Winners
Cincinnati Bengals- The Bengals first four players should start right away. Charles Johnson reminds me of Julius Peppers and could be a steal if he decides to play hard on more than 50% of the downs. Chase Coffman is a viable offensive threat which hopefully will be utilized by Carson Palmer (considering he's never had a TE who could catch, I hope he is not confused). The only pick I question is 6th round pick Bernard Scott who has been arrested 5 times in four years. He should fit right in.
Buffalo Bills - Buffalo decided not to reach for a tackle with the #11 pick instead choosing the best pure pass rusher available in Aaron Maybin. They also selected two interior linemen who should step in right away to improve one of the league's worst lines at run blocking. Fourth round pick Shawn Nelson is being declared the steal of the draft and 6th round pick Corey Harris could end up being a solid starter. Any time you get a starter in the 6th round you had a good draft. Their last pick of the day made little sense to me though.
Seattle Seahawks - Seattle passed on taking Matt Hasselbeck's replacement. Normally a decision like this should be questioned but Seattle probably took the best player in the draft in LB Aaron Curry. Second round pick Max Unger will step in and start a center right away also. Deon Butler is the new Bobby Engram and Courtney Greene will be a stud on special teams as a worst case scenario. Taking QB Mike Teel in the 6th was just silly. Seattle will make the playoffs this year.
Houston Texans - Brian Cushing will be the team's main pass rusher off the end beginning on day 1. This move should should help EVERYONE on the defense. Connor Barwin is a DE who can also line up at TE. James Casey is already better than Owen Daniels in my mind and could be an immediate offensive threat. I think Houston had a great draft.
Green Bay Packers - I'm not sold on Clay Matthews being a solid NFL linebacker but with GB moving from a 4-3 to a 3-4 he can play next to AJ Hawk which should help hide each of their weaknesses. BJ Raji was an absolute steal at #9. TJ Lang was a nice pick for a team with an aging O-line and John Meredith could develop into a solid guard. I think Green Bay's overall draft hinges on the success of Matthews but right now it looks like one of the best.
1 comment:
i'd say your "rundown" is pretty accurate, but i can't help but pick out one glaring falsehood..."Seattle WILL make the playoffs this year."
You say it with such certainty. I can't help but think about how they were favored in the NFC West last year and WR injuries really burned them. This year, facing the AFC South division is almost a guarantee of 3+ losses. The Titans resting starters in Week 17 is their best shot at a victory over the NFL's best division top to bottom. Even if they muster a 4-2 record in the West, likely losses at Dallas and at Minnesota put them around a 9-7 record.
9-7 obviously won't get them a wild-card, so they have to hope the Cards don't go 10-6 or 9-7 with a better common opponent record. Odds aren't good for San Fran or StL to break out yet, but I'm sure one of them steals a win from the Hawks along the way.
I'd give the following percents for winning the division:
7% San Fran
11% St. Louis
41% Seattle
41% Arizona
(I used prime numbers cuz I like prime numbers, but you get the point)
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