Update: It's now being reported that Geno is sticking around for round 2 of the draft. Going to be a long night if nobody takes him.
The two glaring omissions from the NFL Draft last night were certainly Manti Te'o and Geno Smith. Smith, once thought of as perhaps the top pick, was passed over by the entire league; most notably, the Buffalo Bills, who decided to draft Florida St. quarterback EJ Manuel. That selection also featured the storyline that new Bills coach Doug Marrone who came from Syracuse, passed on selecting his former QB, Ryan Nassib. While this was a disappointment and bad news for Nassib's draft stock, the fact Smith did not go on day one was among the bigger surprises.
Smith's fall out of round one created the frequent awkward situation of a player being stuck at the draft as they fall down the board. By the end of the night, Smith declined an interview with ESPN but told Suzy Kolber he would go home and not attend the remaining rounds of the draft.
It wasn't hard to see this coming. Many predicted that no quarterbacks would be taken in the first round and that was almost the case. I understand the desire to go to New York for all the draft festivities, but if Smith was so upset about not being drafted that he is going home rather than sticking it out, he probably should have considered this scenario before making the decision to go.
As for Te'o, the question immediately becomes, why wasn't he taken? My belief is that it was a combination of the publicity and baggage that comes from the craziness surrounding his fake girlfriend and his shortcomings at the combine. His slow 4.82 40-yard dash may have been the bigger turn off for teams despite what Teo's regular season performance at Notre Dame may have shown. Good move by Te'o not attending the draft.
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