Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen is not heading to the Northeast, but instead the Carolina Panthers. (Darron Cummings/Associated Press)Quarterback Jimmy Clausen slid all the way to the 48th spot of the NFL draft, with the Carolina Panthers addressing their quarterback issues by selecting the Notre Dame star on Friday night at Radio City Music Hall in New York.
Clausen had been pegged by many football observers to be taken by Thursday night, but it didn't happen. Denver selected Florida quarterback Tim Tebow instead, and on Friday the Cleveland Browns and Buffalo Bills — two teams likely to draft a quarterback at some point —opted to select other players.
The Panthers had to let go veteran Jake Delhomme after an interception-riddled 2009, and incumbent Matt Moore has yet to prove he can put together a full NFL season.
Cleveland took Oregon safety T.J. Ward at 38, with the Bills following three picks later by taking nose tackle Torrell Troup of Central Florida.
The opening picks of Friday night's second round were Indiana tackle Rodger Saffold, Virginia cornerback Chris Cook, and UCLA defensive tackle Brian Price.
Needing a blocker for quarterback Sam Bradford, the first overall pick the previous night, the Rams ignored several trade offers to stay put. They went for an experienced player in Saffold who started for four seasons with the Hoosiers.
Minnesota, which traded out of the first round, has had injury problems at cornerback, so Cook should be helpful. And Tampa Bay's defensive line has been a sieve, which the team addressed with the selections of Oklahoma's Gerald McCoy at No. 3 overall and then Price.
Kansas City got a prime kick returner and receiving threat in five-foot-eight, 165-pound Dexter McCluster of Mississippi and with their second pick of the round nabbed Alabama cornerback Javier Arenas.
Philadelphia, in need of safety help, took Nate Allen of South Florida. To the surprise of some, Allen was picked ahead of USC safety Taylor Mays, who went later in the round to San Francisco.
In picks acquired through trades, New England tabbed coveted Arizona tight end Rob Gronkowski, Minnesota selected Stanford's Toby Gerhart as a second option at running back, and Baltimore took Texas outside linebacker Sergio Kindle to learn from veteran inside man Ray Lewis.
Many teams trotted out Hall of Famers to announce their picks, with Jim Brown, Rod Woodson and John Randle on hand to join NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
Texas quarterback Colt McCoy, the 2008 Heisman trophy runner-up, had to wait until the 86th pick to hear his name called as Cleveland's pick.
With files from CBCSports.ca
