The 2010 NFL Draft - AFC North

I don't have time to do the AFC South, but here's the North!

Ravens: Baltimore is pretty solid everywhere - their biggest problem is age/injury and its effect on vets like Todd Heap and Ed Reed. Although the Ravens did not draft a successor for the great safety, they did add two first round defensive talents in Sergio Kindle and Terrence Cody despite not picking until Day Two. They drafted two top tight ends and a wide receiver to help out Joe Flacco, and they added a talented developmental project in Barbados-native offensive lineman Ramon Harewood during round six. I like picking up Syracuse defensive tackle Art Jones in round five - before his injury last season, he was a potential top-50 pick. Overall, I give the Ravens credit for taking good players at appropriate times. The biggest concern is that they didn't address their secondary concerns, particularly at cornerback, but they would have had to either take a lesser cornerback or sacrifice one of their more talented targets, such as Cody. They clearly stuck to their board, and I respect that.

Bengals: Jermaine Gresham is an excellent tight end, and it's becoming more and more apparent how big an impact such a player can make. Cincinnati needed help with the passing game, and they got it in Gresham, productive slot receiver/return man Jordan Shipley, and Kansas star Dezmon Briscoe. I think Briscoe was one of the top 4 receivers in the draft and a second round talent, so picking him up in the 6th is an absolute steal. He dropped because of a crummy combine, but I saw the guy play against Oklahoma, and he's got the tools to be successful. They also added depth at every level of an already good defensive unit - I love the Carlos Dunlap selection round 2. Cincinnati could be incredibly good next year, as they may boast the NFL's best defense and a much more powerful offense than last year.

Browns: What's not to like about Cleveland's draft? They didn't bow to the pressure and take Jimmy Clausen with the 7th overall pick - they opted for the talented and skilled cornerback Joe Haden, who thoroughly warranted the high slot. In the second round, they again passed on Clausen and stayed focused on the secondary by taking safety T.J. Ward. While not the most gifted safety available to them, Ward is just a good football player - he's highly productive playmaker who works hard and plays smart - and I like it when teams pick those kind of guys. They made other good picks (Carlton Mitchell in round 6 was a steal), but the story is obviously Colt McCoy going in round 3. Now, I know McCoy isn't very tall and he doesn't have a great arm, but the fella is tough, smart, and decent, and he makes plays that win football games. Eventually, production should trump all. I really like Cleveland's draft because they believed in that principle.

Steelers: Much as we might like to see him get pounded, Pittsburgh needed to get better protection for Ben Roethlisberger. They got that in interior lineman Maurkice Pouncey, a physical player who should contribute as a rookie. The Steelers focused heavily on their pass rush and receiving corps, and I particularly like 4th-rounder defensive end/outside linebacker Thaddeus Gibson. Getting Georgia Tech star Jonathan Dwyer in the 6th was miraculous, as Dwyer is every bit the player that legitimate 2nd-rounder Toby Gerhart is. He reads holes well (you have to in an option system) and hits them hard, and that kind of work ethic is always admirable in Steel City. They might have been wise to draft a quarterback in the middle-to-late rounds, as I can't imagine Roethlisberger will be in a Steelers uniform for very many years.

The 2010 NFL Draft - A few thoughts and the AFC East

So, Commissioner Goodell's three-day spectacle was a rousing success for at least a couple of teams. Before doing a quick team-by-team look, let's hit a couple of bullet points:

• I'm not a fan of drafting a quarterback with the first overall pick - if you're picking first, there's a pretty darn good chance you'll get the kid killed - but I think Sam Bradford is about as good a prospect as you'll find. Living in Oklahoma, I got a chance to see him play and he's got the single most important physical tool: accuracy. He does throw a good deep ball, but the 10-yard routes are what keep the chains moving, and he throws those beautifully. He gets great touch on his passes - he can zip it in when he has to, but he knows that sometimes that's not the best play - and he's demonstrated the ability to read defenses and go through progressions. Some people say he's a product of a good offensive line, and while it certainly helped, it's incredibly easy to find highlights where he's hung in the pocket and taken shots or made an accurate throw on the run. Sam's also a good, smart guy who doesn't need the spotlight, so when it's all said and done, he's as good a pick as a quarterback selection ever can be.
• I'm surprised that Bradford's fellow Sooner Trent Williams was the first tackle taken, going number 4 to Washington. The guy's definitely got the physical tools to be a great player, but there's a couple thoughts in my mind. He was only a right tackle on Oklahoma's best offensive line (which was also one of the best offensive lines in college football history), and the left tackle on that line, Phil Loadholt, was drafted in the mid-second round last year and is unlikely to ever protect the blindside. Also: he's the guy who got beat during the BYU game when Bradford was injured. He had a fine collegiate career and I hope he was a fine professional career, but there's a reason that Oklahoma State's Russell Okung was rated the top tackle for almost the entire Draft Season. I think that the draft gurus and the personnel men just like tinkering with the boards ... sometimes you get it right the first time, fellas.
• Oakland's gotten an unfair rep for making poor draft choices. Sure, the Darrius Heyward-Bey selection was an awful pick, especially with Michael Crabtree and Jeremy Maclin still on the board, but rare is the team that doesn't make stupid picks from time-to-time. You hear the 2004 Robert Gallery pick get slammed ... well, I'm sorry, but every single pundit loved that pick at the time, and that's the standard you should use. You hear the Russell pick get slammed, but, again, people loved him. Now, the Raiders don't always draft conventionally, but they haven't had any more busts than normal, the worst ones were the consensus 'smart' picks, and they've made a couple good choices, too (2003 first rounder Nmandi Asomugha is the best cornerback in the league, for instance). I say all this because the Raiders had a universally-acclaimed excellent draft, and I don't want you to expect any "surprising competency" jokes.

So, those thoughts were the ones bouncing around. I'm going to go a division at a time over the next week and provide team-by-team thoughts. We'll start with the AFC East.

Bills: I'm not crazy about the C.J. Spiller pick. I think people marked him up for being the cream of a mediocre crop of running backs, and while position scarcity should factor into any decision, it shouldn't override the fact that Spiller had 20 carries in a game only 5 times in 52 games at Clemson. I smell Reggie Bush, and that's not a guy you should take when you've got good tackles in Bryan Bulaga and Anthony Davis still there. They didn't address the o-line until the third day, and their second round pick of defensive tackle Torell Troup was a terrible reach. Guys rated around him were picked many rounds later, and Terrence Cody, Linval Joseph, and Lamarr Houson were still available. A couple nice late picks (Kyle Calloway) don't make up for those stretchy early picks.

Dolphins: They focused heavily on defense (7 of 8), and I think they did a fair job of it. I like trading down in the first round to recoup the second round pick they lost in the Brandon Marshall trade, and the players they got out of it are plenty good. Jared Odrick is a good defensive tackle who will be an effective starter from day one, and they picked up a couple of pass rushing threats in Koa Misi and Chris McCoy. I like taking developmental guys in the middle rounds, and offensive lineman John Jerry is a talented guy. Their other picks are hard-working guys who should at least contribute on special teams. All in all, Miami did a good job.

Patriots: As usual, the Pats had a million picks. First rounder Devin McCourty wasn't my favorite corner available, but he's hardly a bad pick. The Pats also landed two of the top tight ends in the draft in Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez and two great Florida defenders in Jermaine Cunningham and Brandon Spikes. They added depth to both their lines, a decent punter, and a talented backup (and maybe even replacement four or five years from now) for Tom Brady in Zac Robinson. I saw him at Oklahoma State, and I like his abilities. Overall, New England got good players at good values ... and they got lots of them.

Jets: With just four picks, these guys were the Anti-Patriots, and probably happy to bear the title. Kyle Wilson might have been the second-best cornerback in the draft behind Joe Haden, so he was a good value at 29. Their defense was strong last year, and Wilson could be the league's best nickel back next season; the Jets will be very tough to pass on, and that's a great way to win games in the modern NFL. Second rounder Vlad Ducasse is talented, though he might end up playing guard rather than tackle at the next level, and the Jets have the offensive line depth that they don't need to play him before he's ready. I like USC running back Joe McKnight (especially in the 4th round) as a complement to Shonn Greene. He's got a reputation as a scat back, though he's a better inside runner than folks give him credit for, and he can immediately contribute. Fullback John Conner, in addition to being mankind's savior, is a physical player who fits right in with the Jets power game. The Fightin' Ryans had few picks, but they did pretty well with them.

Tomorrow: The AFC North and South.