Sunday, April 25, 2010
Winners and losers.
So with rounds 4-7 done, let's look at some of the more notable picks:
-- Everson Griffen, DE to the Vikings at 100. Griffen was a guy touted to go late first to early second by many. This is a great pick, building depth on the roster. Can play intermittently for a year or two as he learns the system.
-- Bruce Campbell, OT to the Raiders at 106. We knew they'd get him sometime!! The key thing here is that as a 4th rounder, Campbell can sit for a while until his skills can be properly developed. It's a good pick.
-- Jacoby Ford, WR to the Raiders at 108. Remember this guy? He lit up the combine with his 40 yard dash and looked very comfortable during all the receiving drills. Another solid pick to work on as a project. Will probably feature in the return game.
-- Kam Chancellor, FS to the Seahawks at 133. Really impressed me at the combine. For a fifth round pick, this is a good player.
-- Kendrick Lewis, FS to the Chiefs at 136. Another safety who really stood out at the combine for his footwork, hip movement and ball skills. Very smooth, very alert, could one day pair with Eric Berry to make a daunting safety partnership.
-- Dan Lefevour, QB to the Bears at 181. Erm, so wasn't LeFevour projected as a top 64 pick? Steal for the Bears who get a good QB to backup Cutler. Doesn't need to come in and perform day 1 so has a proper chance to develop.
-- Jonathan Dwyer, RB to the Steelers at 188. Dwyer was spoken of highly and looked smooth at the combine. Will replace Willie Parker on the depth chart as the number three, giving him time to develop a little in time honoured Steeler fashion.
-- Tony Pike, QB to the Panthers at 204. Another QB? What are they doing?
-- Myron Rolle, SS to the Titans at 207. Quality safety, very intelligent and hard working.
-- Jeff Owens, DT to the Eagles at 243. The thing that stood out for me about Owens was how quick his feet were, including change of direction, for a guy his size. A sneaky late value pick for the Eagles.
In addition to the draft picks there were some notable trades as well, the pick of the bunch being:
-- LenDale White, from the Titans to the Seahawks. A really good RB, fast and powerful, has been watching a lot from the bench due to the performance of Chris Johnson. If the Seahawks can find a slightly faster to pair with him, they'd end up with a great one two shot.
-- Leon Washington, from the Jets to the Seahawks. Ah ha, just the ticket. Washington may be injured but when he gets back, expect to see the return of a very exciting back who can return punts and kicks with some of the best in the league. The Seahawks rushing attack could be tough to stop this year.
-- Jason Campbell, from the Redskins to the Raiders. Much maligned in Washington, Campbell is a hard worker and does have a good arm. Decision making is still an issue, but when he's on form, he's a good QB. The trouble with going to Oakland is that they lack the pieces around Campbell for him to work with. This trade also leaves a big question mark hanging over JaMarcus Russell, who will cost the Raiders an additional $6 million if they don't cut him before the season begins.
So with all that done and dusted, who were the winners and losers of the draft?
Winners
-- Kansas City. They haven't been given much Kudos for their work, but I think Kansas had a great draft and got better in a lot of places. Maybe not the big name drafts, but still solid picks none the less.
-- 49ers. Added some great talent across the board. Will be hoping to run the ball more this year with Gore so as to take the pressure of Alex Smith, and brought in the right pieces to do it.
-- Seattle. Upgrades left and right plus some great trades to further strengthen their roster. Seattle could be a team to watch out for in the coming years if they keep this up.
-- Baltimore. Filled some needs and grabbed some great players to help get their defense back to it's best. Like this draft.
-- Denver. This all depends on your perspective. Personally I think they got the Tebow decision spot on and put in other pieces to build for the future.
-- Patriots. Traded savvy and have got better this year while setting up a major draft next year.
-- Raiders. Made some good early decisions and got their top notch athletes later on. Surprisingly good draft.
-- Eagles. Great draft. May not stand out on paper but they just upgraded their defense big time to match their sparkling offense. Possibly pushing Kansas for best overall draft.
Losers
-- Buffalo. Did little to fix their many issues and missed so many opportunities. Didn't do their homework by the looks of it.
-- Carolina. Blew three picks on QB. John Fox just made his job a lot harder.
-- Giants. Didn't really upgrade their roster in my opinion. Compared to the other teams in their division, they look weak and may just end up bottom of the NFC East.
-- Jacksonville. I actually liked the Alualu pick, but other than that, the Jaguars did little to inspire confidence that they'll bounce back this year.
-- Chargers. Like any self respecting political candidate, the Chargers offered so much promise, but delivered so little substance. I think they missed in a lot of areas.
And so, alas, the draft is done for another year. But now things start to get interesting as teams go digging into the pool of undrafted Free Agents and unrestricted free agents still out there, waiting to be called. Tomorrow, time permitting, I'll try and run down some of the more intriguing among them.
Have a great day everyone.
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