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Without fail, the NFL Draft leaves us with surprises each and every year. Despite millions of NFL mock drafts from the internet's finest, picks are turned in that shock the football world, sending draft pundits scrambling for reasons as to why they were wrong.
Of course, other teams do exactly what you would expect. They have a certain identity, perhaps because of history over the long haul like the Pittsburgh Steelers or simply continuity in the front office, such as the New England Patriots.
Everybody knew the Patriots would trade down, because it's Bill Belichick.
In a few years, we will all be able to look back and say definitively who won and lost the draft. However, this is the internet, so we don't have that kind of time. Without further rambling, my six pack of thoughts on Thursday night.
1. The Kansas City Chiefs made the right move
This is a Chiefs blog after all, so let's start there. Kansas City had the No. 1 overall pick and found it couldn't trade down. Instead of trying to outsmart every other team - a common problem in the NFL - the Chiefs made the correct decision to take Eric Fisher.
Should Kansas City keep Branden Albert, they can kick either he or Fisher to the right side and have one of the best tandems in the league. If Albert gets dealt, Fisher steps in to replace him at a cheaper salary per year.
2. The New York Jets are fools
I think Dee Milliner will be a good player, but he won't be the kind of cornerstone, bedrock guy that Chance Warmack turns out to be. It's impossible to win in the NFL without really good line play, and after losing their two starting guards in the offseason, New York needed one badly.
Instead, the Jets took Milliner. The Alabama corner has a high upside but also possesses some risk after having five surgeries in college. Warmack was the obvious, can't-miss pick at No. 9 and New York blew it.
The Jets decision with their first pick also hurt them with No. 13. Had they taken Warmack, a top corner still would have been available at 13, helping both sides of the ball. Instead, they insured scoring no more than 10 points per game next year. Enjoy Gang Green.
3. E.J. Manuel....say what?
The Buffalo Bills have the longest current postseason drought, not having played in the playoffs since the Music City Miracle back in the 1999 campaign. Since then, the team has been a disaster, and continued the trend on Thursday evening by selecting E.J. Manuel.
I like Manuel...as a late second, early third round pick. How Buddy Nix and Doug Marrone could take Manuel at No. 16 with so many other needs is beyond me. Buffalo clearly needs a boatload of help and could've selected Manuel in the second round. Instead, they panicked and cost themselves a high-impact player.
4. The Oakland Raiders are no longer run by Al Davis
Years ago, Oakland would have stayed at the No. 3 pick and drafted Tavon Austin. Without question, Davis would have seen the speed and lost his mind, taking what should be a good player, not a superstar, with a pick that is needed elsewhere.
New general manager Reggie McKenzie was able to trade down and still get a top corner in D.J. Hayden out of Houston, helping what looks like an awful secondary. McKenzie probably should have gotten more for trading back nine spots, but he still added a high pick which Oakland can put to good use.
5. Nobody did better than the Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings were the first team since the 2001 St. Louis Rams to have three picks in the first round, and they put them to good use. Minnesota snagged in my opinion the best corner with Xavier Rhodes and also got the steal of the night with Sharrif Floyd.
On top of that, the Vikings paid a kings ransom to get back into the first round but then took wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson. Honestly, I think Patterson is a bust and they gave up too much, but even with that feeling Minnesota had a big evening.
6. The second and third rounds are loaded with talent
How often is it that five quarterbacks with real potential are still sitting around at the start of Day Two? Between Geno Smith, Matt Barkley, Ryan Nassib, Tyler Wilson and Mike Glennon, five teams will walk away from Friday very happy.
On top of that, there are still really good players available including Keenan Allen, Jonathan Cyprien, Menelik Watson, Eddie Lacy and others.
Also, I'd like to throw in a sleeper for the Chiefs to look at with their compensatory pick in the third round: Le'Veon Bell of Michigan State. Bell can flat out play and would be an insanely perfect fir behind Jamaal Charles in the west coast offense.