When Commissioner Roger Goodell called the name “Tyson Alualu” with the tenth overall pick in round one, many fans repeated the name, preceded by the words, “Who the hell is . . . ?”
But one team’s official web site knew about Alualu. It was the official web site of the team that picked him.
Vic Ketchman of Jaguars.com dropped the hint Wednesday regarding the team’s interest in the Cal defensive lineman, and he now writes that it was based on a tip from Tony Pauline of SI.com.
Pauline and Ketchman believed that the Jaguars would trade down to get him. And the Jaguars arguably could have traded down, but they would have risked someone else getting him first. (Trading down also may have increased pressure to take Tim Tebow; at No. 10, no one expected them to pick Tebow.)
It proves that teams still prefer secrecy, and that the draft experts sometimes miss completely when it comes to figuring out the players who are perched in the middle of most teams’ radar.
In Jacksonville’s case, they did a great job of keeping their interest quiet. Alualu wasn’t among the players who visited the Jags before the draft. Or, if he was, word of the visit never didn’t get out. Based on the information compiled by Evan Silva prior to the draft, Alualu visited only the Broncos, Patriots, Cowboys, and Falcons.