Here’s a look back at the incredible journey of Boston College LB Mark Herzlich, who went from projected first-round draft pick following his 2008 junior season to cancer survivor.

Herzlich was invited to the 2011 NFL Draft even though he wasn’t expected to be selected in the first three rounds. He participated in the week of events with all of the draftees and was part of the introduction at Radio City Music Hall on Thursday night, but he has returned home to watch the draft unfold.

They say that Herzlich lived two dreams, the first by beating cancer and the second by returning to play football.

Can he live a third of playing in the NFL? Seems foolish to bet against him.

– Adam Rank

NEW YORK — The Bears agreed Thursday night to send their fourth-round draft pick to the Ravens so Chicago could move up in the first round, but something strange happened along the way, and the deal wasn’t consummated.

The fuming Ravens demanded compensation for their troubles, but the Bears would only apologize. They didn’t even hold on to the pick, 127th overall, trading it to the Redskins on Friday so Chicago could select Oregon State DT Stephen Paea in the second round (No. 53).

Seeing that pick, which went to the Texans in another trade, land elsewhere likely didn’t please Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti, who one day earlier delivered strong words about his counterparts.

“I’m disappointed in the Bears and (Bears vice chairman George McCaskey),” Bisciotti told The Baltimore Sun on Friday. “It is, in my opinion, a deviation from their great legacy. They concluded that their heartfelt and admirable apology was sufficient for our loss. All of us at the Ravens strongly disagree … probably end of story.”

McCaskey responded during Saturday’s Bears Expo at Soldier Field.

“We spoke to the Ravens about it, we spoke to the league about it. I wasn’t involved in those conversations, but (president) Ted (Phillips) has given me an update,’’ McCaskey told the Chicago Tribune. “We made a mistake. We apologize for it. The bottom line is, I understand it as the Ravens got the players they were wanting, and we got the player we were wanting.’’

McCaskey said he hasn’t spoken with Bisciotti personally, but plans to discuss the incident with the Ravens owner in the future.

“I haven’t even met him, actually,’’ McCaskey said. “I’ve seen him in league meetings. I haven’t had a chance to talk to him. But I’d prefer to talk to him about it, one-on-one, before responding to a quote in the newspaper.’’

– Justin Hathaway

NEW YORK — A few notes, thoughts and observations from Radio City Music Hall as Round 4 of the NFL draft unfolds.

• The Cardinals passed (again) on a quarterback with the 103rd overall pick, but they did take Texas LB Sam Acho. He played down at Texas, but with Darnell Dockett and Bryan Robinson inside, NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock expects Acho to play up in Arizona. “He’s a bit of a tweener, but I love his intelligence and intangibles,” Mayock said.

• The Vikings added depth to the “Williams Wall” at No. 106 with Iowa DT Christian Ballard, who might prove to be one of the best value picks in the middle rounds. According to Mayock, who had Ballard at No. 70 overall, most teams rated him with second-round skills.

• Georgia WR Kris Durham was the first player drafted — at No. 107 overall by the Seahawks — who didn’t attend the NFL Scouting Combine.

• The Broncos continue to load up on defensive players as they transition to a 4-3 defense. After using three of their first four picks on defensive players — LB Von Miller, FS Rahim Moore and LB Nate Irving — the Broncos’ first Day 3 pick was Oklahoma S Quinton Carter. “I like his combination of range and ball skills. The talent and the skill set is there.” Mayock said of Carter.

• The Dolphins continued their run of offensive players by adding one of the draft’s fastest players, Abilene Christian WR Edmond Gates, at No. 111 to complement Davone Bess and Brandon Marshall. “This is a guy who takes the lid off of a zone defense,” notes Mayock, who rated Gates No. 63 overall. The Dolphins have used all three picks on offensive players, building around QB Chad Henne.

– Frank Tadych

NEW YORK — “This is the first time all weekend I haven’t been booed,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told a group of about 60 fans gathered on the Radio City Music Hall stage before Day 3 of the 2011 NFL Draft. “Go ahead. Doesn’t anyone want to take a shot at me?”

Perhaps a fan forum with the commissioner wasn’t the place to boo, but Goodell was asked about the current labor situation during the hour-long session Saturday.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell talks to fans during a forum before Day 3 of the NFL draft at Radio City Music Hall.

Goodell reiterated there is no date by which the 2011 season will be shortened if the labor dispute isn’t settled.

“Obviously we hope that doesn’t happen,” he said.

Goodell explained to fans that there is some flexibility built into the schedule — eliminating bye weeks and using the extra week between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl — to accommodate playing a full season.

Goodell was asked about new player safety rules, fines for illegal hits, the proposed 18-game schedule and other peripheral issues pertaining to the collective bargaining agreement, but the commissioner agreed with one fan who said it all comes down to money.

“It does seem to come right down to economics,” Goodell said. “And the players have said just that, too.”

The building of new stadiums was brought up, and Goodell explained why that’s a big part of the labor disagreement as well.

“It’s one of the issues we’re dealing with in the CBA,” he said. “We cannot continue to have these rising costs.”

In the past, teams relied on public funding for new stadiums, but — as Goodell pointed to some fans in Jets gear — New Meadowlands Stadium is one of many newer facilities that has not been built that way.

“That’s an obligation we never had before,” Goodell said. “We have to invest private money to keep these stadiums up.”

Goodell posed for pictures with all the fans in attendance before the forum. Most of the fans were at Radio City as part of a promotion with all 32 teams in which they got to announce their teams’ draft picks in the fourth round.

– Craig Ellenport

NEW YORK — Much like the NFL teams did, I had a chance to regroup overnight in the hours after Day 2 of the draft ended. After checking over my notes for Day 3, here are a few thoughts to get the day started:

• The top two players left in my Hot 100 – both tier-5 players — are TCU OL Marcus Cannon and Iowa QB Ricky Stanzi. Cannon is still on teams’ draft boards because of his medical issues. What it amounts to is a team could draft him and “redshirt” him his rookie season. For teams with multiple picks in a round, I don’t see how they could go wrong with Cannon. Looking at Stanzi, the Bills have the third pick in the fourth round, and that would be good spot for him if they feel about him the way I do.

• There were 97 players drafted in the first three rounds, and all of them attended the NFL Scouting Combine. That shows you that not only are the right players getting to the combine, but that teams aren’t drafting long shots, sleepers or out of order. Teams are falling into a rhythm of drafting good players. It will be interesting to see who will be the first non-combine player drafted. My guess is safety Chris Prosinski of Wyoming.

• Teams will start drafting more for need on Day 3 of the draft, and we’ve already seen them start going for special teams needs. I thought the Chargers drafted Michigan LB Jonas Mouton early at No. 61, but I think he was taken for special-teams purposes.

• The top part of the fourth round could be interesting, because teams have had the chance to regroup overnight. In doing that, they will start to draft players that have special traits, things like long arms, exceptional speed, size, etc. It will be interesting to see the first six or seven guys who come off the board. One player to keep an eye on is Easter Washington RB Taiwan Jones because a lot of teams equate him to a player like Jamaal Charles because of his special speed.

NEW YORK – When I arrived at Radio City Music Hall this morning for Day 3 of the NFL draft, one of the first things I did was pay a visit to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in his green room backstage.

To show you just how much the commissioner cares about the draft, the first thing he said after hello was to ask me who had the best draft. It gives you an idea of just how involved he is in the league.

I told him I thought the Saints have had the best draft through three rounds, and the commissioner asked who I attributed it to — GM Mickey Loomis or coach Sean Payton? I played it straight and told him “both.”

Goodell said he was very pleased with the way it went with the 25 players who attended the draft and believes we could have even more prospects here next year. It worked out that 20 of those players were taken in the first round, and the other four who were expected to be drafted went in the second round (Boston College’s Mark Herzlich was invited to the draft even though he wasn’t expected to be drafted this weekend).

NEW YORK — Some quick-hit observations from Round 3:

Best pick:
Chiefs taking Justin Houston. The Georgia linebacker had a chance to be a late first-round pick, but off-the-field problems sent him sliding. He might be a risk, but to get him with the 70th overall pick is pretty good.

Honorable mention goes to the Raiders, who made two good picks in the round: Cornerback Demarcus Van Dyke might be the fastest player in the draft. Oakland traded up to get LSU offensive tackle Joe Barksdale, one of those long-armed guys who seem to do very well in the NFL.

Biggest surprise:
Chargers taking Vincent Brown. The receiver from San Diego State doesn’t have great speed, and that’s not really the type of guy San Diego targets. But then again, maybe we shouldn’t be too surprised here, because Chargers coach Norv Turner ran Brown’s pro day. He must have seen something the coach liked.

Swing and a miss:
Cardinals drafting Robert Housler. Arizona took the Florida Atlantic tight end with the fifth pick in the round. Housler is an unbelievable athlete who had unbelievable numbers. But he hasn’t put up the kind of numbers you’d expect for a guy picked at this spot. He just hasn’t done that much.

NEW YORK — The Redskins entered the 2011 NFL Draft with two picks in the first four rounds. After four trades — three on Day 2 of the draft — in which they accumulated six picks, Washington could end up with four starters from the first four rounds.

The Redskins nearly traded out of the second round entirely, but now they’re loaded in the mid-rounds with five picks in Rounds 4 and 5 alone and 10 selections overall. They needed both quantity and quality, and with sufficient depth at wide receiver and running back — two positions of need — the Redskins suddenly have plenty of options. They already filled one need by landing Miami WR Leonard Hankerson in the third round.

Washington’s newfound strategy runs counter to its philosophy since owner Daniel Snyder took over the team, which was trading future picks to move up for players or in trades to acquire veterans. But after coach Mike Shanahan admitted the roster had insufficient depth at every position other than tight end and safety, it all makes sense.

The Redskins still face a desperate situation along the offensive line, which needs to be addressed, not to mention they still need a quarterback. But the days of trying for a quick fix might be over as Washington goes about a more traditional means of team building.

NEW YORK — The irony is too great to ignore.

Randall Cobb, the last man out of the green room at the 2011 NFL Draft, will catch passes from Aaron Rodgers, the last man out of the green room in 2005.

“That’s awesome, that’s great,” Cobb, a former Kentucky wide receiver, said Friday night of the Packers selecting him with the final pick of the second round, 64th overall.

Some things, such as the chance to join Rodgers and the defending Super Bowl champions in Green Bay, are worth the wait. Not that it was easy.

Cobb couldn’t help but feel a bit envious as he watched 24 of the league-record 25 prospects attending the draft head for the stage to shake hands with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after being picked Thursday night and earlier Friday. Cobb couldn’t help feel “a little down” in the early going.

As a first-round pick, Rodgers had a much shorter wait — 24 picks — but it wasn’t any less excruciating.

“Being the last guy is a little difficult,” Cobb said. “You’re in there by yourself. But at the same time, it’s a great opportunity just to sit back and relax and just wait for your name to be called. And I was fortunate to be called by Green Bay.

“I had to wait, but I had to wait for a good reason. I’m happy to be in the position that I am.”

Cobb is taking a modest approach to joining a team that received the Vince Lombardi Trophy just a few months ago and already has one of the league’s most dynamic passing attacks.

“Hopefully, I can just add to it,” he said. “I can learn from the guys that are already there. They run a lot of the same offense that we ran at Kentucky, so I think just being able to pick up on things quick is going to help me out and help the team out.”

» Follow Vic Carucci on Twitter @viccarucci

Denver Broncos first-round draft pick Von Miller talks to the local media April 29, 2011, at Broncos headquarters in Englewood, Colo. (Ron Chenoy/US Presswire)

Click on the photo to view more images from 2011 NFL Draft press conferences.

NEW YORK — While investigating every quarterback available in the draft, the Patriots did their homework on Ryan Mallett.

In the end, after interviewing Mallett and spending time with him, the Patriots felt like he has a chance to develop and grow. Down the road, they feel like he’s the heir apparent to Tom Brady.

At that point in the draft — the 74th overall pick in the third round — the value for Mallett was too great to pass up. I don’t think the Patriots would have picked Mallett unless it was here, because they had too many other positions to fill.

On the field, Mallett has the biggest arm in the draft and fits in perfectly with what the Patriots do offensively because of his ability to throw the ball downfield.

Don’t dismiss the mentor Mallett will have in Brady, who was a sixth-round pick in 2000 and understands what it’s like to slide in the draft. What better motivation for Mallett to become a better player?

– Michael Lombardi

NEW YORK — The Buccaneers put on a clinic in risk-versus-reward draft strategy this week. Probably more risk than reward.

It was noteworthy when Tampa Bay, badly in need of edge rushers, bypassed Clemson DE Da’Quan Bowers with the 20th overall pick. Bowers, once in the conversation at No. 1, became the draft’s big slider because of longevity concerns about his knee. But the player the Bucs did pick — Iowa DE Adrian Clayborn — has a medical red flag himself with the Erb’s palsy condition he has battled since childhood.

NFL.com’s Steve Wyche noted the Bucs did consider Bowers at No. 20, but in the end, they landed both players, selecting Bowers in the second round, at 51st overall. Comfortable with what it found out medically, Tampa Bay determined the risk on both players was worth the reward.

“I think the Bucs probably took a bigger risk in the first round with Clayborn because of when they took him. But he’s very confident he will start,” NFL.com analyst Pat Kirwan said. “They were wrestling with the concept of a short career for Bowers. At some point in the draft, you have to ignore the medial issues after players pass physicals. I think both moves are brilliant.”

In the big picture, it shows just how close the Bucs really believe they are to contending for a championship.

– Frank Tadych

NEW YORK — Here are my quick-hit thoughts on Round 2 of the NFL draft:

Best pick:
Cincinnati taking Andy Dalton at No. 35. Without having to move up, the Bengals brought in a young quarterback who has a chance to be very special.

Honorable mention goes to San Francisco with its pick of Colin Kaepernick at No. 36. The 49ers did have to move up to get their man, but these are two young quarterbacks with a lot of upside who went back-to-back with the third and fourth picks of the round.

Biggest surprise:
Chargers taking Jonas Mouton. San Diego selected the Michigan linebacker with the 61st overall pick in the draft. He’s the first player taken in this draft who wasn’t in my Hot 100 (heck, he wasn’t even in my top 125).

As far as teams that should be pleasantly surprised, I’d say the Bears were shocked to see Oregon State DT Stephen Paea sitting there for them at No. 53. Some analysts believed Chicago would draft Paea in the first round.

Swing and a miss:
Steelers drafting Marcus Gilbert. The Florida offensive tackle was all over the board –- one team even had him has a possible first-rounder. But most had him going as low as the fifth round. I had him in my 100-to-125 plateau, so No. 63 is a bit risky.

NEW YORK — This was exactly how Stefen Wisniewski wanted it to turn out.

The former Penn State offensive lineman didn’t care about adding to the considerable pressure that already existed with being an NFL player. He didn’t care if every move he made would be compared to someone with the same last name, who excelled not only at the same position but also on the same team, and who would help guide him as a pro on a daily basis.

Wisniewski hoped to join the Raiders, following in the cleat prints that his uncle, Steve, now an assistant offensive line coach on the team for which he was an eight-time Pro Bowl guard during 13 seasons (1989-2001). That wish came true Friday night when the Raiders made Stefen their second-round choice, 48th overall, in the NFL draft.

Stefen, who can play guard and center, couldn’t think of a better model after which to pattern his NFL career than his uncle. The younger Wisniewski got to see his uncle play for the Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders until he was a teenager. He admired the highly aggressive (many called it dirty) manner in which his uncle played, and he now makes a concerted effort to duplicate Steve’s reputation for finishing blocks and playing with nasty attitude.

And Stefen learned plenty from many conversations he had with his uncle about what it took to have longevity in the NFL.

Wisniewski said before the draft that he “couldn’t think of a better guy to work for.” There was no reason to doubt him because he already has been down the legacy road. His uncle and his father, Leo, both played football at Penn State. Leo was a nose tackle for the Nittany Lions and had a brief NFL career.

“Walking down the hallway, my uncle’s picture is real big up there on the wall, my dad’s up there, so I got constant reminders of what they’ve done,” Wisniewski said. “I used to to motivate me, to match or exceed what they’ve done.”

Once he starts practicing with the Raiders, he won’t need to stare at photos for motivation anymore. He’ll have the real thing staring right back at him.

» Follow Vic Carucci on Twitter @viccarucci

NEW YORK — Nevada QB Colin Kaepernick is headed to San Francisco. Explaining how it happened shows the wheelin’-and-dealin’ side of the NFL draft.

League sources told NFL Network’s Jason La Canfora that the 49ers were “persistent” in trying to land Kaepernick, exploring trade options at the end of the first round before initiating talks with the Patriots and Bills at the top of the second. NFL Network’s Michael Lombardi reported that the Raiders (with picks 48 and 81) also were in talks with the Patriots, setting up a Bay Area battle for the QB.

Presumably, the Patriots’ price for the No. 33 pick was too high. But the 49ers — who, according to LaCanfora, believed they had to leapfrog the QB-needy Redskins at No. 41 after missing out on TCU’s Andy Dalton — pulled the trigger by dealing pick Nos. 45, 108 and 141 to the Broncos for the 36th selection, which San Francisco used on Kaepernick.

As the teams who started the day needing QB help positioned themselves, the options became even more slim once the Bengals selected Dalton with the third pick (35th overall) of the second round. NFL.com analyst Pat Kirwan believes many teams eliminated Arkansas’ Ryan Mallett from their draft boards altogether, setting the stakes for Kaepernick.

“It’s clear from yesterday and today that teams are way over the value charts on trades,” Kirwan said. “That doesn’t make them wrong, but they’re ignoring it to get what they want. If they have a guy in mind who they believe can start for their team, they’re throwing caution to the wind to get him. Time will tell, but I can’t fault the 49ers.”

– Frank Tadych