NFL Draft Analysis! Part One

The NFL Draft, one of my favorite sporting events, went down this weekend. I don't care if it is just an over-hyped reading of names, I love it. After the draft, everyone and their mother decides to grade the draft performance of all of the teams, despite the fact that none of the players have played a single NFL down. They use letter grades, stars, thumbs, and all sorts of nonsensical other rating systems to assess these performances. Mel Kiper Jr. Only gave out one A, because his wisdom has evidently gone to his head. Anyway, I am not above this sure-to-be-wrong evaluating. In fact, mine will be even better, as I will use multiple rating systems to grade each team. Here we go, in alphabetical order (because why not?):

• Arizona Cardinals: 8 out of 10: The Cardinals had a fairly productive draft. They ended up with three players who at one time or another were in the first round discussion. Dominique Rodgers- Cromartie is evidently quite the athlete, and since he is related to Antonio Cromartie, he must be good (Logic!). Doucet and Campbell are both very good athletes who can be quality pros, and Doucet provides insurance in case Anquan Boldin pulls some holdout nonsense (he is unhappy with his contract). Kenny Iwebema is a nice value pick, and he and Campbell should serve to fill some of the void left by Calvin Pace. I don't like the pick of some Richmond Running Back in round 5 when Mike Hart was still available, but the same complaint can be levied against almost every team, so I won't hold that against them all. Solid draft overall.
• Atlanta Falcons: 6 fighting dogs (out of 10): Atlanta obviously hopes to make Matt Ryan their franchise quarterback, and make fans forget about Mike Vick. Sorry Atlanta, Mike Vick won't be forgotten about that easily. Moreover, while Matt Ryan is a good quarterback, he is a bit overrated. This post from the Sunday Morning Quarterback Blog shows this, with statistical evidence! I could only wish our blog was so scien-terrific. Also of note in that post is the quality players who were passed over. There are at least 6 or 7 guys on that list who I would of loved one of my teams to draft. Back to the Falcons... They also traded back into the first round for Sam Baker. Baker is a good tackle, but should not have been a first rounder. This was a desperation reach since he was the best tackle left. they would have been better off trading up earlier, since they obviously wanted a cornerstone tackle to protect Ryan. Still a reach though. Their next three picks were all very good values. Curtis Lofton is a good backer, and Chevis Jackson and Harry Douglas are both good players. The Mike Hart issue comes up again in round 6, as they drafted Thomas Brown, who could not even start for his college team, over Michigan's all time leading rusher. Makes a lot of sense. Anyway, the 2nd and 3rd rounds made an otherwise poor draft into a average one.
  
• Baltimore Ravens: A+: What a great draft. Sure, Joe Flacco is a bit of an unknown quantity, but he seemingly has better raw ability than the rest of the Quarterbacks in this draft. The real reason they get an A+ is because of two picks; Ray Rice and Tom Zbikowski. Obviously, I am a giant homer for Ray Rice (Westchester!) and think he is a great value at pick 50. He and McGahee should form a formidable backfield duo. Zbikowski is certifiably insane, and should be a special teams dynamo, until the day he is able to start next to Ed Reed at safety. While I would never have him return kicks, because he does not call fair catches and will probably get decapitated at the NFL Level, his insanity and toughness make him a great pick. Tavares Gooden was also a very productive player on a mediocre Miami team last year, but he should learn a lot from Ray Lewis and become a quality player. A+ Baltimore!
  
• Buffalo Bills: a dozen 35 cent wings: This draft left me relatively unenthused. James Hardy was a good value pick, and McKelvin fills a need nicely. Did this draft do enough to make them a playoff team, with Trent Edwards and Marshawn Lynch leading the way? Nope. But it was not bad either.

Okay, that's enough for now. Obviously I only reviewed four teams, but I am tired. I promise I will have all 32 teams reviewed by the end of the week. Keep reading!