Sanchez, Heyward-Bey Picks Among Draft's Surprises

NEW YORK, April 25 -- The opening round of the NFL draft Saturday included one significant trade that had the New York Jets fans on hand at Radio City Music Hall roaring in delight, with the team moving up to get Southern Cal quarterback Mark Sanchez, and a series of smaller surprises, including Maryland speedster Darrius Heyward-Bey stealing the spotlight from Michael Crabtree of Texas Tech as the first wide receiver chosen.

The day began with the Detroit Lions making Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford the top overall selection, a formality after the two sides agreed Friday night to a six-year contract with $41.7 million guaranteed and a maximum total value of approximately $78 million, including possible incentives.

Stafford's selection was greeted by boos from the crowd here, but the Lions hope they're getting a franchise quarterback to reverse the fortunes of a club coming off the first 0-16 season in league history.

"All you can do as a rookie is put your nose down and go to work," Stafford said. "That's what I plan to do, try to earn the respect of my teammates and win some games."

Stafford had been at dinner with family members Friday night when he got a call from his agent, Tom Condon, informing him that the deal with the Lions was done.

"I'd been waiting to hear," Stafford said. "It was definitely a relief."

The focus then turned to which team would get Sanchez, the draft's other celebrated quarterback. The Jets and Washington Redskins were thought to be in pursuit, and there was some speculation early in the day that Sanchez could be taken with the second pick -- either by the St. Louis Rams, who had the choice, or by the Jets trading up to that spot. The Rams, however, kept the pick and used it on Baylor tackle Jason Smith. That gave them a replacement for veteran left tackle Orlando Pace, who was released in the offseason.

The Kansas City Chiefs selected Louisiana State defensive end Tyson Jackson third, dropping Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry to fourth with the Seattle Seahawks. The Jets then moved up to fifth to get Sanchez, completing a trade with the Cleveland Browns for the pick. The Browns received first- and second-round draft choices Saturday from the Jets along with three players: quarterback Brett Ratliff, defensive end Kenyon Coleman and defensive back Abram Elam.

The Jets emerged with a replacement for retired quarterback Brett Favre, and the announcements of both the trade and the selection of Sanchez were cheered wildly by the many green-clad Jets followers in the seats.

Curry's slight drop out of the top three, to fourth with the Seahawks, was a mild surprise, given that many observers had called him the draft's player most likely to be productive in the NFL. He took it in stride.

"My mind-set was always this draft is unpredictable," Curry said. "I never knew where I was going to end up. I never fell for what the experts were saying because I knew that the [general managers] and the team owners would make that decision. I had faith in what I've done on film. I just wanted to be able to relax and wait and see who called my phone."

The plummet of Crabtree, who was taken 10th overall by the San Francisco 49ers, was a bit more pronounced. It once had been thought that he'd be among the first few players selected after a standout career at Texas Tech in which he was the most dominant receiver in the college game.

But he underwent surgery for a stress fracture in his left foot found during medical testing at the NFL scouting combine in late February in Indianapolis, and he never ran a 40-yard dash for scouts during the pre-draft evaluation process. There also was a report that he alienated Browns officials who were displeased with his attitude during a recent visit to Cleveland.

The Oakland Raiders used the seventh overall pick on Heyward-Bey, who passed up his final season of collegiate eligibility at Maryland to enter the draft and dazzled the NFL's talent evaluators by running the fastest, at 4.3 seconds, of the many fast 40-yard dash times posted by wide receivers at the combine. The Raiders always have been particularly enamored with speed and big-play capability at wide receiver, and they overlooked the questions that some executives with other teams had about Heyward-Bey's lack of consistent production with the Terrapins.

Crabtree nearly tumbled out of the top 10. He'll head to the Bay Area to play for a 49ers franchise that never has replaced legendary wide receiver Jerry Rice. Crabtree said he remained convinced he'll demonstrate in the NFL that he should have been the first receiver taken.

"I still feel like I'm the top receiver. . . . I always feel like I'm the best," Crabtree said. "I work to be the best. I've got some big shoes to fill going to the 49ers, with Jerry Rice."