Our last act in covering the 2010 NFL Draft will be to hand out draft grades. A lot of folks say that it's stupid to grade drafts now. Let me tell you something - that sentiment is stupid. We live in a world of now! I want to know how these teams did the day after and so did you. Of course, we won't know the true impact of these picks for a few years, but we can at least guess (that's what we're supposed to do, right?). So, our Draft Grades will break down like this:
A - great job with most of your picks, multiple impact players that addressed areas of need
B - got good value in picks with either the best player available or players that can see the field early and often, made the most of your picks
C - some hits and some misses, leave you saying eh
D - made an ok pick here and there, but reached and/or didn't fill any needs
F - massive reaches, bad deals, missed opportunities, bad fits - Matt Millen could have picked better
AFC East
Buffalo Bills
1st Round Pick - C.J. Spiller (RB-Clemson)
Notable Pick - Terrell Troup (2nd, DT-UCF)
-Buffalo did a poor, poor job with this draft. I like CJ Spiller, but he does not fill an area of need. Their 2nd pick Terrell Troup was a reach, and there is nothing about the other picks that say, hey that's the guy that's going to turn this team around! Worst of all, Buffalo passed multiple opportunities to take a legit QB in Colt McCoy or Jimmy Clausen. Oh well, at least they'll have a chance to take Jake Locker next year.
GRADE: D-
Miami Dolphins
1st Round Pick - Jared Odrick (DT-Penn State)
Notable Pick - Koa Misi (2nd, DE/OLB-Utah)
-Miami traded down 16 spots in R1 to select Odrick, who will most likely fill in at DE in the 3-4. Misi will be the one from this draft class seen to provide a pass rush for the Dolphins defense. Let's face it, this offseason for Miami will be judged on what they can get out of Brandon Marshall. Their draft was decidedly average.
GRADE: C
New England Patriots
1st Round Pick - Devin McCourty (CB-Rutgers)
Notable Pick - Taylor Price (3rd, WR-Ohio)
-The Pats also nabbed big name college players in TEs Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, and MLB Brandon Spikes from Florida. They also made 7, yes, 7 trades to go along with 12 picks (4 in R7). None of the late rounders will contribute, but the Pats could realistically get contributions from their first 7 picks! That's a big infusion of youth that will serve the Pats well. Gronkowski and WR Taylor Price from Ohio jump out as players that can step in right away. Bill Belichick is proving to be a draft weekend master, accumulating 2 1st & 2nd Round picks next year as well.
GRADE: A-
NY Jets
1st Round Pick - Kyle Wilson (CB-Boise State)
Notable Pick - Joe McKnight (4th, RB-USC)
-The Jets picked up 2 likely Day 1 starters in Wilson at Nickel back and Vladimir Ducasse at guard to come in for Alan Faneca. Those are 2 good picks, but replacing Leon Washington with a more celebrated version of Garrett Wolfe (Joe McKnight) wasn't the best move. The Jets draft consisted of only 4 picks and they made some good moves and some bad. In the end, they'll balance out. Because Wilson fell to them, they just break above average.
GRADE: C+
AFC North
Baltimore Ravens
1st Pick (#43) - Sergio Kindle (OLB/DE-Texas)
Notable Pick - Terrence Cody (2nd, DT-Alabama)
-The Ravens also picked 2 TEs (Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta) to step up for an aging Todd Heap. Do the Ravens really need 2? A lot of folks are raving over this Ravens draft (thank you, thank you)... but there are a lot of question marks for me. They traded out of R1 and both R2 picks - Kindle & Cody - have health issues. Kindle has issues revolving around his knee and Terrence Cody should be kept away from all seafood buffets in Baltimore.
GRADE: B
Cincinnati Bengals
1st Round Pick - Jermaine Gresham (TE-Oklahoma)
Notable Pick - Jordan Shipley (3rd, WR-Texas)
-The Bengals filled their most pressing needs at TE and WR with Big XII stars. Jermaine Gresham was the top TE from this class, and both Jordan Shipley and Dezmon Briscoe can be producers at the next level. Of course, the Bengals took the biggest character risk in the draft with Carlos Dunlap, but in R2 it's less of a scandalous pick.
GRADE: B+
Cleveland Browns
1st Round Pick - Joe Haden (CB-Florida)
Notable Pick - Colt McCoy (3rd, QB-Texas)
-Haden, Ward and Asante provide the much needed secondary depth. Montario Hardesty is an underrated, hard-nosed runner that will get carries beside Jerome Harrison. Also, 6th rounder Carlton Mitchell could turn heads in minicamp. Wait, there was another guy wasn't there? Oh yea, that McCoy guy was drafted too, right? The Browns get penalized for passing McCoy up so many times, but finally getting it right in R3. He's the QB of the future the Browns so desperately need, even though they needed dumb luck to find him.
GRADE: B-
Pittsburgh Steelers
1st Round Pick - Maurkice Pouncey (G/C-Florida)
Notable Pick - Jonathan Dwyer (6th, RB-GT)
-Maurkice Pouncey was something of a simple selection in that it wasn't a steal or reach. He'll be a steady pro, but not a Pro Bowler. In the next 6 rounds, the Steelers selected a bunch of guys that look more likely to be in the UFL than pal around with Ben Roethlisberger. Taking 3 outside linebackers was interesting. They did get a steal with Jonathan Dwyer in R6, but he might be the only one that ends up being a factor besides Pouncey.
GRADE: D+
AFC South
Houston Texans
1st Round Pick - Kareem Jackson (CB-Alabama)
Notable Pick - Ben Tate (2nd, RB-Auburn)
-The top 2 picks, Jackson & Tate, were reaches that filled needs. There were players at both positions that we had rated higher, and 95% of draftniks had higher as well. Sure, Jackson and Tate might turn into Deion Sanders and Emmitt Smith, but it's unlikely. A couple later picks like Garrett Graham and Trindon Holliday can pitch in on special teams, but I'm not enthused about this draft class.
GRADE: C-
Indianapolis Colts
1st Round Pick - Jerry Hughes (DE/OLB-TCU)
Notable Pick - Pat Angerer (2nd, LB-Iowa)
-When you're the Colts, it's always tough to get too excited about the depth of draft picks because it's almost impossible to find spots for guys to play a role on such a deep and talented team. The same is true this year. They didn't add someone of note in the defensive secondary or the O-Line. Jerry Hughes is a good pass rusher, but how often will he be able to get in ahead of Mathis and Freeney? Maybe Kevin Thomas from USC becomes the Nickel corner, but aside from that, this might be a forgotten draft class.
GRADE: D+
Jacksonville Jaguars
1st Round Pick - Tyson Alualu (DT-California)
Notable Pick - D'Anthony Smith (2nd, DT-La Tech)
-We've reached the bottom of the barrel here. The Jags' draft was the worst in the league. Alualu was a ginormous reach at #10. They then follow that pick with another DT. Is David Garrard still the man? Who's helping out MoJo Drew? Who's catching passes? The Jags could have traded down in R1, still gotten Alualu, and maybe drafted somebody that could help out this offense. They failed to do so.
GRADE: F
Tennessee Titans
1st Round Pick - Derrick Morgan (DE-Georgia Tech)
Notable Pick - Myron Rolle (6th, S-FSU)
-Tennessee made the most of their picks (while also getting rid of LenDale White). Derrick Morgan steps right into the lineup for Kyle VandenBosch. He's a more reliable pick than Jason Pierre-Paul and could play from Day 1. The Titans also got another WR to help out Vince Young in Damian Williams from USC. Also pay attention to two late round picks - Myron Rolle of course, and Robert Johnson from Utah. Both could be fixtures in the Titans secondary for years to come. The best draft in the AFC South.
GRADE: B+
AFC West
Denver Broncos
1st Round Pick - Demaryius Thomas (WR-Georgia Tech) & Tim Tebow (QB-Florida)
Notable Pick - Eric Decker (3rd, WR-Minnesota)
-The grades on Denver will vary on 1 thing - what do you make of Tim Tebow? He's the one player that will define this draft for Denver and the McDaniels Era as a whole. Aside from Tebow, the Broncos got 2 quality WRs in Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker. However, Denver's biggest problem down the stretch was defense and that wasn't addressed till Round 5!! The Tebow hype won't hide Denver's biggest weakness forever.
GRADE: B if you talk yourself into TebowMania... F otherwise
Kansas City Chiefs
1st Round Pick - Eric Berry (S-Tennessee)
Notable Pick - Dexter McCluster (2nd, WR/RB-Ole Miss)
-We said one thing before this draft. Kansas City. Needed. Playmakers. They got them in a big way. Eric Berry will control centerfield for a decade, Javier Arenas can be the next Dante Hall, and Dexter McCluster is a poor man's Reggie Bush. Jon Asamoah can also start at guard as well. These players won't make the Chiefs Super Bowl contenders, but it's a start on the way back up.
GRADE: B+
Oakland Raiders
1st Round Pick - Rolando McClain (LB-Alabama)
Notable Pick - Bruce Campbell (4th, OT-Maryland)
-For once, the Raiders had a draft that made sense. That will let you know what a strange weekend it was. Rolando McClain will lead the defense from Day 1 and Lamarr Houston can start too. Then, Oakland got the player many (including us) thought they were targeting in R1 - T Bruce Campbell from Maryland. The icing on the cake is a competent starting QB in Jason Campbell for next to nothing. Perhaps no other team did more to right the ship than the Raiders this weekend.
GRADE: Considering who's running things... A
San Diego Chargers
1st Round Pick - Ryan Mathews (RB-Fresno State)
Notable Pick - Cam Thomas (5th, DT-UNC)
-We're higher up on Mathews, but trading up to 12 to get him was unnecessary. As we've seen with Matt Forte in Chicago, high RBs can be a roll of the dice even from year to year. UNC DT Cam Thomas fills the big shoes of Jamal Williams in anchoring the 3-4 defense. However, like Denver, San Diego's draft will depend on one player - Ryan Mathews running from the shadows of LaDanian Tomlinson. Good luck.
GRADE: D+
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