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Tampa Bay took advantage of the draft ending on the first day after the first round to jump out of the second round and ahead of the New York Giants at the 32nd pick to start a mini-run on running backs.  The Bucs were as RB deficient as any team heading into draft weekend, and explored every opportunity to land Trent Richardson at the top of the first round.  They ended up pulling the trigger on Doug Martin in the second, and landing their man.

Martin replaces the somewhat ineffective Legarrette Blount atop the depth chart immediately, and gives the Bucs a feature running back who can do it all and will learn to protect the passer.  This takes the Bucs out of the range to land WR Mohammad Sanu, who I know was a popular mock draft pick for the Bucs with Greg Schiano coming from Rutgers (where Sanu played) to Tampa.

Tampa Bay entered draft weekend with just one true need on offense and a whole bunch of holes on defense.  With this pick, they have a season-ready offensive unit, and can build around Mark Barron and their DL with a strong LB and CB class on days two and three.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Process Points: 11

We all had A.J. Jenkins as the fourth receiver off the board, right?

Maybe not, but the 49ers must have liked what they saw on film from A.J. Jenkins.  When I look at him, I did not see any every down consistent receiver.  I saw more of a Pierre Garcon #3 type clone.

I also really didn’t see quality receiver as a need for the 49ers after adding Randy Moss and others in the offseason.  They do need to avoid a situation like they had in the NFC Championship last year where they are so weak on the outside that they are down to two healthy receivers.  But I’m not buying an argument that Jenkins was BPA on the board of the 49ers.  I think he might have been the best available offensive skill player, but that’s a different argument.

San Francisco 49ers Process Points: 2

The Minnesota Vikings are having a great first day of the draft.  It was not anticipated that the Vikings would get back into the first round to address their defense, but I think they were able to adjust their expectations for the safety level of their defense when Mark Barron ended up going with the 7th overall pick.  Harrison Smith was the next guy up on most draft boards, and given the night to re-set their boards, the Vikings diagnosed their issue: they could not wait until the next day to land the player they needed the most.

So the trade up they pulled with the Ravens — who missed out on Kevin Zeitler and can wait on Peter Konz — was nifty for both sides.  And then they made the pick.

Notre Dame improbably puts two guys in the 2012 first round.  And the Vikings add two guys to their team that help them compete in the NFL’s toughest division, the NFC North.

Minnesota Vikings Process Points: 11

Here’s what I said as soon as this pick came in: Green Bay is really good at this draft thing.

There was certainly a level of luck involved here.  The Packers’ stated goal for the top of this draft was to land a pass rusher to come off the edge opposite Clay Matthews.  They not only did that, they got the best pass rusher on my board, and a guy who I gave a top ten grade to.  This could not have fallen any better for the Green Bay Packers.

They don’t have a complete defense, but the foundation of Clay Matthews and Nick Perry gives them as good a foundation as any team in the NFC North has on that side of the ball, including the Bears (Peppers/McClellin) and Vikings (Allen/Ray Edwards).  They’ll be able to build up the rest of it over the next two years.

Green Bay Packers Process Points: 4

Guard was a need for the Bengals all along, and while I’m not sure that I wouldn’t have drafted David DeCastro at some point, the Bengals were pretty set against picking the better pulling guard and settling for the college zone blocker with impressive athleticism.  That means: Kevin Zeitler is a Cincinnati Bengal.

The Bengals have played the market really well in round one.  They pulled a very nifty trade down, giving up the right to choose (DeCastro), got third day picks, and got their replacement for longtime veteran guard and Cincinnati Bengals lifer Bobbie Williams.  Williams played 12 seasons with the Bengals.

And now, Kevin Zeitler is the Cincinnati Bengals starting RG.  They have done well for themselves today.

Cincinnati Bengals Process Points: 9

Mercilus is being drafted to succeed Mario Williams via Connor Barwin as the weakside edge rusher in Wade Phillips’ scheme, and while the Texans do have the benefit of time on their side thanks to the strength of their 2011 draft, it feels like they missed the boat as the run on edge rushers happened from 16th through 21st.  A trade up might have been beneficial for the Texans.

Anyway, time will tell if Mercilus is worth the pick that the Texans spent on him, but the Texans had needs everywhere.  This is maybe an explanation for why they didn’t trade up with those needs.  But then Mercilus seems like a bit of a reach coming deep on the back end of that run on pass rushers.

The difference between Mercilus and Courtney Upshaw (not picked in round one) is that Mercilus is a better height/length/quickness project, but Upshaw is the better football player.  Mercilus is exclusively an edge rusher.  I am definately interested to see how this pick works out.  I was flat wrong on the Texans haul last year.  Right now though, I’m still skeptical.

Houston Texans Process Points: 1

The Patriots appear to be taking a re-do on their Brandon Spikes pick from the 2010 draft.  Here’s the issue on the defensive end: the Patriots locked themselves into that hybrid 4-3 scheme with the Chandler Jones pick.  Which was fine.  But with Jerod Mayo already on the weakside, Dont’a Hightower is not an elite player in a 4-3 defense.  He’s a mid-tier middle linebacker.

I suppose he could play the SLB position as well, but most likely this is to displace Spikes to the strong side, and then eventually out of town.  He’ll do that, but this trade and the Jones trade have wiped the Patriots of their late round draft.  It’s not like they needed those picks for anything, but this is now a veteran laden Patriots team with all their free agent additions, and the improvements — even in the front seven, the targeted area of the roster — seem underwhelming.

If there’s upside to this move, it’s that Hightower is a decent value where the Pats took him.  I had him graded in the middle of the second round, but the targeted approach the Pats took in the first round was hardly a sub-optimal one.  It’s just that the return in the front seven creates as many questions as it answers.

New England Patriots Process Points: 5

The Steelers didn’t have to do anything to land the best offensive guard in the class.  In fact, with the way the entire draft process has been streamlined, they had to wait just a fraction over four hours to grab him.

Rumored to have been targeting Kevin Zeitler from Wisconsin, the Steelers quickly and seamlessly flipped gears (as they have become known for) when DeCastro fell, and by letting the board come to them, they landed the final offensive player from the top ten on my big board.

The Steelers have more needs than they usually do this time of year, but one of them, offensive guard, is now arguably a team strength.  And the Steelers, despite picking after 20 every single year, seem to have no problem doing this to the rest of the league.  DeCastro will not be an impact player, but when you’re a top 8 NFL team filling needs, that’s about as impact as you are looking for.

Pittsburgh Steelers Process Points: 4

Although I would determine Reiff to be a bit of a reach as the second tackle off the board, the Lions were able to synthesize need and want and value with their Reily Reiff pick.  They couldn’t have gone any longer without a tackle.

Reily Reiff at 23 feels a lot like Brian Bulaga to the Packers two years ago.  And with this pick, Reiff becomes the first Big Ten player drafted.

The Detroit Lions are ready to make a run deep into the postseason, and Reiff projects as a complementary part instead of an elite prospect.  The Lions will need to get some return out of their prior year drafts with picks including Titus Young, Nick Fairley, Mikel LeShoure, and Jahvid Best.  Reiff is not the solution to the underachievement issue of recent Lions picks.  But he solidifies the offensive line, an absolute need at this point

Detroit Lions Process Points: 4

In Brandon Weeden (LiveBall Sports UDFA grade), the Browns drafted a first round quarterback who I don’t feel is likely to beat out either incumbent starter Colt McCoy or even veteran backup Seneca Wallace in the preseason.

In fact, I cannot think of one argument for Weeden’s ability that wouldn’t hold true for Wallace, who has learned his craft in the NFL as opposed to the Big 12.

Do remember though, this team already added Trent Richardson! So, I mean, no big deal.

Cleveland Browns Process Points: 5