode well for DeSean.

3:30: And the Jets take Purdue tight end Dustin Keller. Apparently he has 4.5 40 speed. Suppose that’s good upside. But wait. ESPN’s player page informs us that Keller was named Team MVP of Purdue last season. Awesome. Giants fans are celebrating.

3:25: Wait a second, the Packers have traded the 30th pick in the draft to the Jets. J-E-T-S give up their second and fourth round picks. Better make it count. Take a running back.

3:23: Packers on the clock. Aaron Rodgers to DeSean? It never happened in college.

3:21 The 49ers take Kentwan Balmer, defensive tackle from North Carolina. He’s got a way to go to replace Dana Stubblefield.

3:18: Seattle drafts Lawrence Jackson, defensive end from USC. Among his highlights is Jackson sacking Nate Longshore and forcing a fumble. Word still out on whether Longshore will ever appear again on a Draft telecast.

3:17: More Nike Sparq Training commercials.
“My agility is the CEO of the United Global Agility Corporation” - Steve Nash, stupid
“Does anybody have any batteries?” - Pete Carroll, priceless

3:12: And the Chargers take our friend Antoine Cason, cornerback from Arizona. He’s got lockdown ability and, according to Kiper, great character.

3:09: Things that San Diego would trade the 27th pick for:
A playoff win
A healthy LaDanian Tomlinson against the Patriots
Steve Young? (at least he’s won a playoff game)
San Diego native and Chargers fan Gerald Nicdao contributed to this list.

3:07: Houston selects Duane Brown, offensive tackle from Virginia Tech. Protection that David Carr would’ve loved. Offensive linemen are making a lot of money today.

3:02: Nope, Cowboys opt for Mike Jenkins, a cornerback from USF. He’s not tall, but he has great hands, returns kicks and he’s physical. Check out that hit. Texans on the clock.

3:00: We’ve hit the three-hour mark. And Dallas trades up again for No. 25! DeSean?

2:56: “I think they drafted him just for Lendale White to eat,” says my roommate, who wants to be identified as Hugo. Seahawks on the clock. They just showed DeSean and they’re talking about wide receivers. I stopped listening for a second while Herbstreit was talking about a “physical and versatile” wideout. Probably not DeSean. D-Jax had a phone in each hand and it didn’t look like either one was ringing.

2:54: Tennessee picks Chris Johnson, running back from East Carolina. I hadn’t really heard of this guy. I should have. He ran a 4.24 40 at the NFL combine and averaged 227 yards a game as a senior. 227 yards a game. Vince Young will never pass the football again. Maybe we’ll have another Thunder and Lightning tandem in the Titans backfield with Lendale White and Johnson.

2:48: Just a side note: if you like running in EA Sports NCAA Football, play with Illinois in NCAA 08. Juice Williams + Rashard Mendenhall + speed options = many touchdowns.

2:45: Running backs back-to-back as the Pittsburgh Steelers select Rashard Mendenhall from Illinois. Mendenhall was the only player from the Illini who looked like he wanted to be at the Rose Bowl on New Years Day. The Steelers already have a quality running back in Willie Parker, but I guess they’re copying the Chargers’ two-running backs style.

2:41: Nope. The Cowboys take Felix Jones, also known as that other running back from Arkansas. He isn’t Darren McFadden, but he’ll make another solid tandem with Marion Barber. Plus, not being Darren McFadden isn’t always a bad thing.

2:39: Dallas on the clock. DeSean?

2:34: Mel Kiper, teach us the secret of the hair helmet. Rachel Nichols, stop taking haircare tips from Mel Kiper.

2:32: Atlanta drafts offensive tackle Sam Baker from USC. Matt Ryan’s day just got even better.

2:29: Sports editor Gerald Nicdao just stopped in with nourishment. Thank goodness. And the Falcons just traded up to take over the 21st pick from the Redskins. Their pick is in.

2:23: 20th pick—Tampa Bay selects Aqib Talib. That’s in spite of Talib admitting at the NFL Combine that he tested positive for smoking marijuana three times and that he apparently warned Kansas head coach Mark Mangini that he would be testing positive for the first one. Points for honesty?

2:19: They just cut to DeSean again and he took the opportunity to check his phone. Is that…wait, nope, definitely not ringing.

2:15: A big roar from the crowd as the NFL brings out members of the military. As it should be. Not sure who the guy in the Texas jersey is, though. Somebody tell him that doesn’t count.

2:13: Carolina was the team that traded up for the 19th pick, and took the last remaining of the five top-tier offensive tackles in the Draft. Jeff Otah to the Panthers for a 2nd round pick, 4th round pick and the 1st round pick next year. Otah better make some big holes for Jonathan Stewart.

2:11: Philadelphia just traded their pick. Berman says that Andy Reid had about seven guys lined up for this slot but “none that made him jump.” That’s ridiculous. Andy Reid can’t jump.

2:06: Who heard of this guy before the days leading up to the Senior Bowl? Flacco went to Delaware after he transferred from Pitt and had a quiet season as a senior, even though he threw for 4,263 yards. Then he came to Senior Week and showed off the fact that he can throw a ball 75 yards. People say he can make all the throws of an NFL quarterback. Looks like he’s about to get a chance.

2:03: The home cameras strike again. Joe Flacco’s already wearing a Ravens hat.

2:01: The Lions are quick. Detroit takes Gosder Cherilus, an offensive tackle from Boston College who, if nothing else, has the coolest name of anyone in the Draft. ESPN has “Mel’s grade” and “Fan’s grade” on each player’s screen, and fans apparently gave Cherilus an F. Guess that’s why we’re not running football teams.

1:57: Arizona picks Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, a cornerback out of Tennessee State. Even though he’s out of a I-AA school, Cromartie impressed scouts in the practices leading up to the Senior Bowl and capped it off with the Senior Bowl defensive MVP award. Plus, he has the right genes. DRC is the cousin of Chargers cornerback Antonio Cromartie, who had 10 interceptions last season, including this one against Peyton Manning.

1:55: With the Cardinals’ receiving corps—Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin—we probably won’t be seeing DeSean going to Arizona. It’s fun to think about though. Matt Leinart throwing to D-Jax. People are harping on DeSean for his “attitude problems,” but he isn’t the one spending the offseason doing this.

1:46: Kansas City just traded up for the 15th pick and drafted offensive guard Branden Albert from Virginia. Not a bad draft for the Chiefs so far—Glenn Dorsey and Albert. Still trying to figure out the exact trade. Anyway, Arizona on the clock.

1:43: The Daily Californian official mock draft is 2-for-14 so far. Not surprising. Jake Long doesn’t count, you say? I disagree.

1:38: The Chicago Bears take Chris Williams, a 6-foot-6, 315-pound offensive tackle from Vanderbilt. Lineman are dominating the draft so far. Two running backs, only one quarterback and no wide receivers gone. Chicago fans react as if they don’t know who Williams is. Honestly, I didn’t either.

1:33: We’re already on the 14th pick and it’s only 1:30. Kudos to the streamlined version of the Draft.

1:30: And with the 13th pick, the Carolina Panthers pick Jonathan Stewart out of Oregon. Stewart’s a beast, toe surgery and all. He had 120 yards against Cal last year and 1,722 yards overall.

1:27: Denver selects Boise State offensive tackle Ryan Clady. He’s huge: 6-foot-6, 310 pounds. You may know him as the left tackle that swung out and sealed down the left side for Ian Johnson on the (Boise State) Broncos’ infamous Statue of Liberty play in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. Or maybe not. But he was. That game was awesome.

1:25: Under Armour commercials vs. Nike Sparq training commercials. Under Armour gets points for having a cool, grungy setting that says “We’re hard” and parodying Star Wars, lose points for choosing Episode 2. Nike Sparq has Pete Carroll saying “French toast?” in a puzzled manner, but is annoying. I’d say Under Armour loses just for doing away with “We Must Protect This House.”

1:21: The Buffalo Bills pick cornerback Leodis McKelvin from Troy. The guy wearing the Bills jersey has his hands on his head in disbelief. It’s not a bad choice. Kiper likes him. Plus playing in the AFC East—and by that I mean seeing the Patriots twice a year—makes a strong secondary key.

1:15: Chris Berman: “And now, do you know what the Patriots will get 10 yards for next year? Holding the Mayo. (silence) Somebody had to say it. (silence).” Damn it, Boomer.

1:13: You can hardly hear Goodell over the boos of just about everybody in the room, but the Patriots take Tennessee linebacker Jerod Mayo with the 10th pick. Interesting. He was going in the late 20s in just about every mock, but there was a lot of talk leading up to the draft that there wasn’t all that much separation between Rivers and Mayo. And New England, as the ESPN crew points out, needs to shore up the back seven.

1:10: No trickery here. Rivers to the Bengals with the ninth pick. Rivers had 78 tackles as a senior and Kiper says he’s a solid character, even though he didn’t have any monster performances in marquee games (four tackles against Cal, if that counts for anything.) Patriots on the clock.

1:06: Yeah, I think it is. Rivers is already wearing the hat before the pick is confirmed. That would make an awesome prank, though.

1:05: And ESPN still finds a way to ruin the surprise. Cameras in players’ homes. Genius. There is a celebration going down in the home of USC linebacker Keith Rivers. “Could it be?” asks Berman as they go to commercial. Riveting.

1:00: So it was the Ravens who traded down to 26th to let Jacksonville move up. Baltimore wants a quarterback and Ryan’s already gone. And it’s Derrick Harvey of Florida to the Jaguars, who were in desperate need of some reinforcements on the defensive line. Kiper says he’s a week-on, week-off kind of guy. When he’s on, he’s a top-five talent.

12:59: They just cut to a shot of DeSean at his home in Los Angeles and Berman goes, “There’s DeSean Jackson, a diminutive wideout.” That was great. They cut away from DeSean before we could see a reaction.

12:56: Well that was quick. All six players in attendance at the Draft were taken with picks 1-6. No more shots of people on phones and no more donning of hats on the podium. That’s all right, though. ESPN had cameras galore on these guys and caught the shots of them hugging their parents before the names were actually called. Kinda ruined the surprise. Now it’s all on Goodell.

12:55: Another trade. Jacksonville has moved up all the way from 26th to 8th and is now on the clock.

12:54: Sedrick Ellis to the Saints. The two Saints fans in attendance are stoked.

12:52: Oh wait, here we go. The Patriots have traded their first-round pick with the Saints, who were about to pick 10th. New Orleans is really interested in Sedrick Ellis and the Pats need a cornerback. Both Rodgers-Cromartie and Leodis McKelvin should both be there still.

12:50: I hate that the Patriots are picking seventh. Yeah, they forfeited their actual first-round pick, which would’ve been 31st. Big deal. A trade with the 49ers last year means that they still get a shot at Keith Rivers, Sedrick Ellis or even Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie right now.

12:45: Vernon Gholston to the Jets, and the fans love it. “The Jets have just won the Super Bowl!” says Berman. He’s a defensive end but he can play linebacker as well in a 3-4 defense. Plus, the Patriots were interested in him and it never hurts to ruffle a rival’s feathers.

Nice observation by Berman—Jets-Dolphins in Week 1 means a possible face-off between Long and Gholston. “So what did you learn in camp?”

12:43: The Jets fans are chanting “Vernon Gholston.” The defensive end from Ohio State was the 2007 Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year, and he repeatedly beat Jake Long off the edge when the Buckeyes played Michigan this year. One minute left on the clock.

12:40: J-E-T-S! Jets! Jets! Jets! on the clock. Lots of Jets fans in the house at Radio City, and you know they’re not shy about voicing their opinions. We’ll see if they like the pick. If not, the boos might be louder than Keyshawn Jackson’s tie.

12:39: And Kiper says that Dorsey’s the best talent in the Draft. Big step in the rebuilding process for the Chiefs.

I like the interviews between the guys who have just been drafted and Suzy Kolber. Kolber asks Dorsey what the voice on the other end of the phone said, and Dorsey says: “It was the general manager. He just says, ‘Do you think you can help our defense?’ And I said, ‘Yes sir, I sure can.’” Awesome.

12:35: Glenn Dorsey is wearing the most gaudy watch/bracelet I have ever seen (can’t see if there’s a watch face through the sparkle.) But he just got picked by the Chiefs, and Herbstreit just said he thinks Dorsey’s the best defensive tackle that he’s seen in the highest levels of NCAA football in the last 13 years. High praise.

12:33: With the fourth pick, the Oakland Raiders select Darren McFadden. McFadden’s a stud, obviously. 4.3 40 time, he’s explosive and strong and he was the nation’s top running back two years in a row. Plus, Al Davis likes the star appeal.

Does this make sense, though? The Raiders were 28th in the league in sacks last year, and second to last in rushing yards allowed. And Glenn Dorsey’s still on the table. Plus Oakland’s pretty stacked at running back already. But McFadden’s a rare talent, and that backfield of JaMarcus Russell and McFadden is scary. Maybe I’m just bitter because I wanted him to go to the Jets.

If you feel like weighing in, feel free to shoot an email to sports@dailycal.org.

12:25: By the way, have you seen the YouTube clip of Berman freaking out? Check it out.

12:24: Gotta love the way Chris Berman says “the Oakland Raiders.” I’d type it out if I could. Raiders on the clock next.

12:17: Matt Ryan’s grinning like an idiot and his parents are patting him on the back.
And, there’s the call. Ryan to the Falcons. He’s almost 6-foot-5, people like his arm strength, accuracy and what they’re calling the “it” factor. He threw for 4,507 yards his senior year, and Ron Jaworski pawned his 19 interceptions off on the fact that none of his receivers were 6 feet tall. We’ll see if he steps right into the starting role.

12:13: And Chris Long goes to St. Louis with the second pick in the draft. Long is 6-foot-4, 280 pounds, explosive off the edge and the son of Radio Shack spokesman (and NFL Hall of Famer) Howie Long. Some experts are saying that he’s the safest pick in the Draft and already NFL ready. He’s got the genes. Falcons up next. Matt Ryan, maybe? They could use a quarterback, since that whole Michael Vick thing didn’t really work out.

12:11: The Rams are taking a while. The Draft telecast could probably double as a cell phone commercial—half the shots are of players on their phones. Even Chris Long’s mom is texting. Here comes Roger.

12:02: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell just called Jake Long’s name. He was booed. The Dolphins as a whole were also booed. I agree with the second part. But what’s up with “The new streamlined version of the Draft,” as put by Goodell, drawing some boos? Tough crowd. I’m a fan. At least the Dolphins didn’t waste any time. Nice work, Tuna. Rams on the clock.

11:55: Hey boys and girls, welcome to the Daily Cal’s live blog of the 2008 NFL Draft. The ESPN crew is warming up in Radio City and I’m settling into my couch as we wait for the clock to strike high noon and signal the beginning of the first round. All the intrigue that normally surrounds the first pick is gone, of course—the Dolphins signed Michigan offensive lineman Jake Long to a five-year, $57.75 million contract on Tuesday. But picks 2-31 are still wide open. All excitement is not lost.

Fortunately this year the NFL decided to give teams 10 minutes to decide on a pick, instead of the previous 15. It’ll probably cut down on the amount of trades, but it’ll also help preserve our sanity while we wait. We’ll be bringing you updates throughout the first round, at least until DeSean Jackson is picked. Experts have him going anywhere in the late first round. Ball’s in your court, D-Jax.

In light of all the mock drafts that you can check out on the world wide web (or can’t, unless you’re an ESPN Insider—Mel Kiper) the Daily Californian decided to put together its own mock. Creative as we are, we decided to average out the draft positions of players in four expert drafts: Peter King of SI.com; the Rivals.com draft; Pete Prisco of CBS Sports and DJ Gallo of ESPN.com’s Page 2 (again, thanks Mel.)

Since there are 31 picks in the first round this year (Spygate), we gave 31 points to the first player chosen in each draft, 30 to the second and so on, and then averaged out each player’s score in the four drafts. Yes, this draft will most likely be wrong since teams draft based on need. But check it out anyway. It ended up like this:

Miami: Jake Long. At least we’ll get one right.
St. Louis: Glenn Dorsey
Atlanta: Chris Long
Oakland: Matt Ryan (this will never happen)
Kansas City: Darren McFadden
New York Jets: Vernon Gholston
New England Patriots: Keith Rivers
Baltimore Ravens: Ryan Clady
Cincinnati: Sedrick Ellis
New Orleans: Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie
Buffalo Bills: Derrick Harvey
Denver: Leodis McKelvin
Carolina: Devin Thomas
Chicago: Mike Jenkins
Detroit: Branden Albert
Arizona: Jeff Otah
Kansas City: Chris Williams
Houston: Rashard Mendenhall
Philadelphia: Jonathan Stewart
Tampa Bay: Limas Sweed
Washington: Phillip Merling
Dallas: DeSean Jackson
Pittsburgh: Felix Jones
Tennessee: Aqib Talib
Seattle: Jerod Mayo
Jacksonville: Cliff McGillicutty*
San Diego: Gosder Cherilus
Dallas: Kentwan Balmer
San Francisco: James Hardy
Green Bay: Chad Henne
New York Giants: Brian Brohm/Antoine Cason

*DISCLAIMER: Cliff McGillicutty is actually the building operations manager of Secaucus Business Park, and is not eligible to be drafted. But Gallo has him going sixth to the Jets, and we had to honor the system. So there it is, stay tuned to see how badly we managed to screw this up.

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Tags: DeSean Jackson, NFL Draft
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