10 Things to Know About NFL Draft

 

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The most exciting few minutes of the NFL draft came on Day 2.

In the span of a few minutes early in Friday night's second round, the San Diego Chargers caused draftniks at Radio City Music Hall to let out a roar with the selection of Notre Dame's Manti Te'o. Just when things were settling down, the New York Jets announced their pick — quarterback Geno Smith. Fans, many clad in Jets jerseys, cheered — and booed.

Te'o, of course, was the victim of a tabloid-ready hoax involving a fake girlfriend. That, and his poor play in the national title game against Alabama, followed by less-than-impressive workouts for pro scouts, had everyone wondering when he would be selected.

Smith, of course, now heads to a team with all kinds of quarterback issues, from starter Mark Sanchez still with the team despite an awful season, Tim Tebow still with the team despite not really getting a chance to play, and three other QBs on the roster for now in David Garrard, Greg McElroy and Matt Simms.

Welcome to San Diego, Manti.

Welcome to the J-E-T-S, Jets, Geno.

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Here are 10 things to know about the draft after the first two days. The final four rounds are Saturday.

1. WHAT THEY'RE SAYING IN SAN DIEGO, NEW YORK

"I did expect to go in the first round," Te'o said. "But things happened and all it did was give me more motivation to get better. I don't know if I have something to prove, but it definitely puts a huge fire under my butt to just be better."

Asked if he dropped into the second round because of the off-field issues and his flop in the title game, he said: "I really don't know. That's a question that you've got to ask the teams."

Chargers GM Tim Telesco, who traded up seven spots to No. 38 to land Te'o, certainly has no issues with his new guy.

"He's a great kid," Telesco said. "We did a lot of work on Te'o and I've seen him for a number of years. He loves football. He's passionate about it. He loves to practice. He loves to play."

Smith, who was projected as first-rounder, believes he can compete with Sanchez and whoever else is around.

"I love to compete. Mark is a guy who I watched at USC, I watched him in the NFL, and I think highly of him as well as Tim and all of those guys over there," he said, "As I said, I'm coming in as a rookie and I'm going to compete and I'm also going to accept my role whatever it is."

Asked if he thinks he's a franchise QB, he said: "Yes sir. I do believe so and for a number of reasons, but the main thing is that I'm not only coming into practice, I'm going to come into work and I'm going to compete daily and I'm going to also do my best to better my teammates in order for us to win a Super Bowl."

What does it all mean?

New Jets GM John Idzik says: "What this means for Mark Sanchez is competition, and Mark is open to that. We've had discussions about that, and I think he buys into the fact that that helps him and it helps any player on our team, and as a result, it helps our team."

2. RUNNING BACKS SCORE