NFL Draft: Geno Smith Makes it Out of the Top Nine

Despite for being a long night already which has featured a run on lineman, perhaps the most significant development early on in the 2013 NFL Draft is that no quarterback has been taken yet.

West Virginia QB Geno Smith is widely considered the number one QB in the draft, but that doesn't mean he's a great prospect. It was commonly speculated before the draft that if he made it past the Jets at number nine overall, he may slide significantly. That would be great for the Colts, as they are likely very interested in trading back from the 24th overall pick. If Smith is still there, look for the Eagles (and others) to pursue the QB through a trade. And why not another Colts/Eagles trade? Besides, it's what I predicted in my mock.

Either way, I assume that Ryan Nassib will be reunited with his former head coach Doug Marrone and be taken by the Bills at number 16 overall, so that takes him out of the picture. Still, players like Matt Barkley and EJ Manuel could also be targets in a potential trade up at the end of the first round.

Geno Smith slipping past the ninth pick, however, means that a trade is much, much more likely. Reports earlier this afternoon said that the Colts were already getting "a TON" of calls - and that number may be increasing as Geno Smith continues to fall. And the more Geno Smith falls, the more likely a Colts trade becomes.

[NOTE: The Jets also pick 13th overall. There is a chance that they take Smith there, but I'm not sure how great of a chance that really is.]