I love the way the first day of the draft went. I was very surprised. I wanted Knowshon Moreno. I was pissed when he went to the Broncos. In my opinion, the Broncos should have focused on their defense, which was ranked in about the bottom 4 last year. No worries though, the Eagles got a true game-changer in Jeremy Maclin. He should have been a top 15 pick, so I’ll gladly take him at 19. Can you imagine the Redskins, Cowboys, and Giants trying to defend a 3 WR set of DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, and Kevin Curtis?  If McNabb can’t find one of those guys open with THIS line, he has serious problems.  I don’t want to hear another complaint out of #5′s mouth.  It’s time to get it done McNabb.

Some people were upset with the Eagles pick in Maclin. Yeah, most of us wanted Moreno; he was gone, too bad, what the hell are you gonna do? Maclin will be a stud in this league! He is just like DeSean Jackson but bigger and more physical. He puts the Eagles receiving corp over the top.

To make things even better, we get a RB in round 2 and it’s none other than LeSean McCoy: a guy who easily could have been a late first, early second-round pick. I’ve graded Knowshon Moreno an A prospect and LeSean McCoy a B+ prospect, but there’s not much difference between the two. We have a RB that is elusive, quick, can make things happen with the screen play, and fits in perfectly with the Eagles system. Everyone was so obsessed with a RB in this year’s draft, it seems like we all forgot that we still have Brian Westbrook. Yes, Westbrook is coming off a knee injury and is 30-years-old, but he is still the #1 guy and I expect him to rebound this season to his 2007 form. We didn’t need a starting runningback, we just needed a #2 RB on our depth chart.  Anyone who is comparing LeSean McCoy to Ryan Moats is crazy.  McCoy will be much better than Moats.

Our defense has 10 starters returning, the 11th guy need not be named.  There’s no need to worry about going offense/offense with the first two picks.  The defense has plenty of bodies.

No more knocking the front office. They are not cheap and they know what the hell they’re doing. Trading down in the last two years has paid dividends and I am relentlessly optimistic about the 2009 season. McNabb must be thrilled with Stacy Andrews, Jason Peters, Leonard Weaver, Jeremy Maclin, and LeSean McCoy. Yes, I’m still pissed about them letting Brian Dawkins go, but it’s Dawkins who decided to leave for greener pastures. This team is ready for a Super Bowl.  Let’s make it happen!

NFC East Roundup: No first day picks for the Cowboys.  Ha!  The Redskins got a gift with Brian Orakpo falling to them. The Giants had a pretty good draft too: WR Hakeem Nicks, LB Clint Sintim, and OT William Beatty on day one.

Knowshon Moreno gets taken early. No big deal. We take the 2nd best WR in the draft, Jeremy Maclin, a few spots after he was expected to go. No big deal. There are plenty of RBs left and aren’t the stars perfectly aligned when LeSean McCoy falls to the Eagles in round 2. I am loving this year’s draft by the Eagles.

So all we need is a TE in round 3 and we’re ready to make that Super Bowl run next season, right? Jared Cook, Shawn Nelson, Cornelius Ingraham, and Chase Coffman are all still available. Jared Cook should be gone soon, but Chase Coffman is the Eagles guy in round 3. Why can’t they draft in round 3 on day 1 like they used to?  We’ll just have to wait until tomorrow to see who else the Eagles pick up.

May we see more highlights like these from LeSean McCoy in Midnight Green:

Knowshon Moreno went much higher than anticipated. He went #12 to the Broncos. Eagles had to come up with Plan B. They obviously wanted to boost the offense. They’re not sold on Beanie Wells (thank goodness), it was too early to take Donald Brown or LeSean McCoy, so why not add another playmaker to the receiving corp?

Brandon Pettigrew was on the board, but I’m not sold on him as the Eagles pick: he’s more of a premier blocker than a premier receiver and the Eagles like their TEs to be receivers and I still think the Eagles want Jared Cook or Chase Coffman in round 2. The Eagles traded up from 21 to 19 to take Maclin, so they must have been sold on him. I don’t know what the Eagles had to throw in: maybe a 5th or 6th rounder? We have four 5th rounders, so they might as well spend them.

I expected Maclin to be taken between 10 and 15. I rated him much higher than Darrius Heyward-Bey, who the Raiders foolishly drafted at 7, so I love the pick. Why the hell wouldn’t the Raiders trade down? That’s why they are a terrible organization. Plus, Maclin in the return game is a huge boost to our special teams. Maclin returning kickoffs, DeSean returning punts, and Quintin Demps as our alternate, that’s tremendous!

RB Plans: Wells is still on the board, so that’s another RB that should go soon, and luckily gone before the Eagles are tempted to take him. I don’t see Donald Brown falling that far — he’ll go by mid-2nd round at the latest. LeSean McCoy is an option for the Eagles in round 2. I wouldn’t be upset with Andre Brown in round 2 (I love his upside). I don’t want Shonn Greene. I’ll gladly take Mike Goodson in round 3 and if he’s gone, I wouldn’t be upset with Javon Ringer either. We have options. RB is deep.

Let’s take a look at what we’re getting with Maclin. DeSean Jackson, Kevin Curtis, and Jeremy Maclin in 3 WR sets — they may be a bit undersized, but that’s a ridiculous amount of speed — I like it:

I just wanted to post up a mock draft to see how close I can come to calling this thing:

1.) Lions – Matthew Stafford
2.) Rams – Jason Smith
3.) Chiefs – Aaron Curry
4.) Seattle Seahawks – Mark Sanchez
5.) Cleveland Browns – Brian Orakpo
6.) Cincinnati Bengals – Andre Smith
7.) Oakland Raiders – Michael Crabtree
8.) Jacksonville Jaguars – Eugene Monroe
9.) Green Bay Packers – B.J. Raji
10.) San Fransisco 49ers – Tyson Jackson
11.) Buffalo Bills – Aaron Maybin
12.) Denver Broncos – Brian Cushing
13.) Washington Redskins – Michael Oher
14.) New Orleans Saints – Beanie Wells
15.) Houston Texans – Malcolm Jenkins
16.) San Diego Chargers – Rey Maualuga
17.) New York Jets – Jeremy Maclin
18.) Denver Broncos – Robert Ayers
19.) Tampa Bay Bucs – Josh Freeman
20.) Detroit Lions – William Beatty
21.) Philadelphia Eagles – Knowshon Moreno
22.) Minnesota Vikings – Eben Britton
23.) New England Patriots – Everette Brown
24.) Atlanta Falcons – Vontae Davis
25.) Miami Dolphins – Percy Harvin
26.) Baltimore Ravens – Darius Butler
27.) Indianapolis Colts – Darrius Heyward-Bey
28.) Buffalo Bills – Brandon Pettrigrew
29.) New York Giants – Hakeem Nicks
30.) Tennessee Titans – Peria Jerry
31.) Arizona Cardinals – Donald Brown
32.) Pittsburgh Steelers – Alex Mack