NOTEBOOK: Thomas on draft day: Go fish
Joe Thomas’ fishing trip on Lake Michigan was pretty typical.
He made a catch, had a few laughs and shared old stories with his dad and a close friend.
Oh, he also became a multimillionaire after being selected No. 3 in Saturday’s NFL draft by the Cleveland Browns, with a camera crew in tow to record the moment for posterity.
“It was about as normal as a fishing trip you could have under these circumstances,” he said with a smile.
So, it was a little out of the ordinary, when the 6-foot-6, 311-pound Thomas learned he would be the Browns’ new left tackle through the satellite radio on Dan Fox’s charter fishing vessel, the Foxy Lady.
Thomas’ father, Eric, said it would be easy to adjust to Cleveland. They loved the city after visiting it when the Wisconsin Badgers opened last season playing Bowling Green in Cleveland Browns Stadium.
The hardest part? When the NFL called and requested them to come to New York with the other projected top picks.
“We had to tell them that we had made plans and we didn’t know they were going to invite us,” the elder Thomas said. “We really want to follow through with the big plans we had for this day.”
Ginn first surprise of draft
The first surprise of the NFL draft came from the Miami Dolphins. Choosing ninth, Miami seemed all set to take quarterback Brady Quinn of Notre Dame, but instead took wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. of Ohio State.
As the crowd at Radio City Music Hall exploded, the screens on either side of the stage showed Quinn shaking his head and smiling in disbelief.
“For sure when Brady Quinn was there, and you know Miami is hurting for a quarterback right now, and Brady Quinn is a great quarterback, to be in competition with him and for me to beat him out was good,” Ginn said. “I guess the coaches saw something in me that they liked.”
Quinn later said he was pretty sure that Miami was as far as he would fall. But once the Dolphins took the former Buckeye, Quinn was staring at a long stretch of teams with no real need for a quarterback.
Thirteen picks later, it was Quinn’s turn to be surprised. He was just finishing a phone call with a prospective employer when he had to click over to the other line. It was the Browns, the team he grew up cheering for and which had passed him over at No. 3 hours ago.
“I was obviously taken aback by it because I had just gotten off a long conversation with the Baltimore Ravens thinking ‘All right, that’s probably where I’m going to end up,”’ Quinn said. “I’m just happy that I have the opportunity to be playing for them. Obviously, it was a dream scenario.”
Dolphins fans, however weren’t quite as tickled as Quinn eventually was. Supporters attending a draft party at the team’s practice facility booed and jeered the decision, as well as coach Cam Cameron.
Line of defense
Nine consecutive defensive players were taken in the first round, from picks No. 13 through 21. Overall, 17 defensive players were taken in the first round, though the round’s last six picks were all offensive.
Defensive end Adam Carriker of Nebraska went to St. Louis to start the run, which ended when Cleveland traded up to Dallas’ 22nd spot to take Quinn after Jacksonville took DB Reggie Nelson of Florida.
Five of the nine were defensive backs, including the final four taken. Darrelle Revis was taken 14th by the New York Jets, then Leon Hall of Michigan went 18th to Cincinnati, followed by two Texas Longhorns – safety Michael Griffin to Tennessee and cornerback Aaron Ross to the New York Giants.
All in the family
A.J. Hawk wasn’t expecting to have to wait so long for his brother-in-law to join him in the NFL.
Quinn fell to the late stages of the round before the Browns traded up to take him. The Green Bay linebacker is married to Quinn’s sister, Laura, and joined his family for the trip to New York.
“I felt kind of bad for him,” said Hawk, the Packers’ fifth overall selection last year.
But it worked out well in the end. Quinn grew up a Browns fan in Dublin, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus two hours from the lakefront and gets to play for his favorite team.