The shorts and T-shirts work is mostly done and what's left will be done either behind closed doors in private workouts or in cushy, ultra-favorable conditions at Pro Days.
Round 1 | |||||
1 | St Louis | Sam Bradford |
QB | Oklahoma | When Shefter speaks, I listen |
2 | Detroit | Ndamukong Suh | DT | Nebraska |
The top player in the draft at the position of the Lions biggest need, Lions fans rejoice. The Lions added Corey Williams, but Williams is a 3-tech while Suh is strong enough to be a disruptive 1-tech |
3 | Tampa Bay |
Gerald McCoy |
DT | Oklahoma | Elite player at a major need position. |
4 | Washington | Jimmy Clausen |
QB | Notre Dame |
The new FO in Washington isn't likely to give Jason Campbell much of a leash and will want their QB ready to take over. If Chad Clifton signs QB will be a near certainty here. |
5 | Kansas City | Eric Berry |
S | Tennessee | The Chiefs OL may have turned the corner late in the year allowing just 8 sacks in their last 6 games after giving up 37 in their first 10. This lets them address a hole on the D and worry about the OL later. |
6 | Seattle | Russell Okung |
OT | Ok. State |
The Seahawks set the table for their QB of the future to be picked later. Okung had an excellent combine, but could slip anyway |
7 | Cleveland | Joe Haden | CB | Florida | If the new FO is scared off by Haden's 40 Cleveland needs a new new FO. |
8 | Oakland | Bruce Campbell | OT | Maryland | Most freakish performer at a need position. |
9 | Buffalo | Anthony Davis | OT | Rutgers | Buffalo will need to add pieces to the D to make the 3-4 conversion work, but it'll be very hard for them to pass up a franchise LT |
10 | Jacksonville | Derrick Morgan | DE | Georgia Tech | The Jags get the top DE in the draft to try to boost their lacking pass rush. |
11 | Denver | Dan Williams | NT | Tennessee | So many teams are run the 3-4 that key 3-4 pieces are being valued higher and higher |
12 | Miami | Rolando McClain | ILB | Alabama | MLBs have tended to fall in the draft, but McClain won't fall beyond the LB-poor Phins. |
13 | San Fran | C.J. Spiller | RB | Clemson | Bulaga might be better value, but with Seattle already getting an OT, Spiller is much less likely to make it down to #17. Spiller would majorly boost the 9ers return game and would be a nice complement to a bigger back in Frank Gore. |
14 | Seattle | Jason Pierre-Paul | DE | South Florida | The Seahawks need pass rush nearly as much as pass pro. |
15 | NY Giants | Brian Price | DT | UCLA | Earl Thomas would be tough to pass on, and if Phillips can't return he won't be passed on, but Brian Price is a perfect fit to disrupt in the middle of a 4-3. |
16 | Tennessee | Kyle Wilson | CB | Boise St. | Fills two big holes on the roster. A CB opposite Finnegan and a competent returner. |
17 | San Fran | Bryan Bulaga | OT | Iowa | Getting to the range where you can justify taking a guy to play RT, hard to do it earlier even if it's a guy with LT talent. |
18 | Pittsburgh | Earl Thomas | S | Texas | Steelers would be thrilled if a elite FS fell to them. Thomas would be great playing deep behind Polamalu. |
19 | Atlanta | Brandon Graham | DE | Michigan | Graham is shorter than some would like in a 4-3 DE, but he blew away the depth of the OT class at the senior bowl. |
20 | Houston | Ryan Matthews | RB | Fresno St. | Mathews impressed at the combine running a 4.45 at a solid 218lbs. He'd be a nice compliment to the smaller Slaton. |
21 | Cincinnati | Dez Bryant | WR | Ok. St. | Cincy gets the top WR in the class to replace the cut Coles as a complement to Chad OchoCinco |
22 | New England | Sergio Kindle | OLB | Texas | Pass need a pass rush and Kindle is made for a 3-4 pass rush |
23 | Green Bay | Charles Brown | OT | USC | Packers need to protect Aaron Rodgers. Brown's stock is way up after coming to the combine over 300lbs and still being athletic in workouts. |
24 | Philadelphia | Sean Weatherspoon | OLB | Missouri | After giving Will Witherspoon the boot, Weatherspoon would be a great addition at that WILL spot. |
25 | Baltimore | Carlos Dunlap | DE | Florida | With Anquan Boldin in the fold |
26 | Arizona | Brandon Spikes | ILB | Florida | The Cardinals have lost a lot of front 7 pieces, Spikes can take the most high profile hole, left by Karlos Dansby's exit. |
27 | Dallas | Mike Iupati | OL | Idaho | Iupati fits the big maul mold for Dallas and fills the OL need. |
28 | San Diego | Trent Williams | OT | Oklahoma | Dwyer is the best back on the board and RB is atop the Chargers need, but Dwyer comes from a offense that rarely threw and the Chargers need a back to be ready to contribute there. Williams is a big upgrade at RT or on the inside for a team that need good pass pro to utilize their big speedy WRs. |
29 | NY Jets | Jared Odrick | DE | Penn St. | With Cromartie in the fold a 3-4 DE is the 1st spot to address on that D. |
30 | Minnesota | Devin McCourty | CB | Rutgers | McCourty is a physical CB with solid size and cover skill in zone and man. |
31 | Indianapolis | Everson Griffen | DE | USC | Griffen has good size at 6'3" 273lbs and held up against the run well. 8 sacks last year (18 over the last 3) along with excellent combine numbers suggest he can mount a pass rush as well. Griffen can play the Brock role and be a 3rd edge rusher. |
32 | New Orleans | Navarro Bowman | OLB | Penn State |
The Saints are old and thin at OLB. Bowman has a character red flag, but is a great talent. |
Round 2 | |||||
33 | St Louis | Ricky Sapp |
DE |
Clemson | Sapp is undersized, but value and brings pass rushing ability that the Rams are in dire need of. |
34 | Detroit | Maurkice Pouncey | C/G | Florida | The Lions build up both interiors. Pouncey can play any of the 3 interior positions and the Lions have made it known they are looking for an upgrade at a guard spot. |
35 | Tampa Bay | Golden Tate | WR | Notre Dame | The Bucs cut ties with top WR Antonio Bryant after he was unable to stay healthy. Tate gives them a go-to option for Josh Freeman. |
36 | Kansas City | Terrence Cody | NT | Alabama | Slimmed down to a svelte 354lbs for the combine Cody will climb the board if he can continue to show he can control his weight. |
37 | Washington | Vlad Ducasse | OL | Massachusetts | Ducasse had great potential, he may have to start out at guard, but he could develop into a very good tackle. |
38 | Cleveland | Jermaine Gresham | TE | Oklahoma | Gresham's combine workout wasn't great as he looked rusty in position drills, but the top TE in the class can only fall so far. The Browns are majorly lacking in targets. |
39 | Oakland | Taylor Mays | S | USC | The Raiders will likely consider Mays at #8, I'm sure they'd be thrilled to have a shot at him in the 2nd. |
40 | Seattle | Damian Williams | WR | USC | After losing Burleson the Seahawks have gotten very aggressive pursuing another WR. If Marshall isn't brought in |
41 | Buffalo | Jerry Hughes | OLB | TCU | The Bills grab a rush LB to start putting the remaining 3-4 pieces in place. |
42 | Tampa Bay | Daryl Washington | LB | TCU | Washington is a great cover LB for the Bucs move back towards the Tampa-2 |
43 | Miami | Nate Allen | S | South Florida | Too many teams got deep on the Phins. Safety help is a priority. |
44 | New England | Jahvid Best | RB | Cal | Best ran well, which might be enough to bump him higher, but his size and injury concerns could keep him down. |
45 | Denver | Corey Wootton | DE | Northwestern | Wootton is a massive lineman at 6'7", with very good athleticism and a solid 280lbs. |
46 | NY Giants | Chad Jones | S | LSU | Antrell Rolle is likely in the fold, but Jones is a good insurance policy if Kenny Phillips can't make it back from injury. If Phillips is back Jones has the size and physical nature to be a LB conversion project. |
47 | New England | John Jerry | G | Mississippi | Pats shore up the OL. As they've shown with Logan Mankins they put value on the guard spots. |
48 | Carolina | Brandon LaFell | WR | LSU | The Panthers need another target for Matt Moore to go with Steve Smith. |
49 | San Francisco | Brandon Ghee | CB | Wake Forrest |
The Niners D got a nice pass rush, but the coverage was a bit lacking. Ghee had about as good a combine as is possible, running the best 40 among CBs and measuring taller than Wake listed him. |
50 | Kansas City | Jon Asamoah | G | Illinois | If the Chiefs are sold on Albert at LT, they'll need to add to the guard or center spot to fill out the OL. Asamoah is a good guard prospect who might be able to play RT. |
51 | Houston | Dominque Franks | CB | Oklahoma | The Texans ignored the requests of Dunta Robinson's shoes, so could use a replacement for their owner. |
52 | Pittsburgh | Patrick Robinson | CB | Florida State | With Polamalu healthy and two talented DBs in the fold the Steelers shouldn't be giving up any more late TDs to the Raiders. |
53 | New England | Eric Norwood | LB | South Carolina | Norwood can play OLB or ILB for the Pats, who love versatile players and have need at both spots. |
54 | Cincinnati | Reshad Jones | S | Georgia | When you are employing Roy Williams is obvious safety is a need. |
55 | Philadelphia | Kareem Jackson | CB | Alabama | Coverage, coverage, coverage in Philly. That explosive offense will just be running in place if the D can't cover. |
56 | Green Bay | Jason Worilds | OLB | Virgina Tech | The Packers need a pass rusher for Kampman's vacated spot. Worilds is a great one. |
57 | Baltimore | Rob Gronkowski | TE | Arizona | With Boldin in the fold a receiving TE would make the Ravens passing game scary. |
58 | NY Jets | Mike Johnson | G | Alabama | The Jets OL was very good last year, but it's aging in spots. |
59 | Arizona | Koi Misi | DE/OLB | Utah | Misi stood out at the Senior Bowl, making plays and looking natural at OLB. Spikes and Misi would restock a needy Cards front 7 |
60 | Dallas | Arrelious Benn | WR | Illinois | A big athlete at WR for the Cowboys to push Roy Williams with (maybe all the way out the door). |
61 | Minnesota | Colt McCoy | QB | Texas | The Vikings need a QB of the future, Tarvaris isn't it. |
62 | San Diego | Anthony Dixon | RB | Mississippi St. | Massive back with skills in the passing game to complement Sproles |
63 | Indianapolis | Rodger Saffold | OT | Indiana | The OT class doesn't have a ton of depth behind the top 6. Saffold is an exception. He played well against top competition holding Brandon Graham and Adrian Clayborn without a sack last year. |
64 | New Orleans | Arthur Jones | DT | Syracuse | A stout DT to shore up a D that was soft up the middle. |
Round 3 | |||||
65 | St. Louis | T.J. Ward | S | Oregon | The Rams putting a no-compensation tender on Oshiomogho Atogwe is a open invitation for other teams to poach him. |
66 | Detroit | Jonathan Dwyer | RB | Georgia Tech | Dwyer is slipping but is still a powerful back that should progress in the passing game once he's in an offense that asks him to pass block and catch. |
67 | Tampa Bay | Brandon Lang | DE | Troy | With McCoy and Lang the Bucs should be able to get a much more effective pass rush |
68 | Kansas City | Demaryious Thomas | WR | Georgia Tech | WR with a fantastic speed-size combo. He'll need to learn to play in a pro offense, but has a sky high ceiling. |
69 | Washington | Selvish Capers | OT | West Virgina | Protecting the new QB is job 1. |
70 | Oakland | Sean Lee | MLB | Penn State | The Raiders are begging teams to take their current LBs away with RFA offer sheets. They want to renovate the position |
71 | Philadelphia | Austin Lane | DE | Murray State | The Eagles need a pass rusher opposite Cole. Lane is a productive player with nice measurables. |
72 | Cleveland | Toby Gerhart | RB | Stanford | A big complementary back to Jerome Harrison. Gerhart's nice combine workout will have more teams considering him a HB instead of a FB |
73 | Buffalo | Cam Thomas | NT | North Carolina | Bills get a NT for the new 3-4 |
74 | Miami | Torrell Troup | NT | Central Florida | The Phins need an OLB, but there are many more players out there to play OLB in a 3-4 than NT. |
75 | Jacksonville | Larry Asante | S | Nebraska | Physical safety to upgrade the SS spot. |
76 | Chicago | Jared Veldheer | OT | Hillsdale | If Veldheer's short arms are an issue the Bears can always drop half tackle/half TE Brandon Manumaleuna down next to him. |
77 | NY Giants | Matt Tennant | C/G | Boston College | A very experienced and durable interior lineman to boost a line that should have been stronger. |
78 | Tennessee | Greg Hardy | DE | Mississippi | Hardy need the LenWhale diet plan, but the talent is all there. |
79 | Carolina | George Selvie | DE | South Florida | Selvie was the focus of blocking schemes even with JPP opposite him. He can get to the passer or at least free up his teammates. |
80 | San Francisco | Major Wright |
S | Florida | A CB and S should give the Niners the secondary they need to be a stifling D. |
81 | Denver | Perrish Cox | CB | Oklahoma St. | Broncos could use a CB across from Champ, and he's on the wrong side of 30 so a replacement should be on the radar. |
82 | Texans | J.D. Walton | C/G | Baylor | A strong solidly built interior lineman to solidify the Texans line |
83 | Pittsburgh |
Jason Fox | OT | Miami | Fox is a bit risky coming off an injury, but has the most potential of the remaining tackles. |
84 | Atlanta | A.J. Edds | OLB | Iowa | A strong run defender with good athleticism. |
85 | Cincinnati | Lamarr Houston | DT | Texas | Great value on a penetrating D-tackle with good size. |
86 | Oakland | Tyson Alualu | DT | Cal | Raiders add a piece in the center of a D that was too weak up to middle. |
87 | Green Bay | Donovan Warren | CB | Michigan | Good CB value to a aging secondary. |
88 | Philadelphia | Darrell Stucky | S | Kansas | Reinforcing the DB corps. |
89 | Cleveland | Carlton Mitchell | WR | South Florida | A new TE, WR and creating a thunder and lightning duo should give whoever the new Cleveland FO chooses at QB an actual chance. |
90 | Arizona | Aaron Hernandez | TE | Florida | Good receiving TE to add another weapon for Leinart. |
91 | Arizona | Jerome Murphy | CB | South Florida | DB depth is a must for a D that'll play a lot of nickel if the O works as expected |
92 | Dallas | Akwasi Owusu-Ansah | CB | Indiana (PA) | Very talented CB coming from a small school. Seems to be a wealth of them around now. |
93 | Minnesota | Joe McKnight | RB | USC | With Chester Taylor gone, a 3rd down back is needed as receiving and pass blocking remain holes in AP's game. McKnight is a great receiver and solid pass blocker.z |
94 | San Diego | Alex Carrington | DE | Arkansas State | Big athletic DE. Should help a Chargers DL that struggled for much of the year. |
95 | Indianapolis | Javier Arenas | CB | Alabama | Big boost to the return game, and the skills to be a very good nickelback. |
96 | New Orleans | Willie Young |
DE | NC. State |
The Saints are cut ties with starting DE Charles Grant. Young can get pressure in that spot. |
15 Best Remaining:
QBs Tony Pike, Dan LeFevour and Tim Tebow,
RB Montario Hardesty
WRs Marty Gilyard, Jordan Shipley, Taylor Price and Dexter McCluster
TEs Ed Dickson Anthony McCoy and Jimmy Graham
DE Jermaine Cunningham
LB Rennie Curran
CBs Syd'Quan Thompson and Amari Spievey