Rate your own teams draft

I'm not a big one for going the rounds through the whole draft and looking at what every team did. If anything, I'll just check out the divisional competition. So how do you rate your own teams draft, and how it looks within their division?

For me the Skins get a solid B+, maybe an A-. RGIII alone could be considered to make it an A, but the other picks are a mixed bag, bringing it down a bit. We did draft OL, but its not clear if these guys will be depth or actual contributors on O, and we didn't address Safety and I think we are still weak at ILB and CB. Lets hope the lower picks and UFA's work out filling some of these gaps, but I'd still like to have seen us go after a good OL or S prospect, given the small number of picks we had to work with. Then again, if RGIII is an upgraded version of Mike Vick, then maybe we don't need OL!

gonna go with a B for seattle

Irvin may be a reach but he is clearly one of the top pass rushers in the draft and that was what we were after so a B there

Wagner, we needed a linebacker and we got a good one, watched some tape and pretty impressed, B

Wilson- great pick and my favorute, give fylnn some real compotition, if it wasnt for his hieght he would be in miami right now, played behind the 4th tallest o-line in the country and still exceled, go a high release point to make up for his 5'11 hieght, he can also be used in wildcat or soon to be wildhawk formations A

Turbin, great comploment back for lynch and is a real great person character wise, A

Toomer, yet another LB , adds competition and may develop into a starter C

Howard, with jones and branch being FAs at the end of next year a good pick for the future B-

Lane, adds more depth to a great secondary, maybe get some gametime inb 2012 B-

Guy, love this pick, needed depth at saftey and we got it, wont start in 2012 but will add valueable back-up to kam and thomas, B

Sweezey and Scruggs, twi DEs in round 7, havaent seen uch on theese guys but theyll add compotition and depth

here are my views on the niners, titans and vikings draft. The standout thing when thinking about their selections is that the niners had zero needs, the titans had a few and the vikings had many.

Niners- B

The A.J Jenkins pick in the first is growing on me, he may have the best hands in the draft and can be a true speedster. Any 49er fan will know that they like their receivers to run slants and this guy is really good at this, so he can basically make the catches that crabtree didn't at times last year. It appears the niners weren't the only team interested and this, combined with great college stats despite poor qb play gives me hope that he can do well

The pick of Lamichael James in the 2nd surprised people but I love it. It's important to remember that the niners have no big needs and so they can use luxury players. Anyone who remotely folllows college football will have heard of this guy and anyone who has saw him play will probably remember his elite burst and the way he produced against even the very best teams college football had to offer. He has great hands (Gore seems to have lost them) and will provide us with our own Darren Sproles.

Joe Looney in the 3rd provided depth at the guard position, don't know much about him but from looking at some of my draft preview magazines, he has a very powerful upper half, great intangibles and great speed for someone who is 320 lbs (5.02 40 time)

Darius Fleming was a shock for me in the 5th, doesnt really look like he could be a 3-4 olb but he does have great intangibles, is very athletic, was a top recruit too

I like the Trenton Robinson pick in the 6th, he has been described as a poor mans Bob Sanders and he has conerback speed to go along with good ball skills, as a michigan fan, he impressed me in flashes in rivalry games

Jason Slowey in the 6th I loves. He played tackle but projects to guard or even center, he had pre-draft visits with the niners a few times and so I had saw some of his play, he is one of the most relentless offensive lineman I have seen. Strength was a worry for me at the next level but he had 38 reps on the bench press which is really good

Also like the Cam Johnson pick in round 7, I was actually hoping the niners would take him in the 5th, he is explosive off the edge and due to his basketball past and being drafted as a wr/safety he has more than enough athletic skills

Overall I like the niners draft, some picks were reaches but I know better than to question one of the best drafting teams in the league, speed has been added to the offense and some d-line help and nasty o-lineman, im happy. Also like the pickups of Chris Owusu and Jewel Hampton. Love the stockpiling of picks for next year too, extra 3rd, 5th and 6th rounders will allow opportunities to trade up.


Vikings-A

Matt Kalil in the 1st was a lock, really athletic with nfl ready pass protection skills, usually rookie lineman are good run blockers who need pass work but kalil excels in that area

Harrison Smith in the first was good, nice trade up which didn't really cost anything, good size and he can be a starter straight away, great strength and smarts, he can help get guys organised

Josh Robinson in the 3rd was a great pick, one of my favourite players this year. Fastest player in the draft and will help a corner-needy team, he held his own against A.J Green and fits the zone scheme perfectly

I think the Jarius Wright pick was nice, good speed and hands

Also like the Greg Childs pick, would have been 2nd rounder if not for injury, teamate of Wright in high schoole, college and pro's now

Don't know enough about Rhett Ellison to comment, but seems like a versatile player

I really like the Robert Blanton pick, really long and athletic, a top recruit and a move inside looks likely, his cornerback experience will help the vikings safety play, will be nice to have 3 young safeties in smith, Blanton and Raymond

Blair Walsh seems an ok pick, I don't really follow kickers but his senior season wasn't good

I love Audie Cole in the 7th, a big LB who lacks speed but can hit hard, I though he could have went as low as the 3rd round

Trevor Guyton was also a nice pickup in the 7th, will be a nice under tackle

Overall, really nice draft, secondary and wr improved so a win, manahed to pick up 4th and 6th round pick next year too

Titans-B

Kendall Wright is one of my favourite players this year so really happy he was taken, best deep threat in the draft and can make any qb look good due to his ability to catch impossible passes and turn upfield. Pound for pound, he is as strong as any receiver in this class and I really like the fact he heads straight upfield without dancing around

Zach Brown in the 2nd is a pick which makes sense. I'm not overjoyed by this pick but he does have potential, he completes the young lb trio and will bring speed and good coverage potential. Once ran a sub 4.3 40 yard dash and will use that freakish speed to improve pass rush skills, you can' teach is elite speed but i'm sure his technique can improve

Mike Martin in the 3rd is a great move, people say he is too small to play defensive tackle but he has amazing brute strength, can play on the nose and as a 3 technique, he has a non stop motor and will contribute

Coty Sensabaugh was a surprise corner taken inthe 5th, I have seen him on tv before and he never stod out, has great speed though and the online reports suggest he is as hard working as they come

Absolutely love the Taylor Thompson pick in the 5th, a TE convert who has experience at the position, A 6"7 frame at 290 lbs and ran in the 4.5's, he offers amazing upside, some big college programmes recruited him and I look forward to seeing him develop

Markelle Martin in the 6th was a steal, great speed and playmaking ability and perform on the big stage, very poor tackling form though that needs work

Traded up in the 7th for Scott Solomon of Rice, haven't heard much of him for obvious reasons but seems to have great motor and potential to move inside to defensive tackle

Nice draft that has improved every area of the team APART FROM CENTER!!, but maybe Kevin Matthews can step up or someone else will come to the team

Probably B-/C+
Trent Richardson- is a great pick up, not bothered about giving away a few picks to move up to grab him as it's better to have him then not to have him and have a few extra late round players, will easily make up for the loss of Hillis.

Brandon Weeden- Still would have preferred him at 37, but if they weren't sure he would make it there then I would rather have him here then miss out. Also not exactly sure what else they would have done at 22 they wanted Wright but Titans took him at 20, do still feel we should have given Colt another shot. Has a big arm that shouldn't be bothered by the winds he faces in the AFC North.

Mitchell Schwartz- Browns only had a 1st round grade on Kalil and no other tackles so wouldn't have taken one at 22, but I do like this pick see this o-line being together for a while, and a good o-line can help make everyone look better.

John Hughes- No idea on this pick, depth at DT is useful but not sure about using a 3rd rounder for just depth when you have such a big need at WR.

Travis Benjamin- Very fast WR (Browns have him clocked in the 4.3's) that corners will struggle to cover and with him and Weeden will be able to make the most of Benjamin and Norwood running downfield.

James Michael-Johnson/Ryan Miller/Emmanuel Acho/Billy Winn/Trevin Wade/Brad Smelley all seem to be about adding depth at the position rather than finding starters, though Smelley will see the field as either a TE or FB.

Overall I do like some picks but think some were maybe wasted on adding depth to positions where it maybe wasn't needed as much as it was needed for some of the offensive positions like WR.

Bucs B+, great first three rounds, went to hell there after. If you look with what the Bucs had pre draft (1,2,3,5,6,7) and ended up with 1,1,2,5,6,7,7. They traded a 3rd for a 1st and 7th. Incredible.

Hoping to do a full one at some stage.

Eagles:
Fletcher Cox: Some had him as a top 6 pick, and the Eagles didn't expect to get him. To get him for a 4th and 6th (which we recouped anyway) is great value at 12.
Mychal Kendricks: The moment he ran a sub 4.5 40 and measured under 6 ft he was an Eagles LB. That said he's physical, a wrap up tackler and should be an upgrade over Fokou if he starts.
Vinny Curry: Great value at the bottom of the 2nd. Plus hes a massive Eagles fan.
Nick Foles: Knew they were gonna take a QB high so meh. He'll sit for the next few years before probably being flipped for a 2nd or something. I'll defer to Reid's judgement on QBs.
Brandon Boykins: Ready made slot CB to push Hanson. Probably necessary if Cruz isnt a 1 year wonder.
Dennis Kelly: It isn't an Eagles draft if they don't take somebody without a NFL.com profile. High character, Mudd developemental guy.
Marvin McNutt: Value seems to be recurring theme, McNutt's a possession receiver with size who struggles to get separation. Should push Cooper and Avant.
Brandon Washington: A guy who was great at guard before moving to tackle and struggling this year. Eagles will kick him back to guard and has a chance as a backup.
Bryce Brown: More heavily recruited than Trent Richardson out of high school, but barely played in college. A punt on talent in the 7th, can't complain.

B+/A-

Broncos: B-

If you look at this draft it doesn't have the big, flashy names (although Osweiler's name is big) but it is a good draft with good players which will help this team at positions of need.

Derek Wolfe, DT, 2nd round - Some call this a reach at the start of the 2nd round, but after doing my research I love the pick. He was the most productive DT in the draft in terms of sacks and tackles (9.5 sacks). He has a great motor and he's a nasty player, he needs to improve a bit at defending the run but I can't see why he wasn't highly talked about before the draft.

Brock Osweiler, QB, 2nd round - Not too sure about this pick, he's my least favourite pick in our draft. I like his potential and I get that he has time to mature and learn and become a starting QB when Manning retires. But I don't like that in the middle of the 2nd round we didn't get an impact starter and in stead got a guy that won't start for a few years.

Ronnie Hillman, RB, 3rd round - I like this pick. Initially I wasn't too sure because Lamar Miller was on the board, but this guy is a home-run hitter who is explosive, can catch the ball and brings explosiveness to our backfield which we need. He was very productive at San Diego State, in fact he broke records set by Marshall Faulk. He does not have to be just a receiving RB, he can be a guy that plays downs other than 3rd down. With Willis McGahee aging and Moreno only a 3rd down back with injury issues this pick was necessary.

Omar Bolden, CB, 4th round - Love this pick. This guy missed the 2011 season through injury but has a lot of talent and was very good in 2010. Mike Mayock said this guy has high 2nd round talent but dropped because of injury but he's fully healed now. We now have some nice talent at CB and this guy is also a talented kick returner.

Philip Blake, C, 4th round - This guy was Robert Griffin III's center and he's a solid player who is 26 years old. He can play guard or center and has starter ability and so will push the guys we have and at worst provide depth to our o-line.

Malik Jackson, DE/DT, 5th round - Interesting pick for us here. He's a inside/outside tweener who has a lot of potential. I don't know too much about him but I know he's athletic and he'll help our D-line either inside or outside.

Danny Trevathen, OLB, 6th round. Brilliant pick. This guy is an extremely productive linebacker who has loads of tackles (286 tackles in 2 seasons) in the competitive SEC. He's a tackle machine who can also cover. He dropped to the 6th round because he's small, he's 6 feet and 237 lbs but plays bigger. A real steal who will initially help special teams and provide depth but can become a starter.

Packers: B

Unsurprisingly prioritised Defence over Offense, with the first 6 picks being Def.

Also, I like the trading up (for a change). Starting with 12 picks, ended up
drafting 8 players. Hopefully quality over quantity.

I'll let another Cheesehead do the player by player ranking, as my College Football knowledge is somewhat lacking...

Jets B+

Huge upside on all players just worries about rawness.

Needed to adress line backer , wide receiver , right tackle and safety.

Touched on all these areas (cant understand criticism of not taking safety's or offensive tackles early its not like we had 4 picks in the first 2 rounds)

Quinton Coples Stayed where we were and selected a talented need. He coupled with Mo Wilkerson and the outstanding Pouha at NT gives an exciting defensive line.

Jason Hill Height Weight and Speed guy . played in triple option so can block and has major big play ability. very raw but an exciting pick for a particularly vanilla offence

Davis the linebacker adds youth to the linebacking core and may help coping with Gronk and Hernandez but that may be asking a lot .

Big Robert Griffin can help with unbalanced lines which was lacking after Rob Turners injury last year.

The two safetys and extra wr can help on special teams . and hopefully one of the safetys can follow in kerry rhodes footsteps (5th round pick in 05) Antonio Allen is especially effective up in the box.

Coples will probably be the key to this draft. I may have gone melvin ingram personally but if he can produce , this has the makings of a 'speed' based draft to build to the future.

I'm going to go for a B+ for the Packers. Not wanting to try and push an A- but i'd be leaning that way and not down. On retrospect having written things I'm generally just down on picks 4 and 5 so maybe A-

Nick Perry, OLB, USC. I thought he might go higher and it fills a key need for the Packers. Problem is that he is potentially a little raw and inconsistent - plus he will struggle early with pass coverage, but if he is anywhere near the problem that Clay Matthews is then we should be doing well for a few more years.

Jerel Worthy, DE/DT, Michigan State. Moved up and I love the pick. Could easily be a first round guy and to get him mid 2nd is a bonus. Could play end in the 3-4, could play a bit of DT in some form of rotation with B.J. Raji as well. Generally have been impressed with Michigan State for a couple of years and so I have high hopes.

Casey Hayward, CB, Vanderbilt. He's not one of the top corners, but is fine at the tail of rd2. Goes to a "proper" school, so should have football skills and general intelligence which will help him adapt (Or so the reasoning in my head goes). Most interesting decision here is whether Hayward's presence leads to Woodson moving to safety.

Mike Daniels, DT, Iowa. I don't know much about him and he strikes me as a depth player. As I missed the latter stages of the draft I wasn't following things and so i'm not too up to speed with who we passed on - but I don't really like the pick.

Jeron McMillan, S, Maine. Massive need before and after the departure of Collins. But I hate the pick. Never heard of him, plays for a small school and by all accounts wasn't on people's boards anywhere near this high. Maybe Ted Thompson has found a gem, but for now I can't be positive - George Iloka was still available (not quite sure why he fell so much) and i'd have rather had him.

Terrell Manning, OLB, North Carolina State. Seems great value. Won't be expected to start but our linebacker corp is full of random depth (DJ Smith, Robert Francois... ) from late round picks who you wouldn't mind being replaced. This guy could have been drafted earlier and whilst the price in terms of the three picks traded seemed high, the fact we had so many complimentary picks means i'm good with it. Get quality.

Andrew Datko, OT, Florida State. Guy with an injury who otherwise would have been higher. James Starks is the last real "injured" guy we drafted and that turned out to be pretty good. Our line is by no means the strongest and while we have drafted OTs with out last two first rounders, i'm not sold on Sherrod so far and he broke his leg last year. Good draft pick for the longer term.

B.J. Coleman, QB, Tennessee Chattanoga. In one sense I can't be too positive about this pick because he basically isn't going to do anything for the Packers probably ever. However he looked pretty damn good in the East-West Shrine game (I think it was that one) and he is another project for the Pack to eventually farm out for draft picks. My Boise State fandom does however make me wish we had just got Kellen Moore as an UDFA!

I'd give the Bucs a B+.

I wasn't sure about the Barron pick, but the more I hear Coach Schiano talk about it, the more it makes sense. We literally have nobody at the SS position and Barron is by far the best talent available at the position.

Trading up for Doug Martin was a master stroke. He looks to be a very complete back. He can block, he's fast, he can catch and he can run between the tackles. Just what Josh Freeman and our offence needed.

The trade up for Lavonte David was even better. He's a three down linebacker who plays sideline to sideline and he plays much faster than he actually is. He's a little undersized, but then again, so was Derrick Brooks. Three instant starters from the first three picks.

Najee Goode won't start right away, he'll probably be a special teams contributor and a backup to Mason Foster in the middle. However, he's a hard tackler with great instincts.

Keith Tandy has nice speed and size, but he's raw but could develop into a good player under the watch of Ron Cooper.

Michael Smith has nice speed and could turn into a nice rotation back when we need a change of pace. Will be tough for him to get time with Blount and Martin in there though. He'll compete with Mossis Madu.

I like the Drake Dunsmore pick in the 7th. We need another TE to compete with Stocker and Winslow and Dunsmore is a lot more athletic than he looks.

Pr4wn wrote:I'd give the Bucs a B+.

I wasn't sure about the Barron pick, but the more I hear Coach Schiano talk about it, the more it makes sense. We literally have nobody at the SS position and Barron is by far the best talent available at the position.

Trading up for Doug Martin was a master stroke. He looks to be a very complete back. He can block, he's fast, he can catch and he can run between the tackles. Just what Josh Freeman and our offence needed.

The trade up for Lavonte David was even better. He's a three down linebacker who plays sideline to sideline and he plays much faster than he actually is. He's a little undersized, but then again, so was Derrick Brooks. Three instant starters from the first three picks.

Najee Goode won't start right away, he'll probably be a special teams contributor and a backup to Mason Foster in the middle. However, he's a hard tackler with great instincts.

Keith Tandy has nice speed and size, but he's raw but could develop into a good player under the watch of Ron Cooper.

Michael Smith has nice speed and could turn into a nice rotation back when we need a change of pace. Will be tough for him to get time with Blount and Martin in there though. He'll compete with Mossis Madu.

I like the Drake Dunsmore pick in the 7th. We need another TE to compete with Stocker and Winslow and Dunsmore is a lot more athletic than he looks.

Seen some footage of Dunsmore and I like it, his blocking isn't great but he has good hands and a nice burst. I think Tandy could develop into a safety but the Bucs need a Corner and they didn't take one. They better hope Talib doesn't go to jail/get suspended. Wright is poor, Ronde is old. Lewis is garbage, Biggers is alright on a teams 3rd/4th guy. Mack seems to make plays when he is on the field so he could develop as could this Johnson UDFA.


Look at for Ray Webber who was a UDFA last season and ED Gant. Two look like good WRs.

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

Redskins: B-

Swithered over whether to go C+ here but RG3 and the fact we have tried to address needs along the O-Line and at DB take it just a notch above that. With the exception of RG3 though it's questionable whether we've picked up anyone else who will start next season except in a crisis. Tough to project the O-Linemen though since Shanahan tends to go for guys that no-one else particularly rates highly cos of our zone blocking scheme. The RB we took in the 6th round might turn out to be a star since we all know the success Shanahan has had with runners late in the draft. Again, this is too tough to project just now. The DBs in the 7th will be happy just to make the team.

I hate the Cousins pick right now. I may well come to love it if we ever have to call on him and he does a good job but right now it's a luxury pick for a team with as many holes as we do. I get Shanahan's reasoning but I still say it's a luxury pick right now.

So, overall, right now I give the Redskins a B- but we might look back in 5 year's and say it's an A if the O-Linemen all work out. On the otherhand, it might be an F if RG3 flames out......

I give the Cowboys an A+ for giving up a 2nd round pick to move upto #6 and taking the best defensive player in the draft.

I gave the Cowboys a -B for adding defensive players in the draft, last year we added to the Offence, this year to the Defence.

Overall an A- grade. I will edit later the other players we took

I dunno Leedscowboys, I can't help thinking the Cowboys got a bit carried away with the trade to move up for Claiborne. I think it was a bit needless to be honest. They've already invested heavily in Brandon Carr in FA and there were 3 other potentially excellent CBs available at the top of the draft. Gilmore went to Buffalo at 10 but they were sure to still have a run at least one out of Kirkpatrick and Jenkins had they stayed where they were. In the end, they could have had either of those guys. Both would have upgraded their secondary and both would have allowed them to keep their 2nd round pick to add perhaps a pass rusher or O-Lineman that they could really use and who could make an impact early in his career.

Claiborne will likely be very good but I don't think it's an A+ move given the talent that existed elsewhere in the CB class in this draft and the fact that they also had to use a much-needed 2nd round pick to get him.

Number-25 wrote:I dunno Leedscowboys, I can't help thinking the Cowboys got a bit carried away with the trade to move up for Claiborne. I think it was a bit needless to be honest. They've already invested heavily in Brandon Carr in FA and there were 3 other potentially excellent CBs available at the top of the draft. Gilmore went to Buffalo at 10 but they were sure to still have a run at least one out of Kirkpatrick and Jenkins had they stayed where they were. In the end, they could have had either of those guys. Both would have upgraded their secondary and both would have allowed them to keep their 2nd round pick to add perhaps a pass rusher or O-Lineman that they could really use and who could make an impact early in his career.

Claiborne will likely be very good but I don't think it's an A+ move given the talent that existed elsewhere in the CB class in this draft and the fact that they also had to use a much-needed 2nd round pick to get him.

Claiborne is head and shoulders the best CB in the draft, others are not even close, Claiborne is a potential shut down CB, and was rated higher than Peterson, from what I see reading various draft boards Clairborne was the 2nd best player in the draft this year above RGIII and behind Luck. Jenkins will be traded and wants to be traded, he is a solid CB but has had 1 good year in 2009, he admited in 2010 he did not play as well as he could have and missed too many plays and tackles. He comes to the end of his rookie deal this season and would be looking for a huge pay day we have a shut down CB locked up for the next 4yrs at $16 million

Scandrick is a slot CB at best

I like the aggressiveness, but the price was on the high side, given the defenciencies among the front 7. Especially given the 2nd round talent was good this year and the Cowboys other picks all project as more of project players.

Graeme Swann's Cat wrote:I like the aggressiveness, but the price was on the high side, given the defenciencies among the front 7. Especially given the 2nd round talent was good this year and the Cowboys other picks all project as more of project players.

If you look at the draft chart to move from 14 to 6 you would need to swap 1st round picks give up a 2nd and at least a 4th round to move up the fact Dallas only gave up a 2nd is a steal, I have seen numerous other NFL fan sites and all are in complete shock that Dallas only had to give up a 2nd round pick, they cannot believe the Rams would ask for so little, some sites I saw were saying that not only should there have been 2 picks this year but at least 1 next year. He is touted as the best CB to come into the NFL since Deion Sanders

I'd give the Pats an A- for their draft

Chandler Jones - A* - Could be the next Jason Pierre Paul in my eyes
Donta Hightower - A* - Him, Mayo and Spikes can dominate for many years to come
Tavon Wilson - D - Nothing more than depth and special teams in my eyes, strange pick
Jake Bequette - B - Could be a nice compliment to Jones
Nate Ebner - C - Solid, likes to hit people so could be a useful special teams guy.
Alfonzo Dennard - A - Had second round potential but fell, could be a steal.
Jeremy Ebert - C - Kickoff returner in the making

Claiborne is not as good as you're making him out to be. Very solid guy, but I don't see him being a great shutdown corner. He is nowhere near as good as Sanders. Prime Time will go down in the top 5 Corners to play the game. MoClay is a good player I don't see him being incredibly good. People talk about the wonderlic and I don't care about the score. The fact he left during it would make me more concerned.

Thomond wrote:Claiborne is not as good as you're making him out to be. Very solid guy, but I don't see him being a great shutdown corner. He is nowhere near as good as Sanders. Prime Time will go down in the top 5 Corners to play the game. MoClay is a good player I don't see him being incredibly good. People talk about the wonderlic and I don't care about the score. The fact he left during it would make me more concerned.

He stopped doing the answers because he knew it had nothing to do with football. Fair play, it is the stupidest test going in my eyes.

I think it shows a lack of hear ant interest but that's my view.

Don't get me wrong Leedscowboys, I get the fact you needed a CB and I get that Claiborne was the best available in this draft BUT it's not like CB was your only need and it's not like there weren't any other potentially excellent CBs in this draft. It may well have been a good deal in terms of what you gave up to move from 14 to 6 but the question is surely more whether you needed to move from 14 to 6 at all? Staying at 14 and drafting Dre Kirkpatrick or even Janoris Jenkins and then using the 2nd rounder on a good interior O-Lineman (Konz and Osemele were both still available when you would have picked) or someone on the defensive front 7 to help the pass rush would have looked like a really good first couple rounds to me.

Cardinals B+

I think we did pretty well despite not having a 2nd rounder (which hurts a bit what with all the quality that was available). And we ended up drafting some guys 1 to 2 rounds later than they were projected to go, so got value there.

Floyd will give Larry some relief as he will demand attention from defensive backs. And we picked up 3 offensive linemen which should help transform our line from the sieve it tended to be. Robert Massie will be pancaking defenders for awhile. One of our local radio hosts was blasting the Cardinals when they bypassed Massie in the 3rd round and then was ecstatic and apologetic to the team's brain trust when they picked him up in the 4th.

Hopefully one of our new corners can be a bookend with Peterson to lock the backfield down.

I'm with Thomond, I don't like that Claiborne quit on the Wonderlic test. It's not like he was being asked to shovel cow dung. It was just a test. Whether you think it has nothing to do with football or not, it's just a harmless part of the process of becoming a young man who is getting paid a fantastically amazing wage to play a game. Get a sense of perspective and get on with it I say. If you don't like it then there's an army of young men who would gladly take your place - move over and let someone who would be more grateful to have the opportunity take your place. I'd be worried if I was a GM that the Wonderlic fiasco hinted at some deeper character flaw within Claiborne.

Also, it's a little early to be making Neon Deion comparisons.

Claiborne was my favourite player in this draft, I think he will be a top cover corner in the NFL within 2-3 years, will have a similar impact to Joe Haden. That being said, I agree that the Cowboys already had Brandon Carr and could have done with trading up for Barron or staying put and getting Ware some help. He definately hasn't been touted as the best cb entering the draft since sanders, maybe some analyst said that but pp7(not as good a cover corner but better player) was hyped more. Joe Haden, PP7, Pacman Jones and quite a few other corners have been considered better prospects when they entered the league. He will be an exciting player to watch but I don't think the Cowboys will win any more games because of him right now, after carr's signing, i think they should have went in another direction

Guys there is huge gulf of class in the CB, this is not to knock Gilmore or Kirkpatrick but the difference between Claiborne and co is not the same as RGIII and LUck but Luck and Tannehall or weedon

I think that Gilmore or Kirkpatrick can be just as good if they are played in the correct system, claiborne is good but he has more weaknesses than people may think. Just like pp7 last year, his confidence can lead to blown coverages

People are over rating Claiborne, he hasnt played a snap in the nfl yet. He was the top corner on everyones boards (most likely) but he wasnt head and shoulders above the rest. Teams play different schemes, and may prefer other players who seem like a better fit in their system.

The trade was good for the Cowboys, giving up only an additional 2nd rounder. It was also good for the Rams. We said we werent going to be unreasonable with the Cowboys and gave them a fair deal. In return we got Brockers and Jenkins. Many have said Jenkins' skills come close to Claibornes, just look at how he shut down AJ Green, Julio Jones etc in his Florida days, but he has a major character concern but is a calculated risk we need to start taking.

Rams draft then. B+ on the surface of it

1st Michael Borkes DT - huge run stuffing DT. Has all the athletic ability, the ability to pass rush can be coached. With him and Langford in the middle it should stop teams running all over us.

2nd Brian Quick WR - Small school guy, big, athletic. Bit surprised at the pick at the time, but the coaches obviously like what they seen from him. Could develop into a nice weapon.

2nd Janoris Jenkins CB - With the additional 2nd we received in the Cowboys trade this is a calculated risk. If he stays out of trouble we have ourselves a top notch corner, to pair with Finnegan. With the receivers in our division, Fitzgerald, Flloyd, Crabtree, Davis, Rice etc i like getting more corner help.

2nd Isaiah Pead RB - Change of pace back. Jackson is still the workhorse, use Pead to spell S-Jax or in specific situations.

3rd Trumaine Johnson CB - 1st round talent Mayock said. He tough, and a hard hitter. More depth at the cb position, which was sorely needed.

4th Chris Givens WR - Gives the Rams a productive receiver with speed and quickness. He can stretch the field and become our vertical threat.

5th Rokevious Watkins OT - Big bodied guy with size and strength. High motor. Good depth or might get a chance at the starting LG spot.

6th Greg Zuerlein - Josh Brown was getting too much money, saves money and gives us a young kicker for the future.

7th Aaron Brown LB - Smart football player, will contribute straight away on special teams and push for a starting spot.

7th Darly Richardson RB - not the Richardson i wanted, small school guy, camp body working for a roster spot.

Leedscowboys wrote:Guys there is huge gulf of class in the CB, this is not to knock Gilmore or Kirkpatrick but the difference between Claiborne and co is not the same as RGIII and LUck but Luck and Tannehall or weedon

I'm thinking in a year or so that sentence will instead end "but RGIII and Tannehill or Weedon"...

I'd love to think so Skins4ever.... I'm having to work hard though to convince myself that the Redskins curse won't kick in at some point and ruin RG3's shot at glory! At least we'd have Kirk Cousins to fall back on though

Was Claiborne better than his own teammate of a year ago? Patrick Peterson was a top 5 pick, and roundly praised as the top CB prospect in year.

I heard Claiborne wasn't as good before pre draft hype kicked in. Same hype that saw Barron turn from a late 1st/high 2nd run support safety into the safest top 10 pick.

Won't matter how much Caliborne covers if the dallas safetys blow coverages like they have over the last 5 years.

Consistently theyve been rubbish there and Jerry can't see it.

P.s. I;'m saying this as a jets fan who watched revis and cromartie cover very well all year only for our safetys to get creamed down the middle.

I still don't know what to say about the 49ers picks. It was not what I (and many others) expected but there are a few picks with definite potential.

AJ Jenkins was on my radar before the draft, I was just surprised that he went in the 1st round ahead of the likes of Hill, Jeffery and Fleener. That said he could definitely make an impact next season and with Moss, Manningham, Crabtree and Jenkins the starter spots are up for grabs. The competition may bring the best out of them.

I do like the LaMichael James pick too. Along with Hunter and Jacobs, he can help ease the load on Frank Gore. The running game slightly faltered in the NFC Championship game so adding to that can only help.

It was interesting that both the 49ers and Giants both picked a WR and a RB with their first two picks so it will be interesting to see how the Giants pair (the Giants picked two places after the 49ers) of Wilson and Randle compare to Jenkins and James next season.

Of the other picks Joe Looney and Cam Johnson could have the biggest impact.

Graeme Swann's Cat wrote:Was Claiborne better than his own teammate of a year ago? Patrick Peterson was a top 5 pick, and roundly praised as the top CB prospect in year.

I heard Claiborne wasn't as good before pre draft hype kicked in. Same hype that saw Barron turn from a late 1st/high 2nd run support safety into the safest top 10 pick.

Off all the mocks I have watched since early Jan, Clairborne has been the highest ranked CB always being mocked within top 7 players. After that it was Kirkpatrick who was tagged 9-15 range, Janoris Jenkins was a top 15 player, Gilmore even until early April was a 2nd round talent.

Our Safety is a lot stronger than last year even with the signing of Pool it's an upgrade over Elam, the Cowboys main weakness was at CB Newman was old and slow so WR were able to get a good start on him with a massive upgrade at CB we are improved here. Back to Safety though our 4th round pick Matt Johnson looks the part, he is what Garrett calls a RKG (Right Kinda Guy) he had offers to play at bigger colleges but chose to stay at Eastern Washington as he wanted to play with his twin brother in the same team. He played most of the 2011 season with injuries to biceps in his arms.

Claiborne will be a decent cornerback, he isn't incredibly physical but despite what the Wonderlic scores say, he is a smart guy at least on the field. I think Jenkins is actually a better player but he is crazy.

Also Barron was always the best safety, I think many saw him as a mid first because not many teams in the top 15 had safety as a priority. The Bucs did and apparently other teams tried to trade again with the Bucs. The are covered by Mark will be a Barron Wasteland.



(I know it was awful but I had to do it.)

Happy with what the Bengals did, no major reaches and trading down was a surprise.

D-line rotation looks like it has quality and depth to it now.

Gave Dalton more protection and more weapons, hopefully either Sanu or Jones can step in and add something across form A.J.

Virgil_Caine wrote:Happy with what the Bengals did, no major reaches and trading down was a surprise.

D-line rotation looks like it has quality and depth to it now.

Gave Dalton more protection and more weapons, hopefully either Sanu or Jones can step in and add something across form A.J.

I thought they had a very successful draft if i'm honest. One of the top ones in terms of building the team.

A full review of the Bucs is in the writers section and will be done soon. Has some UDFAs too.