The camera kept flashing back to West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith, who went pick after pick without hearing his name called, echoing past drafts that saw Brady Quinn and Aaron Rodgers fall in similar fashion.
As Smith grew dejected at his table while the prospects around him were taken, Rodgers, a former NFL MVP and Super Bowl MVP who fell to No. 16 overall in the 2005 draft, offered words of encouragement via Twitter. Rodgers tweeted "Hang in there Geno, 'Good things come to those who wait'- Paul Tagliabue."
While Rodgers' fall is a good comparison to Smith's plight, the descent of former Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn mirrors Smith's more closely. Quinn was regarded as a top-three pick entering the 2007 NFL draft, with solid chance to unseat JaMarcus Russell at the top of the board. The Cleveland Browns, who appeared in need of a new signal-caller, were not expected to let Quinn fall past the third spot.
The Browns selected offensive tackle Joe Thomas, however, and Quinn tumbled all the way to No. 22, where the Browns had a second first-rounder and chose him. Smith's drop has been even more ignominious than Quinn's; while he did not enter the draft with Quinn's level of hype, he was considered by most to be the best quarterback in the class. Also, prospects of his ilk, at the most important position in the game, rarely ever make it past the first round.
Adding insult to injury, Smith didn't just fall to the second round with all the other quarterback prospects; he was passed over by the Buffalo Bills in favor of E.J. Manuel, who was earning a second or third-round grade by several draft experts. Bills coach Doug Marrone, who eschewed Smith and Ryan Nassib, Marrone's quarterback of four years at Syracuse, said, "I think at the end of the day, there's a lot of good quarterbacks in the draft. And we were able to go ahead and take the best quarterback we felt fit us here in our situation in Buffalo."
Geno Smith left New York and will not be in attendance for the second round of the draft. Quinn has not panned out as a first round pick, but Smith can take heart in the advice Rodgers gave him. If the 2005 draft were re-done, it is a safe bet that Rodgers would go a little higher.
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