The first day of the draft came and went rather quickly, at least once it got started. It was tough dealing with my anxiety for an extra few hours with it starting at 3:00 rather than noon. However, once things got rolling the 10 minutes between picks proved to be much faster than I would realize as I didn't have my normal in-between time to hit the fridge and the other duties that may call. Despite the rapid pace here my first impressions of the team's that helped themselves the most in the opening two rounds.

CAROLINA PANTHERS
They nabbed RB Jonathan Stewart at No. 13, then added a tackle with the 19th pick and good at that in Jeff Otah out of Pittsburgh. The team's offensive line has gotten younger, but has immense upside and Stewart replaces DeShaun Foster (cut in off-season) as DeAngelo Williams' stablemate in the Panthers' backfield.

BALTIMORE RAVENS
Ozzie Newsome had Baltimore on the move. They dropped all the way from 8th overall down to No. 26th while grabbing a boat load of picks in a deal with Jacksonville then traded back up eight spots as they struck a deal with Houston. When the dust settled the team ended up with their second rated quarterback in Joe Flacco out of nearby Delaware and then grabbed RB Ray Rice out of Rutgers with the 55th selection in late Round 2.

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
The Chiefs resisted temptation to pass on DT Glenn Dorsey, who could prove to be a big time steal if he shakes durability concerns. The team then added the versatile offensive Branden Albert with the 15th pick following a trade with the Lions.

PITTSBURGH STEELERS
Rashard Mendenhall was not a player as a Bengals' fan that I want to have to face a couple times a year. He is coming off a breakout campaign at Illinois last year and has the size and ability to succeed on the next level. The team used its second round pick to get the receiver I was so hoping would end up in Cincinnati in Limas Sweed. This guy is a physical specimen and is going to be scary when coupled with Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes.

The first day of the draft for the Bengals was a disappointment. The day started with the team getting scooped by the Saints and Jaguars on getting their impact defensive player and ended with the team making their annual "what in the hell were you thinking pick" as they selected WR Jerome Simpson out of Costal Carolina. 

I was really hoping that the Bengals would land Sedrick Ellis and after Glenn Dorsey slid to the Chiefs at #5 and the Jets nabbed Vernon Gholston with the sixth pick overall. The Patriots have more pressing issues than DT and the Ravens didn't really need Ellis at eight either. Both teams would trade down as the Saints moved up from 10th overall to grab Ellis and Jacksonville went large and grabbed Derrick Harvey.

The Bengals did the right thing grabbing Rivers at No. 9, but the Saints only swapped third round picks and gave up a fifth to get Ellis, I would have liked to see Cincinnati come off some of their 10 draft picks in order to grab the defensive tackle they so desperately needed.

The bigger curve ball came with the Simpson pick. I wasn't surprised to see them go wide receiver, but they had Malcolm Kelly of Oklahoma,  Desean Jackson of California, Mario Manningham of Michigan and Limas Sweed of Texas (the guy I wanted who wound up on Pittsburgh) on the board, yet still opted to go with a player that many publications had going in the fourth or fifth round. They also once again opted to ignore defensive tackle as they could have nabbed the highly touted Trevor Laws (went on the following pick to the Eagles) in that spot.

Analysis from SportsIllustrated.com:

Keith Rivers
Rivers is a speedy defender with good upside potential as a weak side linebacker. He comes off a disappointing senior campaign, yet his size/speed numbers and production throughout his college career should keep him in the first half of round one.

Jerome Simpson
A graceful receiver who competes on the field, Simpson has the size and pass-catching skills to be a fourth wideout at the next level.

WHAT'S UP NEXT
After only having two picks on Saturday, the team gets to fill eight more spots on Sunday:

Round 3, Pick 14 (77)     
Round 3, Pick 34 (97) (Compensatory selection)     
Round 4, Pick 13 (112)     
Round 5, Pick 10 (145)     
Round 6, Pick 11 (177)     
Round 6, Pick 41 (207) (Compensatory selection)     
Round 7, Pick 37 (244) (Compensatory selection)     
Round 7, Pick 39 (246) (Compensatory selection)