Baltimore Ravens
2.03 (35) - Courtney
Upshaw, OLB, Alabama
2.28 (60)
- Kelechi Osemele,
OG, Iowa St.
3.21 (84) - Bernard Pierce, RB, Temple
4.03 (98)
- Gino Gradkowski,
OG, Delaware
4.35 (130)
- Christian
Thompson, FS, South Carolina St.
5.34 (169)
- Asa Jackson, CB,
Cal Poly
6.28 (198)
- Tommy Streeter,
WR, Miami
7.29 (236)
- DeAngelo Tyson,
DT, Georgia
My grade: C+
The Ravens didn’t have a
selection in the first round after trading their pick to the Vikings for
Minnesota’s second and fourth round picks.
Luckily (or strategically) for them, standout Alabama product Courtney
Upshaw was on the board. Upshaw will be
forced into the lineup sooner than expected due to the recent injury of 2011
NFL Defensive Player of the Year Terrell Suggs, who will be lucky to see any
playing time in 2012. Baltimore found a
complement for bowling ball Ray Rice in the third round with Temple RB Bernard
Pierce. Other than Pierce and Upshaw,
I’m not a huge fan of their draft, but they rarely miss up high.
Buffalo Bills
1.10 (10) - Stephon Gilmore, CB, South Carolina
2.09 (41)
- Cordy Glenn, OG,
Georgia
3.06 (69)
- T.J. Graham, WR,
North Carolina St.
4.10 (105)
- Nigel Bradham,
LB, Florida St.
4.29 (124)
- Ron Brooks, CB,
LSU
5.09 (144)
- Zebrie Sanders,
OT, Florida St.
5.12 (147)
- Tank Carder,
ILB, TCU
6.08 (178)
- Mark Asper, OG,
Oregon
7.44 (251)
- John Potter, K,
Western Michigan
My grade: B
If the Buffalo Bills want to
make the playoffs anytime soon, they’ll need to slow down the dynamic passing
attack of Tom Brady & co. in New England. Stephon Gilmore from South
Carolina will go a long way towards accomplishing that goal. Gilmore can play
press-man as well as zone and uses his large frame to defend balls in the air.
With their second pick they grabbed a great value in Georgia offensive tackle
Cordy Glenn; Glenn is more suited for the right side at the NFL level and can
play both tackle and guard. Receiver T.J. Graham was a bit of a reach in the
third round, but “he can fly,” in the words of NFL.com analyst Mike Mayock.
Cincinnati Bengals
1.17 (17) - Dre Kirkpatrick, CB, Alabama
1.27 (27)
- Kevin Zeitler,
OG, Wisconsin
2.21 (53)
- Devon Still, DT,
Penn St.
3.20 (83)
- Mohamed Sanu,
WR, Rutgers
3.30 (93)
- Brandon
Thompson, DT, Clemson
4.21 (116)
- Orson Charles,
TE, Georgia
5.21 (156)
- Shaun Prater,
CB, Iowa
5.31 (166)
- Marvin Jones,
WR, California
5.32 (167)
- George Iloka,
FS, Boise St.
6.21 (191)
- Dan Herron, RB,
Ohio St.
My grade: A+
This is the only A+ I’m
giving out, and the last team I thought I’d be giving it to was the Cincinnati
Bengals. But, alas, here we are. I am handing out an A+ to a Mike Brown-ran
football team. The Bengals had five
picks in the top 100, and used them to address needs in the secondary,
offensive line, defensive line, and receiving corps. First round pick Dre
Kirkpatrick fills a void left by Jonathan Joseph, and second rounders Kevin
Zeitler and Devon Still are “plug and play” football players who add depth to
the offensive and defensive lines, respectively. Cincinnati added lanky free safety George
Iloka from Boise St. in the fifth round, a player some analysts had going on
the second day. The Bengals took two
rookie pro bowlers last year in A.J. Green and Andy Dalton, and they can expect
many pro bowls from this 2012 draft class.
Cleveland Browns
1.03 (3) - Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama
1.22 (22)
- Brandon Weeden,
QB, Oklahoma St.
2.05 (37)
- Mitchell
Schwartz, OT, California
3.24 (87)
- John Hughes, DT,
Cincinnati
4.05 (100)
- Travis Benjamin,
WR, Miami
4.25 (120)
- James-Michael
Johnson, ILB, Nevada
5.25 (160)
- Ryan Miller, OG,
Colorado
6.34 (204)
- Emmanuel Acho,
ILB, Texas
6.35 (205)
- Billy Winn, DE,
Boise St.
7.38 (245)
- Trevin Wade, CB,
Arizona
7.40 (247)
- Brad Smelley,
FB, Alabama
My grade: B
You either love this draft
for the Browns or you hate it. As a big
Trent Richardson and Brandon Weeden fan, I am of the latter group. Trent Richardson is the best running back to
come out of college since Adrian Peterson.
He adds toughness to the toughest division in football and will help
keep the Browns in favorable down and distance situations. With their second round pick they took 28
year-old QB Brandon Weeden; if you don’t know the story, Weeden played baseball
out of high school and only started college in 2007. Despite his age, Weeden still has the ability
to play QB at a high level for enough years to justify the selection. The Browns used the later rounds and
compensatory selections to stock up on players who slid in the draft, including
Boise State’s Billy Winn and Arizona’s Trevin Wade.
Denver Broncos
2.04 (36) - Derek Wolfe, DT, Cincinnati
2.25 (57)
- Brock Osweiler,
QB, Arizona St.
3.04 (67)
- Ronnie Hillman,
RB, San Diego St.
4.06 (101)
- Omar Bolden, CB,
Arizona St.
4.13 (108)
- Philip Blake, C,
Baylor
5.02 (137)
- Malik Jackson,
DE, Tennessee
6.18 (188)
- Danny Trevathan,
OLB, Kentucky
My grade: C-
Not a huge fan of the
Broncos’ draft. They filled a big need
by going defensive line in the second round, selecting Cincinnati’s Derek
Wolfe, but I would have rather seen them go with UCONN’s Kendall Reyes or
Michigan State’s Jerel Worthy. In the
second round they took the heir-apparent to Peyton Manning, the 6’7” Arizona
State product Brock Osweiler. Osweiler
is a bit of a project with high upside, and will learn from one of the greatest
quarterbacks of all time. Ronnie Hillman is an ideal third-down back for the
Manning-led offense that can protect the passer and produce in the screen game.
Blake was a decent value pick in the fourth round and will push third year
player J.D. Walton for the starting center position.
Houston Texans
1.26 (26) - Whitney Mercilus, DE, Illinois
3.05 (68)
- DeVier Posey,
WR, Ohio St.
3.13 (76)
- Brandon Brooks,
OG, Miami (OH)
4.04 (99)
- Ben Jones, C,
Georgia
4.26 121)
- Keshawn Martin,
WR, Michigan St.
4.31 (126)
- Jared Crick, DT,
Nebraska
5.26 (161)
- Randy Bullock,
K, Texas A&M
6.25 (195)
- Nick Mondek, OT,
Purdue
My grade: B
I was amazed at some of the responses to Houston’s first
round pick--Illinois stud pass-rusher Whitney Mercilus. So many analysts had an
offensive player penciled in at the 26th overall slot, and when
Houston went defense they were left scratching their heads. Houston made a great pick here. They’re losing Mario Williams in free agency
and will likely lose OLB Connor Barwin during next year’s free agency. Mercilus had the most productive year from
any first round pass rusher and should fit in nicely in Wade Phillip’s 3-4
scheme. In the second round the Texans
tried to select a complement to Andre Johnson in Ohio State’s DeVier
Posey. Not sure that Posey was the best
available wide receiver here, but he’s better than what Houston’s got. Houston went to the Big-10 receiver well
again in the fourth round when they took Michigan State’s Keshawn Martin, an
undersized speedster who should contribute in the return game now that Houston
is without Jacoby Jones. I’m surprised
Houston didn’t take a cornerback in the draft; I would assume they are
expecting 2010 first round pick Kareem Jackson to step his game up.
Indianapolis Colts
1.01 (1) - Andrew
Luck, QB, Stanford
2.02 (34)
- Coby Fleener,
TE, Stanford
3.01 (64)
- Dwayne Allen,
TE, Clemson
3.29 (92)
- T.Y. Hilton, WR,
Florida International
5.01 (136)
- Josh Chapman,
DT, Alabama
5.35 (170)
- Vick Ballard,
RB, Mississippi St.
6.36 (206)
- LaVon Brazill,
WR, Ohio
7.01 (208)
- Justin Anderson,
OT, Georgia
7.07 (214) - Tim Fugger, DE, Vanderbilt
7.46 (203)
- Chandler
Harnish, QB, Northern Illinois
My grade: B+
The best quarterback
prospect since Peyton Manning. The best
quarterback prospect since John Elway.
The best quarterback prospect ever.
I’ve seen all three of these superlatives used when describing
Indianapolis’ #1 overall pick, quarterback Andrew Luck. I’m not quite as high on him as the rest of
the world; I think he will max out as a top-ten quarterback in the league,
never reaching MVP-status. However, he
most definitely is the safer quarterback between him and Andrew Luck due to his
conventional playing style and uncanny accuracy. I love that the Colts stayed true to their
draft board and went offensive skill positions with the next three picks
instead of reaching for defense. The
best thing you can do to help our your young quarterback is surround him with
weapons, and the Colts did just that in selecting tight ends Fleener and Allen
along with the speedy small school wide receiver T.Y. Hilton with their second,
third, and fourth selections.
Jacksonville Jaguars
1.05 (5) - Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma St.
2.06 (38)
- Andre Branch,
DE, Clemson
3.07 (70)
- Bryan Anger, P,
California
5.07 (142)
- Brandon
Marshall, OLB, Nevada
6.06 (176)
- Mike Harris, CB,
Florida St.
7.21 (228)
- Jeris Pendleton,
DT, Ashland
My grade: B-
Do not adjust your computer
screens. You are reading this correctly:
The Jaguars selected a punter in the third round. Crazy, right?
Well, not entirely crazy. The
Jaguars have a pretty terrible offense, and will be playing the field-position
game more often than not. Anger is the
best punter in the draft and an excellent directional kicker. If you watched the Super Bowl (and if you’re
reading this blog, I assume you have) you saw Giants punter Steve Weatherford
execute a number of perfect directional punts that forced fair catches and left
the Patriots offense with long fields on nearly every possession. But, the third round is way too early for a
punter. I do like what they did in the
first round, however, trading up from 7 to 5 to get wide receiver Justin
Blackmon, one of my favorite players in the draft. Blackmon is right up there with Griffin III
and Richardson as the most fun players to watch. He reminds me so much of Terrell Owens; big
and strong, incredibly difficult to tackle, and an unbelievable work
ethic. His only problem is that Blaine
Gabbert is his quarterback. In the
second round Jacksonville selected explosive pass rusher Andre Branch from
Clemson, a player worthy of the selection who fills a big need.
Kansas City Chiefs
1.11 (11) - Dontari Poe, NT, Memphis
2.12 (44)
- Jeff Allen, OT,
Illinois
3.11 (74)
- Donald
Stephenson, OT, Oklahoma
4.12 (107)
- Devon Wylie, WR,
Fresno St.
5.11 (146)
- DeQuan Menzie,
CB, Alabama
6.12 (182)
- Cyrus Gray, RB,
Texas A&M
7.11 (218)
- Jerome Long, DT,
San Diego St.
7.31 (238)
- Junior
Hemingway, WR, Michigan
My grade: C+
The Chiefs selected Mr. Poe(tential) at the #11 spot, the
mammoth-like Memphis defensive tackle.
Poe fits a clear need in the Chiefs’ 3-4 defense and is an incredible
athlete for a man of his stature.
However, with that size and athleticism, he should have been a dominant
player in college, especially playing in Conference-USA. Some people chalked it up to Poe not being
asked to rush the passer, while others claimed he’s just a workout wonder. My sentiments lie somewhere in between: I
feel Poe will be a solid defensive lineman for the Chiefs, but that it’s going
to take a few years of seasoning before he can start to reach any level of
dominance. In rounds two and three the Chiefs went offensive line, then
transitioning to a trio of speedsters in rounds four, five and six.
Miami Dolphins
1.08 (8) - Ryan Tannehill, QB, Texas A&M
2.10 (42)
- Jonathan Martin,
OT, Stanford
3.09 (72)
- Olivier Vernon,
DE, Miami
3.15 (78)
- Michael Egnew,
TE, Missouri
4.02 (97)
- Lamar Miller,
RB, Miami
5.20 (155)
- Josh Kaddu, OLB,
Oregon
6.13 (183)
- B.J. Cunningham,
WR, Michigan St.
7.08 (215) - Kheeston Randall, DT, Texas
7.20 (227)
- Rishard
Matthews, WR, Nevada
My grade: D+
This grade is heavily based
on the selection of Ryan Tannehill eighth overall. Basically, I don’t believe he is worthy of a
first round draft choice. He played wide
receiver longer than he played quarterback at Texas A&M, and when the game
was on the line, he played his worst.
He’s a very good athlete and will wow you with some athletic plays, but
he is far too inconsistent and careless with the football to ever be a
franchise quarterback. Jonathan Martin
should start opposite Jake Long in the very near future. Lamar Miller dropped because of some medical
issues and was picked up by his hometown team.
He’s an explosive player and a threat to go the distance each time he
carries the ball but needs to work on his pass-protection skills before he can
see extended playing time.
New England Patriots
1.21 (21) - Chandler
Jones, DE, Syracuse
1.25 (25)
- Dont'a
Hightower, LB, Alabama
2.16 (48)
- Tavon Wilson,
FS, Illinois
3.27 (90)
- Jake Bequette,
DE, Arkansas
6.27 (197)
- Nate Ebner, DB,
Ohio St.
7.17 (224)
- Alfonzo Dennard,
CB, Nebraska
7.28 (235)
- Jeremy Ebert,
WR, Northwestern
My grade: B-
Much like the Green Bay
Packers, Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots targeted defensive players
heading into the draft. They left with
six defensive selections out of a possible seven, headlined by Syracuse pass
rusher Chandler Jones and Alabama thumper Dont’a Hightower in the first
round. Tavon Wilson was a huge surprise
in the second round; most draft websites did not have him in the database. Alfonzo Dennard was once regarded as a
possible early-round draft choice until he started being an idiot. Under the right leadership and in the proper
locker room, he could flourish.
New York Jets
1.16 (16) - Quinton
Coples, DE, North Carolina
2.11 (43)
- Stephen Hill,
WR, Georgia Tech
3.14 (77)
- Demario Davis,
OLB, Arkansas St.
6.17 (187)
- Josh Bush, FS,
Wake Forest
6.32 (202)
- Terrance
Ganaway, RB, Baylor
6.33 (203)
- Robert T.
Griffin, OG, Baylor
7.35 (242)
- Antonio Allen,
SS, South Carolina
7.37 (244)
- Jordan White,
WR, Western Michigan
My grade: B
Quinton Coples is one of the
most talented players in the draft.
Arguably a top-5 talent. He shut
it down his senior year so he wouldn’t get injured, which is somewhat
understandable. The Jets were able to
grab him with their first round selection (pick #16), one spot after Bruce
Irvin went to Seattle. Rex Ryan is going
to have dreams about what he can do with a 6’6”, 285 lb. specimen like Quinton
Coples in his defense. Coples can set
the edge as a five-technique end in the base 3-4, rush the passer off the edge
in the 4-3, or play in a two point stance as an outside linebacker in the
3-4. The Jets traded up in round two to
select Stephen “Thrill” Hill, the latest in a line of wide receivers to come
out of triple-option Georgia Tech than can freaking fly. Hill is 6’4” and ran a 4.36, which compares
favorably to 2007 #2 overall pick Calvin Johnson (also of Georgia Tech) who is
6’5” and ran a 4.35. That’s where the
comparisons end, though, as Calvin has much better hands and a far more
developed route tree. With five selections in the sixth and seventh rounds, the
Jets grabbed a little bit of everything to help with depth.
Oakland Raiders
3.32 (95) - Tony
Bergstrom, OT, Utah
4.34 (129)
- Miles Burris,
OLB, San Diego St.
5.23 (158)
- Jack Crawford,
DE, Penn St.
5.33 (168)
- Juron Criner, WR,
Arizona
6.19 (189)
- Christo
Bilukidi, DE, Georgia St.
7.23 (230)
- Nathan Stupar,
OLB, Penn St.
My grade: C-
The draft cupboards were pretty bare for first year general
manager Reggie McKenzie after 2011 head coach/de facto general manager Hue
Jackson traded away the team’s 2012 first round selection and 2013 second round
selection to the Bengals for Carson Palmer.
That trade is pretty heavily slanted toward the Bengals at the moment,
although that could change if Palmer can return to form and cut down on his
mistakes. No flashy names here for the
Raiders, but a lot of guys that should improve depth along the offensive and
defensive lines as well as a steal in the fifth round with Arizona wide
receiver Juron Criner.
Pittsburgh Steelers
1.24 (24) - David
DeCastro, G, Stanford
2.24 (56)
- Mike Adams, OT,
Ohio St.
3.23 (86)
- Sean Spence,
OLB, Miami
4.14 (109)
- Alameda Ta'amu,
DT, Washington
5.24 (159)
- Chris Rainey,
RB, Florida
7.24 (231)
- Toney Clemons,
WR, Colorado
7.33 (240)
- David Paulson,
TE, Oregon
7.39 (246)
- Terrence
Frederick, CB, Texas A&M
7.41 (248)
- Kelvin Beachum,
OG, Southern Methodist
My grade: B+
And David DeCastro falls right into Kevin Colbert’s
lap. I wonder if they even thought about
trading out of this pick or if they handed in the card in record time. David DeCastro is arguably one of the safest
picks in this draft; he has ‘plug-and-play’ written all over him. The Steelers have had nothing but
underwhelming play on the offensive line for a number of years, and DeCastro as
well as second-round offensive tackle Mike Adams will go along way to change
that. Adams has a few red flags as far
as character goes (failed drug test at the combine and sold memorabilia) but
he’s a gifted athlete with NFL left-tackle position. Everyone is slobbering over the fact they
drafted Alameda Ta’amu from Washington in the fourth round, but there’s a
reason he went in the fourth round. A
man of his stature should not be so easily moved around in the running game. Go put on the Baylor or Stanford tape from
Washington’s 2011 season when the Dawgs were rushed on for more than 400 yards
in each of those games. Ta’ama was
consistently washed out of plays and showed questionable effort. If he can play up to his potential he will be
a great pick here, but let’s not go crazy yet, he’s got a long ways to go.
San Diego Chargers
1.18 (18) - Melvin
Ingram, DE, South Carolina
2.17 (49)
- Kendall Reyes,
DT, Connecticut
3.10 (73)
- Brandon Taylor,
SS, LSU
4.15 (110)
- Ladarius Green,
TE, Louisiana-Lafayette
5.14 (149)
- Johnnie
Troutman, OG, Penn St.
7.19 (226)
- David Molk, C,
Michigan
7.43 (250)
- Edwin Baker, RB,
Michigan St.
My grade: A-
A terrific, terrific job done by A.J. Smith and Norv Turner
here. Melvin Ingram fell right into
their laps and they did the prudent thing in selecting the outstanding South
Carolina pass rusher. A bit undersized
at 6’1”, Ingram can line up and produce at nearly every spot on the defensive
side of the ball. Hell, he can even play
running back! The Chargers’ defense has
not been the same since Shawne Merriman became ineffective; they are hoping
Ingram can be Merriman v2.0 only without the steroid issues. The rich got richer in the second round with
UCONN defensive lineman Kendall Reyes, an interior guy in college who will kick
out to five-technique in the pros and then back inside in the
sub-packages. Brandon Taylor was among
the top safeties in the class (which really says more about the lack of depth
at the position than anything else) and Ladarius Green is a matchup nightmare
at the tight end position.
Tennessee Titans
1.20 (20) - Kendall
Wright, WR, Baylor
2.20 (52) - Zach Brown, OLB, North Carolina
3.19 (82)
- Mike Martin, DT,
Michigan
4.20 (115)
- Coty Sensabaugh,
CB, Clemson
5.10 (145)
- Taylor Thompson,
DE, Southern Methodist
6.20 (190)
- Markelle Martin,
FS, Oklahoma St.
7.04 (211)
- Scott Solomon,
DE, Rice
My grade: B-
I was screaming for David
DeCastro at the #20 spot but the Titans instead selected the speedy Baylor wide
receiver Kendall Wright. Wright is a bit
of an enigma; he played lightning-quick in college but tested very poorly at
the combine and then was reported to have a very high body fat content. Regardless, he’s an explosive weapon that
will instantly contribute in the receiving and return game. Also, I think this is a precursor to Jake
Locker winning the quarterback spot out of training camp. Why else would you draft a deep threat wide
receiver unless you’re going to pair him with a quarterback able to throw the
deep ball? I like Matt Hasselbeck but he
can’t fully utilize Wright the way Locker can.
In the second round Tennessee took Brown out of UNC, an amazing athlete
who’s somewhat of an underachiever. So
much was expected out of him because of his freakish speed (4.50 40 yard dash
at 244 lbs.) and when he didn’t make all the highlight-reel plays a lot of
scouts soured on him. Regardless, he’ll
have the chance to prove himself immediately if he can lock down the weakside
linebacker position out of training camp.
Mike Martin is a prototypical three-technique under tackle that will
shoot the B-gap and get in the quarterbacks face.