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NFL: Jersey feel to 1st round; Lions' Maybin 11th
Compiled By The Inquirer Staff
Seven of the 32 first-round NFL draft picks were from New Jersey high schools, and Penn State defensive end Aaron Maybin became the 32d of Joe Paterno's players to be chosen in the first round.
The Buffalo Bills tried to fix their offense by signing wide receiver Terrell Owens during free agency, and they addressed the defense when they used the 11th overall pick on Maybin.
Buffalo finished with 24 sacks, tied with Washington for fifth fewest in the NFL. Maybin is supposed to help the rush off the edge.
"I'm just very overwhelmed, I'm very happy," Maybin said by telephone from his family home in Maryland, according to the Associated Press.
Penn State offensive tackle Levi Brown was Penn State's last first-round selection, the No. 5 pick in the 2007 draft.
"All I can do, and all I plan on doing, is just coming in and working as hard as possible and letting my play speak for itself," Maybin said. "I'm going to come in with a humble mind-set, ready to work hard."
Still on the board after the first day were Penn State receivers Derrick Williams and Deon Butler, tackle Gerald Cadogan, and center A.Q. Shipley, among other Nittany Lions prospects.
New Jersey players, albeit from North or Central Jersey, were all over the first round. Jacksonville took Virginia offensive tackle Eugene Monroe (Plainfield) eighth overall. After that, Green Bay took Boston College defensive tackle B.J. Raji (Westwood Regional); Denver picked Georgia running back Knowshon Moreno (Middletown South); Ohio State defensive back Malcolm Jenkins (Piscataway) went to New Orleans; Southern Cal linebacker Brian Cushing (Bergen Catholic) went to Houston; and UConn running back Donald Brown (Red Bank Catholic) was picked by Indianapolis.
Wide receiver Kenny Britt (Bayonne) became Rutgers' first first-round choice. The Tennessee Titans chose him with the 30th pick overall. Tennessee was 13-3 in 2008, but was 27th in yards passing per game.
"We feel like he's what we've been missing in our passing game," Titans coach Jeff Fisher said of Britt.
Tennessee was mentioned among the teams pursuing a trade with Arizona for Anquan Boldin. Fisher said that the team never made an offer for the Pro Bowl receiver, and that Arizona did not return messages the Titans left Friday until just before the draft started yesterday. Then the Cardinals told the Titans they weren't interested in trading the receiver.
In picking the 6-foot-3, 215-pound Britt, the Titans got the Big East Conference's all-time leading receiver. Britt had 3,043 yards in just 34 games, and they love his physical play and ability to run after the catch.