Which teams mixed it up, got better, and made things more interesting for the upcoming season and which teams did not?
Positives
1. Jacksonville Jaguars: I loved the stay at home and take the best player available approach. Taking Texas A&M OT Luke Joekel with the second pick and not biting on any of the QB's in this year's class were the right moves that automatically makes this draft a success in my mind. Safety Johnathan Cyprien, who some had considered taking in the first, was a pleasant surprise in the second round and offensive weapons Ace Sanders and Denard Robinson could turn out to be steals in the fourth and fifth. Altogether, the Jaguars became a better, more explosive football team over the weekend.
2. Carolina Panthers: This wasn't a real sexy draft for the Panthers but it is one that could go a long way towards making this team a playoff contender once again. They had a need along the interior of the front line of their defense, and they got two of the best in the entire draft in tackles Star Lotululei (1st) and Kawann Short (2nd). Honestly, anything after those two picks would be just a bonus, although LB A.J. Klein and RB Kenjon Barner were very nice bonuses to nab on day three of the draft.
3. Cincinnati Bengals: Out of the ten picks the Bengals made over the weekend, I see four guys that would've been immediate starters on this team several years ago. However, the Bungals are no longering bungaling and they seemingly improved their depth and overall play-making ability at several key positions. TE Tyler Eifert, RB Giovanni Bernard, and DL Margus Hunt are all prospects the could quickly pay dividends on the team's investment in the them, even if they aren't the starters at their respective positions. Safety Shawn Williams (3rd) and LB Sean Porter (4th) should get a lot of action on special teams this fall.
4. Kansas City Chiefs: Like the Jaguars, the Chiefs made strides as an organization this past weekend with a draft strategy that didn't try to get too cute with the high picks they had in their posession. In Eric Fisher the Chiefs get a tough, hard-nosed football player that will most-likely be fine playing on the right side if the team decides not to move Brendan Albert. That would possibly give the team it's best tackle tandem in years. Several other guys should add quality depth and special teams play as soon as they hit the field.
5. Minnesota Vikings: Any time a team drafts a player at #23 that some scouts and writers had as high as #2 on their draft boards tells you they probably got a steal with that pick. Any time a team makes three picks in the first round on highly regarded prospects that happen to all fill big needs, then you can already say that this year's draft for Purple Pride was a success before the first night was even over. However, I am most impressed with the team taking LB's Gerald Hodges (4th) and Michael Mauti (7th). Both guys were Penn State products that really stepped up and helped save a doomed season for the Nittany Lions last year. One of them will eventually be a starter and both will be good additions in terms of depth.
6. San Diego Chargers: Again, it's not the type of group of draft prospects that jump off the page at you, but I see three brick and mortar type guys, in OT D.J. Fluker, LB Manti Te'o, and WR Keenan Allen, that will be huge contributors as soon as the regular season begins on September 9th. Getting Allen in the third is an absolute steal because he has first round talent.
7. Seattle Seahawks: I give credit to the 'Hawks for trading away their first round pick to Minnesota for WR Percy Harvin a few months back. The talent at the top of this draft was nothing to get too excited about anyway, and Harvin brings a lot more to the table than any other player that was available at #25. Besides, the team ended up making 11 picks in all during the course of the draft and got some real deals in DT's Jordan Hill (3rd) and Jesse Williams (5th). If anything, this draft added tons of depth to the roster and besides Tampa, the SeaChickens are the only other team that can legitimately say they got a pro-bowl caliber player with their first round pick.
8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Say what you want about Darrelle Revis, his knee, or the $16 million per year the Bucs are paying him, the guy is arguably among the top 10 players in the league and none of that contract is guaranteed to him. No matter how you look at it there was no player available at #13 that can yet be fairly compared to Revis and I'm willing to bet that all 32 contracts that will be dished out to the first round picks will include some guaranteed money. It was a solid move by the Bucs that could go a long way toward making another run at a Super Bowl very soon. The rest of their draft picks may not have been quite as solid, especially the taking of QB Mike Glennon in the third over some better players that were available, such as receivers Keenan Allen and Terrence Williams, but the Pewter Pirates did walk away with a few real nice additions. CB Johnthan Banks isn't flashy or super fast, but he is a tall, rangy defender (6'2" 185 lbs.) that has consistently shown the ability to take down ball-carriers on the perimeter in the SEC. DT Akeem Spence might end up being the best pick overall for the Bucs. He isn't very tall (6'1") but he is a quick, active defender that looks like a mix somewhere between "Booger" McFarland and Chidi Ahanotu.
Negatives
1. Minnesota Vikings: Yes, I still think the Vikings did a great job overall throughout the draft, but trading up to get WR Cordarelle Patterson was something the team really didn't need to do. There were plenty of talented pass-catchers that were still available two rounds later and the guy they got is nothing more than a workout warrior that flashed one big year in college at this point. The fact that he forgot to show up and disappeard in the big games over SEC rivals tells me he is not NFL material. At the very least he has a lot to prove to justify this move. Good thing for the Vikings they had two other very solid first round picks to overshadow this little blunder.
2. Atlanta Falcons: Of course it is too early to tell if this is a failure or not, but as far as I can tell this team at best got a good nickel back that could eventually start in the NFL along with a dumpster full of training camp fodder. Nothing really stands out to me here and I wouldn't be surprised if five of the eight guys drafted aren't even on the team once the regulars season begins.
3. San Francisco 49ers: This seemed like a weak effort by the 49ers altogether. The team had a bunch of picks going into the weekend and they really looked like they were unprepared for it. First they reached in the first round by trading up to get safety Eric Reid, who many believed was well on his way to the second round. They then reached again in the second for TE Vance McDonald and again in the fourth on RB Marcus Lattimore. Now I love Lattimore as much as the next guy but to use a fourth rounder on him would be hard for me to swallow if I were a San Fran fan.
4. New England Patriots: This organization gets way too much credit for being draft geniuses that know how to work it when in actuality they generally miss on prospects more than people think. Although the team did a lot of wheeling and dealing to replenish a depleted number of picks going into the draft, I am willing to bet that only two of the seven guys taken by the Patriots this past weekend will still even be on the roster in two years.
