Cheesehead TV is proud to present the first in a what we hope will be a series of draft articles from long time CHTV reader Chris Squire. Big thanks to Chris for doing this and we hope you'll let him know what you think in the comments section. Somehow we feel sure you will...

‘This is the most talented draft I’ve seen since 1983.’  A declaration recently made by Charley Casserly, current NFL Network analyst and 24-year NFL executive/GM.  This is the general sentiment floated out there by General Managers and scouting staff alike.  That draft class in particular included six future Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees.  Every round produced at least one player that was eventually elected to play in the Pro Bowl.

I agree with Casserly.  The 2010 NFL draft is loaded with legitimate starting talent.  This is not the stereotypical top-heavy draft that requires a top 15 selection to produce a future starter.  Wes Bunting of the National Football Post graded the top 100 prospects in this year’s draft class using a unique system. Basically, he anticipates at least 59 prospects will either become immediate, high-impact players in the league and/or future starters after a short period of time.  I don’t necessarily agree with the order in which he ranks the prospects but I most certainly agree that there are close to ‘50’ prospects that carry a legitimate first-round grade. However, there are only 32 selections per round.  What does it all mean?  You can find legitimate opening day talent half-way into the 2^nd round. The next tier of prospects (30 deep), while not expected to become instant impact players, are talented enough to be placed in situational roles and contribute during their rookie year.

As if the draft weren’t fascinating enough for a football-starved geek such as myself, in steps Commissioner Roger Goodell and the NFL money machine:

We continue to look for ways to make the draft more accessible to more fans. Moving the first round to prime time on Thursday night will make the first round of the draft available to fans on what is typically the most-watched night of television.

Big event, big ratings, big money…

With the new 3-day format we now have the perfect storm for potential draft day drama, they’ve already dubbed it, the ‘Shonn Greene effect.’ Day 1 of the 2009 draft was in the books and NFL executives/coaches had 12 – 16 hours to re-evaluate and re-stack their respective draft boards.  The Jets had running back Shonn Greene as their top overall running back and traded the remainder of their picks in order to move up to pick 1 of day 2 (beginning of round 3) to make the selection.  Greene was a key contributor to the Jets playoff run and looks to have future pro-bowl potential.

Here’s the money statement:

"I think the emotion dies down and you sleep on it," Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum said Tuesday at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. "We decided we'd make one call to Detroit because of the value he had on our board, and if the price was right, we would go ahead and do it."

Not all executives and coaches will sleep so well and/or take the emotion out of it.  Only one franchise will be able to make that first calculated, non-emotional decision.  The rest are likely to panic and will do so in three predictable areas of the 2010 NFL draft.

1) Knowing that EVERY franchise will be potentially looking to posture at the beginning of day 2 (round 2) there will be heavy activity during the latter half of round 1.  Some teams will attempt to pre-empt the round 2 activity by moving UP into the end of the 1^st.  An emotional decision that teams like the Packers (pick 20 and beyond) COULD take advantage of and trade down into a talent rich 2^nd round.

2) The obvious beginning of round 2, day 2 after even one team trades up almost every other franchise will begin to panic that ‘their guy’ may come off the board before their draft slot.  War-room phones will be ringing…..

3) The end of day 2, round 3.  See point #1.

This draft is an embarrassment of riches for at least the first 50 selections, but some things simply will not change.  You will see a run on left tackle and corner back prospects before their respective draft grade would dictate.  You will see desperate teams transitioning to the 3-4 defense reach for hybrid linebackers and nose tackles.  At the end of the day well-managed franchises will find value, take advantage of ‘emotional’ executives/owners (looking at you, Al Davis/Jerry Jones) and walk away from the 2010 draft with a phenomenal future.  Who knows, maybe even a future Hall of Famer…