BREAKING DOWN DAY ONE OF THE NFL DRAFT ... INCLUDING THE WINNERS AND LOSERS

After going through all the Draft Day disappointments I’ve had to endure over the past several years, the tide finally turned in my favor on Saturday afternoon. The Jets made the right move and the right choice in trading up for Southern Cal quarterback Mark Sanchez, and in turn, completely changed the face of the franchise in a matter of minutes. And while the Jets stole the show at Radio City Music Hall, there was no shortage of drama.

So, in honor of Broadway Joe, the last true franchise quarterback the Jets had, here are 12 winners and losers from the first day of the NFL Draft.

* New Broncos coach Josh McDaniels is completely overmatched in running a football team. There was absolutely no reason for Denver to draft Georgia running back Knowshon Moreno at No. 12 overall. Not only do the Broncos not need a running back, but they could have gotten Moreno at least 10 picks later. Then, to top everything off, McDaniels traded the Broncos’ No. 1 pick next year to move into the second round – that’s right, second round – this year. How does that make any sense at all? Unless he’s thinking he won’t be around next year, which is getting closer and closer to happening, there is no way a sane person does that. McDaniels had a horrible start to his head coaching career (Jay Cutler, anyone) and Saturday was just as bad. McDaniels is embarrassing himself and the Denver franchise. Somewhere, Mike Shanahan must be loving this.

* Another team that was completely lost on Draft Day was the Oakland Raiders. Picking Maryland WR Darrius Heyward-Bey at No. 7 made no sense at all. Texas Tech WR Michael Crabtree, or even Missouri WR Jeremy Maclin, should have been the choice. But Al Davis went with speed. Still, Heyward-Bey was the third rated WR on many boards and was slotted to be a mid to late first round pick. In fact, he was a projected Jets pick at No. 17 for the longest time. Why not trade down and grab Heyward-Bey later and pick up extra draft choices? I have no idea, but Al Davis does, and that’s scary.

* The 49ers made out like bandits in the first round as they were able to grab Crabtree at No. 10 overall. The San Fran offense just got a whole lot better, thanks to the Raiders.

* Staying on the WR beat, Philadelphia also made a great move in trading up a couple spots to grab Maclin at No. 18 overall. Maclin and Desean Jackson should be a great tandem for quarterback Donovan McNabb next year.

* The Colts reached for UConn running back Donald Brown at No. 27 overall. There is no way Brown should have been a first round draft pick, never mind the fact that he was the second RB selected. (Anyone who gets caught from behind by a guy from Buffalo should not be a first round draft pick.) Brown won’t do anything and this will be a waste of a pick. It does say that the Colts have no confidence in Joseph Addai.

* Meanwhile, the Cardinals getting Chris “Beanie” Wells at No. 31 is a great pick. Wells is a perfect fit in the Cardinals offense and will take over for Edgerrin James next year. I’m sure the Cards were ecstatic that Indy took Brown ahead of them.

* The Packers had a solid draft. They got B.J. Raji from Boston College at No. 9 and then traded back into the first round and took USC linebacker Clay Matthews at No. 26. Now, I know that Matthews was a bit of a reach, but you’ve got to hand it to the Packers for making something happen.

* The Patriots did what they usually do, trade down and stockpile a ton of draft picks. They had no first round pick, but got four players in Round 2.

* The Giants have become pretty predictable in who they are going to choose in the draft. Last year everyone knew they were going to take Miami safety Kenny Phillips and they did. This year everyone pegged them as taking North Carolina wide receiver Hakeem Nicks, and they did. Nicks will be looked upon to take over the void left by Plaxico Burress. Talk about pressure.

* I don’t understand the Dolphins picking West Virginia quarterback Patrick White. He was drafted as a “wide receiver” and will be nothing short of a project. His best position may be the “wildcat,” but Miami already has Ronnie Brown playing that role. I love taking chances on guys like this, but Miami doesn’t have the need for it.

* The Lions should have a pretty good offense next year. With QB Matthew Stafford (who might sit a year behind Daunte Culpepper) and tight end Brandon Pettigrew now joining WR Calvin Johnson and RB Kevin Smith, the Lions could and should score a lot of points. That’s as good as a young base as any team in the league. Things could be looking up for Detroit after all.

* And, finally, the day belonged to the New York Jets. Trading with the Cleveland Browns to move up to No. 5 overall to grab Southern Cal quarterback Mark Sanchez was simply brilliant. First, they gave up their first round pick, second round pick and players Kenyon Coleman, Abram Elam and Brett Ratliff. It sounds like a lot right off the bat, but looking deeper … the first round pick is washed out … the three players involved were all backups and weren’t likely to see much playing time next year with the Jets … which leaves the second round pick as the only thing of value. That is just an unbelievable trade for the Jets. So, anyone saying the Jets gave up too much to Cleveland just doesn’t have a clue. Now, will Sanchez be the franchise quarterback he should be at No. 5 overall? I don’t know. Nobody knows. Nobody knows if Matthew Stafford will be a franchise quarterback either. Those questions won’t be answered for several, several months. For right now, however, the Jets have their franchise quarterback, and that is all that matters. Even though I liked Sanchez better than Stafford coming into the draft, it’s anyone guess who will be the better pro. All I know is that I’m one excited Jets fan right now.