2008 NFL Draft Grades

Which teams got the best value out of there picks? Who improved the most? Who wasted their opportunity to improve?What is the difference between drafting smart and overvaluing a player and reaching? We won't know those answers for sure for at least three years, that's how long it takes to fully evaluate a draft, but we can evaluate draft quality and value based off of team needs and players rankings.

It's easy to get excited when your team trades up for some really well known, seemingly highly talented player, but giving up future draft picks and mortgaging your future rarely pays off in the long run. Many times the team overpays for a player they could have had half a round or even a full round later. If you are not a team just a couple of players away from the superbowl, it's better to build your team with patience. I am talking to you Jacksonville and Carolina. The Jags traded away a lot of picks to move way up and reach for DE Derrick Harvey and the Panthers gave up next years first round draft pick to the Eagles to get OT Jeff Otah.

Below I have listed this years draft winners and losers and my grades for each team.

Winners:

Tampa Bay Buccaneers:
John Gruden must have some secret knowledge no other NFL coach has. He came into this years draft and found himself a list of steals. Gruden said he wanted to add playmakers to his team and with following picks he definitely did so. In the first round Tampa took Corner Aqib Talib from Kansas. Talib is easily one of the top five corners in this years draft and fits perfectly in the tampa two scheme. Second Round pick Dexter Jackson was a slight reach based on his projection but for a player who could very easily be the next Devin Hester with better hands it was well worth it. Jackson runs a 4.3 forty yard dash and has surprisingly good hands. His size may limit him in the NFL at 5'10" 182 pounds but he will at least be very dangerous from the slot and a threat to take kicks and punts all the way. In the third Gruden picked Rutgers offensive guard Jeremy Zuttah. A four year starter at Rutgers Zuttah is very technically sound blocking and could be a good starter in a couple of years. Dre Moore from Maryland went to Tampa in the fourth adding depth on the defensive line. In the fifth round Gruden got his quarterback of the future Josh Johnson. Gruden had been scouting Johnson for some time and was very high on him. Josh is the biggest steal of this years draft. He is a very smart quarterback with a good arm and incredible athletic ability. He could be the new starter within the next two years. Sixth round pick Geno Hayes from Florida State could a very good special teams player and backup. Running Back Cory Boyd from South Carolina Gruden's final pick has the quickness and balance to be a potential starter and a complete steal.In only seven picks Tampa likely added at least three starters you can't really ask for more from one draft.

Draft Grade A+

Cincinnati Bengals:
We all know how high powered the offense is in Cincinnati, but we also know how thin their linebacker corps and defensive line are. Cinci came into this years draft looking for playmakers to help their struggling defense. Their First pick (number nine overall) was linebacker Keith Rivers. Rivers is an extremely gifted athlete with a nose for the football. He seems to always be around the play and helping make big plays happen for the defense. He will definitely help the Bengals pass rush and run defense improve. Second round pick Jerome Simpson has all the tools to a great wide receiver. With Chad Johnson throwing fits and asking to be traded the Bengals had no choice but to look for insurance in the event he was to hold out or leave. Simpson doesn’t have blazing speed but he has great hands and good size and will fight for every jump ball. Third round pick Pat Sims adds much needed talent to cinci's defensive line. Wide receiver Andre Caldwell is a nice depth pick and could be a very good special teams player. Offensive tackle Anthony Collins is a very underrated and talented young lineman bringing starter ability to the table. Defensive linemen Jason Shirley and Deangelo Craig are very good depth picks and both have good talent and starter potential. Safety Corey Lynch could be a real steal late he has great ball instincts and is a very good tackler. He has all the tools to be a good starting strong safety at the least he will a pro bowl caliber special teams player. Wide Receiver Mario Uruttia has tremendous size and good speed and could be a dangerous red zone threat. New Orleans out maneavered them for DT Sedrick Ellis or this rating would have been an A+.

Draft Grade A

St Louis Rams:
The Rams may be one of the most improved teams of this years draft. The obvious need for upgrades at several positions had to come through the draft. With their first pick St Louis took defensive end Chris Long. The son of NFL hall of famer Howie Long, Chris is probably one of the best defensive players to come out of a draft since Mario Williams. He was the clear team leader of the Virginia defense in college. As the second round began Scott Linehan looked at the board and his eyes must have lit up. WR Donnie Avery sat there for the taking. Avery is a very undervalued wide out who had a tremendous career at Houston, but it's questionable that he was the top wideout in this draft. He is a good solid pick although Hardy might have been a better choice. In the third round offensive tackle John Greco was the pick. Greco has good quick feet to handle the outside rush and is also very strong. Orlando Pace is aging rapidly and can't seem to stay healthy. Greco might very easily be the Rams starter at left tackle this year or next. Cornerback Justin King brings incredible ball skills and blazing speed to a secondary that needs both badly. Offensive guard Roy Scheuning was a steal in the fifth round and a very capable starter. Keenan Burton is a absolute steal this late and could very easily end up being the successor to Issac Bruce. Cornerback Chris Chamberlain has good speed and could make a very good nickel corner. Linehan and the Rams did a tremendous job of getting value and filling needs.

Draft Grade A

Carolina Panthers:
The Panthers entered this years draft looking to upgrade the running back position and add depth. In the first round alone they filled team needs at running back and offensive tackle. RB Jonathan Stewart is arguably one of the top three backs in his draft class, but coming off of turf toe surgery, RB Reshard Mendenhall might have been the safer pick. Jeff Otah is a powerful mauling right tackle who can open massive holes for any running back, but the Panthers gave up 2009's first round pick for him, they might regret that lost pick next year, especialy if they have a bad season, which means, obviously, that that pick would be higher than justified. Cornerback Charles Godfrey has good ball skills and could be a huge steal in the third. Third round pick linebacker Dan Connor is a complete steal who has first round talent. Defensive tackle Nick Hayden is a very solid player who adds much needed depth and starter potential.Geoff Schwartz is a solid late offensive line pick that could start. Late round pick Tyler Hilee will most likely be a special teams contributor.

Draft Grade B+

Honorable Mention: Pittsburgh, NY Giants, Chicago

The Losers:

Not every team gets great value for their picks. Some reach for a player they really want or give up too much in a draft day trade. The following teams spent both draft days reaching or giving up too much or not filling needs.

Miami Dolphins:
OT Jake Long was a great pick. He is a cornerstone to build the offensive line around. Unfortunately after that the picks went downhill. Chad Henne was a decent pick my guess is this might be Beck's last year as starter. In The Second Philip Merling was a good pick. He was a bit of a steal most expected him to go in the late first round. Kendal Langford was a good pick the dolphins can use plenty of help on the defensive line. Shawn Murphy wasn’t even on some draft boards and the dolphins took him in the fourth round. He was projected to be a likely seventh rounder. Hopefully they know something everyone else missed out on. Jalen Parmele was definitely a solid pick adds depth at running back in case Ronnie Brown gets hurt again or Ricky Williams finally gets kicked out of the NFL for good. The later picks were good players but other than Donald Thomas they didn’t fill needs drafting only three offensive linemen in one of the deepest classes ever was probably not a great Idea especially when you took two running backs. A wide receiver could have been taken another offensive lineman or maybe a cornerback. Another late defensive end pick made me wonder but at least John Beck got some help at running back now if only he had a line or receivers. In the end the dolphins made some solid picks but drafted too many of the same position and didn’t even address certain needs or holes in the team at all.

Draft Grade C-

Tennessee Titans:
The Titans have real depth issues at wide receiver but didn't even draft one until the fifth round. If Justin Gage is starting you have serious needs for a upgrade. First round pick RB Chris Johnson has great speed (4.24) and could be a good starting or situational back. The problem with this pick is Chris wasn’t projected to be drafted till the middle of the second round and the Titans don’t really need a running back as they already have a good starting back in Lendale White. Unless they are going to try to teach Johnson to play wide out this pick is a waste on a complimentary player that they will overpay first round money to. If Johnson was that big of a want they should have traded out of the first round with a team that wanted an extra first round pick into the early second round and taken him there. When the Titans took Johnson there were at least two backs still graded above him. Second round pick Jason Jones from Eastern Michigan is an extremely talented edge rusher and is the best pick out of their draft. Craig Stevens and William Hayes are decent picks. Lavelle Hawkins is a good receiver and good value at the spot where he was taken. He is somewhat of steal that late. He could be a good slot receiver and special teams player. The Titans draft was bad at best. They reached horribly on their first pick and never addressed needs at wide receiver and offensive line depth.

Draft Grade C-

Detroit Lions:
Lions fans must be the most patient people ever. Every year it seems that Matt Millen gets worse at drafting. Offensive tackle Gosher Cherilous is a good young right tackle. He is second round value taken in the first round but because a run on tackles had started I will give the pick the benefit of the doubt. Linebacker Jordan Dizon is a good young player but he was listed as a fourth rounder on almost every draft board yet the Lions took him in the second. Running back Kevin Smith is a exciting young back and the best pick of Detroit’s draft. Cliff Avril could be a solid situation pass rusher but was a reach also. Jerome Felton and Caleb Campbell highlight the later rounds unfortunately by then almost every pick was a reach or better players were passed over. Not only did the team fail to get value for several of its picks but with a need at linebacker they passed over one of the best in the draft Dan Conner in two straight rounds.

Draft Grade D+

Honorable Mention: Atlanta

By Jason Baudendistel

Marshal Yanda, Iowa Hawkeyes

2007-nfl-draft

Marshal Yanda, 6’ 4” 305 lbs. Iowa

Sticking to the offensive line theme, I want to highlight an excellent NFL Prospect for the 2007 NFL Draft from Iowa named Marshal Yanda. He is a good sized, well coached prospect with excellent mobility and athletic ability. Yanda is still learning and improving, so he will be a little bit of a project, but he has good upside because he has improved so much in so short of a time, there is every reason to think he can continue improving. Yanda played just two years of Division I Football, his first two collegian years he played Junior College Football with Northern Iowa Area Community College in Mason City. He has started every game for the Hawks since his transfer, and in his first year (2005) he started at left guard and won the Hawkeye Hustle Award. Last season (2006), he moved to right tackle and performed brilliantly; he was a pre-season second team all-Big Ten selection by The Sporting News and was named 18th best tackle in the nation by The Sporting News. Mel Kiper loves this kid; he was even on his infamous big board for a while. I mentioned earlier that he was well coached, well his former head coach was a former NFL offensive line coach (Kirk Ferentz), and he was also tutored this season by former Nebraska assistant coach Dave Gillespie. Most “draft gurus” have him listed as a tackle, but in my opinion his position in the NFL will be guard. I project him to be a quality late-second to early-third round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. He does look a little soft to me though. He will need to get in the weight room and start doing some serious power lifting to be a force in the NFL, but one good off-season in an NFL strength and conditioning program should do the trick. Check out an excellent highlight video of Yanda here: Marshal Yanda Video

In the Trenches

2007-nfl-draft

In the trenches is where most football games are won or lost. Most teams hesitate on using a high draft pick for the hogs in the trenches, so I want to highlight a couple NFL Prospects that should be available in rounds 3-5 in the 2007 NFL Draft. The first prospect is a very talented offensive guard from Akron: Andy Alleman, is a 6’ 4” 305 pound mauler that is exceptionally quick and as strong as a bear. He transferred from Pittsburgh prior to the 2004 season where he played defensive line for two years. Alleman moved to offensive line in the spring of 2005 and is considered to be one of the strongest players on the team, holding numerous lifting records. He was named by ESPN.com in the spring as one of the nation’s “workout freaks”. Alleman was named most valuable lineman and weight lifter of the year in the annual post season awards banquet. Alleman is very under rated prospect, he didn’t even win any All-Conference awards in the MAC, but he has been invited to participate in the 2007 NFL Combine where I predict he will emerge as a top NFL Draft Prospect.

The second prospect is much better known, but has fallen off the radar screen since he was suspended early in the season for missing classes. Kyle Young from Fresno State is one of the biggest centers to enter the NFL Draft in recent memory. At 6’ 5” 330 pounds, he is a man mountain. Young was considered to even be a possible first round draft pick in the 2006 Pre-season, he started at Fresno State at center in the beginning of his freshman year in 2003, and started 47 consecutive games before his suspension. He was on the Rimington Watch list as the nation's top center in his first three years and a consensus pre-season All-WAC awardee. Due to his suspension, his draft stock has dropped, and character issues have surfaced. NFL scouts probably feel if the senior All-American center decided to skip class, his dedication and commitment could be in question. Interestingly, he was a surprise omission for the 2007 NFL Combine, so he will have to have a good “Pro Day” workout. Young did show up at the Shrine game and played the entire second half. He did a decent job, but isn't real mobile, he looked a little heavy and wore two huge knee braces on both knees. Some think he might project to guard at the next level. Regardless, if he stays (gets) committed to football and keeps his weight down, he could be a late round steal in the 2007 NFL Draft.

Salary Cap Numbers for NFL Teams

Current salary Cap Numbers as released by the NFL:

(in millions of dollars)

San Francisco - $37.6
Tennessee - $37.3
Buffalo - $33.2
Arizona – $32.1
New England - $26.6
Cleveland - $26.6
Green Bay - $24.8
St. Louis - $22.9
New Orleans - $21.7
Jacksonville - $21.6
NY Jets - $21.1
San Diego - $20.9
Cincinnati - $18.2
Dallas - $17.2
Seattle - $17.2
Chicago - $17
Houston - $16.5
Detroit - $15.6
Tampa Bay - $15.1
Miami - $13.1
Minnesota - $12.4
NY Giants - $9.4
Oakland - $6.2
Kansas City - $5.1
Washington - $4.3
Atlanta - $3.9
Baltimore - $3.6
Philadelphia - $3.5
Pittsburgh - $3.3
Denver - $2.6
Carolina - $1.8
Indianapolis - $.6

Safety LaRon Landry, LSU

2006 First-team All-America pick, named the winner of the George M Wallace Memorial Award after leading the Tigers with 68 tackles during the 2006 season.
2005 Third-Team All-American (AP)
2005 First-Team All-SEC (SEC Coaches)
2005 Second-Team All-SEC (AP)
2004 Second-Team All-SEC (SEC Coaches)

2004 SEC Academic Honor Roll

2003 First-Team Freshmen All-American (Football Writer's Association, Collegefootballnews.com)

2003 Second-Team All-SEC (AP)

2003 Freshmen All-SEC Team (Coaches, Knoxville News-Sentinel, The Sporting News)

One of the top rated defensive back prospects in the nation is Safety Laron Landry from LSU. Landry would have been a first round draft pick if he would have entered the 2006 NFL Draft last year, and now after a strong senior season he should be a top 10 pick in the 2007 NFL Draft.

Landry hits like a linebacker but runs and covers like a cornerback. He really has no weakness, he is big and strong enough at 6-2 208 to play strong safety, but also has the coverage ability and speed to play free safety.

Landry has led LSU in tackles two of the past three seasons. Very durable, with 35 consecutive starts in 2006, which began with 10 straight starts as a true freshman to cap LSU's National Championship season in 2003. As a junior he finished with 241 career tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, 9 interceptions and 7 sacks. This year (2006) he finished as the teams top tackler with 68 tackles, 3.5 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 4 pass break-ups and 4 QB hurries. He would be a great fit for a team needing a free safety like the Dallas Cowboys.

Watch highlight video of this amazing NFL Prospect here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvKaO78Ov2I

More information on LaRon Landry can be found here:
http://www.answers.com/topic/laron-landry

Unofficial 2007 Senior Bowl invitees

Quarterbacks:
Brady Quinn, Notre Dame
Drew Stanton, Michigan State
Troy Smith, Ohio State
Jordan Palmer, UTEP
Kevin Kolb, Houston
Trent Edwards, Stanford
John Beck, BYU will fill in.

Running Back/Fullback
Brian Leonard, Rutgers
Kenny Irons of Auburn
Tony Hunt of Penn State
Garrett Wolfe of Northern Illinois
Ken Darby, Alabama

Tight End
Joe Newton, Oregon State
Scott Chandler, Iowa
Ben Patrick, Delaware

Wide Receiver
David Clowney, Virginia Tech
Jason Hill, Washington State
Jeff Samardzija, Notre Dame
Johnnie Lee Higgins, Notre Dame
Aundrae Allison, East Carolina
Brandon Myles, West Virginia
Paul Williams, Fresno State
Steve Smith, USC

Offensive Linemen
C Ryan Kalil, USC
C Dan Mozes of West Virginia
C Doug Datish, Ohio State
C Leroy Harris, North Carolina State
G Samson Satele Hawaii
G Ben Grubbs Auburn
G Manny Ramirez, Texas Tech
G Arron Sears, Tennessee
OT Joe Thomas, Wisconsin
OT Levi Brown, Penn State
OT Ryan Harris Notre Dame
OT Joe Staley, Central Michigan

Defensive Linemen
DT Tank Tyler, North Carolina State
DT Brandon Mebane, California
DT Amobi Okoye, Louisville
DT Quinn Pitcock from Ohio State
DT Paul Soliai, Utah
DT Kareem Brown, Miami-Fl.
DE Gaines Adams, Clemson
DE Quentin Moses, Georgia
DE Ray McDonald, Florida
DE Adam Carriker, Nebraska
DE Jay Moore, Nebraska
De Mkristo Bruce, Washington State
DE/OLB Lamar Woodley Michigan
DE/OLB Anthony Spencer of Purdue

Linebackers
Earl Everett, Florida
Kevin McLee West Virginia's
Rufus Alexander, Oklahoma
H.B. Blades of Pittsburgh
Patrick Willis, Mississippi
Buster Davis, FSU.
David Harris, Michigan

Defensive Backs
Cornerbacks:
Leon Hall, Michigan
Tanard Jackson, Syracuse
Aaron Ross, Texas
Fred Bennett, South Carolina
David Irons, Auburn
Jonathan Wade, Tennessee
Daymeion Hughes, California
Marcus McCauley, Fresno State
Safeties:
LaRon Landry, LSU
Brandon Meriweather, Miami-Fl
Aaron Rouse, Virginia Tech
Michael Griffin, Texas
Eric Weddle, Utah
Michael Johnson, Arizona
Tom Zbikowski, Notre Dame (Redshirt junior)

Kickers/Punters
place kicker Mason Crosby, Colorado
punter Daniel Sepulveda, Baylor

2007 Senior Bowl

The NFL Network will be showing the 2007 Senior Bowl as well as the entire week long of practices prior to the game. This should be some excellent live coverage for NFL Draft fans. Check back here, and at my sister blog nfl-draft-site.blogspot.com throughout the week and after the game for NFL Draft prospect analysis and coverage.

Starting on Monday 22 January, there will be week-long coverage with 14 hours of live practices throughout the week leading up to the all-star game on Saturday. Play-by-play will be called by Rich Eisen with commentary by Dick Vermeil and Mike Mayock. The game itself will be on Saturday, Jan. 27, 2007 and there will be 21 hours of live programming of the event.