Draft Grades

Post #1 » by **HMFFL** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 3:56 am

Post any websites you see that has draft grades so we can compare.

USA TODAY

SpeedyG · Post #2 » by **SpeedyG** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 5:58 am

Not sure I'd put much stock on the opinion of someone who expects Beatty to play RT.

Post #3 » by **HMFFL** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 2:38 pm

AFC

NFC

Bac2Basics · Post #4 » by **Bac2Basics** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 7:04 pm

http://sports.espn.go.com/chat/sportsna ... id=4104114

Mike Hunt · Post #5 » by **Mike Hunt** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 2:10 am

Lookung at those consensus numbers, it'd suggest the Eagles had the best draft. I thought it was ok but I didn't see anything that makes it spectacular. Maybe the fact that the Eagles actually used a 1st rounder on a top end WR is enough to satisfy draft experts.

Friend_Of_Haley · Post #6 » by **Friend_Of_Haley** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 3:31 am

Well Maclin is a huge steal that late. If Davis wasn't crazy, they probably would have gone a completely different direction than WR.

Post #7 » by **Icness** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 4:21 am

I don't give grades but my 3 favorite drafts were NYG, STL, and PHI. CIN had the best Saturday but didn't sustain it. Worst was MIA and NO, and I'm not liking KC or NYJ much--the Jets for the simple reason they got just Sanchez and a 3rd string RB.

Post #8 » by **Rafael122** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 11:57 am

Is there a reason why Meredith and Robinson fell? It killed me that the Skins passed on them twice.

Post #9 » by **Icness** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 2:04 pm

Rafael122 wrote:Is there a reason why Meredith and Robinson fell? It killed me that the Skins passed on them twice.

Meredith fell because he isn't very good.

Robinson is a shocker to me, though it's been my experience that when everyone passes that many times, it's usually for a sound reason.

Post #10 » by **studcrackers** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 2:22 pm

check ur pm's icness

Post #11 » by **ReasonablySober** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 3:41 pm

Icness wrote:
Rafael122 wrote:Is there a reason why Meredith and Robinson fell? It killed me that the Skins passed on them twice.

Meredith fell because he isn't very good.

Robinson is a shocker to me, though it's been my experience that when everyone passes that many times, it's usually for a sound reason.

That's sort of where I'm at with Meredith. Everyone went **** crazy when he was picked for GB, and while I was pleased and figured it had to be good value, I'm not as high on him say had they got him in the 2nd round. Like you said, a big red flag goes up when a guy that many had in round two all of the sudden sits there in the 5th.

Post #12 » by **Icness** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 12:54 pm

I'm about the only person in America who thinks that Mike Mitchell will make a better NFL safety than Patrick Chung. I'm praying this is another Vernon Davis/Troy Williamson situation, but I just might be blinded by Bobcat love...

St.Nick · Post #13 » by **St.Nick** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 2:03 pm

I'm pretty sure that Vernon Davis has had a better career than Troy Williamson. He is probably the best blocking tight end in the NFL and when the offense does actually go to him he has the best big play ability of any tight end in the NFL.

The only glaring issues are his overly exuberant attitude and his hands. Not that these problems are to be taken lightly, but I don't think he can be called a monumental bust like Williamson is.

Post #14 » by **Icness** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 3:17 pm

St.Nick wrote:I'm pretty sure that Vernon Davis has had a better career than Troy Williamson. He is probably the best blocking tight end in the NFL and when the offense does actually go to him he has the best big play ability of any tight end in the NFL.

The only glaring issues are his overly exuberant attitude and his hands. Not that these problems are to be taken lightly, but I don't think he can be called a monumental bust like Williamson is.

I probably phrased that wrong...I got some notoriety in the scouting community for predicting major bustdom for both against seemingly all logic--and I was right.

I do give Vernon Davis a fair chance to have a real nice 2009, except that he and Crabtree run the same basic routes. Dude can block for sure, but you don't blow a top 10 overall pick on a blocking TE with a highly-developed diva complex.

Mike Hunt · Post #15 » by **Mike Hunt** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 5:58 pm

I wrote this in a different thread but I think it's more relevant in this one:

When I'm evaluating teams' drafts, there are certain things I give higher grades for: I like teams picking the best player at a specific position (ie, if a team picks the best C at 25, I'll rarely see it as a bad move, even if the player should maybe be a 2nd round pick), I like teams that take unconventional routes to acquire their players (ie, trading up like the Jets or accumulating a bunch of picks like NE. I also like teams that double up on positions of greatest need (ie. The Giants were looking for a big target receiver to fill Burress' spot. They got Nicks to do that in the first round. Then, they used another middle round pick to get Ramses Barden).

As such, here are a few teams I think did quite well over the weekend:

Detroit Lions: You don't often get to say this but it's hard to fault any of the Lions' picks (especially early). Stafford has the potential to be a franchise QB. He said all the right things when it came to the prospects of going to the Lions. Pettigrew, while he doesn't play a position that is typically highly drafted, was widely considered to be the best TE in the draft. He's also a good blocker which isn't a common trait among talented receiving TEs. Delmas, despite some size questions was considered the top safety of the class. The rest of the picks have a nice mix of offense/defence and safe/risky choices.

New York Giants: They were a team with only one glaring hole and everybody knew it. They were lucky not to have to do any fancy manoeuvring to get Hakeen Nicks at the end of the draft. Getting Ramses Barden, a huge guy with lots of question marks, was an interesting move too. I like that they didn't look too early in the draft to grab DBs but that's because I tend to think only elite CBs are worth picking so early (they seem to hit and miss more than any top picks).

Green Bay Packers: I really like Raji and thought he was a perfect guy to go there. He was far and away, the best defensive tackle in this draft. I find DT is a position that seems to be valued less than it should in the league (Haloti Ngata dropped too much his draft year after being the top guy his year too). I like that they added another linebacker to the core they already have there.

New England Patriots: To be honest, I'm not sure I like any of the guys they picked up. But their manipulation of the draft is impressive. To have two more seconds in the 2010 draft without giving up much is impressive.

New York Jets: People seem to think the price for Sanchez was cheap and I agree. They focused their attention on quality vs quantity and it's hard to blame them. They walked out of the draft with a potential franchise QB sought after by many and a bruising running back that will complement what they have in place right now, which is good because a good running game can "protect" a QB).

Jacksonville Jaguars: They got Eugene Monroe to be that franchise LT all teams want. Then, they got another OT in Britten who was being talked about as a possible LT but more likely RT. That is a lot of youth and talent on the offensive line of a team who wants to get back to running more. While they didn't address their biggest need (WR) in the early rounds, they did throw some picks (Thomas, Dillard and Underwood) at the position later on in hopes of finding a late-round gem.

Honorable Mention:
Baltimore Ravens: Oher seems like he could be a great story and Webb's an interesting guy too.
Arizona Cardinals: Recognizing Edgerrin James is done and having Wells fall to them makes them look smart.
Miami Dolphins: The relative talent/draft position ratio on their picks might not be the highest (though Davis' talent is unquestionable) but it's nice to see them embracing the wildcat offense (by picking White in the second) that made them one of the best stories of last year. Thinking outside of the box is a good thing and I hope they have even more success this year than last.

SpeedyG · Post #16 » by **SpeedyG** » Sat Dec 12, 2009 3:16 pm

An early recap/re-draft of this year's class: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent ... 0307b.html

Thoughts?

BigBurd · Post #17 » by **BigBurd** » Wed Dec 16, 2009 7:58 pm

Quick thoughts are:

1- No way Josh Freeman falls out of the first round. He's young and inexperienced (shouldn't really be starting yet) but WOW has he delivered on the potential. His pocket presence alone was incredible in the games I watched, and that's very hard to find. Plus he can throw passes off his back foot while on the run better than a third of the starters in the league can from the pocket.

2 - Harvin is great and all, but 3rd overall? In addition to the potential craziness, he's missed a ton of practice time with medical/migraine issues, and I think even a few games with no real long term solution pending. While I agree he's still a 1st round guy, I think those two issues are notable, as is the fact he's playing in about the best possible situation.

3 - Terrance Knighton is legit. He should be higher, it's always tough for an NT/DT to get love via stats or pressure on the QB with UFA's playing beside him, but he's made JAX look good. All the starting "4 hands to block 'em" NT goodness delivered in his first year plus a bright, bright future for an athletic and pretty mobile big man with no baggage.

4- Eben Britton may not be quite that good. Still a good pick, great attitude (hulk smash), potential is there, but I'd take some guys below him first. That'd include Monroe (who I think may be a better run blocker, despite the hype to the contrary).

I'm looking forward to spending a bit more time with the list, but that's all that jumped out me at first.

EDIT: For what it's worth there's some interesting stats to be had here, which does seem to confrim overal Britton is rated higher then Monroe, but I'm not sure how legit these are:
http://profootballfocus.com/by_position ... numgames=1

BigBurd · Post #18 » by **BigBurd** » Wed Dec 16, 2009 10:24 pm

Knox over Nicks is an interesting pick as well, or for that matter over Britt, Maclin, and Mike Thomas (yes I'm a jags fan).

Post #19 » by **ReasonablySober** » Fri Dec 18, 2009 4:29 pm

As good as Cushing has been, I couldn't justify taking someone who doesn't

a) protect the passer
b) get after the passer
c) throw the ball

with the top overall pick. I couldn't even take him top five.

BigBurd · Post #20 » by **BigBurd** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 5:09 pm

As per wiretap and this article, Harvin isn't looking too reliable:
http://www.startribune.com/sports/vikin ... UUycaEacyU

- often refuses to discuss anything related to his health
- played despite missing most of the past two weeks because of debilitating migraines
- the latest episode was so severe that he experienced loss of vision and vomiting
- after every game since high school, the back of his neck has become sore and swollen
- last week an MRI revealed two bulging disks in his neck