After-Draft; Surprisingly Good, Surprisingly Bad, and just Surprising
The 2009 Draft has wrapped up and there have already been draft grades assigned by some writers. I’m not much of a grade guy and there should be some sort of easy to track database of what the analyists say about guy x and y and how they turn out. So, this will be more based on what I know and what I think a team needed. I’m not here to rip on kids right out of college (unless they do something ridiculously stupid) but sometimes it can be hard to find the positive.
Good
Cincinnati Shows Up
I love to rip on the Bengals and their terrible, terrible owner, Mike Brown but they actually had a really solid draft. I was really interested to see how the Bengals draft was gonna go when Andre Smith was still on the board with the Bengals drafting. That is the pick that really set the tone that the Bengals weren’t screwing around this year. Willie Anderson was sent out of town last year and now Cincy has a guy in Smith that should turn into a real good player. Surprisingly the Bengals followed this up with Rey Maulauga, Michael Johnson and Chase Coffman. All very, very good picks. Now, the is very much a chance here that some of these guys end up busting because they all bring a little baggage with them but let’s see what the NFL does to them. For now, the Bengals did good.
St. Louis Rebuilding
I think the talk of whether or not Marc Bulger “still has it” on the NFL Network was plain crazy. Marc Bulger was put through a David Carr torture session last year with the Rams and as long as he can still walk next season he’s going to be just fine. That being said, the Rams went out and got a really good tackle in Jason Smith. Bulger probably sent Smith a care package or bought him a small island as future-thanks. I was real happy to see them follow Smith up with James Laurinaitis. The Buckeye happens to be a player I think a lot of people will regret passing on. He goes 6′2″ - 244 and is very athletic. Laurinaitis could have been a professional hockey player if he wanted to be. This adds stout to a defensive that has had no vigor for the last 5 years. He’s my sleeper pick for Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Al Davis
I almost want to write ‘nuff said but that would probably be frowned upon. Al Davis makes Brad Childress look like the second coming of Einstein. Davis went out of his way to get Darrius Heyward-Bey in the first round with the 9th pick. Bey might be solid and the kid can sure run but with Michael Crabtree on the board how are you going to take Bey? Not only was Crabtree still available but Bey was going to be around for quite awhile. Oakland follows this up with Safety, Michael Mitchell, who wasn’t even projected to leave the board until the seventh round. This is like paying 4 times as much for the no name generic toilet paper when the brand name stuff is half price. All of this is good for the league because it allows a player who might have just had a very bad day to say “At least I don’t play for the Raiders.” Honestly, Oakland is the league joke and if next year’s draft is this bad the Lions will be mocking them too.
Bad
Tampa Bay the next Cardinals?
Arizona was a team that was known for overpaying players that have under produced or were flash in the pans. The Cards were also known for either letting their top players leave due to unwillingness to pay them or just not get after anyone because of that. The Bucs, with a new head coach, have let go of most of their veteran leadership and started overpaying for under producing talent (ala Kellen Winslow). Now, Tampa has fallen in love with Josh Freeman the QB from Kansas State. Hey, maybe Freeman becomes the next big thing in the NFL but I just don’t think it’s going to work out how the Bucs want it to. I really don’t like that they didn’t get another OLB and they really have no idea what they’ll be getting at WR with Sammie Stroughter. This is a young team with very little leadership and could sink real quick.
Brad Childress Still an Idiot
This just in, the Vikings will be above average again next year solely because of Adrian Peterson. Minnesota was a QB short of really being a powerhouse last year so they decided to not do anything about it! Also, instead, they thought it was a good idea to get a kid who has serious character issues in Percy Harvin. Yeah, Harvin is talented but when you’re getting stoned at the NFL Combine you’re an idiot, have a serious problem or probably both. Phil Loadholt, the OT from Oklahoma is huge at 6′8″ - 340 but he could turn into a serious project. Nothing in this draft seems to resemble much of a commitment to move forward with a plan but rather just, maybe, filling in a few holes.
Matthew Stafford
The NFL’s newest $40 million (at least) dollar man. Everything about Stafford to the Lions first overall is just plainly absurd. First, I think the odds are really good that Stafford will be loaded in his pockets but not have much to show for on the field. The Lions now have a solid core of “skills” guys but Swiss cheese for a line. This is something that could really ruin Stafford’s career if he’s getting pounded on every time he is tyring to throw the ball. David Carr is a great example of this, as I have said before. Second, $41 million guaranteed for a kid that has never taken a snap in the NFL is an outcry for some type of rookie salary cap. Stafford enters the league as one of the highest paid players in the WHOLE NFL. These guys need to have some sort of mandatory two year deal with a restricted free agent type period to re-sign after that. The entire system is screwing everything up with teams not wanting higher draft picks and, more importantly, vets basically getting stepped on.
Surprising
The “Not Good Enough”
Man, I’m not really sure what NFL scouts use as a metric for some of these kids but it’s obviously not all past performance.
- Graham Harrell - How could NO ONE draft this kid? I’m so sick of this “system QB” crap. Everyone is running some type of system but the key is to excel at it. Harrell threw for over 15,700 yards in his college career and was a 70%+ passer in his Junior and Senior seasons. This kid not only was prolific but he was consistent.
- Ian Johnson - Probably best known by some for proposing to his girlfriend after Boise State won their Bowl game, Johnson was a solid running back for the blue fielded terrors. His production was limited in his senior season as he shared time with another back but he was still averaged more than 5 yards a carry. I think Johnson will be picked up as an undrafted free agent to play special teams and hopefully get a chance as a backup running back.
- Chase Daniel - Another QB that had excellent production in college posting 4000+ yard seasons in his Junior and Senior years. He also showed marked improvement in some areas like his completion percentage which was over 70% in his last season. Sure, I don’t think I’d scout him really high but he’s definitely a guy that could be groomed. *The Redskins picked up Daniel as a Free Agent after the draft*
Steve Young Didn’t Kill Someone
Of the ESPN crew Steve Young is easily the best to listen to and the most knowledgable about the game. I could go on and on about how great of a quarterback he was but there’s not much point. So, why is it that when Young is making a point Mel Kiper Jr. thinks he can one up him? Kiper has zero NFL career and he’s not even very good at this draft stuff. Yeah, he can ramble on and on about what a kid did in college and themeasurable ’s but he doesn’t have a clue about actually playing the game. Young, well, he has that little Hall of Fame badge that says he just might know a thing or two. Kiper, STFU and let Young speak before you get a more informed opinion of what a left handed QB is capable of.
Non-Football Note of the Week
I can’t really say this is totally non-football but I just want to rant a little on Percy Harvin. So, this kid got stoned at the NFL Combine when he knew he was going to get tested. He wasn’t the only athlete to do this, either. I just don’t get it. Sure, I bet this stuff has happened before but how arrogant or stupid do you have to be to pull something like that? The worst part is that it really does not matter much. Harvin is still going to be a multi-millionaire and probably act like an ass the whole time he’s in the NFL. There needs to either be much stricter policies or none at all. The NFL, and other sports, need to decide if they just want to LOOK like they are setting high standards or actually enforcing them. Harvin should have been forced to sit a year or get a lifetime ban for something so insanely stupid. Extreme, yes, but now what happens? Pretty much nothing. Be strict or don’t restrict.
Hyper’s Thoughts
- Been playing Grid on 360. Great racing game review forthcoming
- Picked up the Razer Carachias over the weekend and look for more on them. Very pleased
- Seriously, no one draft Harrell? Ugh
- Getting warm here I need to stop being fat anyone try that P90x?
- Tuesday editions are kind of sweet but sorry I got booked
- Wolverine this week, holy crap. I’m sure Scuzz will do it justice.
- More Windows Home Server this week!
Technorati 
Del.icio.us 
StumbleUpon 
Digg 
Facebook 
Mixx 
Reddit
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
2 Responses to “After-Draft; Surprisingly Good, Surprisingly Bad, and just Surprising”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
April 28th, 2009 at 9:29 pm
I’ve still got my Vegas cash down on which draft pick will lead their team to a Superbow first, Ricky Williams or Ryan Leaf.
April 29th, 2009 at 7:14 am
As much as people rip on Ricky Williams I’ve always taken the point that he’s just a very confused (or was) kid and actually a very talented football player. No one could have lived up to what was expected of him after Ditka sold off the Saints, basically, to get him.