Associated Press
The NFL notebook …
CHARLOTTE ó For the second straight year, the Panthers have traded away a future first-round pick. This time Carolina did it to get help at defensive end, taking Everette Brown of Florida State with the 43rd overall pick.
The Panthers on Saturday traded next year’s first-round choice for San Francisco’s second-round pick. Carolina also got an extra fourth-round pick this year in the deal.
On a day where they didn’t have a first-round choice and never didn’t make a trade involving disgruntled defensive end Julius Peppers, the Panthers did add depth at the position.
The 6-foot-2, 256-pound Brown had 231/2 sacks in 25 starts with the Seminoles before entering the draft after his junior year.
JETSFLORHAM PARK, N.J. ó Mark Sanchez made no guarantees. The New York Jets’ newest quarterback knew better.
No bold declarations for a franchise that’s been hungry for a Super Bowl trip since the days of Joe Namath.
“I can’t promise we’re going to win the division,” Sanchez said Saturday after the Jets made the former Southern California star the No. 5 overall pick following a trade with Cleveland. “I can’t promise we’re going to win the Super Bowl and I’m going to be the MVP of the league.
“All I can promise is that I’m going to work hard.”
And that works just fine for the Jets, who solved their quarterback question with one giant leap.
“When Mark was available at No. 5, we did what was in the best interest of the New York Jets,” general manager Mike Tannenbaum said.
The Jets acquired the pick from Cleveland and former coach Eric Mangini for their first-round pick, their second-round (No. 52), and defensive end Kenyon Coleman, safety Abram Elam and quarterback Brett Ratliff. It turned out to be the Jets’ only pick of day, but it was a biggie.
REDSKINSASHBURN, Va. ó The Washington Redskins have selected defensive end Brian Orakpo of Texas with the 13th pick in the NFL draft, another move to bolster their weak pass rush.
The Redskins entered the offseason knowing they needed to upgrade their defensive front: They ranked last in the NFC in 2008 with only 24 sacks. So Washington began free agency by landing All-Pro defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth with a $100 million, seven-year contract.
And now the Redskins add Orakpo, a 6-foot-3, 263-pound rusher.
OHER’S ODYSSEY
NEW YORK ó The next chapter of Michael Oher’s remarkable and improbable story will be set in Baltimore.
The Mississippi tackle, who went from homeless teen to All-American, was selected with the No. 23 pick in the NFL draft Saturday.
Oher’s journey was chronicled in the best-seller “The Blind Side” by Michael Lewis. The book brought him fame even before he became a star at Ole Miss. At 6-foot-5 and 309 pounds, Oher’s size and athleticism had scouts and recruiters pegging him as a potential first-draft pick almost as soon as he stepped on the field.
Turns out they were right. A multimillion dollar contract awaits Oher. The fact that he was the last player left in the green room at Radio City Music Hall didn’t matter at all to Oher.
“It’s been a long, tough road,” he said. “A lot of hard work and dedication. I set my goals extremely high and I made it.”