They had to make a decision in the first round whether to take a running back like Felix Jones or Rashard Mendenhall or address their more pressing need at CB. They chose to address CB and can't be wrong doing that. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie is a talented player who will need some time to develop his techniques. He is athletic, fast and has good ball skills but could improve his tackling. In the second round, they took Calais Campbell, who will fit right into their 34 defense as a DE. At 6-7, 290, he can still get bigger and stronger since he is only a junior. I like his strength at the point of attack. He is a better fit in the 34 defense because in the 43, he lacks the speed to play DE and is too tall and linear to play DT. In the third round they took Early Doucet, who best fits in the slot, which is what they need, and if he can stay healthy, he'll be a good addition. I think the Cardinals made sense with each of these picks. This was a sound draft.
The Falcons changed the face of their franchise by drafting Matt Ryan. The things I like about him are his poise in the pocket, decision making and accuracy. He also has the intangibles you want. I like him better than guys like Brady Quinn, Matt Leinart and Philip Rivers, but not as much as Eli Manning, Ben Roethlisberger or Jay Cutler at the same point in their careers. The key for the Falcons is protecting him in his development. That initially means running the ball and maybe keeping him on the bench until they can get their offensive line improved. After Ryan, they traded up into the first round to get OT Sam Baker; they had no choice, because there was not going to be a tackle there with their pick in the second. There are mixed feelings on Baker. He's a good technician but has short arms for an OT. Some people feel he might be a better guard in the NFL. Curtis Lofton gives them their future MLB. He is a strong point-of-attack player and a more natural MLB than Keith Brookings. The Falcons continued to try to fill needs with their next three picks. Chevis Jackson is an instinctive CB who lacks top speed and will best fit in a cover-two scheme. Harry Douglas is a fast, quick and small wide receiver. Thomas DeCoud is an athletic safety who needs to improve his tackling. On paper, the Falcons were able to fill many of their needs. I hoped they followed their draft board and did not force picks for those needs.
It's clear they were going to address the QB position in this draft. They were not able to get Matt Ryan, so they made sure they got a player they liked in Joe Flacco. He had the best arm in the draft and is an accurate passer. He will need to work on his footwork and learn to get rid of the ball quicker. I thought Flacco was the second best QB in the draft. The Ravens have an excellent offensive coordinator in Cam Cameron to develop him, which he will need. Did they draft him too high? Yes, but when you like a QB, you go get him. You can't win without a quarterback, and they take time to develop, so the quicker you get one, the quicker he can help you. Don't take a chance on missing the guy you want this year and having to wait until next year for another shot. With their next pick they took Ray Rice, a very productive runner with very good instincts. The Ravens made three solid selections in the third round. Tavares Gooden has a lot of range as a LB. With Ray Lewis and Bart Scott entering the last year of their contracts, the Ravens needed to start thinking ahead. Tom Zbikowski will be an impact player on special teams. Oniel Cousins is a good athlete who will initially line up at ROT and will be a good young player to develop. The Ravens also addressed their CB needs by trading a fourth-round choice for former Oakland first-round pick Fabian Washington. But this draft's success will hinge on the development of Flacco as the team's future quarterback.
In taking Leodis McKelvin with their first pick they get help in three areas. He can return punts, kickoffs and play CB. He is the best return man in the draft. He has all the skills you want in a CB to be a good cover man. He is fast, quick and can change directions. In the second round they got James Hardy, a size receiver they need to line up opposite Lee Evans. He has good speed and good hands. Chris Ellis gives them a potential pass rusher on the outside and you can not have enough of those. Buffalo made sound decisions with these picks and continues to build a solid team.
The Panthers wanted to get back to the offensive personality they had when they went to the Super Bowl. That is as a strong running team. They got the second best running back in the draft in Jonathan Stewart, who if he had not been hurt would have been in the top ten players in this draft, according to a number of teams. He is coming off surgery on his toe, which ironically was done by the Carolina doctor, so nobody in the NFL had better info on him then they did. They next traded up, giving their No. 1 pick in 2009 and this year's second-round pick to select OT Jeff Otah. Otah is a physical player who lined up on the left side in college but might be better suited to play on the right side in the NFL. They gave up a lot to get Otah, but sometimes as a GM you have to make a bold move to get your team to the next level. I like these two players a lot. They also took Dan Connor, who is a very instinctive LB, probably best suited to play MLB. That means they could move Jon Beason to OLB where he can easily play and play well. Another player they took, who scouts around the NFL told me they compared to Madieu Williams as a college player, was DB Charles Godfrey. He has played CB but the Panthers will move him inside to safety. He has good instincts and range. The Panthers are hoping this draft gets them back in the playoffs. I like the aggressiveness they showed and the players they got.
The Bears needed to address their offensive line and they did that right away with the drafting of Chris Williams, a natural LOT as a pass blocker. I thought this was an excellent pick both because of the player and it filled a critical need. The Bears can now move John Tait to the ROT. This gives them two solid OTs, providing them a good start on getting their line improved. They needed to get some insurance at running back if Cedric Benson doesn't improve after he recovers from his surgery. They got that when they drafted Matt Forte. He is a move-the-chains guy who is instinctive with some quickness. Marcus Harrison has some one-gap quickness, but must improve his attitude. Two players they took who showed promise as juniors are CB Zack Bowman and WR Marcus Monk. Both were slowed by injuries their senior years and could be second-day steals if they regain earlier form. TE Kellen Davis (6-6, 242) is a size guy with good hands. Earl Bennett fills a need at WR. He has good size and hands, but is not a blazer. Some scouts I talked to compared him to Packers WR James Jones. The Bears' first two picks will be called on to help this year. The team rolled the dice on Harrison, Bowman and Monk, and time will tell on them.
They took a good player in Keith Rivers, who most had rated the top LB in this draft. He is athletic, fast and covers ground. The Bengals really struggled with injuries at LB last year. If Odell Thurman and Ahmad Brooks stay on the field along with Rivers, the Bengals will have one of the better young LB crews in the NFL. In their next two picks they took wide receivers, which has become a position of need for the Bengals with the release of Chris Henry. I like Jerome Simpson as a prospect who can run, is athletic and has good hands. He is also very quick in his cuts. But the Coastal Carolina player will probably take a year to develop. Andre Caldwell will give them some depth at wide receiver. In the third round, before taking Andre Caldwell, they chose DT Patrick Sims, who was an underachiever at Auburn. In the fourth round they selected OT Anthony Collins, who fills the need of the Bengals to find another young OT. He has talent but he must improve his work habits. In looking at this draft, Rivers gives them stability at the LB position, and if Thurman and Brooks come through, this defense improves quite a bit. Picks 2-4 will make or break this draft and they will need some time to develop, and probably will not play much this year.
The Browns already had a successful draft before they even got to this weekend with the trades for DL Corey Williams and Shaun Rogers as well as the drafting of QB Brady Quinn last year with this year's No. 1 pick. They took a couple of guys I liked on the second day. LB Beau Bell because he is instinctive, and Ahtyba Rubin as a NT because he is strong and can anchor the middle of the Browns' 3-4 defense.
I really like their pick of Felix Jones at RB. He is a nice complement to Marion Barber. He is a speed back who will give them an upgrade over Julius Jones. He played behind Darren McFadden at Arkansas, but that does not bother me because he will play behind Barber in Dallas. But you saw him run enough at Arkansas to know he can do it all, except run with power. They needed to draft a TE after trading away Anthony Fasano, so in the fourth round they drafted Martellus Bennett, a good athlete who has good hands but will need a year to become a blocker. He is in a good situation since he will not have to play much as a rookie. RB Tashard Choice will add depth to the RB position. The Cowboys were able to fill two of their biggest need with Jones and CB Mike Jenkins. In addition, the Cowboys were smart to trade up to get Jenkins; he was the last first-round corner left on the board.
With the retirement of LOT Matt Lepsis, the Broncos were left with a big hole at that position. In drafting Ryan Clady they filled that hole. In watching Clady, I thought he was a natural LOT in his movements in pass protection. He is very quick in his set and with his punch into the defender. He has natural slide ability in pass protection. He can run, pull, bend and execute the cut-off block, which is something Denver likes in its offensive linemen. He probably will have some work to do on his techniques and may struggle at times, but he will be a good player. Next they took WR Eddie Royal, who is smaller than the usual Denver WR but an excellent return man, and that is where he can have an immediate impact. OG Kory Lichtensteiger impressed me at the Senior Bowl with his tenacity and production. He is somewhat undersized, but Denver has had a lot of success with these types of lineman. The first two picks will have an immediate impact this Fall.
Gosder Cherilus fills a big need at ROT. He played LOT in his senior year at Boston College, but played ROT as a junior. He is an aggressive physical player who is best suited to play on the right side. I really like their second round pick Jordan Dizon. He is very instinctive, which to me is the most important trait in a LB. He is quick to react and has sideline to sideline range. He is very productive. He is a little undersized at 6-feet and 226 pounds, but that is not a problem in the Lions defensive scheme. Kevin Smith is an instinctive runner who has been productive in college, and if he were a little faster he would have gone in the second round. Cliff Avril showed his potential to rush the passer in the Senior Bowl at DE. Rod Marinelli knows how to get the most out of DE's so I would look for Avril to improve in the NFL. Andre Fluellen has the quickness and upfield ability you want from a DT in the Lions' scheme. Classy move by GM Matt Millen taking Army DS Caleb Campbell in the seventh round. I expect the Lions first three picks to start for them this year.
Jordy Nelson is the big, physical WR prototype that teams running the West Coast offense like to have. He has good hands and can run after the catch. He also showed potential as a punt returner. He would be a very good slot receiver. QB Brian Brohm seemed like a natural fit for the Green Bay offense. He is a smart, accurate and poised passer. In some systems you would want him to have a stronger arm, but he should be fine in this system. I did not see him as a first-round talent as a QB but thought he would be a good value in the second. When speaking with coaches and scouts, Patrick Lee was the most talked about CB with second-round value. He has good size and speed and was a solid player in college with good instincts. TE Jermichael Finley is a good athlete with good hands but will need work as a blocker and is raw at running routes. He will take a year to develop. The Packers are not a team where rookies come in and play right away, so the rookie who could have the most impact is Nelson as a punt returner. Brohm might be the most important player they took because even though they like Aaron Rodgers, he has had some injury problems. The Packers improved their depth and have some good players to develop for the future.
Their biggest need was LOT. Where they were picking in the first round was going to put them out of reach of the top LOTs in this year's draft, so they moved back in the first round and selected Duane Brown. I like Brown as an athletic LOT. He has a natural slide and punch to him as a pass protector. Most people had him as a second-round pick, as I did, but in this draft if you wanted him you were going to have to take him in the later part of the first round. He was the last good prospect at LOT in this draft when the Texans came on the clock. Antwaun Molden is a fast, athletic CB who works out better than he plays. He will take time to develop, but he does have talent. RB Steve Slaton is a change-of-pace back who gives the Texans a dimension at that position they do not have. Xavier Adibi is a good athlete with speed who can help on special teams, but needs to improve his play at the point of attack. He is best suited for the weakside linebacker position. The key to this draft is the first two picks. Duane Brown should be fine in the Houston offensive system, while Molden will need a year to develop.
The Colts were without a first-round pick because of the trade they made to get Tony Ugoh last year. In the second round they picked OC Mike Pollack who is a tough, competitive player who shows the ability to be quick inside and shows some ability to pull. Philip Wheeler has the speed the Colts like at the LB position but at times doesn't show instincts. TE Jacob Tamme is a good receiver and reminds some of Bryan Fletcher. Marcus Howard is an undersized pass rusher in the mold of Robert Mathis. OC Steve Justice and RB Mike Hart were good value in the sixth round.
