FOXBORO, Mass. -- This will go down as a weird, fun draft. Fun for everyone, that is, except Chris Simms and his family, who must be shocked by the events of the day.

But the flurry of activity -- starting with the botched Minnesota pick at No. 7 in the first round and stretching to the lightning-fast selections made at eight, nine, 10, 11 and 12 -- will go down as the trademark of this draft. The league's still buzzing about it tonight.

"What the heck happened in Minnesota?" Lions CEO Matt Millen asked me a couple of hours ago. "And how about all those picks going down so quick?" Yup, how about it? I urge you all to read my SI.com colleague Don Banks' dispatch from Ravensville, because he has the complete scoop on the weird story in Baltimore/Minnesota.

On with my post-second round thoughts:

1. I think, watching the draft on ESPN, you'd never know there's a recession. According to my precise draft notes, every company in America advertised during the Day 1 broadcast. Twice.

2. I think Chris Simms and his dad must be fuming. I find it stunning, given his genes and his arm and his history, that he wasn't picked until the very end of the third round -- particularly when Dave Ragone, a player I thought was clearly below Simms on most draft boards, went to Houston ahead of him with the 88th overall pick.

3. I think you can feel free to wonder what the heck I'm talking about. I said before the draft I expected at least 10 first-round trades. Well, there were only six. Seven, almost, because the Ravens and Vikings agreed to a trade but couldn't get it announced in time to make it official before Minnesota's 15-minute time allotment for the seventh pick expired.

4. I think, from my vantage point here at Patriots headquarters, that New England has had an interesting draft so far. When you take a nose tackle first, then trade your other first-round pick for Baltimore's second-round pick (No. 41) and the Ravens' No. 1 pick in the 2004 draft, and then select non-marquee picks at corner and wideout, my conclusion is this: Bill Belichick must feel pretty secure in his job. And this: They have two first-rounders, two second-rounders, a third-rounder and three fourth-rounders next year. Wow. What a bounty.

5. I think Bill Romanowski has a great future in television. Not good. Great. ESPN, or some other network, should sign him to a futures contract right now.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Peter King covers the NFL beat for the magazine and will check in throughout the day with his thoughts and observations on the 2003 NFL Draft.

 

Related information

Stories

Peter King: NFL Draft -- Five things I think I think, part III Peter King: NFL Draft -- Five things I think I think, early first round Peter King: NFL Draft -- Five things I think I think, pre-draft Previous Peter King columns Complete 2003 NFL Draft Coverage

Multimedia

Visit Video Plus for the latest audio and video