NFL DRAFT REVIEW

I love the draft. It's one of my favorite weekends of the year. In the weeks (ok, months) leading up to the draft, I think I do more work breaking down the college talent and the franchise needs than I do at my REAL job. I also love it because among my friends (a small group of sports nuts) I feel like Mel Kiper Jr., which is a funny feeling to say the least. I think next year I'm going to challenge Mel Kiper to a 'Draft Off' where we each pick the first round and see who comes out with the most right picks. I swear I could kick his butt. :) But enough about me and how I have too much time on my hands and aspire to have big hair. On to the my thoughts on the draft...

1. Don't be fooled by the Texans and their statement that they picked Mario Williams as a 'football decision'. This was a financial decision. No chance they had Mario Williams rated higher than Bush. No one did, and there was a perfectly good reason for that. Bush is incredible. Williams had, like, 2 good games when he decided to play hard in college and all the sudden people are letting themselves be fooled by Kubiak & Co. Bush would have been too hard to sign, and so they went with the next best thing, a 6'7", 295 lb. monster of a DE.

2. I would have picked Leinart over Young if I was the Titans.

3. The NY Jets had a solid draft. The fact that they got the best Tackle and best interior lineman in the draft is fantastic. I was very impressed that Mangini went this direction. The rest of their picks were average at best. I think people are over-rating their overall draft performance.

4. The 49ers made a mistake. Vernon Davis isn't a great blocker and they already have a fantastic pass catching TE in Eric Johnson. I think Davis has the opportunity to do very well in their system, but the fact is, the Niners have more needs than they know what to do with. They should have addressed those other needs. Johnson set records for catches and yards two seasons ago and didn't need to be replaced.

5. The Giants surprised me with their pick of Mathias Kiwanuka, a DE, with the last pick of the 1st round. This guy got OWNED by D'Brickashaw Ferguson at the Senior Bowl and they've already got the best DE tandem in the league. Bad pick I think. I liked the pick of Sinorice Moss, though, and I think he'll be very successful playing in a system that already spreads defenses pretty thin (Burress, Shockey and Tiki).

6. The Cheifs REALLY reached with the pick of Tamba Hali. I think he's undersized for the NFL and I don't see him making a huge impact, although, I could be wrong. The guy is driven.

7. Obviously the Cardinals have got to be STOKED that Leinart dropped all the way to #10. And you know what, if I'm Leinart, I'm stoked too. I get to look forward to years handing the ball to Edge when I'm in a jam and throwing the ball to the best young WR tandem in the league (Bolden and Fitzgerald). Not only that, but the Cards drafted him a huge TE in Gabe Watson from Georgia to throw to. The Cards had the 2nd best draft in the league.

8. The Eagles had the best draft overall. Yeah, yeah, I know, I'm just a Philly fan, right? Well I am, but that's why I have the right to say this. You see, the average Philly fan is hard to please, and I'm worse than most. Generally, I'm upset after a draft, no matter how good it looks on paper. This year is different though. We got the best DT prospect in the draft, the 2nd best OT, the 2nd best OG, the 1-AA sack leader 2 years running AND an 80 catch receiver from Michigan (in the 4th round). I like that the Eagles are so dedicated to solidifying the line of scrimmage and I think they did a fantastic job of bulking up the trenches. Considering that many pundits assumed we would pick Winston Justice with the 14th pick and we got him with the 39th pick. I'd say that sums up the value the Eags got out of their picks, and on draft day, it's all about value.


That's what I think, take it or leave it.