With the dust settling on the Draft, it’s time to have a look at all the teams’ decisions and evaluate the best and the worst.
New York Jets
The Jets made some big moves this offseason and capped it off with some excellent Draft picks. First, they cut guard Alan Faneca and traded RB Leon Washington. They supplemented the former with OL Vladimir Ducasse and the latter with Joe McKnight. They also added first round pick CB Kyle Wilson from Boise State to their lineup. Together with Antonio Cromartie and Darrell Revis, they have the major defensive potential. Though, with all of their money delegated to other positions on the field, they are still lacking when it comes to a Kicker.
Minnesota Vikings
They may have just lost out on the Super Bowl last season, but they are shaping up to be Super Bowl favorites in the new season. They started off by replacing RB Chester Taylor with Toby Gerhart (Heisman runner-up). They also grabbed CB Chris Cook, who will be the biggest CB on the team at 6’2”. All three acquisitions add some fresh talent to their respective positions, making the team stronger in the long run. The only question that remains is that of Brett Favre. Will he return for another season? An answer will probably come just after training camp has wrapped up, but perhaps Minnesota should have looked into longer term QB plans.
While these two teams used the Draft to their advantage, some teams made a few picks that left plenty of NFL fans and experts scratching their heads.
Denver Broncos
Their first round pick of QB Tim Tebow may have cocked a few eyebrows, but as the guy has shown some drastic improvement and dedication throughout the combine he’s probably a pretty decent decision. But, they it was followed up with such picks as OL Zane Beadles who was clobbered in the Senior Bowl. Coach Josh McDaniels also took WR Demaryius Thomas instead of Dez Bryant for ‘purely football related’ reasons that we may never understand. These are some big reaches on Denver’s part and it will be interesting to see if any of them actually payoff, especially when you consider that McDaniels’s career might well be on the line if the Broncos have another spiraling season.
Jacksonville Jaguars
There was little doubt that Jacksonville would be heading into this draft with their eyes firmly set on defense. However, they shocked more than a few people when they picked up Tyson Alualu with their first round pick. The kid has talent; no one is disputing that. But, he wasn’t likely going to be scooped up in the first round. The Jags could have used that pick to get a much needed QB.
There were plenty of other teams out there that made some big (and risky) moves in this year’s Draft. We’ll see how it all pans out when the regular season rolls around in September.
