The University of Alabama

Forbes.com: Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin, III, And The NFL Draft's Winners And Losers

The National Champions had four players taken in the first round: Richardson, safety, Mark Barron (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick (Cincinnati Bengals) and linebacker, Dont’a Hightower (New England Patriots). When Alabama coach, Nick Saban came to Alabama, he was thought of as perhaps the best recruiter ever. The highest-paid college coach in the land has now proven that he can coach ‘em up, too. - Monte Burke (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

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The Losers: Roge... For the second year in a row, the commissioner of the most powerful sports league on the globe got booed by the fans at Radio City Music Hall. Goodell was booed every time he walked on stage. He took it fairly well, barely flinching. Goodell is nothing if not a pro. He should take heart: The building was filled with Jets fans. They boo everything. They booed Andrew Luck, the first man taken in the draft. Jets fans would boo puppies. (There was one moment when some fans there rebelled, chanting “J.E.T.S. suck! suck! suck!” That was fun.) - Monte Burke (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

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The Viewers Though this year’s event was a bit snappier and jazzier, there were still long lulls between picks. It doesn’t help that interviews with Luck, Robert Griffin, III, and others were done on the stage. (Go back stage, Suzy Kolber!) On ESPN, Chris Berman, Jon Gruden and Mel Kiper, Jr., still had a lot of air time to fill. The time between picks was a bit like watching paint dry. Or, really, like watching Kiper’s hair tonic dry. - Monte Burke (AP Photo/Stephen Chernin)

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The Cleveland Br... So they wanted Alabama running back, Trent Richardson, really badly. Badly enough to trade their pick to the Minnesota Vikings, moving up one spot and giving up their first round pick, and their picks in the 4th, 5th and 7th rounds. I love Richardson, but is he worth that? Three more players for a team that clearly has needs all over the field? And as it turned out, the Vikings probably wouldn’t have taken Richardson anyway. - Monte Burke (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)

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Colt McCoy The Browns quarterback just got a emphatic vote of no-confidence. The Browns took 28 year-old Brandon Weeden from Oklahoma State with their second pick in the first round. Weeden had spent a few years playing minor league baseball (thus his advanced age). He will be challenging for McCoy’s spot right away. The question remains: is Weeden the real deal? Or is he another Drew Henson? As the New York Times football writer, Judy Battista, wrote this morning, the Weeden pick makes the Browns “both older and less experienced at the most important position.” - Monte Burke (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

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Jim Brown The 76 year-old legendary Browns running back told ESPN the day before the draft that he thought Richardson, then the Browns presumptive pick, was merely “ordinary.” We won’t know if Brown is right or wrong until Richardson steps on the field. But here’s the thing, Jim. Keep it to yourself, eh? This a college kid we’re talking about here. You are a legend. We don’t like our legends to be so cranky. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)

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The Wallets of t... As my colleague, Tom Van Riper, pointed out yesterday, because of the new rookie wage scale in the new collective bargaining agreement, these men will make significantly less money than the guys picked just two years ago. Like two-thirds less. Ouch. - Monte Burke (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)

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Peter King’s Min... Sports Illustrated’s football guru seemed to start to lose it as the draft neared. Three months of obsessing over college kids will do that to a man. The day before the draft, responding to rumors that the New York Jets were interested in Trent Richardson, King, in a rare moment of indecorum, Tweeted:

“This Richardson stuff is so silly–a great example of the circle-jerking of a jillion of us covering the draft for far, far too long.”

In response, the Times’ Battista Tweeted:

“I don’t think I’m allowed to RT @SI_PeterKing ‘s last tweet about Richardson/Jets, so check his timeline.” - Monte Burke (AP Photo/Tim Larsen)

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The Winners: The... Sure, the over-saturation of draft coverage (three months worth!) is more than too much for some. But the NFL has learned a lesson from the cigarette and bookselling industries: cater to the hardcores, and the rest will follow. I complained about the around-the-clock coverage. I tired of seeing a worn-out looking Bill Polian on TV every day. But I still watched the draft. I couldn’t help it. - Monte Burke (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)

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Under Armour The NFL has become Nike’s show. The Oregon-based shoemaker now produces the league’s uniforms, and made sure we all knew it with an extended ad right before the draft’s kickoff. But did you see the Nas/Ray Lewis rap intro? Did you notice what Robert Griffin, III, and the other players were wearing? That’s right. Under Armour. Pretty crafty to get that in there, Kevin Plank. And speaking of the Nas/Lewis rap, it was actually pretty good. Perhaps the good folks at ESPN would consider it as a replacement for the Hank Williams, Jr., opening that got booted off air last year after the country singer likened President Obama to Hitler? Or maybe NBC could replace the Faith Hill intro? - Monte Burke (AP Photo/ Steve Ruark)

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The University o... The National Champions had four players taken in the first round: Richardson, safety, Mark Barron (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick (Cincinnati Bengals) and linebacker, Dont’a Hightower (New England Patriots). When Alabama coach, Nick Saban came to Alabama, he was thought of as perhaps the best recruiter ever. The highest-paid college coach in the land has now proven that he can coach ‘em up, too. - Monte Burke (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

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The Minnesota Vi... They traded one spot with the Browns, got three extra picks and probably nabbed the guy they seemed to have in mind the whole time, offensive tackle, Matt Kalil, from USC. - Monte Burke (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)

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The Pittsburgh S... It must have been hard to resist taking Hightower, the gifted linebacker who was still on the board when the Steelers drafted at number 24. Instead, they took David DeCastro, an offensive guard from Stanford. If Pittsburgh wants Ben Roethlisberger to have a career that last at least another five years, they had to address their offensive line. And they did. - Monte Burke (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

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The Cincinnati B... They had two picks in the first round, taking Kirkpatrick at number 17 and guard Kevin Zeitler from Wisconsin at number 27. They got one of those picks from the Raiders, to whom they traded disgruntled quarterback, Carson Palmer, last season. The Bengals got the better of that deal. - Monte Burke (AP Photo/Tony Tribble)

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NFL Running Game... The obituary for NFL running games was written a few years ago. The NFL is a passing league. It was commonly believed that Richardson would be the only running back taken in the first round, and that this would be the last death knell for NFL running games. But guess what? There were actually three running backs taken last night. The Buccaneers snagged Doug Martin from Boise State. And the defending world champion New York Football Giants took David Wilson from Virginia Tech with the last pick. Maybe the running game isn’t dead after all? - Monte Burke (AP Photo/Matt Cilley)

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