Tom E. Curran • E-mail

If the players plucked in the first two rounds of the 2009 NFL draft can be as entertaining as the process of placing them with their teams was, it will be a bumper crop.

Uncertainty filled the air even after the Lions tabbed Matt Stafford with the first overall pick was palpable as the draft started. That was attributable to the fact there was no real upper crust this year. Good players? No question. Great ones? Meh.

But that made for great drama. And who better to be at the center of it than a dude who looks like Adrian Grenier from HBO’s Entourage.

Mark Sanchez, USC's charismatic quarterback, became the day’s star. Rising fast in the weeks leading up to Saturday, the Jets and Redskins were hot to get up from their spots (17 and 13 respectively) to obtain him.

And it was the Jets who made the bold move. Once the Rams took Baylor tackle Jason Smith with the second pick and Seattle went with Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry at No. 4, the Jets pounced. Cutting a deal with the Cleveland Browns at No. 5, Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum sent three players and two picks to Cleveland and grabbed an exultant Sanchez. Radio City Music Hall exploded with noise as the pick was announced.

It’s the second time in nine months Tannenbaum and the Jets have made a cannonball splash at the position. Last time it was with a Hall of Famer in waiting, Brett Favre. This time, it’s with a kid who has 16 collegiate starts under his belt.

Will Sanchez be a star? Well, by the time the draft rolled around, the prevailing winds had carried him to the point where he was regarded as a player better equipped to walk in and play in the NFL than Stafford. And he, unlike Stafford, has a terrific offensive line in front of him to work as a support system. The Jets don’t yet have a lot of top-tier receivers to throw to, but at least Sanchez won’t be sprinting for his life 85 percent of the time.

Special feature NFL draft busts — by school We put the spotlight on the big-time college football programs and the guys who stunk it up in the NFL. NBCSports.com

A winner? Sanchez has to be considered one. And the Jets, too. They targeted a player, then went and made it happen without having to get into the obscenely priced top-three.

Other winners from Day 1 of the 2009 draft?

Cleveland
The Browns were wheeling and dealing and filling out a depleted roster. They got out of the expensive top 10 with the Jets deal, then moved back two more times, adding picks from the Eagles and Bucs as they went. And they still added four picks in the first two rounds — Alex Mack, a center from Cal at 21, the very polished wideout from Ohio State Brian Robiskie, another wideout, Mohamed Massaquoi from Georgia, and a 3-4 defensive end from Hawaii, David Veikune.

Washington
The Redskins did very well, getting perhaps the most explosive pass-rusher in the draft, Brian Orapko from Texas with the 13th pick. They have some fence-mending to do with quarterback Jason Campbell, though, given their pursuit of Sanchez.

San Francisco
The 49ers get a big W with wideout Michael Crabtree from Texas Tech at No. 10. Crabtree is the draft's most productive receiver and, given he was ticketed for the top five, he’s going to be starting his NFL career with a chip on his shoulder. The 49ers also added a first-rounder in the 2010 draft, cutting a deal with the Panthers for a second-rounder (No. 43 overall). Multiple first-round picks? Gold.

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