WHAT IS YOUR TEAM'S DRAFT GRADE: A+? F?

I think of the Bengals draft as a complete homerun, despite the critics. I grade it as an A+!

LB - Keith Rivers USC 6'3" 235 first round - Sedrick Ellis was off the board due to the Saints leap, but even if Ellis was available I leaned toward Rivers. Keith Rivers was the best available talent that feels a huge need. Ahmad Brooks was a force before missing 14 wks due to a groin injury. Starter Landon Johnson left via f.a. Odell Thurman is reinstated but will be rusty & may be out of playing shape missing the last two years. Rivers is a solid tackler, has great size and speed to patrol coast to coast.  

WR - Jerome Simpson Coastal Carolina 6'1" 199 second round / Andre Caldwell Florida 6'1" 200 third round / Mario Urrutia Louisville 6'5" 232 seventh round - Simpson has rare leaping ability and is an uncovered gem. Caldwell is a solid prospect with good measurables. Urrutia has a huge frame and great size that will prove to be a commodity in the redzone. Tab Perry & Chris Henry are gone, while Antonio Chatman & Marcus Maxwell need work. Glen Holt is a return ace but offers nothing if little to the passing game. Simpson, Caldwell & Urrutia will all contribute. More importantly, the three rookies provide the Bengals with the depth needed for the club to move Chad Johnson. Cincinnati couldn't endure the 8+million dollar cap hit that would have been sustained in a CJ trade. Cinci had 10 picks including a top ten that will take a good part of the cap. Now with depth at wr, Cinci can wait until after June 1st, trade 85 and spread the hit over a few years. The trade will garner future picks or a defensive playmaker. Or, if Chad Johnson sits out, the Bengals cap is helped since he doesn't earn play time & stat incentives. Or, CJ plays and Bengals have a very talented wr group.

DE - Angelo Craig Cincinnati 6'5" 235 seventh round - Justin Smith was overpaid and is gone. Geathers & Rucker haven't lack a presence off the edge. Though it may be due to a lack of skill in the middle, but Craig's massive size will be a disruption. With Odom playing opposite, and new big presence in the middle, Craig will rarely have extra protection slide his way creating a mismatching problem for opposing offensive lines.

DT - Pat Sims Auburn 6'2" 310 third round / Jason Shirley Fresno St. 6'5" 329 fifth round - Defensive line needed to be injected with some big bodies in the middle, and thats just what Sims & Shirley offer. Missing out on trades for DTs prior to the draft with the Lions & Jets, Cinci found their big guys in the draft. Sims missed his sat out a year due to a family death, otherwise would've had more starts and would've been a 1st round selection. Shirley, one of the biggest prospects in the draft, will demand attention for opposing linemen. Domata Peko is a promising NT and will benefit from the new talent in rotation. Defensive ends Odom, Rucker&Craig will benefit off the edge having a force in the middle. Remember, Bengals ranked last in the league in sacks with only 22. Expect that to change this year.

OT - Anthony Collins Kansas 6'5" 317 fourth round - Has massive size, and has played at both right and left takle positions in college. Stacy Andrews is franchised and may walk after this season. Even if Andrews signs longterm next year, Willie Anderson can't play forever. Collins, like Andrews, can play anywhere on the o-line except center. In this Carson Palmer Era, adding a big body for protection is never a bad thing. Also, by improving the offensive line will pay dividends on our other day one investments Chris Perry & Kenny Irons when they return from injury. Expect Rudi Johnson to return to form this year as well, since there will be better depth on the line than a year ago. 

S - Corey Lynch Appalachian State 6' 205 sixth round - Lynch is a higher character guy, and good size with speed. He was the leading tackler with solid coverage skills with 24 career interceptions. Lynch enjoys the special teams role and is an absolute ace. Madieu Williams was a stud that moved on, while Dex Jax is ageing fast. Chinedum Ndukwe, Marvin White & Ethan Kilmer are all very young and promising prospects. Now, Lynch is another prospect on the rise and will contribute immediately on special teams & provides excellent depth. May grow into a starting role in a year or two.

TE - Matt Sherry Villanova 6'4" 255 sixth round - Sherry has the size of a prototypical te, and has above average pass catching skills. He will push Coats immediately for the backup role and he and Utecht will offer more even more flexibility with the offensive formations.

That's a good grade for the Giants.  I give the Chiefs an A, solid.  Lot's of draft picks, and we got the big guy, Dorsey.  Hopefully our two first-round picks pay off in the coming years.  I questioned the trade of Jared Allen, and I doubted Carl Peterson, but it seems that he knows what he is doing.  If Brodie Croyle, doesn't produce this year, expect the Chiefs do draft a QB in the first-round next year, but lets not get ahead of ourselves.

A-

Jones is a great compliment to Barber and will spread defenses. He is a bigger stronger Reggie Bush. He will be everything Bush was supposed to be.

Jenkins is the best cover corner in the draft and probably the best suited to step in and start.

Bennett provides great depth behind Witten and will give an extra element to the offense in two TE formations.

Choice is a good between the tackles runner who provides quality depth.

Scadrick slipped to the fifth and was projected as high as the second. Provides quality depth,

Walden is an iffy pick. May not make team.

I also include Pac MAn in this draft. We also got extra third and fourth rounders for next year.

Miami Dolphins...  A

Bill Parcels is going to work and putting his Blue Print on the Team.  Of course we knew Jake Long was #1 and I think that was a great and safe pick.  I think we got a steal w/Philip Merling (DE) with the first pick in the 2nd and then also picked Jake Longs homie Chad Henne.  He was the QB that I liked best above all the other QB's in the draft.  Plus Chad was getting pointers from a fellow Michigan Grad in Tom Brady...  So it things work out right it will be Michigan QB vs Michigan QB for 2 games a year, maybe even 3 games a year.  Miami filled alot of holes and Bill got the Bulk in guys.  But as they say, we can't grade this year's draft until 2010-11 season. 

The Chiefs and Cowboys I thought, did really good in the Draft.  Especially the Chiefs getting 2 Top 10 players in the 1st round.

Go Phins!!!

Falcons

C-

Drafting Matt Ryan at number 3 is to big of a risk in my opinion. Exspecially if Glenn Dorsey turns out to be a 10 time pro bowler which is likely.

Sam Baker was a good choice and the Falcons did not give up to much to move up and get him. Before his injury plagued senior season Baker was considered the top offensive lineman in the country. Still he is a gamble becuase of his histroy of injuries.

Curtis Lofton was a great pick in the 2nd round and the 2nd linebacker taken in the draft behind Keith Rivers. He has a knack for being in on every play and his 11.5 tackles per game proves so.

The other pick I like is the reciever out of Louisville Harry Douglas. He has blazing speed and many is comparing him to Wes Welker.

Thomas DeCoud may be a steal in the 3rd round since he is capable of playing both safety positions.

As for the rest I would like to take them including Matt Ryan and dump them into the garbage. While I like a few picks here and there none of them standout. The reason the Falcons get a poor grade is because they had bigger needs at other positions and did not address those needs first.

Our defensive line is in bad need of not 1, but 2 defensive tackles and the Falcons failed to draft one at all in the entire draft. After Petrino cut Grady Jackson last season and then this offseason the Falcons brass decided to cut Rod Coleman that left the team in bad need of two defensive tackles.

This was pegged as a needs based draft by Dimitroff and he failed to deliver. He spoke of building inside out and so on. But with only 1 lineman taking (Sam Baker) on either side of the ball I say the Falcons failed at what they set out to do so in return they get a grade C-.

Until they get proper protection for a quarterback there is no since in drafting one in my opinion. Matt Ryan will fail and not because of his skill or talent but because most quarterbacks who do fail that are drafted high usually doesn't have a great line protecting them. Tim Couch, Joey Harrington, and David Carr all saw what it was like to be put on bad teams and asked to produce.

Ben Rothilsberger, Phillip Rivers, and Eli Manning all saw what it was like to be put on good teams and succeed. And people wonder why most quarterbacks that are drafted high fail. It's eay look at the teams that drafted them and there is your answer. Teams that are good and have playmakers usually are the ones who's quarterbacks survive. The teams who lack a line, and playmakers are usually the ones who have the busts at quarterback.