Monday, April 30, 2007

2007 NFL DRAFT Part 1 Winners

This is my first year with NFL draft coverage and I cannot give stats for every guy drafted. However I will give out my draft grades. Keep in mind if a pick was traded for a player I am including that player in my grading.

A+

New England Patriots- Trading a 4th round pick for a Hall a Fame receiver that has played well on every winning team he has been on is a no-brainer. Randy Moss will be a pro bowler this year and there may only be one or two other guys in this draft that you could possible say that about. The also picked up a future number #1 and got a replacement for Rodney Harrison with the talented Brandon Merriweather.

San Fransico 49ers- I really like the trade for Darrell Jackson. Solidify your receiving core while weakening a division foe. Patrick Willis is a tackling machine and can play defense in both the 3-4 and the 4-3. Joe Staley has a 1st round grade and they moved ahead of Baltimore to get him. He could be the anchor on that left side for a long time. I also thought they got great value with some of the later round picks namely Joe Cohen the DE from Florida, and Tarrell Brown the CB from Texas.

A

Carolina Panthers- Dwayne Jarret I believe got penalized for putting up gaudy numbers because it seems like he was a product of the system. However this guy made so many incredible big plays that I believe he will be a red zone weapon from day one. You cannot double him Keyshawn and Steve Smith. Jon Beason is one of those safeties playing linebacker and he should fly around the field. The also picked up the top ranked center in Ryan Kahil in the 4th.

Atlanta Falcons-
Jammal Anderson really impressed me in the Outback Bowl and looks like he could be a difference making Defensive End. The Falcons grabbed his teammate CB Chris Houston, a burner, who is going to pair nicely with DeAngelo Hall. Justin Blalock will help with the switch from zone blocking to a more traditional straight ahead approach and TE Martez Millner has the physical tools to give Mike Vick another redzone weapon.

Cleveland Browns-
I am not crazy about giving up a future #1 to get a shot at Quinn, but he is hometown guy and an easy sell to the fans. The two picks I really like is Joe Thomas who is the closest to a sure thing in this draft and Eric Wright, who if character would not have been a premium this year would have been a first round selection but he slid to the third. I don’t know if this is enough to save Romeo, but it probably bought there GM another year.

A-

Arizona Cardinals- Something seems to be brewing in the desert and this team looks like it is ready to get over the hump. Levi Brown may have been a reach but LTs seem to be a rather safe position to draft. Allen Branch, before the combine, was a top 5 talent and the Cardinals are glad his stock has slipped. Two lower round guys I think could have immediate impact on special teams, yeah do you remember that Bears game? Buster Davis is a London Fletcher clone and has produced his whole career, and Steve Breaston is as good of returner as there was in the draft sans Teddy Ginn.

B+

Buffalo Bills- I think Marshawn Lynch is going to be the most complete back to come out of this draft and he will be able to showcase that right away. He is my pick for Offensive Rookie of the year. Paul Posluszny is a guy that slipped a bit but I think he is a perfect fit for Buffalo. This guy can play. A lot of people had Trent Edwards as the third highest rated QB and should give them a back up plan if ol uncle Rico cannot find his 1982 game.

Oakland Raiders- In my mind they picked up the top rated QB in Jamarcus Russell and the top rated TE in Zach Miller. Quentin Moses and Michael Bush are two picks that have a great amount of potential. It seemed like Al Davis got it right for the second year in a row and this team is ready to move forward instead of constantly backwords. The real question is how long do they wait to hand over the keys to Russell.

B

NY Jets- Traded a 2nd round pick for Thomas Jones who I feel is the most underrated RB in the NFL. They traded up twice in this draft to get players they WANTED in front of there rivals the NE Patriots. Revis is the closest thing to lockdown corner in this draft and David Harris played for a physical defense at Michigan and should fit right in next to Jonathan Vilma on the inside of that 3-4.

B-

Green Bay Packers- I keep hearing “how does a DT tackle help Brett Favre out” well I think improving your defense always helps your offense. The Packers Ted Thompson maneuvered well down in the draft too stock pile talent. Justin Harrell has all the ability in the world to become a great DT in this league and that would do wonders for keeping guys off Hawk and Barnett so they can make plays. This is a team with a lot of wholes and depth was definitely an issue. Thompson took a chance with some guys with injury history but there is a lot of talent. Keep an eye on David Clowney, he is going to remind people of a young Antonio Freeman.

C+

Miami Dolphins- Ted Ginn will have an immediate impact in the return game and can learn a lot from Chris Chambers on how to be a good pro. The did get a qb they can develop in John Beck, and they got a Warrick Dunn clone, in Lorenzo Booker. Brown, Williams, and Booker are going to make a real nice three headed monster at tailback.
Detroit Lions- They may have taken the best player in the draft in Calvin Johnson, but after giving big money to Mike Furrey and Shaun Mcdonald in the off-season Johnson is more of a luxury pick. They should have traded down and picked up some secondary or o-line help.

Minnesota Vikings- I like the Adrian Peterson pick but I don’t love it when you consider you gave a lot of money to make Chester Taylor the man. Peterson has a lot of ???s and they still don’t have a QB. Quinn may have made more sense here. Sindney Rice and Marcus McCaulley have 1st round ability lets see if they use it.

Kansas City Chiefs- The Chiefs were the talk of the draft because they were going to trade Green and LJ. Well neither happened and although Green is still going to be traded they ended having a nice day. Dwayne Bowe finally gives them a receiver with legitimate #1 potential Turk McBride and Tank Tyler will add size and athleticism across there defensive front.

Tommorow I will give you the losers of the 07' Draft.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I must say as a Packer fan I was quite disappointed that Randy Moss went to New England for only a 4th round pick. I guess the rich get richer. With Moss, DD, Jennings, and hopefully Koren Robinson who would care about the running game, let Brett just air it out for what should be his final year. Opposing defenses would be forced to play the pass opening up draws and screens for Morency who if nothing else has the speed to break some big gainers. What could have been. On the draft, Browne you must know a lot more about these injurred no namers than I do as far as the Pack is concerned. I could not give that draft any higher than a C-, and hopefully will be proven wrong. Personally I would have been happier with Alan Branch over Harrell. Branch has been criticized for not going all out on every play but that guy is monster of man and obviously has the physical tools needed to become an all pro in my opinion. You throw some incentives in there based on performance that might be just be the kick in the tail he needs. Again I know very little about Harrell but the guy only played 1 full year in college. I agree though there were no offensive players worth taking by the time the Pack drafted in round 1. And I am not looking forward to having to see Adrian Peterson and Calvin Johnson for x number of years twice a year at least. Luckily those teams still need a lot more help particularily at QB. And by the way no one that plays in the Outback Bowl will ever impress me after I saw what the Outback Bowl looks like on your 21st.

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