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The 2008 Draft class - a big hit or an expensive miss?

In the end it was 'only' 14 hours 26 minutes, shaving a couple of hours off last year's marathon event (when the first round alone lasted a shade over six hours), but the echoes of the big NFL Draft rumbled on long after the official picking and swapping had stopped.

In fact, for two full days after this big annual pundit-fest, it was still the headline item on all the sports broadcasts over here.

Never mind the fact the NBA is deep into the first round of its play-offs (with the likes of the San Antonio Spurs squaring off with arch-rivals Phoenix); the NHL play-offs are well into round two (and the Pittsburgh Penguins are playing like a team inspired, behind Sid 'The Kid' Crosby); and the baseball season is now a month old (and the megabucks Yankees are looking decidedly iffy while the little Florida Marlins - with a total wage bill just a 10th of their New York brethren - are one of the big form teams).

No, never mind all the real sporting action, America remains fixated on a Draft which, with the best will in the world, will not even begin to pan out for another 10 months!

But then that shouldn't really be a surprise when you consider the amounts of money involved - the near-$60million contract for Miami's number one pick Jake Long, for example - and how much the NFL has become THE dominant sport in the US.

Gridiron grip

The gridiron world has a grip over corporate and fan-based America unlike any other sport, a grip which has intensified to iron-like proportions in the last five years or so as Michael Jordan has faded into retirement, baseball has been tainted by the protracted steroids scandal and ice hockey has struggled for any real star power (prior to the emergence of Crosby as a force this season).

And, while the other major sports on this side of the pond have struggled to maintain their place in the national consciousness, the NFL has bulldozed into a clear advantage behind Peyton Manning's winning advertising appeal, the dynastic bombast of the Patriots, the good ol' boy charm of Brett Favre and February's stunning Super Bowl finale.

Wall Street clearly views the gridiron world in a league of its own, with most teams operating in the profit margin and financial experts Forbes valuing the top franchise, the Washington Redskins, at almost $1.5billion - double that of the best non-NFL team, the New York Yankees.

In fact, of the top 33 teams on the Forbes list, 32 of them are all NFL franchises! Baseball manages to get six teams in the top 40, while the NBA has just two (the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks). The top-ranked NHL team, the Detroit Red Wings, is way down in 62nd.

So, as far as America is concerned, the NFL is the big 600lb gorilla of the sporting world, able to command the lion's (primate's?) share of the headlines, and everything that goes with it.

But back to the Draft. Because this is where the focus continues to be, with all the argument raging about who got good value for their picks and who made a complete pig's ear of it (even though, as we are repeatedly told, it could be years before the true worth of the 2008 Draft is known).

Winners and losers

No, on we forge regardless. And the pronouncements come thick and fast.

Miami? Good, sound choice from Bill Parcells, nod the pundits sagely. Here's a player (Long) to open big holes for the running game and (hopefully) provide the quarterback (whether it is John Beck, Josh McCown or new draftee Chad Henne, the former University of Michigan star) with some protection.

However, that person under centre is going to need it, though - virtually all their AFC rivals stocked up on defensive talent!

Pittsburgh? Bingo - they addressed their immediate needs with a big possession receiver (Limas Sweed), one of the top running backs in the Draft, Rashard Mendenhall (who somehow slipped back to the No 23 pick) and Tony Hills, who should solve some of their problems on the O-line.

They also picked up Oregon's livewire quarterback Dennis Dixon, who only slid all the way back to the 5th round because of a season-ending knee injury last year but who has the promise to develop into a receiver or running back, or even run a few gadget plays AND act as Ben Roethlisberger's back-up. Remember, you read it here first.

Kansas City were also pronounced as big Draft winners, with no less than 12 picks, several of whom - like defensive lineman Glenn Dorsey and cornerback Brandon Flowers - are viewed as real long-term stars. And Baltimore were given a big thumbs up for taking Joe Flacco at quarterback (although he looks a bit of a reach to me, as, coming from Delaware, he has never met any significantly testing opposition).

There were also pats on the back for Tennessee, Philadelphia, Oakland (with the potentially brilliant Darren McFadden now in their fold) and even Detroit - and lord knows, the Lions needed something to look forward to after their disastrous Drafts of recent years.

The 'losers' were slightly harder to identify, but most pointed a finger at Chicago, a team with real problems at QB but who steadfastly refuse to draft anyone at that position; Denver, with no-one to help bolster a porous defensive line; Washington, a horribly lop-sided Draft to some; and Cincinnati who, for all their problems at wide receiver, settled for a player from Division I-AA Coastal Carolina.

"Where?" said the rest of the country that wasn't Coastal Carolina (which is in the city of Conway in South Carolina, close to Myrtle Beach, by the way). Jerome Simpson, it's up to you to put CCU on the map!

But, for all the smoke and furore over the weekend's events, the most amazing thing was that the dust had yet to settle before the pundits were already pondering on NEXT year's Draft!

And they expect Atlanta to be picking first. Matt Ryan had better be prepared for a long season....

NB: My top 6 predictions for the Draft all went in...the top 6. Not bad, hey? (Actually, it was probably the most predictable Draft in years, but what the heck, after tipping the Giants to lose in both the NFC Championship and the Super Bowl, I need the boost!)