Well, the 2010 NFL Draft’s 1st Round is behind us, and, as usual, it was an exciting one. Of course, with this being one of the deepest drafts in recent memory, many questions — some fun, some serious, all good — remain.

Make the jump with us for some queries we hope you might have the answers to…

Will Sam Bradford Show Better As A Rookie Than Last Year’s #1 Overall Pick?

Hey, remember Matt Stafford?  Yeah, he may have gone first overall to the Lions last year, but he never enjoyed anywhere near the general support and fanfare that the new “Spirit of St. Louis” had going into this draft.  Don’t you remember?  Stafford was just the beneficiary of a poor QB class that, lucky for him, saw a team-in-need sitting at the top of the pile, right?  If the likes of Bradford, McCoy and, dare I say, even Tebow had come out — many claimed — who knows how far he’d of fallen.

Well, now we all have a chance to see if such sentiment was sound.  There’s a fairly good chance that Bradford, like Stafford, will start from the get go as a rookie.  More importantly, the former Sooner will be guiding a team that’s just about as hapless as the Lions, so, without getting overly analytical, let’s just assume that their respective circumstances are sufficiently similar for the purposes of comparison.

Lucky for Sam, Stafford didn’t exactly set the world on fire last year.  In 10 starts, the Lions’ QB completed 53% of his passes for 2267 yards, 13 TD’s and 20 Int’s.  “Matty Fire” also managed 2 scores on the ground and finished with a 61.0 QB Rating, but the defining moment of his rookie campaign came in a remarkable, record setting, Week 11 showdown against the Browns.

Will Bradford fare better through 10 starts?  You tell us.  Should be very interesting considering that Bradford, like Stafford, decided to forgo some of that supposedly all important college QB eligibility we hear so much about.  Oh, he also kind of missed nearly all of last season due to injury.  Still not as big a risk as Stafford, though.  Right?

For Whom Were Gerald McCoy’s Tears Shed?

If you watched the Draft, you surely haven’t forgotten the rather poignant scene of Gerald McCoy getting a bit misty eyed while on the phone with the Bucs’ brass.  Since it’s an indisputable fact that no one would be crying tears of joy over being picked by a franchise that has averaged only 5 wins a year over the last four seasons, we have to assume McCoy was simiply that upset about the amount of work that needs to be done in Tampa Bay.  Or do we?

What about fellow DT, and former Big 12 cohort, Ndamukong Suh?  The Lions, an organization that’s averaged just 3 wins a year over the past four seasons, took Suh at the #2 spot, immediately before McCoy.  As such,  is it possible the source of McCoy’s water works was simply the sympathy he felt for Suh?

Then again, maybe they were tears of joy.  I guess Detroit’s front office preference for Suh obviously spared McCoy an even worse fate.  Not to mention far less appealing scenery.

Will The Buffalo Weather Cool C.J. Spiller’s Hottest Commodity?

C.J. Spiller is fast.  Really fast.  The former Clemson spark plug posted a 4.27 40 yard dash time at this year’s combine, and I’m sure Bills fans are looking forward to adding that kind of electricity to an offense that’s been about as illuminating as a candle in the wind for the better half of decade.

Problem is, while it’s almost certainly not doing anything to help, one has to wonder if the winter wonderland like conditions that Buffalo receives such a relatively heavy dose of will all but completely neutralize the most invaluable asset of Spiller’s skill set.

It’s safe to say Spiller, a Florida native, isn’t exactly battle tested when it comes to such conditions, and, with vision supposedly being a question mark, I guess I find it a little odd that a franchise like Buffalo would risk the chance that C.J.’s fire may not burn all that well on ice.  We’ll see.

Is Ryan Matthews Set To Become This Year’s Rookie, Fantasy RB Stud?

Having gone 12th overall to San Diego, former Fresno State Bulldog Ryan Matthews probably couldn’t have asked for a better situation.  Future Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson is now with the Jets, and the only other real ground option for the Chargers is the scrappy, yet pint sized, Darren Sproles coming off a season in which he averaged just 3.9 yards per carry.

Enter Mathews, who, checking in at about 6’0″, 220 pounds, will become the instant featured back in an offense that’s prowess in the air should create some golden opportunities for its rookie workhorse on the ground.  Perhaps letting go of Michael Turner wasn’t so bad after all?

Are The Giants Switching to a 3-4, Or Maybe Just Developing Some Really Cool Defense We’ve Never Even Heard Of?

Let me just get this out of the way up front, as a disclaimer: I’m not the type to seriously question the personnel decisions of folks that run successful NFL franchises.  I mean, if their knowledge of the game was metaphorically represented by every character in this article, I fully expect my own knowledge could be fairly characterized as the letter “f” you just read in the word “fairly.”

With that in mind, I guess it’s safe to say that, if I were the Giants GM, I probably wouldn’t have picked South Florida’s Jason Pierre-Paul 15th overall.  Especially since, as the Giants GM, I apparently also have no intention of trading Osi Umenyiora.

Listen, I love depth — who doesn’t? — but four potential Pro-Bowl DE’s on a 4-3 defense?  And it’s not like any of them are particuarly long in the tooth either.  2008 All-Pro Justin Tuck is 26.  2005 All-Pro, and 2007 Pro Bowler, Osi Umenyiora is 29.  2006 1st round pick Mathias Kiwanuka has averaged about 5 sacks a year, despite playing only one season as a full-time starter, and now we’re going to add another 1st Round DE into the mix? This latest one considered by many to be the best pass rusher in the Draft?

QB’s beware!  Though I suppose that goes for Jim Sorgi and Rhett Bomar, too?

Over/Under On How Much Longer People Will Think That Was Maurkice Pouncey’s Girlfriend?

The Tweets started soaring tonight when the Steelers picked the man Tim Tebow’s hands have graced perhaps even more than sick Guatemalan children in recent years.  Yes, Pittsburgh’s selection of Florida Center Maurkice Pouncey (18th overall) was quite lively and popular, just not particularly pretty.

See, the celebratory shot of Pouncey and friends included the image of a youngish, oldish woman that most had no choice but to assume was Maurkice’s significant other.  Why “significant” and not simply an “(m)other”?  Well, instead of offering just the casual, congratulatory hug, she really went in for the good stuff; and in such a manner that one could easily be forgiven for thinking there were more than just traditional family ties going on.

And so, alas, as it often happens with athletes’ old college flames, people began asking not the question of “if,” but “when,” as it related to this presumed couple’s demise. After all, Pouncey was leaving the barren financial wasteland of The Swamp for the riches of The Steel City. Why, then, would he not leave this particular lady friend behind also; and in the place from whence she apparently came (Gainesville, I mean).

As it turns out, however, the lovely lady was Pouncey’s mom.  So, shall we set the Over/Under at one year?

Over/Under On How Many Years Until We See Another 1st Round WR Emerge From A Triple Option Offense?

DeMaryius Thomas is a gifted receiving threat, obviously.  One doesn’t simply walk into the mid-late 1st Round at that position without at least displaying some unique physical talents, and Thomas’ rare combination of size and speed certainly fits the bill (6’3″, 230, reportedly has run sub-4.4 40′s ).

The novelty doesn’t stop there, however.  It’s not every Draft you see “first day”, let alone 1st Round, WR’s coming from schools that run the triple option, as Georgia Tech did two of the three years DeMaryius was a Yellow Jacket.  Thomas never hauled in over 50 receptions in a single collegiate season, and his 120 career grabs for 2,339 yards and 15 TD’s isn’t exactly eye popping either.

Nevertheless, he still might be the epitome of how numbers don’t always tell the whole story.  Anyone that ever watched him play could easily see he was a special talent, in spite of the circumstances, and, whether or not he ever finds success in the NFL, it’s hard to argue he wasn’t worthy of the Broncos shot/investment with the 22nd overall pick.

My question is: What are the odds we see something like this happen again in the 1st Round of the Draft any time soon?  I guess it’s more of a recruiting issue than anything else, as I’m not sure how a program with such a run heavy, college specific offensive scheme could successfully pitch itself to quality WR talent (Thomas wasn’t recruited by Paul Johnson, after all).

Drink this bit of soon-to-be triva up, Frumpsters.  It might be awhile.  Or will it?

Will Dez Bryant Become One Of The “Boys” In Dallas?

Speaking of talented Wide Receivers, how about former Oklahoma State Cowboy, Dez Bryant?  Many thought Dez was the best all around receiver in this year’s Draft, but his personal baggage would likely weigh him down to the lower depths of the 1st Round.  They were right.

The last time Jerry Jones had a shot at an exceptional WR that came with some baggage, the Cowboys owner passed on some guy named Randy Moss.  This time, when Dallas saw Bryant was sttill on the board tonight, at 24, Jones wasn’t willing to potentially make the same mistake twice, and actually moved up to ensure Dez remained a Cowboy, albeit a different variety.

Of course, maybe things won’t be that different after all.  Even if Bryant doesn’t happen to change some of his less desirable habits, couldn’t he fit in fairly well with the recent Cowboys tradition you may have read about in Jeff Pearlman’s Boys Will Be Boys ?

Certainly not wishing him the worst, but I have to say that Dallas seems almost too fitting a setting for the continuation of Dez’s saga.

Will Tim Tebow Ever Start A Meaningful Game As An NFL QB?

And finally, Tim Tebow.  Given ESPN’s build up, I briefly thought that, after a moment of silence, confetti would begin to fall from the ceiling of Radio City Music Hall — and Creed would come out for an impromptu performance — when Roger Goodell announced that Josh McDaniels’ Denver Broncos had selected the Alpha, the Omega, the Tim Tebow with the 25th overall pick of the NFL Draft in the Year of our Lord, 2010.  If only.

Just seemed like such an opportune time for such festivities, you know.  Especially with all the talk of heart, courage, blessings, leadership, faith and determination, and stuff.  That and, of course, the white iPhone that so subtly matched the state of Tim’s virginity.  My god, it was beautiful.  If only.

If only there were any reasonable, rational way to think that there’s a good chance of Tim Tebow becoming a quality NFL Quarterback someday.  Well, at least a chance good enough to justify taking him in the 1st Round.

Don’t get me wrong, though.  As much as I enjoy joking about him, I actually have a soft spot for Tim; think he’s a good kid, and I wouldn’t begrudge him success as a QB.  I just wish people would admit that the probability of that  is quite low.  Ah, if only.

But yeah, for our purposes here, I just want to know: Do you think that — barring by way of others’ injuries, suspensions, rapture, etc. — Tim Tebow will ever start a meaningful game as an NFL QB?

Either way, I guess we should all be grateful that Tim got drafted into probably the best possible situation.  Denver and Mile High are perfect for him; as close as one can get to Heaven in the pros…

More youtubage of The Pack after the jump!

(authors’s note:  Yes, I understand photoshop exists and that the date is 8/29/08…but I choose to believe it’s real and ignore the date and still view it as a sign!)

(2nd author’s note:  Yes, I meant to leave carolina uncapitalized.)