Well, Mr. Hair at ESPN gave the Colts a "C" grade for the draft. Just so everyone keeps this in perspective (aka, Mel Kiper is an idiot and knows nothing about the draft even though he's paid a lot of money to know such things), Kiper did not give a single team an "A" grade. He gave the Broncos a "B" grade, which is laughable. Denver has no defense, and they adressed that glaring need by drafting a QB in the first round and trading picks for Packers WR Javon Walker, who is recovering from a serious knee injury. What one has to understand with Kiper is if your team did not draft the guy he wanted them to draft, he gives them a bad grade.
Kiper wanted the Colts to take RB Laurence Maroney, who was picked up at number 22 by the Patriots. I like Maroney, and I think he's a good choice by New England. Was he worth the Colts trading up to the number 21 pick to get? No.
And if you want some further perspective on Kiper's draft "genius," here's some fun nuggets from the 2001 NFL Draft:
Apparently, according to Kiper, the Falcons should rally around their "leader" Michael Vick, Gerard Warren will solidfy Cleveland's defensive line alongside Courtney Brown, Justin Smith is an "elite" defensive player along with Warren, and WR Rod Gardner should make a "major impact" in Washington.
Five years later, Michael Vick is under fire in Atlanta for his poor attitude and his lack of accuracy throwing the ball; Gerard Warren, Courtney Brown, and Rod Gardner are officially labeled "busts" and are no longer playing for the teams that drafted them; Justin Smith hasn't lived up to his first round billing in Cincinnati despite the coaching of defensive master Marvin Lewis.
NFL GMs and personnel people are held accountable for questionable draft day decisions, yet morons like Kiper still have six-figure-jobs spewing useless crap about players and the NFL Draft. I believe Mel has one of the 100 BS jobs in America. Even though Mel is an idiot, he is certainly not alone at ESPN. Our favorite pundit, Fat Lenny Pasquarelli, gave Baltimore an "A+" for trading up to get QB Kyle Boller in 2003. Kiper gave high marks to Baltimore for drafting Boller as well. Gotta love it!
Meanwhile, CBS Sportsline gave the Colts high marks for the draft.
Despite what ESPN idiots like Kiper and Fat Lenny say, the draft is not a crap shoot. If you know what you're doing, if you have a plan and a solid scouting department, you will have have a solid draft. A good rule of thumb is this: teams like New England, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, and Carolina should always get at least a "B+" grade on draft day by default. They always draft well, and always make pundits look like the idiots they are in the end.
Update [2006-5-1 13:46:17 by BigBlueShoe]: More idiocy from the pundit media. It seems John Czarnecki of Fox Sports didn't like Indy's draft selections because they were "undersized." That's it. That's the only reason this idiot gives for grading the Colts "C-" for the draft. I wonder how Mr. Czarnecki felt about Indianapolis selecting Bob Sanders in 2004, or Cato June and Robert Mathis in 2003. All were undersized. None were taken in the first round. Sanders and June are now Pro Bowlers, and Mathis led the team in sacks last year. Another sports pundidiot owned.