The Rams got their man in the first round of this years draft. Carriker will come in and be an iunstant starter most likely and he will help out on an improving defense.
Breaking Down The Draft - AFC East
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Buffalo Bills Who They Took: 1.(12) RB Marshawn Lynch, California 2.(34) LB Paul Posluszny, Penn State 3.(92) QB Trent Edwards, Stanford 4.(111) RB Dwayne Wright, Fresno St. 6.(184) S John Wendling, Wyoming 7.(222) TE Derek Schouman, Boise St. 7.(239) DE C.J. Ah You, Oklahoma Key Team Needs: 1. Linebacker 2. Cornerback 3. Running back 4. Offensive tackle 5. Wide receiver The Bottom Line: Many people believe Lynch was a reach at 12, and so do I. I feel, talent-wise, he probably should have been a late round one to early round two pick. Since there was almost no other backs even close to Peterson, he went higher then expected. He still will get a chance to start most likely and may have a decent season. Getting Posluszny early round two should make up for the pick of Lynch. Posluszny could have been a mid to late round one pick, but slipping into the second round may motivate him to compete at an even higher level. He may be this years DeMecoRyans. Though J.P. Losman started coming on pretty good near the end of the season, the Bills still looked into finding a backup and picked up Stanford's Trent Edwards. Edwards can be a great QB if he stays healthy. The pick of Wright is kind of strange. Having already drafted Lynch in round one, I guess they just want someone to split some carries for Lynch and give him some breathers sometimes. Their Draft as a whole was better then it looks, but still not as good as it could have been. Grade: B-
Miami Dolphins Who They Took: 1.(9) WR Ted Ginn, Jr., Ohio State 2.(40) QB John Beck, BYU 2.(60) C Samson Satele, Hawaii 3.(71) RB Lorenzo Booker, Florida St. 4.(108) DT Paul Soliai, Utah 6.(181) FB Reagan Mauia, Hawaii 6.(199) C Drew Mormino, Central Michigan 7.(219) LB Kelvin Smith, Syracuse 7.(225) P Brandon Fields, Michigan St. 7.(238) DE Abraham Wright, Colorado Key Team Needs: 1. Offensive tackle 2. Safety 3. Linebacker 4. Defensive tackle 5. Cornerback The Bottom Line: I'm not sure who is in charge of the Dolphins recruiting because either he read the wrong notes, or he didn't pay too much attention. Having Brady Quinn on the board was a blessing for them and they passed on it. They passed on it for an injuries receiver that they think can really make a difference "in the return game." You don't use a top ten pick for a return man. He isn't nearly as good of a receiver as Calvin Johnson and probably isn't as good as Bowe, Meachem, Davis, Jarrett, and Gonzalez. The two things he has going for him is speed and excitement. They did take John Beck in round two. He can be a good QB, but didn't play against the best competition every week so it may be hard to judge. I like the pick of Lorenzo Booker in round three. Booker will have a chance right away to play as a third down back most likely. With it looking more and more like Ricky Williams isn't coming back, Booker may split some time with Brown. For their situation, not a good draft. Grade: C-
New England Patriots Who They Took: 1.(24) S Brandon Meriweather, Miami 4.(127) DT Kareem Brown, Miami 5.(171) OT Clint Oldenburg, Colorado St. 6.(180) LB Justin Rogers, SMU 6.(202) CB Mike Richardson, Notre Dame 6.(208) RB JustiseHairston, Central Connecticut 6.(209) OT Corey Hilliard, Oklahoma St. 7.(211) LB Oscar Lua, USC 7.(247) C Mike Elgin, Iowa Key Team Needs: 1. Linebacker 2. Cornerback 3. Safety 4. Running back 5. Offensive tackle The Bottom Line: Belichick has to be one of the best coaches of all time. Already having had one of the best offseasons this year, he went out and got Randy Moss for a fourth round pick. Moss makes it 20 receivers on the roster. Having two round one picks to start the day, they could afford to trade one of them down. They used the other one to select Brandon Meriweather from "The U." There were some questions about Meriweather's character but if any coach can correct that, it's Belichick. That put a wrap on their day one picks. They traded all their other picks away. I like the pick of Oscar Lua in round seven. If Lua plays up to his potential, he could be a real sleeper. If you throw out the Moss trade, this may be a really weak draft, but somehow Belichick will make it into a great one. Grade: C
New York Jets Who They Took: 1.(14) CB Darrelle Revis, Pittsburgh 2.(47) LB David Harris, Michigan 6.(177) OT Jacob Bender, Nicholls St. 7.(235) WRChansiStuckey, Clemson Key Team Needs: 1. Cornerback 2. Defensive end 3. Defensive tackle 4. Offensive tackle 5. Tight end The Bottom Line: The Jets went quality over quantity. They traded up twice to get Darrelle Revis and David Harris in the first two rounds. Both players fell lower then they should have. Harris could have been a mid round one pick but slipped into mid round two. I believe ChasiStuckey is a sleeper as well. He probably should have been taken higher. He has the talent and speed, but he isn't the biggest. Some teams may have passed on him because of injury concerns, but I still believe he may put up good stats as a rookie. This was a good class, it's just a problem only having four picks the entire draft. Grade: B-
Winners of Draft Weekend 1. Carolina - Trading down and still getting the great talent of Jon Beason. Then they got a big steal by selecting Dwayne Jarrett mid round two. Jarrett would have been a top 10 overall pick had his 40 time not been so disappointing. He still plays hard and can be dominate at times. Later in round two, they got another steal with center, Ryan Kalil. Kalil was a late first-early second round talent. Charles Johnson is a good end that will help add depth to that position. Ryne Robinson can help out the receiving core. Since that position is already deep, it may take time or an injury to really give him some gametime.
2. Indianapolis - Normallydrafting last will hurt your picks, but not for the Colts. They filled their need of a good slot receiver right away by selecting Anthony Gonzalez. They got another good value pick by taking Tony Agoh near the middle of the second round. Then with their two third round picks, they snatched up Daymeion Hughes and Quinn Pitcock. Both players were first round projections at the start of the offseason, but there stock fell. If the Colts can get them to play to their full potential, they got some real steals. Finally, I really like the pick of Michael Coe at the 173rd overall pick. Coe will fill in at a CB spot and I think he can contribute early in his career.
3. Minnesota - I like the Vikings Draft because they got some explosive players. The addition of Adrian Peterson, healthy or not, will help out a lot. He will split time with Taylor and eventually take the full load. Sidney Rice is either a major hit or a big flop. He only played two years in college, but what a two years they were. He had monster receiving stats. Becasue he doesn't have the full experience as most, he may not know how to adjust his game to the NFL. Getting Marcus McCauley in the third round is also a very good pickup. He will help address a week pass defense. Rufus Alexander could turn out to be a big steal as well. If he can perform at his potential, he can be very good.
4. Cleveland - Cleveland got what everyone is calling the "sexiest" draft, it doesn't reflect that they don't have a first round pick next year. Getting Joe Thomas at 3 was a good fit for them. They decided to pass on Brady Quinn, but got lucky when they traded up to get him at 22. Both players had top 10 grades. Getting Eric Wright in round 2 was a good pick as well. Wright was a part of USC until off the field issues led to a transfer to UNLV. He's got enormus talent, but some teams didn't want to take the gamble on him. Other then those three players, their draft wasn't too special.
5. New England - Belichick gets another one. It wasn't the draft that impresses me, it't the fact that they get Randy Moss for a 4th round pick. They started Saturday with two first round picks and ended it with one one total pick. That one pick was Brandon Meriweather though. Meriweather is a versitile safety that will help out the team right away. Oscar Lou was a good pick that they got in the seventh round. Coming from USC, he's bound to be good. Moss alone would make this draft one of the best, but add Meriweather and I give them a top 5 grade.
Day 2 Starts with Bush With day two of the NFL Darft flying by, The Raiders kicked things off by taking Louisville RB, Michael Bush. Bush has tremendous talent but a leg injury limited him to only most of 1 game last season. If he can be healthy, he can see some playing time. A more powerful runner, just like Rhodes and Jordan. A little bit later, New Orleans selected OSU RB Anonio Pittman. To me this pick doesnt make too much sense since they had Deuce McAllister and drafted Reggie Bush last year. Pittman probably won't see too much playing time early. Buffalo made another interesting pick when they selected Fresno State RB Dwayne Wright. Wright is a good prospect, but they already used their first round pick on Marshawn Lynch so this didn't make too much sense. The biggest pick up of the day has to be from the Patriots. The Pats traded their 4th round pick to the Raiders for Randy Moss. Moss makes the Patriots Super Bowl favorites immediatly. Big move for them.
49ers Move Up to Take Staley With the Patriots second first round pick this year, the 49ers moved up in a trade to take tackle Joe Staley. Staley went to a small school in Central Michigan. He fell farther then most expected. Staley, being the 3rd ranked tackler in the draft, is expected to be an instant starter. He is athletic for a tackle. San Fransisco did have to give up its 2008 first-rounder and a fourth-round pick this year. Look for Kwame Harris to be traded if the Niners can get anything for him. New England won't pick again until the third round.
Buffalo Bills
Miami Dolphins
New England Patriots
