NFL, NFL Draft
Draft Picks
Round 1: Riley Reiff, OT, Iowa
Round 2: Ryan Broyles, WR, Oklahoma
Round 3: Dwight Bentley, CB, La.-Lafayette
Round 4: Ronnell Lewis, DE, Oklahoma
Round 5: Tahir Whitehead, OLB, Temple and Chris Greenwood, CB, Albion
Round 6: Jonte Green, CB, New Mexico State
Round 7: Travis Lewis, OLB, Oklahoma
Grade: B+
Summary
Despite using their first two picks on offense and not defense, the Lions had a really good draft. Bentley and both Lewis' were steals at that point, and Detroit definitely added much-needed depth to its (lack of) secondary. And even if it may be a stretch, Broyles was once considered a first-round wide receiver before he tore his ACL early last season.
12. Green Bay Packers
Draft Picks
Round 1: Nick Perry, DE, USC
Round 2: Jerel Worthy, DT, Michigan State and Casey Hayward, CB, Vanderbilt
Round 3: None
Round 4: Mike Daniels, DT, Iowa and Jerron McMillian, S, Maine
Round 5: Terrell Manning, OLB, North Carolina State
Round 6: None
Round 7: Andrew Datko, OT, Florida State and B.J. Coleman, QB, Chattanooga
Grade: A+
Summary
The Packers had one of the worst defenses in the league last year, if not the worst. So what do they do? Go out and use every draft pick—granted the final one was on a Matt Flynn replacement—on defense. Personally, I think Green Bay had the best draft of all 32 teams. Its defense should be vastly improved next season.
13. Houston Texans
Draft Picks
Round 1: Whitney Mercilus, OLB, Illinois
Round 2: None
Round 3: DeVier Posey, WR, Ohio State and Brandon Brooks, OG, Miami (OH)
Round 4: Ben Jones, C, Georgia and Keshawn Martin, WR, Michigan State and Jared Crick, DT, Nebraska
Round 5: Randy Bullock, K, Texas A&M
Round 6: Nick Mondek, OT, Purdue
Round 7: None
Grade: B
Summary
Mercilus may have been a one-year wonder for the Fighting Illini and Posey could end up being a strech of epic proportion. Still, they both could end up being great in the NFL, and Jones and Crick are big steals in the fourth round.
14. Indianapolis Colts
Draft Picks
Round 1: Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford
Round 2: Coby Fleener, TE, Stanford
Round 3: Dwayne Allen, TE, Clemson and T.Y. Hilton, WR, FIU
Round 4: Josh Chapman, DT, Alabama
Round 5: Vick Ballard, RB, Mississippi State
Round 6: LaVon Brazill, WR, Ohio
Round 7: Justin Anderson, OT, Georgia and Tim Fugger, DE, Vanderbilt and Chandler Harnish, QB, Northern Illinois
Grade: A
Summary
It's hard to argue with anything the Colts did here. They drafted their quarterback of the future, got him some key offensive weapons and helped solidify the defensive line.
15. Jacksonville Jaguars
Draft Picks
Round 1: Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma State
Round 2: Andre Branch, DE, Clemson
Round 3: Bryan Anger, P, Cal
Round 4: None
Round 5: Brandon Marshall, OLB, Nevada
Round 6: Mike Harris, CB, Florida State
Round 7: Jeris Pendleton, DT, Ashland
Grade: D+
Summary
I think Blackmon is a solid pick, but he was my No. 2 receiver behind Michael Floyd and Jacksonville traded up for him. Andre Branch is good value in the second round, but then you see the jaw-dropper: a punter in the third. That's unheard of and the Jags need a good smack on the hand after that decision.
16. Kansas City Chiefs
Draft Picks
Round 1: Dontari Poe, DT, Memphis
Round 2: Jeff AllenIll, OT, Illinois
Round 3: Donald Stephenson, OT, Oklahoma
Round 4: Devon Wylie, WR, Fresno State
Round 5: DeQuan Menzie, CB, Alabama
Round 6: Cyrus Gray, RB, Texas A&M
Round 7: Jerome Long, DT, San Diego State and Junior Hemingway, WR, Michigan
Grade: B
Summary
Dontari Poe could be the anchor KC needs on its defensive line, or he could be a draft bust. Judging him up to now it's hard to tell; his films aren't impressive, but his combine is. If he can live up to first-round potential, the Chiefs are heading into the right direction.
17. Miami Dolphins
Draft Picks
Round 1: Ryan Tannehill, QB, Texas A&M
Round 2: Jonathan Martin, OT, Stanford
Round 3: Olivier Vernon, DE, Miami (Fla.) and Michael Egnew. TE, Missouri
Round 4: Lamar Miller, RB, Miami (Fla.)
Round 5: Josh Kaddu, OLB, Oregon
Round 6: B.J. Cunningham, WR, Michigan State
Round 7: Kheeston Randall, DT, Texas and Rishard Matthews, WR, Nevada
Grade: B
Summary
I'm never jumped on the Ryan Tannehill bandwagon, so I'm not going to sit here and hype the guy up. The Dolphins took a huge risk taking him No. 8 overall, especially since they hadn't taken a quarterback in the first round since Dan Marino in 1983. However, I'm fond of the Martin and Miller picks; I believe both were great value for where they fell. Still, Miami has a depleted receiver corps and did not take a WR until the sixth round—one that I didn't even have on my board.
18. Minnesota Vikings
Draft Picks
Round 1: Matt Kalil, OT, USC and Harrison Smith, S, Notre Dame
Round 2: None
Round 3: Josh Robinson, CB, Central Florida
Round 4: Jarius Wright, WR, Arkansas and Rhett Ellison, TE, USC and Greg Childs, WR, Arkansas
Round 5: Robert Blanton, S, Notre Dame
Round 6: Blair Walsh, K, Georgia
Round 7: Audie Cole, ILB, North Carolina State and Trevor Guyton, DE, California
Grade: A-
Summary
For a team that is in the rebuilding process, the Vikings did just that in the draft. They got their tackle of the decade to protect Christian Ponder's blindside, help in the secondary with the fastest athlete from the combine (Robinson), a duo of Arkansas receivers and the best kicker from last year's college season. The only problem I had with Minnesota was Harrison Smith in the first round, who I consider a third-round talent.
19. New England Patriots
Draft Picks
Round 1: Chandler Jones, DE, Syracuse and Dont'a Hightower, ILB, Alabama
Round 2: Tavon Wilson, FS, Illinois
Round 3: Jake Bequette, DE, Arkansas
Round 4: None
Round 5: None
Round 6: Nate Ebner, S, Ohio State
Round 7: Alfonzo Dennard, CB, Nebraska and Jeremy Ebert, WR, Northwestern
Grade: A-
Summary
The Patriots absolutely blew the first round out of the water. They got a class-A pass rusher with Jones and a true leader with Hightower. However, they made some questionable decisions down the road with Nate Ebner—a former rugby player that was a special teams guru at Ohio State—and Alfonzo Dennard—who recently punched a cop—with their final two selections. Granted, New England only had three picks in rounds 4-7.
20. New Orleans Saints
Draft Picks
Round 1: None
Round 2: None
Round 3: Akiem Hicks, DE, Canada
Round 4: Nick Toon, WR, Wisconsin
Round 5: Corey White, S, Samford
Round 6: Andrew Tiller, OG, Syracuse
Round 7: Marcel Jones, OT, Nebraska
Grade: B-
Summary
New Orleans didn't do anything flashy with its draft, but it didn't really get the chance. Having on five picks, with the first being in the third round, the Saints did what they could to fill needs and depth. I'm a fan of former Badger receiver Nick Toon, and think he was good profit for round 4.
5/4/12 |
kramer
|
10835 respect
The Steelers have had offensive line issues as long as Big Ben has been a starter. With the first 2 picks this year, they've rebuilt a group of guys I hope they can keep together for a long time. That's now 4 out of 5, and considering they've been lucky to have ONE of five since Alan Faneca left town, I'd say mission accomplished! It also doesn't hurt to draft a linebacker, the team has always been built on that. Running backs and wide receivers come a dime a dozen in the draft, it never hurts to pick one up. They addressed their needs and I'm happy with their draft overall.
5/2/12 | beerstudk | 1538 respect
Draft grades are premature and usually completely inaccurate, but it also sparks controversy and a lot of reads!
I agree with Irvin being a reach at 15, but most boards I saw had him as a high to mid 2nd round pick and really if the guy can come in and get 12 sacks this year (a la Aldon Smith) it will end up being a great pick. A legit pass rush with Seattle's secondary will be scary for ANY team!!
Wagner is a beast and was undervalued as a 3rd round pick. You can make an argument for him being the 2nd best ILB available in the entire draft.
I like Russel Wilson a lot more than most people for whatever reason. He mastered 2 completely different offenses in college, that shows the dude is pretty smart whereas Oswieler struggled to master a simple QB friendly offense at ASU. Plus Wilson has a ton of athletisism to go with a strong arm. I think that he'll be looked at as the steal of this draft in a few years. As for picking a QB that high, Flynn has potential but really hasn't been tested. Tavaris Jackson is terrible, he was the worst starting QB in the NFL last year IMO, and if Josh Portis was any good he'd have gotten some playing time last season.
I do think they should have gone another way in the 1st round, but I have to agree with Jess and trust that Pete knows what he's doing, he's done really well in the draft so far.
5/1/12 |
Jess
|
28557 respect
Draft grades are premature and usually completely inaccurate, but it also sparks controversy and a lot of reads!
Oh just to clarify - it seems to be a web-wide epidemic blaming Carroll and crediting Schneider...it wasn't something I was calling you out on
As for Irvin, I think that that was ALL they were looking for - someone who could get to the quarterback to play opposite Clemons. And yea I have no idea what they were doing with Wilson; either Portis hasn't improved as much as Carroll claims, or Jackson isn't as trusted by them as Carroll tries to convince us. Pete's all about "competition", and he's saying that drafting a QB creates just that at that position, but doesn't having 2 so-called "starters" under contract cover that? Whatever. They baffle me but they usually end up making sense in the long run.
And I definitely agree with you re: draft grades! I just can't agree or disagree just yet with my team's grade anywhere I see it.
5/1/12 |
Tyler_Waddell
|
298 respect
I personally think draft grades at this stage are premature. We have no idea how a team drafted because we don't know what those picks are going to do, and every year we're surprised. Sometimes bad, sometimes good, but it happens all the time. I like to reserve my draft grading for mid-season at the earliest.
You're right, all the blame shouldn't be on Carroll. Schneider deserves half the load, too. Right now, the Seahawks' draft looks awful. Bruce Irvin couldn't do anything but get to the QB (a required trait in the NFL, yes) and was a third- to fourth-rounder on most boards. Also, I think selecting a quarterback was absurd after signing Matt Flynn to a "starter" contract, especially when a quality player to fit needs could have been done.
Draft grades are premature and usually completely inaccurate, but it also sparks controversy and a lot of reads!
5/1/12 |
Tyler_Waddell
|
298 respect
--I'm happy to see the Chiefs get a B. A lot of people knocked the Poe pick, but they NEED a presence at nose tackle to free up Derrick Johnson and Tamba Hali to make plays. And if anyone can coach Poe up it is Romeo Crennel.
--As I've said before, I don't like the Trent Richardson pick. No. 3 is just too high to take a running back.
--With all the holes the Jaguars have, how on earth do they take a PUNTER in the 3rd round. I guess with the state of their offense, they plan on punting a lot...
I'm one of those few guys that think the Chiefs are a playoff team this year. Pending on Poe's performance, they could be a dangerous team moving forward.
It may be a high pick for a running back, but Richardson does everything you want/need a RB to do at the next level: run with power, run with speed, run with agility, awareness and field vision ... he's a factor through the air (HUGE for the way the NFL is transitioning) and he's an elite blocker. Most RBs only possess a few of these traits, and he has all of them--that's why he was drafted No. 3.
I don't see the Jags averaging more than 14 points per game this year. Not as bad as last year's Rams, but pretty freakin' close.
5/1/12 |
Jess
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28557 respect
True, I suppose it's all in the spirit of prediction. We shall see!
5/1/12 |
Dan_B
|
802 respect
I personally think draft grades at this stage are premature. We have no idea how a team drafted because we don't know what those picks are going to do, and every year we're surprised. Sometimes bad, sometimes good, but it happens all the time. I like to reserve my draft grading for mid-season at the earliest.
But draft grades are FUN. It's the same reason people enjoy mock drafts, etc.
5/1/12 |
Jess
|
28557 respect
I think that mainly what PCJS (it's funny that Pete gets the blame when it's bad but Schneider gets the credit when it's good) is thinking is that while they had some holes in the O-line and DB, which they filled, they've got a VERY young team as-is and this draft was more for depth than anything else. They know they're in a rebuild phase and they're in no hurry to overpay what could very easily be a bust. I shake my head sometimes and wonder wtf, but if PCJS have shown me anything over the past 2 years, it's that they obviously are on the right track, they know what they're doing, and to have faith.
I personally think draft grades at this stage are premature. We have no idea how a team drafted because we don't know what those picks are going to do, and every year we're surprised. Sometimes bad, sometimes good, but it happens all the time. I like to reserve my draft grading for mid-season at the earliest.
5/1/12 |
Dan_B
|
802 respect
A few thoughts:
--I'm happy to see the Chiefs get a B. A lot of people knocked the Poe pick, but they NEED a presence at nose tackle to free up Derrick Johnson and Tamba Hali to make plays. And if anyone can coach Poe up it is Romeo Crennel.
--As I've said before, I don't like the Trent Richardson pick. No. 3 is just too high to take a running back.
--With all the holes the Jaguars have, how on earth do they take a PUNTER in the 3rd round. I guess with the state of their offense, they plan on punting a lot...