I might feel more out on a limb about advocating drafting for need in the first round if weren't for the fact that almost all teams do it. About this time of year they all come out and say they are going to take the BPA, and then they go out and draft for need. They asolutely hate to reach, though. So they all sit in their war rooms and hope that when their time to draft comes the BPA turns out to be at one of their positions of greatest need. When that doesn't happen, they swallow hard and reach a bit.
I do agree that Duane Brown was a reach at the time, and probably a greater reach than we will ever see Smithiak make again. They were in a position where they had no LT to protect their franchise QB, a guy who is known for his lack of mobility. They were in a bind. When their turn came, I think they were surprised that so many LTs were already gone off the board. But they needed a LT badly so they bit the bullet and took Brown.
They never have publicly admitted they reached. I wouldn't either if I were them. For one thing, it is a knock on Brown if they do, and they never publicly knock their players.
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