What a day huh?  Over 11 hours to complete 3 rounds, and there were some obvious winners and losers.  I hate to kick someone when they're down, so I'm not going into the losers here.  What am I going to do is rank my top 5 drafts from Day 1.

5. Cleveland Browns- Phil Savage took the top OT on the board in Joe Thomas, solidifying the LT position for 10-15 years for the Browns.  Savage made a big trade to move back into the 1st round at #22 and grabbed the #2 rated QB in Quinn, who went 15-20 spots later than anticipated.  Savage made another deal in the second round, acquiring the #53 pick to take CB Eric Wright.  Wright is a 1st round talent if his head is on straight.

Cleveland comes away with three first round talents on Day 1, but it was costly.  The Browns traded their 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and a 6th rounder this year as well as next year's first round pick to get the picks to acquire Quinn and Wright.  Those two players have to pan out for the cost of adding them.

Remaining picks: 5th round(140), 6th round(195), 7th round(213)

4. Indianapolis Colts- I scratched my head at first when Anthony Gonzalez came off the board at #32, but the Colts do need a true #3 WR, and Gonzalez is the most polished guy that was available I think.  He's a slot receiver that will go over the middle and make the tough catch, he runs precise routes which is critical in the Colts timing offense.  The Colts traded 2008's first round pick round pick along with #126 to add a 2nd round pick this year.  With #42, they took Tony Ugoh, a tackle from Arkansas.  I'm not sure if he'll become the heir apparent at LT for long time tackle Tarik Glenn, or if he'll be the new RT in a year or two, but I do think he was easily the best OL available, and the drop off at tackle was pretty big after Ugoh.  The third round was very good to the Colts, as they added two perfect Tampa 2 players in cornerback Daymeion Hughes and defensive tackle Quinn Pitcock.

Hughes is the prototypical Tampa 2 corner, he will team with Marlin Jackson, Kelvin Hayden, and Tim Jennings to provide depth at cornerback.  Ideally, Hughes will start at a corner spot opposite Hayden with Jackson providing depth at corner and safety.  Pitcock is a hard worker who puts in extra time on film and works as hard as possible to make the play.  He's not the most gifted guy out there, but he won't be outworked and is a coach's dream.  He'll fit in with Booger McFarland and Raheem Brock in the tackle rotation very well.

Remaining picks: 4th round(131 and 136), 5th round(169 and 173), 7th round(242)

3. Detroit Lions- The Lions started things off early with the #2 pick, taking Calvin Johnson, arguably the best player in the draft.  While the Lions don't have a good track record with wideouts in the first round, I think this pick was a no-brainer.  Adding Johnson to Roy Williams and Mike Furrey provides a core of receivers, with Tatum Bell and TJ Duckett in the backfield until Kevin Jones is back from injury.  This gives Jon Kitna more weapons to work with and make the Lions more dangerous offensively.  Many people feel the Lions need an upgrade at QB, and picked up the likely QB of the future in Michigan State's Drew Stanton.  He'll be able to play behind Kitna for a year or two, and learn from offensive coordinator Mike Martz.  

The Lions were even able to drop back in the second round and land Stanton, adding #74 overall as well as #43 where they took Stanton.  The Lions weren't done dealing, as they traded picks #66 and #145 to move up to #53, where they selected Ikaika Alama-Francis.  Alama-Francis played DE in college, but I expect to see him playing DT in the Tampa 2 scheme coach Rod Marinelli runs.  If he can maintain a weight of 275 to 280, he'll be a very solid guy in the tackle rotation for Detroit.  The Lions made another deal in the second round, sending picks #74 and #101 to the Ravens for the #61 selection.  The Lions added Gerald Alexander, a safety/cornerback from Boise State.  While Alexander doesn't have prototypical corner speed, like the Colts Dameiyon Hughes he doesn't need it in the Tampa 2.  He's a physical corner, who can help out in the running game.  I'd say he could see time in the nickel package at worst, with a shot at a starting spot.

Remaining picks: 4th round(105), 5th round(139, 154, and 158), 7th round(255)

2. Carolina Panthers- Carolina started the day with the #14 pick, and it wouldn't have been a surprise to see eventual 1st round pick Jon Beason go to them at that spot.  However, the Panthers were able to get Beason #25, while also adding picks #59 and #164.  Beason can step into the weak side spot or fill in the middle for oft-injured Dan Morgan.  With their 2nd round pick, the Panthers landed Dwayne Jarrett, a guy projected to go in the mid to late 1st round.  This was very good value here, as he will form a solid receiving core for the future with Steve Smith and Keary Colbert.  Jarret doesn't have to produce right away, but can learn behind Smith and Keyshawn Johnson.

With the #59 pick acquire from the Jets in the Beason deal, the Panthers landed the top center in the draft, USC's Ryan Kalil.  Kalil was projected to be a late first or early second round pick, so landing him near the bottom of the second round was a steal.  Kalil will be part a big part of the rebuilding of the Panthers line over the next couple of seasons.  In the third round, the Panthers added DE Charles Johnson.  In time, he could really benefit from playing opposite Julius Peppers on the Panthers D-Line.  Johnson was another guy who had been mentioned as a 1st round pick at one point in time.  I think John Fox will be able to get the most of him, maybe even using him as a situational pass rusher this season.

Remaining picks: 4th round(118), 5th round(155 and 164), 7th round(226)

1. San Francisco 49ers- Could we have scripted a better first day?  I think not.  With our first round pick, we landed Patrick Willis, the best linebacker in the draft.  He'll be to fight for a starting job this year and likely win out.  He's a big addition, pairing with Brandon Moore to form a quick, powerful, destructive tandem in the middle of the 3-4.  He's a future Pro Bowler, and a great addition to our team.  The Niners then traded up into the late first round, sending next year's 1st rounder and #110 to New England for the 28th pick.  With that selection, we added our future LT, the second best LT prospect in the draft.  Staley is a guy who can be a part of lineup for 10-15 years, whether he starts off at RT or we shift Jonas Jennings to RT this year.

The Niners made another deal in the second round, sending the 42nd pick to Indianapolis for the Colts 2008 1st rounder and #126 in this year's draft.  There was quite a debate on the two trades, but I think we come out great here.  We swap first round picks, likely moving only 8-10 spots farther down in the first round next year.  We dropped 16 spots in the 4th round here.  In doing so, we added a top 3 OL, something we could not have done at #42.  Joe Staley is head and shoulders above OT Tony Ugoh who the Colts took with our 2nd round pick, so the slight drops we make in the 4th round this year and the 1st round next year aren't significant in the big picture.

With our two 3rd round picks, we filled two big needs.  Wideout Jason Hill was selected at #76, and the hope is he can win a starting job this year.  He was projected in the late second round, so adding him in the third is a bit of a steal.  His production dropped off last year, but it seems it was due to family issues.  If that is the case, we landed a first round talent in the third round.  With our second third round pick, we grabbed defensive end Ray McDonald.  McDonald is another guy with 1st round talent, but two ACL injuries lowered his draft stock.  If healthy, he gives the Niners a 4th first round talent in the first 3 rounds.

Remaining picks: 4th round(104, 124, 126, and 135), 5th round(147), 6th round(186)