Thread: Newest crop picked apart

Trades were made, needs were filled, chances were taken. And when all was said and done, and 255 players were picked in this year's NFL draft, Broncos coach Josh McDaniels may have spoken for a league now filled with a new crop of NFL hopefuls.

"The board was the way we wanted it," McDaniels said. "We feel comfortable with the way it ended up and excited about going into it next year . . . but it's hard to get everything in one draft."

Yes, it is, but here is how Denver Post draft insider Jeff Legwold graded this one after having a week to pore over the picks.

The grading scale

A: Exceptional. Got the best value with their picks while securing impact players.

B: Quality draft. Found some impact players and didn't reach.

C: Played par. No fireworks but found some potential production.

D: Dumped too many picks and reached too often.

AFC West

Denver Broncos

Picks made: Nine

Best pick: C J.D. Walton (third round). Bright future for a smart, tough, durable player.

Made a reach: QB Tim Tebow (first round). May be the defining pick (good or bad) for McDan- iels' tenure.

Bottom line: McDaniels took risks in drafting Tebow early and two WRs coming off severe injuries — Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker.

Grade: B

Kansas City Chiefs

Picks made: Seven

Best pick: S Eric Berry (first round). The best player on their board when they picked at No. 5.

Made a reach: TE Tony Moeaki (third round). Injury-plagued career at Iowa.

Bottom line: Huge upgrade in athletic impact. Javier Arenas is a dynamic returner, guard Jon Asamoah could start right away and RB Dexter McCluster is a multipurpose weapon.

Grade: A

Oakland Raiders

Picks made: Nine

Best pick: LB Rolando McClain (first round). Starts from Day One.

Made a reach: None

Bottom line:


Defensive tackle Terrence Cody of Alabama was panned by some for being out of shape, the Ravens believe they have acquired another stalwart defender. (Kevin C. Cox, Getty Images)
Easily one of their best drafts in recent memory. Got high-value, low-risk players early and stayed consistent to the end.
Grade: B

San Diego Chargers

Picks made: Six

Best pick: RB Ryan Mathews (first round). Mathews was both a first-round value and filled the Chargers' biggest need.

Made a reach: QB Jonathan Crompton (fifth round). Has accuracy issues.

Bottom line: Took few chances; third-round LB Donald Butler and fifth-round DT Cam Thomas should help right away.

Grade: C+

AFC East

Buffalo Bills

Picks made: Nine

Best pick: RB C.J. Spiller (first round). What's not to like? Explosive, productive, high- character player.

Made a reach: WR Marcus Easley (fourth round). Had only five receptions before the 2009 season.

Bottom line: Made speed a priority all over the draft board with Spiller, Easley, LB Danny Batten (a former DE) and LB Arthur Moats.

Grade: B+

Miami Dolphins

Picks made: Eight

Best pick: OLB Koa Misi (second round). Former DE is a high-effort player who should help right away.

Made a reach: None

Bottom line: A draft heavy on linemen and linebackers, consistent with team president Bill Parcells' philosophy.

Grade: B-

New England Patriots

Picks made: 12

Best pick: TE Rob Gronkowski (second round). Might start immediately.

Made a reach: DE Jermaine Cunningham


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(second round). Coming off shoulder surgery.
Bottom line: Ended up with 12 picks, same as a year ago, and got good value throughout.

Grade: A-

New York Jets

Picks made: Four

Best pick: CB Kyle Wilson (first round).

Made a reach: FB John Conner (fifth round). No way he was best player on board at that spot.

Bottom line: They are the new Redskins, treating the draft as an inconvenience.

Grade: D+

AFC North

Baltimore Ravens

Picks made: Seven

Best pick: DT Terrence Cody (second round), a steal for that spot in the draft.

Made a reach: None

Bottom line: Ravens find quality players fall to them because of other team's mistakes. Earned plenty of value in trade with the Broncos.

Grade: A

Cincinnati Bengals

Picks made: Nine

Best pick: WR Jordan Shipley (third round). Injuries a concern, but should play right away.

Made a reach: WR Dezmon Briscoe (sixth round). Ran 4.71 at the combine; lacks strength.

Bottom line: Bengals have made a draft habit of taking risks. Second-round DE Carlos Dunlap is certainly a risk, given his arrest at the end of the 2009 season.

Grade: C

Cleveland Browns

Picks made: Eight

Best pick: QB Colt McCoy (third round). Undersized, but a winner who has amazing accuracy.

Made a reach: S T.J. Ward (second round). Smart, tough player who has long injury history.

Bottom line: Selected players with long injury histories on back-to-back picks — Ward and RB Montario Hardesty.

Grade: C+

Pittsburgh Steelers

Picks made: 10

Best pick: C Maurkice Pouncey (first round). Should start immediately for a team that needs to get back to the running game.

Made a reach: None

Bottom line: No flashy moves. Chose a project in OLB Jason Worilds.

Grade: C

AFC South

Houston Texans

Picks made: Nine

Best pick: CB Kareem Jackson (first round). Physical, Nick Saban-trained defensive back.

Made a reach: KR Trindon Holliday (sixth round). Breathtaking speed, but undersized.

Bottom line: Texans got the RB they needed in Ben Tate (second round), and Jackson was a high-value pick. But odd picks as draft wore on.

Grade: C-

Indianapolis Colts

Picks made: Eight

Best pick: DE Jerry Hughes (first round). Will be the next undersized, 4-3 defensive end to flourish for the Colts.

Made a reach: TE Brody Eldridge (fifth round). Unproven at Oklahoma.

Bottom line: Low-key, effective approach. LB Pat Angerer (second round) is a good value and should contribute on special teams right away.

Grade: B-

Jacksonville Jaguars

Picks made: Six

Best pick: RB Deji Karim (sixth round). Has 4.4 speed.

Made a reach: DT Tyson Alualu (first round). One of many reaches over three days.

Bottom line: Alualu is a high-effort, productive player, but it's unlikely any other team in the NFL had him ranked as a top 10 selection.

Grade: D

Tennessee Titans

Picks made: Nine

Best pick: DE Derrick Morgan (first round). He will start right away.

Made a reach: CB Alterraun Verner (fourth round). Undersized, and the Titans moved up to get him.

Bottom line: WR Damian Williams should contribute immediately because of his quality route-running ability.

Grade: B-

FC East

Dallas Cowboys

Picks made: Six

Best pick: CB Akwasi Owusu-Ansah (fourth round). Small-school product who plays the ball well.

Made a reach: WR Dez Bryant (first round). A boom-or-bust pick.

Bottom line: Little impact on the draft's third day. But LB Sean Lee (second round) should contribute immediately.

Grade: C-

New York Giants

Picks made: Seven

Best pick: DT Linval Joseph (second round). Athletic, effective player fits the Giants well.

Made a reach: DE Jason Pierre-Paul (first round). All risk or reward here; much lower on most draft boards.

Bottom line: This rookie class hinges on Pierre- Paul, who started only seven games in college.

Grade: C

Philadelphia Eagles

Picks made: 13

Best pick: DE Brandon Graham (first round). Hardworking, athletic and proven.

Made a reach: S Nate Allen (second round). Eagles are banking on his ball skills.

Bottom line: Picked nine defensive players. Fifth-round DE Ricky Sapp could be a steal.

Grade: B-

Washington Redskins

Picks made: Six

Best pick: OT Trent Williams (first round). Has everything Mike Shanahan needs at left tackle.

Made a reach: TE Dennis Morris (fourth round). Was not invited to the scouting combine.

Bottom line: Making only one pick in the first three rounds is no way to do business.

Grade: D-

NFC North

Chicago Bears

Picks made: Five

Best pick: DE Corey Wootton (fourth round). Should make a positive impact.

Made a reach: None

Bottom line: Tough to do well when your first pick is only No. 75 overall.

Grade: C

Detroit Lions

Picks made: Six

Best pick: DT Ndamukong Suh (first round). The Lions picked the best player on the board.

Made a reach: None

Bottom line: Being able to get Suh and RB Jahvid Best in the first round was huge.

Grade: B+

Green Bay Packers

Picks made: Seven

Best pick: S Morgan Burnett (second round). Moved up 15 spots to draft him.

Made a reach: RB James Starks (sixth round). Coming off a torn labrum in shoulder.

Bottom line: Packers filled glaring needs in the secondary and offensive line.

Grade: C

Minnesota Vikings

Picks made: Eight

Best pick: RB Toby Gerhart (second round). Doak Walker Award winner is big, strong, athletic.

Made a reach: CB-S Chris Cook (second round). Production doesn't match physical skills.

Bottom line: Word around the NFL was the Vikings wanted to draft Tim Tebow at the top of the second round.

Grade: B-

NFC South

Atlanta Falcons

Picks made: Seven

Best pick: DT Corey Peters (third round). Made 40 career starts at Kentucky.

Made a reach: WR Kerry Meier (fifth round). Oft-injured possession receiver.

Bottom line: Drafted two proven college offensive linemen, C Joe Hawley and G Mike Johnson.

Grade: C

Carolina Panthers

Picks made: 10

Best pick: LB Eric Norwood (fourth round). South Carolina's career leader for sacks.

Made a reach: WR Armanti Edwards (third round). He's learning a new position.

Bottom line: Drafted QBs Jimmy Clausen and Tony Pike; one needs to deliver.

Grade: C+

New Orleans Saints

Picks made: Six

Best pick: TE Jimmy Graham (third round). Huge upside for former Miami basketball player.

Made a reach: None

Bottom line: Made the most of six picks, with CB Patrick Robinson at the top.

Grade: A

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Picks made: Nine

Best pick: DT Gerald McCoy (first round). Has all the tools to be a Pro Bowl player.

Made a reach: WR Mike Williams (fourth round). Troubled off-field background.

Bottom line: Drafted a potential defensive front in McCoy, DT Brian Price and DE Eric Lorig.

Grade: C

NFC West

Arizona Cardinals

Picks made: Seven

Best pick: DT Dan Williams (first round). Drafted a top 15-ranked player at No. 26.

Made a reach: OLB O'Brien Schofield (fourth round). Coming off a knee injury.

Bottom line: Cardinals very lucky that Williams dropped to them.

Grade: B-

St. Louis Rams

Picks made: 11

Best pick: QB Sam Bradford (first round). Potential franchise quarterback.

Made a reach: DE Hall Davis (fifth round). Clearly a potential-over-production pick.

Bottom line: Bradford clearly the foundation of this class, but it was filled out with quality all three days.

Grade: B

San Francisco 49ers

Picks made: Eight

Best pick: G Mike Iupati (first round). Should have gone higher than 17th overall.

Made a reach: None

Bottom line: Solid draft led by Iupati, S Taylor Mays (second round), LB Navorro Bowman (third round) and RB Anthony Dixon (sixth round).

Grade: B+

Seattle Seahawks

Picks made: Nine

Best pick: S Earl Thomas (first round). Instinctive player who gets to the ball.

Made a reach: DE E.J. Wilson (fourth round). Only a bull-rush power player for now.

Bottom line: Seahawks' first three picks should play right away — Thomas, OT Russell Okung and WR Golden Tate.

Grade: A-

http://www.denverpost.com/premium/broncos/ci_15001314

dude has the raiders mixed up with the ravens.....and the broncos had a great draft

These draft grade articles are hilarious. How can anyone grade a draft before the players have ever played a game?

I wish this was printed on paper, I could put it to good use in my bathroom.

Pretty much agreed with our grading as that was what i gave us. Whether or not it turns out that way will remain to be seen.