FanPost

First 3 rounds draft grades for every team


Is there anything more short-sighted and ignorant than grading a draft before they've even shut off the lights at Radio City Music Hall?

Nevertheless, here's quite probably the first every-team draft grade. At least on this site. Maybe

who's had the best draft so far?

*****
Bengals- Dre Kirkpatrick, Kevin Zeitler, Mohamed Sanu, and a couple monster DTs.. fantastic.

Buccaneers- Mark Barron, Doug Martin, Lavonte David... raise your hand if you don't want all three of those guys in stripes. Maybe they reached for Martin, but who reached and who slipped means exactly nothing as soon as the draft is over. The net result is that they got three guys that will contribute a lot to their team this season.

Steelers- In typical Steeler fashion they waited their turn and selected value guys in positions they need. DeCastro should solidify their interior o-line and Adams could shore up the outside, turning their weakness into a strength. I really like Sean Spence, to me he looks like another Zach Thomas. Not really big, but he's all over the field and has great instincts and play-reading capabilities. A very solid draft.

****
Bills- I don't hear anyone talking about the Bills, but they've picked up a guy some had as the #1 CB in the draft in Gilmore, plus a good G/T prospect in Cordy Glenn. Track star TJ Graham could be a hit at WR/PR, though durability will definitely be a concern, as will his very suspect hands.

Browns- The John Hughes selection is a HUGE whiff, I think, but otherwise they have 3 very solid selections. There were bigger names than Schwartz available at OT, but I don't think any of them projected better at RT, which is what the Browns need. TR is a great prospect as we all know, but I may be in the minority in thinking that Weeden is a fantastic pickup. Did anyone watch him outperform Andrew Luck in the Fiesta Bowl? His college completion % is just ridiculous. Yeah he's 28, but he should have a good 8 years of NFL playing ahead of him. Great arm, great accuracy, great under pressure. What more do you want, egg in your beer?

Chargers- Melvin Ingram and Brandon Taylor are guys I would love to see as Bengals. Reyes I'm not as high on, but he's definitely got potential.

Colts- You have to give them 2 stars right off the bat for getting a phenomenal QB prospect, then snagging his favorite target (who is a legitimate top-of-the-2nd pick) in Coby Fleener. Yet another TE at the top of the 3rd seemed like a bit much, to me. TY Hilton at the end of the 3rd.. another target for Luck.. Maybe they should start to fill in the holes on defense at some point? The combo of Luck and Fleener is too safe for me to knock them down to 3 stars.

Giants- As much as I hate David Wilson's attitude, I do think Tom Coughlin can handle it. Reuben Randle and Jayron Hosley are excellent prospects, especially for where they were taken. The Giants didn't panic and look to trade, they just stayed put and got the best guys on their board at the selections they had. A solid draft. Only Wilson's "fumbles just happen" attitude keep this from being a 5 star draft.

Packers- Nick Perry is a risky pick, but I think Jerel Worthy and Casey Hayward are very solid guys that can come in and help their D significantly in 2012.

Vikings- They picked up a boatload of picks from the Browns (which will make for a good day 3 for the Vikings), but they still got potential solutions to their major problems on the first two days. Kalil wasn't as solid a prospect as you'd like for the top OT in the draft, but he should significantly improve their line. Robinson and Smith should be immediate improvements in their very weak secondary, which needs the ammo to fight off Aaron Rodgers and Matthew Stafford. With seven more selections to go, the Vikings have a lot of chances to fix what's wrong in Minnesota. Or possibly LA...

***
Bears- Shea McClellin and Alshon Jeffrey look like immediate starters. Hardin I'm unsure about.. he is an interesting guy, a definite boom/bust pick. All in all they've done a pretty solid job.

Cardinals- I'm not a huge fan of Floyd, but Fleming could be a steal in the 3rd. If he is coached up to NFL standards and doesn't get stupid looking for highlight reel plays. The Cardinals have to get better on both sides of the line, but there are still quality players available.

Cowboys- They only had 2 picks, but they got good value with each of them. Claiborne looks like a shutdown corner, and Crawford was a 2nd round talent taken in the middle of the 3rd. They've still got some holes to fill, but they're off to a good start.

Eagles- Fletcher Cox is a very good prospect, as is Vinny Curry. Nick Foles looks to be a mediocre backup, in my opinion. Their d-line should be a lot better, depending on how long it takes Curry to adjust, but they still have holes in the o-line and secondary. There are still guys available for those holes, but we'll have to see how the d-linemen pan out.

Lions- I'm not doing half-stars, or the Lions would be at 2.5. I like Riley Rieff at 23, and Ryan Broyles could turn out to be golden if his ACL doesn't cause him problems. His size concerns me, and there were a lot of great prospects available in the 2nd when they took him, or else I'd have their draft rated higher. As for Bentley, he's another small school kid with a pretty small frame for an NFL CB. He's got heart, maybe another Brent Grimes if the Lions are lucky, but the odds are pretty heavy against him.

Panthers- Much like the Cowboys, the Panthers only had 2 picks but they made the most of them. Keuchly is an extremely solid MLB prospect. Lots of the other SBNation fan boards were salivating over this guy, especially the Panthers and Chiefs fans. I really like Silatolu and think any O-line coach worth his salt will develop him into an extremely good player. They need another WR, CB, and some d-linemen, but there are interesting prospects still available.

Patriots- I try not to think too much about the Patriots drafts anymore. They obviously know a lot better than me who will pan out and who won't. I was shocked that they actually traded up instead of down this year (sorry to all those who I argued with about this) but I'm not going to comment on their selections. I'll just give them a 3 and move on.

Ravens- I like what the Ravens have done so far. Courtney Upshaw could be the next Terrell Suggs. He doesn't really fit into any one position perfectly, he's simply a quarterback hassling specialist. In today's NFL the only thing more important than a great pass rush is good QB play. The Ravens also grabbed Kelechi Osemele to take over for Ben Grubbs, and I really think the kid can do it. Bernard Pierce may be a bit of a reach, I feel they should have gone after some more help for their defense or maybe a WR.

Redskins- With the Redskins you have to look at the long con. On the short term, last year's draft looked strange. Why so many RBs? So far this year they've got the best QB prospect I've seen in my adult lifetime and an interior lineman who's not particularly good, but should be a reliable backup for any of the interior spots. Their WR needs were addressed in free agency, so if I'm picking for the Redskins I'm looking for DBs and maybe another interior o-lineman, someone with a little more upside than LeRibeus.

Titans- I don't like Kendall Wright's chances, but I have to admit he's got a shot. I didn't realize how many munchkin-sized WRs there are in the NFL these days. Zach Brown is a guy that I think is very good value with the 52nd pick, and Mike Martin has potential to contribute in the first year.

**
Broncos- Derek Wolfe is a pretty good DT prospect, but I don't trust 1 year player Brock Osweiler at QB. He'll hopefully have some time to learn before they need anything from him, but can they really count on Manning to get and stay healthy? I'm not big on Ronnie Hillman.. he's quick, but will that translate to the NFL? He struggled against good defenses, so the much faster defenders in the NFL shouldn't have too much trouble with him.

Chiefs- My distrust of Dontari Poe is well documented. A guy with those measurables that looked just "pretty good" against bottom of the barrel competition is a big red flag in my book. Maybe they'll get him to leverage that size and speed into something good, but I wouldn't count on it. Jeff Allen looks soft in the body and soft in the head to me, but he could pan out. Stephenson has raw physical ability but needs a lot of work. If the work is done and he's a good student, he could be a monster in 2013. There's a lot of "if" on this draft, though.

Dolphins- I see bust, decent OT selected about where he was expected to go, bust, bust. Tannehill and Vernon are ridiculously raw. Egnew is a less-talented Chase Coffman. Martin could be a solid tackle, but they selected him right where he was expected to go, so that doesn't do much to make up for the other whiffs.

Falcons- Konz was an absolute steal, but Lamar Holmes went about 3 rounds too soon. He will need a lot of work, but he could pan out in a year or two. My concern with the Falcons draft is the fact that they've gotten one guy so far that can help them this year, and he's an interior o-lineman. Do they think that's all they needed?

Jaguars- I'm tempted to put them down at 1 star just for drafting a frigging punter in the 3rd round. What the hell were they thinking? I mean, sure, they're going to be punting a lot, but I think the best possible punt is the one you didn't have to kick. Blackmon is a fairly solid prospect, I'm really not sold on him as a top 10 talent, much less top 5. Branch looks pretty solid, but not spectacular at 38.

Jets- I've been saying for a month that I think Quinton Coples is another Derrick Harvey. Stephen Hill caught less than 50 passes in 3 years as a starter (yes I know it was Georgia Tech) and that's a very small sample size to rate a guy on. He's definitely a boom-bust prospect. Demario Davis went to a tiny school and didn't look terribly bright or agile. I fully expect every single one of these guys to bust, but each of them could go the other way. There isn't a solid selection here anywhere.

Rams- I know a lot of people like what the Rams have done, but I am absolutely not in that camp. The Rams are a horrible, horrible NFL team. They've got five or six NFL-quality starters and a bunch of nobodies and they're taking high risk players with almost every selection? Brockers is a boom/bust DT, Janoris Jenkins is a GMs nightmare, Brian Quick and Trumaine Johnson played their college ball against the Washington Generals so who knows how good they really are, and Isaiah Pead is a scatback. It's pretty sad when a situational scatback is the guy most likely to have a significant impact on the field. Sure they could hit on some of the other guys, but every one of them could be a complete miss and no one would be surprised. There is way too much "if" coming off of this draft for a team with so very many needs.

Texans- I'm not as big on Mercilus as a lot of other people (wasn't he a 2nd round prospect 2 weeks ago?), and I don't expect much at all out of Devier Posey. I do like the Brandon Brooks selection, but that's all I like out of this draft.

*
49ers- AJ Jenkins was a HUGE reach, in my opinion. Not even close to BPA, even at that position. They've got a good backfield combination in Gore and Hunter, I don't see James as a need or BPA pick.

Raiders- They destroyed their 2012 draft. It is burning, the walls are coming down, and the rats are swimming across the bay. By the time they got to make their first selection, the 2nd day of the draft was already over. That didn't stop them from being the Raiders and reaching for a mediocre player, though, in unspectacular OT Tony Bergstrom.

Saints- Stupid, stupid, stupid. I'm not talking about the Saints right now, I'd curse too much. And I'm not fond of Akiem Hicks, either.

Seahawks- WTF, Pete Carroll? Just, seriously, WTF?

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Cincy Jungle's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan, which is as important as the views of Cincy Jungle's writers or editors.