NFC West Draft Grades

49ers: B

R1 Aldon Smith, DE/OLB Missouri

R2 Colin Kaepernick, QB Nevada

R3 Chris Culliver, CB South Florida

R4 Kendall Hunter, RB Oklahoma St.

R5 Daniel Kilgore, OL Appalachian St.

R6 Ronald Johnson, WR USC

R6 Colin Jones, DB TCU

R7 Bruce Miller, DE/OLB Central Florida

R7 Michael Person, OL Montana St.

R7 Chris Holcomb, DB Florida A&M

Aldon Smith was seen as a reach for most with the seventh pick, especially since there had only been one quarterback taken in this draft. However, I did not see him falling past the Texans at the 11^th pick so I think this was a solid move. Most 49ers fans would have liked to see a cornerback at this spot, but an elite pass rusher is much more valuable. Smith played defensive end at Missouri, but he has the quickness to be a productive OLB in the 49ers’ 3-4 scheme. He is also probably the toughest player in this draft, considering he broke his fibula in the 2010 season and only missed three weeks. He played with the injury for most of the season and still managed to record 5.5 sacks on a very unimpressive defense. He is a disruptive pass rusher who will immediately help out a 49er’s pass defense that was just awful last season.

The 49ers then traded up to get Colin Kaepernick in the second round. A lot of people compared Kaepernick to Cam Newton favorably, but Kaepernick is not nearly as polished a passer as Newton, and Newton is not all that polished of a passer either. Kaepernick has an unbelievable amount of potential and Jim Harbaugh will be able to help him progress into an NFL quarterback faster than most other coaches, but this guy could still take around two years to even be ready to start, let alone start producing at a high level for the 49ers. I like his value more as a third round player, but the need at quarterback pushed him far up the draft board. The Redskins would have taken him before the 49ers if they had not traded up to get him so that also forced their hand. He could run a wildcat/pistol offense in certain situations for the 49ers in his rookie year, but I don’t see him contributing in any other fashion in 2011.

Culliver is a cornerback in the mold of Nate Clements, which is probably not what 49ers fans want to hear. However, Clements is a good player, the 49ers just gave him a ridiculously huge contract that has made him unpopular with fans. If Culliver turns out to be even close to as good as Clements is, he will be well worth a third round pick. Hunter is another value pick in the forth round. He is a great compliment to Frank Gore and can take some of the burden off of him on third downs. The 49ers have not been pleased with Chilo Rachal’s play and while Kilgore will not replace him in 2011, he will be a solid backup and could end up taking Rachal’s spot in a year or two. Ronald Johnson is another speed receiver to help out whoever is playing quarterback for them. He can also help take some of the burden off of Ted Ginn in the return game, or allow the 49ers to part ways with him. Colin Jones will more than likely be a rotational safety for the 49ers, who need help all throughout their defensive backfield. Miller will be a situational pass rushing OLB for them and contribute on special teams. Person and Holcomb will fight for backup roles.

As I have said before, this draft grade depends on the success of their first two picks. If Smith and Kaepernick both become at least above average starters, this draft will be seen as a success. The two of them both have incredible upside, but neither should be judged by their play in 2011. This is overall a decent draft, but I do not see anyone they drafted helping them get over the hump and making the playoffs next season.

Rashard Mendenhall's Comments on 9/11 and Osama bin Laden

Sorry to break up my draft analysis, but this is a subject that I just had to tall about. Like most people that have heard Steelers’ running back Rashard Mendenhall’s comments about Osama bin Laden and 9/11, I was utterly shocked to hear someone speak of bin Laden in almost a positive light. If you have not heard all of Mendenhall’s comments, check out the article on NFL.com (http://tinyurl.com/6x3q5yh). He starts off with a decent point saying that it is a little disturbing how excited everyone in the US was about the murder of a single individual. I personally do not have a problem with people getting joy out of seeing a mass murderer finally receive the punishment that he has avoided for the past ten years, but I can understand Mendenhall’s point. However, he goes on to claim that we will never know what happened on 9/11 and that he does not believe a plane could bring down a skyscraper. Mendenhall is a football player, not a scientist and he has no business speaking about what is physically possible or not. I know people that saw with their own two eyes those planes hit the World Trade Towers. There are videos from numerous sources of the planes hitting the buildings. How much more evidence does this guy need?

This does not end the insanity of Mendenhall’s rantings. He goes on to say that we cannot judge bin Laden because we have not heard him speak before and that there is no evidence that he was even linked to 9/11 except for the fact that our government told us so. Maybe Mendenhall has not heard bin Laden speak before, but most of America has. Bin Laden has publicly released videos of him taking full credit for 9/11 attacks as well as other terrorist plots that are responsible for the deaths of hundreds more people. There is no doubt that he is a mass murderer and that the world is a much better place without him. Mendenhall’s comments show a degree of ignorance that is hard to comprehend as well as a complete lack of tact when speaking about an event that immediately took the lives of thousands of American citizens and had a devastating effect on the lives of everyone close to those individuals.

What is even worse is the fact that Mendenhall seems to refuse to take back his words, which is unforgivable. He even claims that, “There is not an ignorant bone in my body.” Ignorance about one’s own ignorance is the worst type of idiocy. I guess footballs fans should have seen something like this coming when Mendenhall backed up Adrian Peterson’s comment that the NFL is like “modern-day slavery.” Yes, I really see the comparison between the most shameful time in America’s history when we treated a entire race like property and a professional sport in which players get paid millions of dollars to play a game. Mendenhall is clearly completely oblivious to what true suffering really means, and if he thinks the NFL is so bad, he should just quit.

If I were Art Rooney, who is part of Obama’s staff as the Ambassador to Ireland, I would cut ties with Mendenhall if he refuses to give a full hearted apology and legitimately show remorse for his unfounded and insensitive comments. Not only is it shameful to the Steelers’ organization and to him personally, but also how could Mendenhall’s teammates ever respect him again? I am sure there are at least a few players on the Steelers who were affected by 9/11 in one way or another. These comments could have a devastating impact on the chemistry in the Steelers’ locker room that has already had to deal with Ben Roethlisberger’s rape charges. Mendenhall is a great player, but if his team is not behind him or his lineman are not as motivated to block for him, it could be the difference between a disappointing season and another Super Bowl victory. 

NFC North Draft Grades

Bears: B+

R1 Gabe Carimi, OT Wisconsin

R2 Stephen Paea, DT Oregon St.

R3 Chris Conte, DB Cal

R5 Nathan Enderle, QB Idaho

R6 James Thomas, LB West Virginia

The Bears did one of the best jobs of any team in this year’s draft to really hit on all of their biggest needs. Their biggest needs in this order where: offensive line, defensive tackle, and defensive back. Notice anything? In the first three rounds they drafted an offensive tackle, a defensive tackle, and a safety. Carimi proclaimed himself as the best tackle in this year’s draft and I cannot believe he fell all the way to the 29^th pick for the Bears. He is a big, mean tackle who plays with a lot of emotion and is an effective run and pass blocker. The Bears will probably leave Chris Williams at left tackle for one more year and play Carimi at right tackle to give him a year to get used to the NFL. The Bears traded up a few spots in the second round to land Paea, who put up a record 49 bench presses of 225lbs at the NFL Combine. However, he is not just a workout warrior. Paea is able to collapse the pocket against both the run and pass, making him the perfect replacement for Tommy Harris. He will be on the field all game long and offenses will have to double team him, making Julius Peppers’ life a lot easier. Conte is a tall, hard hitting safety with above average speed who could play immediately in nickel and dime defensive formations. Enderle was clearly a Mike Martz pick and he must have seen something in him that most talent evaluators did not. Thomas is a tough, hard working linebacker who will start out on special teams and could earn time as a starter alongside Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs.

I really like all of the Bears’ picks except Enderle. They saw that Caleb Hanie could start for Cutler in case he misses a few games. With only five picks in the draft, they could not afford to take a third string developmental quarterback when they have a franchise quarterback. This move only brings up more questions to their commitment to Jay Cutler as their starter, especially when they could have drafted another solid receiver or lineman who could have helped Cutler out in that offense. They did a good job of addressing some of their needs, but they could have made better use of their later picks. 

AFC North Draft Grades

Bengals: B

Draft Picks:

R1 AJ Green, WR Georgia

R2 Andy Dalton, QB TCU

R3 Dontay Moch, OLB Nevada

R4 Clint Boling, OL Georgia

R5 Robert Sands, FS West Virginia

R6 Ryan Whalen, WR Stanford

R7 Korey Lindsey, CB Southern Illinois

R7 Jay Finley, RB Baylor

The Bengals stuck with their top two picks and got exactly what they wanted. They landed the top receiver in this draft and one of the most pro ready quarterbacks in this draft. Green is an unbelievable talent and reminds me a lot of Larry Fitzgerald. He will probably have to get a little stronger in order to hold up against all the press coverage he will see in the NFL, but that will not take him long and he should immediately be a playmaker for this team. Dalton is one of the most highly regarded quarterbacks in this draft and could have gone to the Dolphins at 15. I am personally not a big fan of Dalton since he has a weak arm and does not have elite accuracy like Ponder. However, he is a very mobile quarterback and possesses impressive leadership skills, leading TCU to 42 wins in his career.

Beyond their first two picks, the Bengals found value in the other rounds as well. Moch is an impressive pass rushing OLB who Mike Zimmer can move around in his defense to cause havoc for opposing quarterbacks. Boling is a tough interior lineman that could develop into a starter and is a solid backup in case of injury. Safety was one of the Bengals biggest weaknesses last year and they suffered a ton of injuries to that position. Sands is a huge free safety (6’4, 217 lbs) with above average speed (4.5 40 yard dash). He will immediately be a part of their safety rotation and could develop into a Pro Bowl caliber safety. Not bad for a fifth round pick. Whalen could develop into a decent forth or fifth possession receiver, but it is more than likely he will not make the final cut on this roster. Lindsey and Finley are at best backups at their positions and special teams contributors.

How this draft will be graded comes down to whether or not Dalton is a franchise quarterback. They passed on Gabbert, Locker, and Ponder to take Green, but if Dalton isn’t at least on par with all of those quarterbacks, it does not matter how good of a receiver Green turns out to be. It would be best if the Bengals could get Carson Palmer to come back for another year or two in order to give Dalton some time to develop. However, this is extremely unlikely. Since there is no way Jordan Palmer beats out Dalton as the starting quarterback, it is more than likely that Dalton will have to start day one for the Bengals. The Bengals do not get an A in this draft because they failed to address one of their bigger weaknesses over the last few years: their defensive line. With one of the more talented defensive line classes in recent memory, how could they possibly not take at least one D-lineman? Also, they failed to address their need at running back until their last pick, and took a guy who probably will not even make the team. 

NFC East Draft Grades

Cowboys: B

Draft Picks:

R1 Tyron Smith, OT USC

R2 Bruce Carter, LB UNC

R3 DeMarco Murray, RB Oklahoma

R4 David Arkin, OL Mississippi St.

R5 Josh Thomas, DB Buffalo

R6 Dwayne Harris, WR East Carolina

R7 Shaun Chapas, FB Georgia

R7 Bill Nagy, C Wisconsin

Despite the fact that their pass defense was the biggest weakness of this team last year, the Cowboys only drafted one defensive player and focused on giving Tony Romo every opportunity to make this one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL. They started off by taking the top tackle in the draft in Tyron Smith. He can play on the right side, like he did in college, and let Doug Free man the left side for at least another year. Bruce Carter would have been a high first round pick if it weren’t for his injury concern. Murray is one of my favorite running backs in this draft. He is big, strong, and has elite speed. He is a great pass protector and has the best hands of any running back I have seen coming out of college in a long time. Despite how stacked the Cowboys are at running back, Murray could develop into the best of the bunch. At the very least, he should be an elite third down back. Arkin is a bit of a project as an interior lineman, but he has a lot of potential and could develop into a starter. Thomas is a solid cover corner and will fill in for the Cowboys in nickel or dime packages, which is great value in the fifth round. Harris is a hard working player who could develop into a decent slot receiver once they part ways with Roy Williams, which will probably be sooner rather than later. Chapas could immediately start for the Cowboys as a fullback. He has reliable hands and is another boost to the Cowboys run game. Nagy will try to work his way onto the roster as a backup interior lineman.

The Cowboys opted for the strategy that they will try to outscore every team they play, instead of actually trying to stop someone of defense. They do have possibly the best pass rusher in the entire NFL in DeMarcus Ware so maybe if they can get a lead early in their games, he will make the Boys’ defensive backs more productive than they were last year. I really like the players they drafted, but the fact that they did not address their two biggest needs on defense (corner back and defensive line) is why they get a B. However, I am excited to watch this team on offense this year.

AFC East Draft Grades

Bills: B+

Draft Picks:

R1 Marcell Dareus, DT Alabama

R2 Aaron Williams, DB Texas

R3 Kelvin Sheppard, LB LSU

R4 Da’Norris Searcy, DB UNC

R4 Chris Hairston, OL Clemson

R5 Johnny White, RB UNC

R6 Chris White, LB Mississippi St.

R7 Justin Rodgers, DB Richmond

R7 Michael Jasper, NT Bethel (TN)

Getting Dareus at the third overall pick might be the steal of this draft, which is saying a lot considering he was still the THIRD overall pick. He is probably the best player in this entire draft and can be moved all over the Bills defensive line that has been looking for quality play for years. Aaron Williams probably had a first round grade and only fell because of the amount of quarterbacks taken early. He can play CB and safety for the Bills, which is good because they need help at both positions. Kelvin Sheppard is another solid draft pick and could end up starting for the Bills right away. Searcy adds a physical presence to the Bills’ safety group and should play well on special teams. The rest of their picks are to add depth and help out on special teams.

This draft would be in the A range except for the fact that they still have not addressed the worst offensive line in the NFL. I did not have a problem with them not taking a quarterback, especially since this was a weak year at the position and I believe Ryan Fitzpatrick is a better player than he gets credit for. However, if they want Fitzpatrick to be able to progress in their offense, they need to do a much better job at protecting him. Drafting one developmental right tackle is not going to solve any of their problems, especially for 2011, which could be Fitzpatrick’s last opportunity to prove that he is a franchise quarterback. They won’t get much help in free agency, whenever it starts, and I don’t see any of the tackles on their team making significant progression. The Bills defense will make strides in 2011, but they will still be picking in the top 5 of next years draft.

Division by Division Breakdowns

I will be going through each Division and giving each team a draft grade. Hopefully I will get through two Divisions a day. Enjoy!