via blog.cleveland.com

UPDATE (11:35 AM): Anthony Felder to San Diego! 

Scout.com has been told that rookie free agent Anthony Felder has agreed to terms with the San Diego Chargers.

UPDATE (10:35 AM): Nate Longshore has been given an invite to try out with Miami. Hat-tip to Ohio Bear!

Updating a previous report, California QB Nate Longshore will be going to a tryout with the Miami Dolphins instead of the Cincinnati Bengals.

UPDATE (10 AM): I have reports from some website that Nick Sundberg has been signed by the Panthers. Update 12:45 PM--Okanes confirms it.

Danzig has passed this news along after following the wires closely.

Brad Biggs, of the Chicago Sun-Times, reports the Chicago Bears have agreed to terms on a free-agent contract with FB Will Taufoou (California).

Danzig has also gone over to the SBN Chicago Bears blog, Windy City Gridiron to post Will's highlights. Feel free to join him in talking up Ta'ufo'ou!

Thoroughbred also has good news about Rulon. UPDATE (8 AM): Confirmed by Okanes.

Rulon Davis signs with the Broncos. Exactly the right fit for him at SSDE. Very great shot to make the team, given the depth issues the Broncos have…

For Cal fans though, it was perhaps a disappointing draft, considering that we had such high expectations going in as to having several Golden Bears drafted. Rollonubears addressed a concern about having so few prospects getting drafted, and it's worth discussing a little bit in the comments.

This has been a really bad day for Cal. I predict we lose at least 1 potential recruit because of today. A big selling point is the ability to get guys into the NFL. Look at our 3 biggest in conference rivals. They all were in the top 4 for number of players picked. They will use that as a selling point against us. USC obviously has a great reputation in the NFL and their borderline guys will always get drafted. Draft picks mean a lot to recruits. And we only had 3, 2 of those coming in the late 7th round. This day is a setback for the program. A relatively minor one, but still a setback.

I disagreed with this, but maybe other Cal fans think otherwise. So feel free to discuss this in the comments.

Vote in the poll: Do you feel Cal gained or lost anything from the lack of drafted prospects?

After the jump, you'll hear some of the thoughts from the three SBN team blogs that drafted Golden Bears.

via blog.cleveland.com

As the most high profile pick, obviously Alex Mack got the lion's share of the attention. Here's Dawgs by Nature's settled thoughts.

Finally, after all of that ruckus, the Browns settled on selecting C Alex Mack. I love the idea of having Mack, as I stated a couple of days ago in my draft primer. I'm not excited about having to pick him a little earlier than I would've liked, but I'm not going to curse out Kokinis and Mangini for the pick. Hank Fraley was a liability on the line, and now I feel a lot more secure about the development of Brady Quinn heading into this season. We also are in line to have a better line for RB Jamal Lewis to be in front of.

Their simplified dossier on Mack's skills.

A little background on Mack:

2004: Cal red-shirts Mack. 2005: Appears in a back-up role, seeing reps mostly in a mop up duty. 2006-07: Mack starts all 26 games. 2008: He once again starts all 13 games. He wins the Morris Trophy as the best offensive lineman in the Pac-10 (as voted by league's defensive linemen) for the second year in a row, just the third player to receive the award twice.

 

Simplified scouting report:

• 6'3 7/8", 311lbs.
• Strong with a mean streak
• Decent but not elite agility
• Over-aggressive if anything in his technique

Personally, I am alright with this pick.  I have wanted Mack on the Browns for a while.  I love that he didn't drop to the Steelers.  I do wonder why we passed on LBs like Rey Maualuga and Clay Matthews III, but at the rate many of them are falling, someone good has got to be there for the 36th pick.

A nice interview of Mack at Cleveland.com (and if you check out the link and read the whole thing you'll find out why he ends up on the ground so much, which it turns out isn't so bad!)

"They put me through a lot," he said. "[Offensive line] coach George Warhop had an offensive line test for me after he tried to teach me stuff. They explained plays to me, distracted me with another interview and then had me come back and see how much I remembered. It was pretty fun."

The test involved filling in Xs and Os to prove he knew the blocking schemes, defensive formations and everyone's assignments.

"I think I missed two [out of about 30 questions]," he said. "I forgot the terminology they use for certain blocks. But I pride myself on being a smart guy."

During his first meeting with the Browns, Mack was put in the pressure cooker by Warhop and other coaches, according to yahoo.com.

"I was on the hot seat," Mack said. "I thought I was going in for a nice chat, and I was completely unprepared. [Warhop] put a play on the screen and started shouting questions, with other people chiming in and murmuring in the background: 'What are you doing on this play? What does the tight end do?' I said, 'I think he's out.' He said, 'You think he's out? Or he is out? Which is it?' It was intense."

But Mack, who earned his degree in legal studies, is working towards his Master's in Education and often brought novels into post-practice ice baths, was up for the mental gymnastics.

 

via image.examiner.com

Pride of Detroit on the Pain Train.

One position they haven't forgotten about is outside linebacker, as the Lions just drafted another one with the 235th pick.  His name is Zack Follett and he played for Cal.  It appears that he is a great special teams player based on this scouting reportfrom NFL.com:

Compares To: LARRY IZZO, New York Jets -- Like Izzo, Follett plays like a UFC champion - packs a wallop, but boy can he get out of control. He will at least buy himself time in the NFL based on his stellar special teams play and also as a situational player to disrupt the backfield, but there are a lot of holes in his game, especially in pass coverage. He will likely be on the draft board much longer than most experts predict.

If nothing else it was a fine example of neopolitick, keeping one of the top talents in the draft away from a huge rival.

via cache.gettyimages.com

Finally, Field Gulls on Morrah to Seattle.

Athletic tight end out of Cal. Caught eight touchdowns in just 27 receptions. Might be destined to play wide receiver in the pros. 4.66 forty, 24 reps on the bench, 32.5" vert, 6.99 three cone drill.

Finally, Seattle wrapped it up with three project picks. Nick Reed is a pass rush specialist that needs to get up to NFL speed and NFL size. Courtney Greene is a big upside strong safety that will need time on the practice squad to learn how not be made foolish my NFL offensive coordinators and NFL quarterbacks. Cameron Morrah is an athletic tight end that might play something closer to a wide receiver role in Seattle.

If you have any parting thoughts about the draft, this is the place to voice them!