2008 NFL Draft Review
Andrew Lalama, Consensus Draft Services

At the 2008 NFL Draft, some questions were answered and some new ones arose. The unanimous winners on day one were the Kansas City Cheifs, who came away with the best defensive player in the draft (Glenn Dorsey), the 2nd best offensive lineman in the draft (Branden Albert), and the most physical cover-two CB in the draft (Brandon Flowers). On day two, they continued to make out like bandits, landing Texas speedster Jamaal Charles, mammoth Tennessee TE Brad Cottam, and a few other developmental guys who could contribute.

It's hard to label any team a loser in any draft, but most would agree that the Tennessee Titans made some head-scratching moves...

What was Tennessee thinking?
The Titans spent a 2nd rounder on a HB (the easiest position to fill in the NFL) in the past two drafts, yet still chose to reach for Chris Johnson of East Carolina at pick 24. Johnson is fast (4.24 in the 40) and was more productive than Chris Henry was at Arizona, but he goes down fairly easily and isn't the most physical back. With every single WR left on the board, why not trade down and grab a target for Vince Young? What's worse is that the Titans didn't address WR until round four with Lavelle Hawkins of Cal, who probably won't ever be more than a 3rd or 4th option in the NFL. They needed speed on the outside, but took the wrong Golden Bear- DeSean Jackson should have been the pick.

Speaking of DeSean Jackson...
How on earth did he fall to #49? The Eagles may have gotten THE steal of the draft with this kid. I understand he's got a bit of an ego and might not be a high-character poster child, but the fact is that this kid is the most explosive return man we've seen since Devin Hester AND a pretty darn good receiver. ESPN replayed the Oregon game a few days before the draft when Jackson had 11 catches. Is he going to crack-back on a linebacker? No. But I guarantee you Donovan McNabb and Andy Reid will be real happy when he starts turning screens into 40-yard TD's next year, not to mention the success he'll inevitably have in the return game. This is why teams like Philadelphia and New England are always successful- they like character but they still don't let nitpicking go so far as to stop them from taking an obvious future playmaker.

A thing or two about the television coverage.
This was the first draft I wasn't at in person since 2005, and the first draft I saw on NFL Network. The first-day coverage on both networks was nauseating because we had already seen all the highlights and heard all the talk about each prospect in the first two rounds. Plus, the fact that we were learning picks before they actually took place (Michael Smith reports the Raiders will likely take Darren McFadden, etc.), took the intrigue out of the top six picks. The second day was better, and there were a few comical moments stuck between some idiotic statements and the encyclopedic ramblings of Kiper and Mayock. The two best were Chris Berman's reference to his Youtube classic "duh-duh-duh"s, and Mayock poking fun at Sammy Knight's age after the Giants picked Kenny Phillips. As for my choice between the two networks, I think it's simple- NFLN has better football guys and does an overall better job with analysis, but ESPN easily has the better host (Berman destroys Eisen), and just plain looks nicer. The layout on NFLN was grainy and weird, whereas ESPN's display had more information and was easier to look at.

And now to Sal Paloantonio in Baltimore for the 17th time...
Ozzie Newsome and the Ravens were absolutely all over the place in round one. Let me first say that I liked the move down to get Flacco. What baffles me is why they felt they had to move back up to 18 from 26. What team between those picks was going to take Flacco? Did Houston simply work the Ravens and tell them Miami or Chicago was coming up to take Flacco at 18? Were the Bucs going to take him? Was Seattle? San Fran moving up? The Jets moving up? Carolina wanted Otah- not Flacco. Right? Very interesting stuff. You have to wonder what exactly they heard. And the weirdest part about it was that Brohm and Henne didn't go until the 60's. Didn't everyone have these three QB's similarly rated? Apparently not. Or maybe the Texans just pulled off the "we are on the phone with them- they want your guy. Give us a pick or we'll trade."

The team Baltimore traded down with is closing in on the Colts.
The Jaguars took two dynamic pass-rushing threats in the first two rounds. They came into the draft targeting a pass rusher, and got not one, but TWO. This is a team that went 12-4 last year and needs to see Peyton Manning twice every year before they can even think about a division title let alone homefield advantage. I'm high on Harvey and I hate how people are comparing this to the Jared Allen trade. The Vikings were at 17, the Jags were at 26- who do you think the Chiefs would rather trade with? And the Jason Taylor stuff too. Look- the Jags could've probably traded their second for Taylor and called it a day in terms of pass rushing DE. Then what happens in 4 years when Peyton Manning is still ironman and Jason Taylor is in his late 30's? Harvey is the the type of guy you can build around, and I think he's only slightly behind Vernon Gholston. Take a look at this nickel package: Harvey, Meier, Henderson, Groves on the line with Drayton Florence as the new 3rd CB. If anyone in the AFC is equipped to stay with Peyton Manning, it's the Jags. Whether they will or not remains to be seen but the point is they did the right thing in putting themselves in the best situation to compete.

Another AFC contender just got better too.
Even though they didn't get an ILB until Mike Humpal in round 6, you have to love what the Pittsburgh Steelers did.
-Rashard Mendenhall reminds me of Steven Jackson or Laurence Maroney in this respect- there is no way he should have fallen so far (Jackson, Maroney) and the Steelers were the team who will benefit from it.
-Limas Sweed in round two is a joke. He fits in so perfectly in Pittsburgh it's ridiculous. Big Ben wanted a big target so he gets arguably the best big target in this draft, who just happens to be the most pro-ready WR as well.
-Bruce Davis will get 6+ sacks as a rookie in that system. He's a perfect fit there and if you saw his last game in college you know this kid is an absolute beast.
-Tony Hills is a pro OT, we've always known that. The question is- will he stay healthy? If he does, this is like getting a high second rounder in the fourth.
-Finally, there is no reason NOT to take Dennis Dixon in round five. He could end up a QB or a WR, and with the coaches in Pittsburgh, I think they'll find the right spot for him. One thing is for sure, the kid is a football player. We'll see if he can hang in the NFL.

The Super Bowl Champs had the third best draft behind Pittsburgh and Kansas City.
-Kenny Phillips will start from day one. He knows it. The Giants know it. We all know it. So how exactly was he available at 31? Giants GM Jerry Reese was on the radio today literally laughing at the fact that Phillips, the consensus best safety in the draft, was still there at 31.
-Terrell Thomas is perfect for the Giants system. He's physical and long, and he'll get playing time early because of his extensive experience at a big-time program. He'll also offer special teams help. Great pick.
-When you win the Super Bowl with guys like Strahan and Shockey constantly yapping, you can afford to take a guy like Mario Manningham. There's no denying his ability and teamed up with Steve Smith and Plaxico Burress, there's no reason to think Eli won't have his WR's for years after Amani Toomer hangs 'em up.
-Jonathan Goff falling to the fifth round is just crazy. He'll be a better player than Jordon Dizon, who went in round two to Detroit. There is no weakness in Goff's game and he'll likely win a job at OLB for the G-Men.
-One New York team took the right QB, and it wasn't the Jets. Andre Woodson in round 6 was a steal any way you slice it. Here's a kid who was a Heisman candidate in the SEC and all of the sudden falls off the NFL draft map after Mike Martz gives him a hard time at the Senior Bowl. Worth a shot in the 6th round, definitely.

Teams saw the Giants win it all with a devastating pass rush last year (The Tuck rule 2.0: the Justin Tuck effect).
The Seahawks didn't have a need at DE, yet took Lawrence Jackson from USC at the end of round one. The Jaguars, as stated above, took TWO pass rushers in the first two rounds. The Steelers added Bruce Davis early. The Jets took Vernon Gholston at 6 even after investing a lot of money in Calvin Pace. The Vikings traded their first and two thirds for Jared Allen. Teams are starting to realize that if you can't find Peyton Manning or Tom Brady, then you sure better get guys who can get after them!

OT, CB in high demand; what's up with WR's?
Teams are starting to realize that it takes a few years for wideouts to adjust to the NFL game. Just ask Calvin Johnson in Detroit. We saw the effect of that this year. Not one WR went in round one because no one saw an immediate-impact guy. Plus, with guys like Marques Colston and gems like both Steve Smith's, D.J. Hackett, Greg Jennings, Anquan Boldin, Sidney Rice, and all the other non-first round studs, why hope you can get Dwayne Bowe when you really might be getting Rashaun Woods? WR's are just too risky to give first round money to unless they are a can't-miss guy (Braylon, Calvin, etc.)- something we didn't have this year.

Bill Parcells, are we running a 3-4 or what?
I thought the Jake Long pick told us two things:
1) Parcells did not want to make a mistake. He took the safe pick with the OT who in the worst case scenario would work out to be an excellent RT. In the best case, he's the franchise LT for years to come. Bottom line is, you can't make a mistake with the #1 pick, and OL's usually don't get injured, and can fit in any scheme. Dorsey wouldn't fit the 3-4 and Long...
2) Chris Long is good, but he's not Julius Peppers or Mario Williams. I like the kid, but you have to wonder why Parcells would pass on one of Al Groh's players.

Now on to the rest of the Dolphins draft:
-I don't get it. Phillip Merling was a good value pick, yes. But why take Kendall Langford in the third round? Merling and Langford are both 3-4 DE's and the Dolphins already have Matt Roth, Vonnie Holiday, recently signed Randy Starks, and few others at that position. Does Parcells plan to get rid of a couple of them? Play Starks at NT? Use Merling as an OLB? The knock on Merling is his lack of speed and explosiveness. Run a 4-3? What gives?
-Love the Chad Henne pick. I just don't understand how you could like a QB to possibly be your future and pass on him at 32, only to take him at 57. Did the Dolphins know no one would take Henne between those two picks?


Glenn Dorsey could have changed your defense.
The Rams made a HUGE mistake in passing on Glenn Dorsey. Chris Long may be OK, but Dorsey is a Warren Sapp-like talent who could instantly make a huge impact against both the run and the pass. I understand DE was more of a need, but Dorsey was far and away the better prospect, and it's not like the Rams were a DE away from the Super Bowl anyway. They need to transform that lackluster defense, and taking Chris Long might be one small positive step in the right direction, whereas adding a talent like Dorsey may have been a foundation to build AROUND rather than a building block. In round two, they continued to make Cardinals, 49ers, and Seahawks fans happy with another questionable pick- arguably the worst pick in the entire draft. With EVERY OTHER WR still on the board, the Rams went for Donnie Avery of Houston. They should have traded down or taken DeSean Jackson. They wanted speed? Jackson ran a 4.35- fastest of any WR at the combine. It's hard to screw up with the 2nd and 33rd overall picks in the draft, but I think the Rams may have done it.

OTHER MOVES I LIKED:
-Oakland stealing Darren McFadden at #4
-New Orleans moving up for Sedrick Ellis
-San Diego taking Antoine Cason
-Atlanta taking Curtis Lofton
-Buffalo taking James Hardy
-Seattle moving up for John Carlson
-Washington taking Malcolm Kelly
-Baltimore taking Ray Rice
-San Diego taking Jacob Hester
-Chicago taking Earl Bennett
-Atlanta taking Harry Douglas
-Denver taking Kory Lichtensteiger
-Tampa Bay taking Dre Moore
-Philadelphia taking Quintin Demps
-Jacksonville taking Trae Williams
-Tampa Bay taking Josh Johnson
-Atlanta taking Thomas Brown
-Tampa Bay taking Geno Hayes
-Indianapolis taking Mike Hart
-Jacksonville taking Chauncey Washington
-Carolina taking Hilee Taylor
-Arizona taking Brandon Keith
-Denver taking Peyton Hillis
-Seattle taking Brandon Coutu
-New Orleans taking Adrian Arrington
-Chicago taking Marcus Monk

OTHER MOVES I DIDN'T LIKE:
-Detroit passing on Mendenhall for Gosder Cherilus
-Houston passing on Mendenhall and trading down for Duane Brown
-San Francisco taking Kentwan Balmer instead of a pass rusher, WR, or trading down
-New York Jets trading up for a TE instead of staying put for Hardy or a QB
-Denver taking Eddie Royal with DeSean Jackson still on the board
-Detroit taking Jordon Dizon instead of making a move for Curtis Lofton or waiting for Connor or Goff later on
-Green Bay taking a WR at 36 when they currently have a bunch of serviceable guys on the roster (Driver, Jennings, Jones, Martin, Robinson)
-Philadelphia taking Bryan Smith too early
-Chicago taking Craig Steltz too early
-Minnesota trading up for John David Booty
-New York Jets taking Erik Ainge a few picks after Dennis Dixon and Josh Johnson went
-Washington taking Colt Brennan too early
-Seattle taking a LS who wasn't even the #1 rated guy in the 6th round
-Chicago not taking a QB
-Atlanta not taking a DT
-Cincinnati taking 3 WR's and no DE's
-Dallas not taking a WR and instead taking 2 CB's even after trading for Pacman Jones
-Miami not taking a DB
-New England not taking a TE or HB
-Oakland not taking a DE with one of their 4th rounders
-Seattle ignoring the offensive line
-Washington not taking a DE

Draft Grades
Bills: B-
Dolphins: C+
Patriots: D
Jets: C-

Ravens: B-
Bengals: B
Browns: F*Corey Williams and Shaun Rogers
Steelers: A

Texans: B-
Colts: C+
Jaguars: B+
Titans: D

Broncos: B-
Chiefs: A+
Raiders: C+*DeAngelo Hall
Chargers: B-

Cowboys: C+
Giants: A
Eagles: B
Redskins: B-

Bears: B-
Lions: C-
Packers: C+
Vikings: D*Jared Allen

Falcons: B-
Panthers: B
Saints: B+
Bucs: B

Cardinals: B
Rams: D
49ers: D
Seahawks: B

A look ahead to 2009...
Big Board
01. Tim Tebow, QB, Florida*
02. Chris Wells, HB, Ohio State*
03. Matthew Stafford, QB, Georgia*
04. Rey Maualuga, LB, USC
05. James Laurinaitis, LB, Ohio State
06. C.J. Spiller, HB, Clemson*
07. Malcolm Jenkins, CB, Ohio State
08. Brian Cushing, OLB, USC
09. Michael Crabtree, WR, Texas Tech**
10. Vontae Davis, CB, Illinois*
11. Andre Smith, OT, Alabama*
12. Fili Moala, DT, USC
13. Ciron Black, OT, LSU*
14. DeMarcus Granger, DT, Oklahoma*
15. Tyson Jackson, DE, LSU
16. Darry Beckwith, LB, LSU
17. Taylor Mays, S, USC*
18. Alex Boone, OT, Ohio State
19. Michael Johnson, DE, Georgia Tech
20. Brandon Pettigrew, TE, Oklahoma State
21. George Selvie, DE, USF*
22. Greg Middleton, DE, Indiana*
23. Greg Hardy, DE, Ole Miss*
24. Maurice Evans, DE, Penn State*
25. Alex Mack, C, Cal
26. William Moore, S, Missouri
27. Sen'Derrick Marks, DT, Auburn*
28. Derek Pegues, DB, Mississippi State*
29. Eugene Monroe, OT, Virginia
30. Jeremy Perry, OG, Oregon State
31. Duke Robinson, OG, Oklahoma
32. Phil Loadholt, OT, Oklahoma

Nice write up. Like all of your points.

One quick note on your bigboard for 09. I think Spiller is too high, I dont even think hes the best RB on his team,. Thats me though

Andrew,

You should submit this to FSV, except I would use the team grades from each writers divisional writeups as soon as they are in.

Good stuff man!

Great write-up Andrew... this is something that should be posted over at the FantasyPlayers.com website too!

Oh... I think Jalen Parmele is spelled differently than Bernie. I think he had two E's at the end of his last name.

That's correct, Bernie Parmelee -- 2 E's. Jalen is not related at all. An anouncer on NFLN made the mistake during the draft saying Jalen was the son of Bernie and later apologized and said no relation.

This is good info about every teams draft -- Good Stuff -- Thanks!

I was just curious of what others thought of the way the draft was set up? What did everbody think of only having the first two rounds on saturday instead of the first three? I personally didn't like it. I felt that the first day was good, but the second day lasted way too long. What would people think if they did the first round on friday evening. Rounds 2, 3, 4 on saturday and then finish it up with rounds 5, 6, and 7 on sunday? Just curious of what others thought.

I liked both moves. I'm pretty sure the Titans were thinking about, using Johnson like the Eagles use Brian Westbrook. IMO I usually hate those super speed backs because there not tough at all, and always go down on which contact, and are not physical at all. Well Chris Johnson is a super speed back, and I'm not sure he's tough, but he fights for ever single yard, and if he wasn't sure he could run around some one he tried running though them, which sometimes worked. If they use him like a normal RB, I don't like the move, but if they use him like the Eagles use Westbrook I really do. Basically get him into some space and give him the ball and let him do the rest. He could be a huge X factor and a horrible match up for other teams, I mean I think your going to have to go to nickel package with him in unless you have a great coverage LB or S.

As for as GB taking a WR, what wrong with another WR? I really really really hate to say it being a Packers fan, but Driver is losing a step, and we don't know how Jennings is going to be a #1 or Jones a #2, Robinson off the team, and IMO Martin isn't much. In other words we got Jennings and Jones for the long run and that's if that don't get hurt, which Jennings has in two seasons and Jones hit the rookie wall last year, and some players hit it every year. No to mention Nelson stats, of 122 receptions for 1,606 and he was his teams offense, if you stop him you, stop their offense. And other team could stop him. Also do you know usually how easy it is to stop a WR. Put a CB in his face, and a S to help over top, and usually you can stop even the best WR, if there aren't other position beating you up, which with his team there were not.

Plus in 5 punt returns he has return two for TDs. (2 out 5 ain't bad) and there was from 89 or more yards out. Also in all but one game he has at least 90 yards, and 8 or more catches in 10 games (out of 12)

I like both of the moves.

IMO you can't have 2 rounds by them selfs (unless it's the 1st round by it's self on Friday). It's just a bad idea, IMO it makes you feel like your just plain missing something. And it shouldn't start before noon ET. any day (like it did Sunday), and IMO they should start all drafts at Noon (other than maybe the 1t round on Friday, I would be fine with moving that later)

IMO I want rounds 1,2 and 3 on Saturday and the rest on Sunday, both days starting at Noon, and this amount of this for the picks or maybe even less than this time.

As the head coach of the Packers said to the Packers GM, "We only get 45 seconds to call a play, you get 10 min. to make a pick..." (I forgot the rest but something like) that's crazy.

7 MIN. for the 1st round 5 Min. for all the other rounds. (but that's not enough time to make a trade), well we shorten it up this year, and had a record numbers of trades, just try it.