When the season ended, we were almost certain that Geno Smith would go within the top five picks in the NFL Draft. We also speculated where Tavon Austin would go because of his size and the lack of receiver talent in this year’s first round projections. Well, after Thursday night, all of those speculations have been put to rest.
It didn’t take long to figure out where Austin would end up. He was one of the most sought after players on teams’ big boards and it seemed that general managers everywhere were drooling over his explosiveness. Almost immediately after the 7th pick in the NFL Draft was announced, the Buffalo Bills announced that they were trading back. This came as a shock to most, especially considering the fact that the Bills had listed Austin as the number one guy on their big board, but as soon as fans saw who they traded the pick to, it was obvious that Austin was coming off of the board.
The St Louis Rams traded up to take that pick from Buffalo and soon drafted the speedster out of Dunbar, MD with the 8th overall pick in the first round. Austin was all smiles in the green room, as he usually is on the field. He walked up with the same swagger that he walked onto Mountaineer Field with, took his jersey, and posed for his picture.
Meanwhile, the thought around the world was that the Bills were trading down to take a quarterback. All eyes turned to Smith. When the Bills finally got their chance to pick, though, they drafted a different quarterback, EJ Manuel out of Florida State.
The television cameras immediately played the Aaron Rodgers, Brady Quinn game with Smith and showed him several times, even when the team picking had no use for a quarterback.
But in the end, the only thing this means for Smith is a pay cut. He’ll still go to a team who needs his services and will still compete for a starting job most likely.
Tune in for the second round of the NFL Draft tonight as coverage begins at 6:30 pm ET.
