49ERS
Davis, Anthony
Iupati, Mike
Mays, Taylor
Bowman, Navorro
Dixon, Anthony
Byham, Nate
Williams, Kyle
Adams, Phillip
Well, the Niners have been without an offensive personality for a few years now. Well….folks…..they have one now. Davis and Iupati put some finishing touches on a monstrous, young, offensive line. Anthony Dixon gives them a second power back to spell Frank Gore. Taylor Mays and Navorro Bowman will both be fighting for playing time as rookies, and are going to be big time enforcers for Mike Singletary's defense down the road. The Niners think Ted Ginn will be their #2 WR to pair with Michael Crabtree, so the only real question is......Can Phillip Adams play corner in the NFL? He is a good athlete, but he does not have great speed. It could be that Mike was thinking 2 starting safeties with Mays moving to strong. Either way, this was a great draft from a team who was very much in flux going into the draft.
A
BEARS
Wright, Major
Wootton, Corey
Moore, Joshua
Lefevour, Dan
Webb, J'Marcus
The Bears have holes all over, but were hampered with a small number of picks. I am not impressed with what they did with the picks they had. Major Wright was a nice pick at a need position, but Wooton at DE after the Peppers signing and drafting Melton last year does not make sesne to me. Josh Moore has good ball skills, but is never going to be a top-flight corner in the league. I love Dan Lefevour, but QB is one of the few spots that they should not be looking for help at. The one thing that can redeem this draft is if J'Marcus Webb is a short term project at Tackle. he has the size and strength, if they can plug him in at RT sooner rather than later, this will be a passable draft. It is important to remember that Chester Taylor and Julius Peppers were included in their offseason aquisitions. They might not suck this year, if they can get someone to take a little pressure off of Cutler and Peppers and Urlacher can play like themselves 3 years ago.
C
BENGALS
Gresham, Jermaine
Dunlap, Carlos
Shipley, Jordan
Ghee, Brandon
Atkins, Geno
Muckelroy, Roddrick
Hudson, Otis
Briscoe, Dezmon
Stephens, Reggie
The Bengals front office is going their best imitation of the Ravens the past few years. Go get talented leaders from successful programs and put them on the field together. Let's see, TE who was the best receiver at OU, DE who was the best player on Florida's vaunted defense, WR who was the go-to guy for the national runner up Longhorns, CB who was a defensive leader during the revitalization of the Wake Forest program, DT who was a multiple year starter at Georgia, an OLB who was a leader on the Longhorn defense, and a WR who helped turn the Kansas Jayhawks into a relavent football program. Are you serious? All in one draft? Watching drafts like this makes me wonder how in the hell some of the GM's out there have a job. A GREAT draft, for the second year in a row
A
BILLS
Spiller, CJ
Troup, Torell
Carrington, Alex
Easley, Marcus
Wang, Ed
Moats, Arthur
Batten, Danny
Brown, Levi
Calloway, Kyle
I admit, I was really confused when I saw them take CJ Spiller, and I am a huge CJ Spiller fan. QB would have made sense, and OT would have made even more sense. They needed a tackle who can start right now at one of the spots. They better pray that Ed Wang is that kind of a guy. For him it will be RT if it is anything, but the guys they have on hand proved they couldn't do it last year. I don't think that has changed. One dark horse in that contest is Jamon Meredith. They did make some moves for depth on the D-Line, but none of them are terribly impressive talents. Just not a good draft, needs too much to go right for it to work.
C
BRONCOS
Thomas, Demaryius
Tebow, Tim
Beadles, Zane
Walton, J.D.
Decker, Eric
Cox, Perrish
Olsen, Eric
Thompson, Syd'quan
Kirlew, Jammie
I really don't know how Demaryius Thomas is the first receiver in this draft. I think they reached on their first 4 picks. They did a good job later in the draft. Don't be surprised if Thomas is not the best receiver in their draft class. Eric Decker is big and athletic and has great hands. This looks like a draft for depth, but frankly, the Broncos needed a draft for starters.
B-
BROWNS
Haden, Joe
Ward, T.J.
Hardesty, Montario
McCoy, Colt
Lauvao, Shawn
Asante, Larry
Mitchell, Carlton
Geathers, Clifton
I love what Mike Holmgren is doing in Cleveland. They needed players all over the field, so what did they do? Well, in the draft they got a QB, RB, CB, G, SS, and DE who will likely step directly into the 2 deep. This is after adding a starting CB, OLB, QB, OT, TE, and FB through other means. They have improved themselves short term while making strides for the future. In 3 months. Why is this so damn hard? PS, don't overlook their draft of Lauvao. They reached a bit to get him according to my board, but they think he was the last piece of a dominant O-Line.
A-
BUCCANEERS
McCoy, Gerald
Price, Brian
Benn, Arrelious
Lewis, Myron
Williams, Mike
Bowden, Brent
Grimm, Cody
Watson, Dekoda
Yeah, about that crappy run defense that tampa had. Yeah, that's over. Gerald McCoy was in the running for best player in the draft, and Brian Price was the player of the year in the Pac-10. Yeah, as a DT. The Bucs needed a lot, and there was no way to get it all, but I like what they did. 4 projected starters in 1 draft plus 3 more who will go immediately to the 2-deep. That speaks largely to what they had on hand, but it is still better than they likely hoped for. They now have the potential for an explosive offense down the road, with some pieces of a very nice defense. Not playoff time quite yet, but a nice draft.
B+
CARDINALS
Williams, Dan
Washington, Daryl
Roberts, Andre
Schofield, O'Brien
Skelton, John
Jorrick, Calvin
Dray, Jim
The Cardinals are committed to the 3-4 scheme and that is predicated on the Nosetackle. Dan Williams is the piece they didn't have and putting him between Darnell Dockett and Calais Campbell looks awful good on paper. He is penciled in as the starter, day 1. Washington and Schofield (if healthy), have the potential to be long term starters at OLB. They are both big time athletes from winning programs. Roberts is not Anquan Boldin, but he is a polished prospect who should produce early. Look for him to work in the slot early. A solid draft that should really solidify their defense.
B+
CHARGERS
Mathews, Ryan
Butler, Donald
Stuckey, Darrell
Thomas, Cam
Crompton, Jonathan
Epps, Dedrick
Ryan Mathews is a big-time back. The rest of the draft was for depth. The Thomas pick gives them some much needed depth up front on defense. The Chargers were loaded, they are still loaded, and they added a weapon. Not a great draft, but solid.
C
CHIEFS
Berry, Eric
McCluster, Dexter
Arenas, Javier
Asamoah, Jon
Moeaki, Tony
Lewis, Kendrick
Sheffield, Cameron
Eric Berry at FS and Javier Arenas at Nickel finish off a fine young secondary in Kansas City. They don't have a true lock down corner, but Carr, Flowers, and Arenas have the potential to be as good a trio as you will see. Unlike some of the pundits, I really like the McCluster pick. He will be a dynamic sub for Jamaal Charles out of the spread that they like in KC and gives them a big play threat in the slot. They need a player like that to pair with their bigger receivers. I would have liked to have seen a Right Tackle, but the Asamoah pick prepares them for Brian Waters departure and putting him beside Branden Albert makes for a promising left side. Not a great draft, but I really like the players they got with their first 4 picks.
B-
COLTS
Hughes, Jerry
Angerer, Pat
Thomas, Kevin
mcclendon, jacques
Eldridge, Brody
Mathews, Ricardo
Conner, Kavell
Fisher, Ray
As those of you who have been reading know, I love the Jerry Hughes pick for the Colts. It made too much sense to not see coming. He is exactly their kind of DE, and will give them depth and an exit strategy when either Mathis or Freeney is done. Angerer is tough against the run and very smart. Most of their other picks were projects and depth picks. That makes sense for a team who was just in the Super Bowl though. They know what they're doing, but this class feels lacking.
C+
COWBOYS
Bryant, Dez
Lee, Sean
Owusu-Ansah, Akwasi
Young, Sam
Wall, Jamar
Lissemore, Sean
As an Eagles fan, I am very upset about the Cowboys drafting Dez Bryant. He was, by far, the best wide receiver I saw playing college football last year. IMO, his suspension was more about the ego of the NCAA than it was anything he did. I was glad to see them not get one of the premier Tackles or Safeties however. Those were their need areas, but as is his wont, Jerry Jones had a case ADOS. You know....Attention Deficit OOOOOOOH SHINY. Sean Lee is a nice get at ILB and they have a couple of nice projects. A top-heavy, average draft.
B-
DOLPHINS
Odrick, Jared
Misi, Koa
Jerry, John
Edds, A.J.
Carroll, Nolan
Jones, Reshad
McCoy, Chris
Well folks, if there is one thing that Bill Parcells knows how to do, it is draft football players. Jared Odrick is a monster with experience playing in a 3-4 scheme. Misi was a reach, but can really come off the edge. John Jerry is a mean, smash mouth Guard who might be able to transition to Right Tackle with some coaching. Reshad Jones at pick #163 is an absolute steal. I had him graded at mid-second round. He did it all for the Dawgs, and is one more piece of what is quick becoming a rediculous secondary.
B
EAGLES
Graham, Brandon
Allen, Nathaniel
Te'o-Nesheim, Daniel
Lindley, Trevard
Clayton, Keenan
Kafka, Mike
Harbor, Clay
Sapp, Ricky
Cooper, Riley
Scott, Charles
Chaney, Jamar
Owens, Jeff
Coleman, Kurt
Well, the Eagles confuse me more years than not. So, here we go. I love Brandon Graham, but I hate the trade up. I like Nate Allen, and a ball hawk secondary is really key behind the Eagles' blitzing front. I don't know who Te'o is. Trevard Lindley is a potential steal, and his physical style will fit perfectly with what the Eagles do. Clayton is solid and athletic, Kafka is an athletic, spread QB. Neither of them will help much within the next 2 years. Ricky Sapp is a steal. He is a rare athlete, but may need to transition to OLB from DE. Riley Cooper is what the Eagles don't have WR right now, and Charles Scott is Mike Bell after the lease on Mike Bell is up. A lot of players, and it does fill out the depth chart, but I am having problems getting very excited.
B
FALCONS
Weatherspoon, Sean
Peters, Corey
Johnson, Mike
Hawley, Joe
Franks, Dominique
Meier, Kerry
Schillinger, Shann
Weatherspoon finishes off a very talented LB corp. Peters is good for depth at DT in what is suddenly a very solid DL rotation. Mike Johnson will likely be in the running to start at RT. Franks will be fighting for the nickel spot as a rookie. I am very interested to see what they do with Kerry Meier. If they can put a few pounds on him, I think he would be a great pass-catching TE. Otherwise, he is likely best used an H-Back option. A solid draft for the Falcons, full of high-character guys.
B
GIANTS
Pierre-Paul, Jason
Joseph, Linval
Jones, Chad
Dillard, Phillip
Petrus, Mitch
Tracy, Adrian
Dodge, Matt
REALLY???? Another DE. I don't even care if you are going to trade Osi. Why another? That said, Pierre-Paul can really bring it. The Giants loaded up on linemen on both sides. It's not exciting, but it is tough to argue with.
B-
JAGUARS
Alualu, Tyson
Smith, D'Anthony
Hart, Larry
Lane, Austen
Deji Karim
McGee, Scotty
Wow, this is a really, really bad draft. They didn't need another DE, but they reached to get one. Smith might just make a nice running mate for last year's draft steal Terrance Knighton. But wow, just a waste.
D
JETS
Wilson, Kyle
Ducasse, Vladimir
McKnight, Joe
Conner, John
The Jets do not waste time with extra players. Wilson is their likely nickel, giving them the best trio in the league. Ducasse will start at guard with Faneca leaving, and may be their future RT. McKnight gives them quality depth at RB, and Conner is a crushing Fullback. Not a lot of extra, but you toss in their other off-season moves, and the Jets are doing what they do.
B
LIONS
Suh, Ndamukong
Best, Jahvid
Spievey, Amari
Fox, Jason
Young, Willie
Well, let's see. Suh will start, Best will start if he is healthy, Spievy should be the nickel as worst, Fox is their LT of the future, and Willie Young should make the DE rotation. Nicely done. Soon, the Lions will not suck.
B+
PACKERS
Bulaga, Bryan
Neal, Mike
Burnett, Morgan
Quarless, Andrew
Newhouse, Marshall
Starks, James
Wilson, C.J.
Bulaga is just what they needed and is a great talent. Tackle depth and likely RT starter long term. Can also play guard as needed. Neal was a disruptive 4-3 DT and should fit the 3-4 scheme, but was a reach. Burnett can play all over the the Defensive Backfield and is a big hitter. Quarless is a stud at TE who was downgraded due to some off-field issues. Quality players, but noone who really rings the bell as exciting. Solid draft.
B-
PANTHERS
Clausen, Jimmy
LaFell, Brandon
Edwards, Armanti
Norwood, Eric
Hardy, Greg
Gettis, David
Pugh, Jordan
Pike, Tony
Stanford, RJ
Lorig, Erik
The Panthers were in one of the worst spots for this draft. They definitely made the most of it though. Claussen was a great get at their spot in the 2nd round and Lafeel could be his go-to guy. Edwards is a talent and will be scary for defenses to game plan against. Norwood is a better talent than he drafted, and was a leader on a solid South Carolina defense. Greg Hardy is a gamble, but if he hits, it is a jackpot. Last year, he would have been a first round pick easy. Some injuries slowed him, but if he can get back they won't miss Peppers for long. Pike is an interesting pick. Make a person wonder if Mr. Moore will be gone soon.
B+
PATRIOTS
McCourty, Devin
Gronkowski, Rob
Cunningham, Jermaine
Spikes, Brandon
Price, Taylor
Hernandez, Aaron
Meski, Zoltan
Larsen, Ted
Welch, Thomas
Deaderick, Brandon
Robinson, Zac
Bill can coach, and Bill can draft. McCourty is an athletic corner who showed well in workouts, Gronkowski is a prototype TE, Hernandez was my top rated TE overall and can really work in space. They picked up 2 more Gators for the other side of the ball and Brandon Spikes is going to have something to prove. The rest are some of the regular Patriot projects, especially along the line, but expect them to pan out like normal. Zac Robinson at the end is a nice gamble. People outside the Big 12 don't know him, but the kid is a real talent. It will be a big adjustment to an NFL scheme, but the Patriots are closer to the spread he is used to than most. By the time they need him, he could be ready. Another solid draft.
B+
RAIDERS
McClain, Rolando
Houston, Lamarr
Veldheer, Jared
Campbell, Bruce
Ford, Jacoby
McFadden, Walter
Goethel, Travis
Ware, Jeremy
Oddly, I love this draft class. McClain fills out their linebacking corp for what looks like a 3- 4 transition. Houston can play DE and DT, which fills out the DL either way. Veldheer and Campbell are both projects at tackle, but they are both great athletes for O-Linemen. If one of them can play tackle within 3 years, this draft is a success. Ford can run, but also catches the ball, which might put DHB in danger. McFadden is a solid athlete at corner and coming out the SEC, he can play. Ware is a project, but hey, he can run. A very nice, smart draft by Crazy Uncle Al.
B
RAMS
Bradford, Sam
Saffold, Rodger
Murphy, Jerome
Gilyard, Mardy
Hoomanawanui, Michael
Davis, Hall
Onobun, Fendi
Sims, Eugene
Johnson, Marquis
Selvie, George
Hull, Josh
Well, let's see. Bradford will start, Saffold should start, Murphy should start, Gilyard will start, Selvie should start. Yeah, not bad. Not enough but not bad. If the Rams are smart, Saffold is at tackle, Barron is at guard and they run run run. Let Bradford get his feet under him.
B
RAVENS
Kindle, Sergio
Cody, Terrence
Dickson, Ed
Pitta, Dennis
Reed, David
Jones, Art
Harewood, Ramon
The Ravens are the best on draft day, and Ozzie is a genius. Here is the potential front 3. Ngata, Mount Cody, and Trevor Pryce. Combined 19'2", 986 lbs. Yeah, that should keep your linebackers clean. Oh, and Sergio Kindle was the top rated linebacker on my board. Putting him opposite Suggs is pretty close to wrong. That's wrong as in evil, you know like Michael Jackson's "Bad". Toss in Art Jones for even more D-Line depth and you are good. The one suprise was that they didn't pick up a corner.
A-
REDSKINS
Williams, Trent
Riley, Perry
Morris, Dennis
Austin, Terrence
Cook, Erik
Capers, Selvish
The Tackle picks were great. Capers played in a zone blocking scheme and Williams is a stud. Both of them can pass block. The rest of the picks….meh
C+
SAINTS
Robinson, Patrick
Brown, Charles
Graham, Jimmy
Woods, Al
Tennant, Matt
Canfield, Sean
I love the first 2. Quality players from big time programs who will play early. Tennant projects a successful center and Canfield will have the best arm at QB on the staff. I am intrigued by the potential with Robinson and Jenkins at Corner.
B-
SEAHAWKS
Okung, Russell
Thomas, Earl
Tate, Golden
Thurmond, Walter
Wilson, E.J.
Chancellor, Kam
McCoy, Anthony
Davis, Dexter
Jameson, Konz
Pete Carroll owned draft day. Starting LT check. Starting S check. Weapon at WR, check. Starting SS, check. Starting TE, check…….oh, and new running back corp via trade. Check. Well done sir, now don't screw it up.
A-
STEELERS
Pouncey, Maurkice
Worilds, Jason
Sanders, Emmanuel
Gibson, Thaddeus
Scott, Chris
Butler, Crezdon
Sylvester, Stevenson
Dwyer, Jonathan
Brown, Antonio
Worthington, Doug
Pouncey was much needed in the middle of the O-Line. Sanders is better than advertised coming out of June Jones' system as SMU. The rest feel an awful lot like projects and reaches to me, which is not normal for the Steelers.
B-
TEXANS
Jackson, Kareem
Tate, Ben
Mitchell, Earl
Sharpton, Darryl
Graham, Garrett
McManis, Sherrick
Smith, Shelley
Holliday, Trindon
Dickerson, Dorin
They reached for Jackson, but he can play, especially in press coverage. Tate is not quite as good as thinks he is, but he can play too. Dickerson late, was a steal and adding him to the passing attack they have is huge. They were way too dependent on their outside receivers and were crippled whenever Andre Johnson wasn't on the field. It will also be interesting to see how they use Trindon Holliday.
C+
TITANS
Morgan, Derrick
Williams, Damian
Curran, Rennie
Verner, Vern
Johnson, Robert
Smith, Rusty
Rolle, Myron
Mariani, Marc
Howard, David
A very good draft for the Titans. They got the top rated DE, a potential starter at DE, OLB, CB and it is likely that eithe Johnson or Rolle will start at SS. If Rolle plays football, he is likely as the starter. High character, High talent, Winners…..looks like they may have learned their "Pacman" lesson.
B+
VIKINGS
Cook, Chris
Gerhart, Toby
Griffen, Everson
Degeare, Chris
Triplett, Nathan
Webb, Joe
Shuler, Mickey
D'Imperio, Ryan
Chris Cook was a need pick, but he was a reach. Gerhart was a beautiful pick to replace Chester Taylor. He is much more agile than people give him credit for and will be the hammer to AP's well.....................everything. Getting Griffen in the 3rd was rediculous. The last thing the rest of the league needed was for them to get another edge player with his kind of ability. Look out QB's.
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