Grading Your Teams 2008 Draft

They....whoever They is, say it takes three years to judge a draft class. Well let's look back at 2008 and see how they did.

Detroit Lions 2008 Draft: (That BASTARDS last draft as GM)

1-17: RT Gosder Cherilus- Decent starter but fucked up his knee and may need Micro-fracture surgery. C

2- 45: LB Jordan Dizon- Special Teams Player- F

3-64: RB Kevin Smith- OK starter for his rookie season, but hampered by injuries and was worn out by the time he got to the NFL (450 carries last year in college) then you throw in they passed on Jamaal Charles AND traded up to get Smith? C-

3-87: DT Andre Fluellen- Still on the team, but buried on the depth chart and has never really made an impact. F

3-92: DE Cliff Avril- Has been a great pass rusher, has more sacks than the #2 overall pick in Chris Long, not the best in the run game but a great pass rusher next to Suh- A

5-136: WR Kenneth Moore- I actually forgot all about this guy. F

5-146: FB Jerome Felton- Good guy, I've met him a couple of times. Still a starter on the team, not bad for surviving the Bastard Era. For a 5th round pick to stay on a team that could have easily upgraded the position? B

7-216 DT: Landen Cohen- Played sparingly but never had a real impact. But for a 7th round pick. D+

7-218: LB/S Caleb Campbell- Army changed it's policy and he had to serve 3 years. Practice Squad as a "rookie" in 2010INCOMPLETE


Besides Avril and Cherilus this was a pretty piss poor draft class especially with all the 3rd round picks. If it weren't for Avril this would probably be an F. But because Avril has been solid and Cherry played decent for a while.

OVERALL D+

Rashard Mendenhall - reliable starter for years to come and IMO a top ten talent at running back, he can literally do it all. A+

Limas Sweed - still has potential, if he ever learns to catch he'll be a beast. But for now, a bust. D

Bruce Davis - no longer on team. F

Tony Hills - A backup LT, has not really been great. D

Dennis Dixon - has been an awesome backup QB and has potential as a starter on another team. B+

Mike Humple - no longer on team, F

Ryan Mundy - good special teams contributer, filled in well in Troy's absence last year. Pretty good for a seventh rounder. B-

Overall: C-: produced a great starter, as well as 2 reliable backups, and a wideout with a ton of talent and potential but who has yet to find any in-game success, but also had 3 totally wasted picks.

Keith Rivers - Beast - A-

Jerome Simpson - A bust until the last two games of last season. But still, a bust, especially with the other WR that were taken in the second round or after in that draft - D

Pat Sims - Meh, he's been alright - C

Andre Caldwell - He's been better than what his stats show. He's capable of being a good slot or #2 receiver. Better than Simpson yet taken later - B-

Anthony Collins - Meh - D

Jason Shirley - LOL - D-

Corey Lynch - Now with Tampa, started 5 games. Not bad for a 6 rounder - B-

Matt Sherry, Angelo Craig, Mario Urrutia - Who, who and what you call me? - F

Overall grade using scientific calculations and shit: 4.82345567

Jets 2008 Draft Class

1st rnd 6th overall...LB Vernon Gholston...great athlete,bad Football player... F

1st rnd 30th ovrl...TE Dustin Keller...hated the pick when it happened but very pleased with his production...B+

4th rnd 114th ovrl...CB Dwight Lowery...was impressive in rookie season,may be moved to Safety in future...C-

5th rnd 162nd ovrl...QB Erik Ainge...great preseason stats, has drug problems, hope we cut his ass...F

6th rnd 171st ovrl...WR Marcus Henry...good potential coming out of college but didnt impress Mangini and was cut...F

7th rnd 211th ovrl...T Nate Garner...was cut after mini camp, picked up by the Fins and is the backup...F

..........considering we had the 6th overall pick in the Draft and took one of the biggest busts in NFL history i will have to grade this Draft as an "F" ...although we have 2 bright spots it gets overshadowed by the Drafts biggest mistake.

Interesting to see these drafts 3 yrs later

Rashard Mendenhall - Aside from his moronic offseason lockout remarks, he's working out pretty damn well for us up to this point.

Limas Sweed - Will he ever learn how to catch a football? I'm not holding my breath. IMO, this is a make or break year for Sweed.

Bruce Davis - Last I heard, he is/was on the Raiders practice squad, enough said.

Tony Hills - He has had very limited playing time, so that tells me something. What I have seen of him up at Latrobe, I haven't been impressed and can see why his playing time has been limited.

Dennis Dixon - A solid/good #2 when Arians uses him correctly.

Mike Humpal - Last I heard, he was a FA. Again, enough said.

Ryan Mundy - The Woodland Hills boy hits like a freight train, but that's about where it ends for me. I don't ever see him taking over the starting job and he had a horrible ST's game during XLV.

Overall Grade: C-

Niners:

1st- DL Kentwan Balmer-- plays for the Seahawks. Terrible for a 1st round pick. --F

2nd- G Chilo Rachal-- Has potential, extremely inconsistent. Was the starter, then sort of split time with Adam Snyder. Meh. I think we need a replacement. --C-

3rd-- DB Reggie Smith-- Good fundamental player. Started some games at safety this year. Is the starter now until Mays figures it all out. We are going to need to figure out some packages that get Smith, Mays, and Goldson together on the field. --B

4th--C Cody Wallace-- Not on the team. Idk if he ever saw the field. -- D. Would be worse but it's the 4th round

6th-- WR Josh Morgan-- Now a starter opposite of Crabtree. Good athlete. I like him a lot. Will continue to develop into a strong weapon. If we can get a QB, I think he is on the verge of breaking out. -- A

7th-- LB Larry Grant-- Not a clue. But a 7th round pick so who cares -- C.

Overall: 3 starters, 3 worthless including a big bust in Balmer. If not for Morgan and Smith being Gems, this is an F. For now, I'll say C-

2nd - Devin Thomas - WR - he was a great receiver who finally had a break out season two years ago and then for some reason they dropped him right after that.

2nd - Fred Davis - TE - great tight end, he showed his abilities when Cooley went down with an injury, the Cooley/Davis combination should be deadly..but its not.

2nd - Malcolm Kelly - WR - 6'4 220 receiver that has shown flashes and for some reason he remains on the team even though the productive Devin Thomas was cut..but he has been plagued with injuries his career.

3rd - Chad Rinehart - OG - below average guard, traded after two years.

4th - Justin Tryon - CB - he was ok with the Redskins, but was traded to the Colts and showed flashes of brilliance.

6th - Durant Brooks - P - never heard a peep out of him.

6th - Kareem Moore - FS - decent safety, not starting material.

6th - Colt Brennan - QB - he looked decent when he first came to the NFL but never turned into anything special, pretty sure he's in the CFL now.

7th - Rob Jackson - DE - barely saw playing time from 2008-2010..nothing special.

7th - Chris Horton - SS - I LOVE this guy, he started several games as a rookie and was a beast, he was all over the field like a younger Polamalu, but he suffered some injuries the next two years and he hasn't played much since then...but he was my favorite player in 2008.[/list]

six of them still play in the NFL and aren't that bad..so it was a decent draft considering the man who oversaw it.

1st Round: Joe Flacco Obviously was picked to be a backup, but has completely become what we originally expected from Joe. Strong arm, great accuracy. Great first pick.
2nd Round: Ray Rice Getting Ray Rice in the 2nd round was obviously a great choice for us. He's now one of the best backs in the league.
3rd Round: Tavares Gooden Great coverage linebacker, but that's about it. I still think Tavares has lots of room to grow and has great potential.
3rd Round: Tom Zbikowski Our first "ninja" safety. Future starter for us and proved he can be a solid FS last year when Ed was on PUP.
3rd Round: Oniel Cousins A backup player, that's about it.
4th Round: Marcus Smith A receiver who's now on the practice squad.
4th Round: David Hale Lineman who's on the practice squad.
6th Round: Haruki Nakamura Our second "ninja" safety. Great nickel rusher and pretty average in coverage. Also has room to grow, but getting him in the 6th round was good.
7th Round: Justin Harper Same as Marcus Smith.
7th Round: Allen Patrick Never heard of him.

Overall Draft Grade: A-

Damn, the Chiefs' first few picks in this draft included Glenn Dorsey, Brandon Flowers, and Jamaal Charles. Talk about making the most of your picks.

(1) SS Kenny Phillips - has loads of potential. Last year was his first full year after having knee surgery in 2009 and he played decently well. He didn't make a lot of plays as he mainly played in deep coverage, but he excelled there. A year removed from surgery, he should bust out next year and solidify himself as a top 5 SS. At the moment though, I'd give this pick a B as he's only given us one full season since 2008.

(2) CB Terrell Thomas - fringe pro-bowl player. I think of him as a Charles Woodson lite. He boasted a 5 INT (he did in 2009 too), 4 FF, 101 tackle, and 21 PDEF season last year. His metrics slightly regressed last year in comparison to his 2009 campaign, but he's still a very good player. A

(3) WR Mario Manningham - probably the best #3 WR in the league. Could definitely start on most teams. Has breakaway speed and is a big play threat. Had about 960 yards and 9 TDs filling in for Smith the last half of the season. Great value in the third round finding a receiver like Manningham in the third round. B+

(4) LB Bryan Kehl - not on the team anymore. The only memory I have of him is in 2008 when he had a pick in a Steeler's game. Other than that he was a total nonfactor. He's on the Rams now I believe but I'm not sure if he starts. D

(5) LB Johnathan Goff - currently our starting MLB. Surprisingly a very good gap stuffer and run stopper. Doesn't really have any sexy stats and doesn't excel much in pass coverage. Still finding your current starting MLB in round 5 isn't that bad. B-

(6) QB Andre' Woodson - isn't on the team. Don't really remember even seeing him in a preseason game. F

(6) DE Robert Henderson - see Andre' Woodson. F

SnA ExclusiVe wrote:1st Round: Joe Flacco Obviously was picked to be a backup, but has completely become what we originally expected from Joe. Strong arm, great accuracy. Great first pick.
2nd Round: Ray Rice Getting Ray Rice in the 2nd round was obviously a great choice for us. He's now one of the best backs in the league.
3rd Round: Tavares Gooden Great coverage linebacker, but that's about it. I still think Tavares has lots of room to grow and has great potential.
3rd Round: Tom Zbikowski Our first "ninja" safety. Future starter for us and proved he can be a solid FS last year when Ed was on PUP.
3rd Round: Oniel Cousins A backup player, that's about it.
4th Round: Marcus Smith A receiver who's now on the practice squad.
4th Round: David Hale Lineman who's on the practice squad.
6th Round: Haruki Nakamura Our second "ninja" safety. Great nickel rusher and pretty average in coverage. Also has room to grow, but getting him in the 6th round was good.
7th Round: Justin Harper Same as Marcus Smith.
7th Round: Allen Patrick Never heard of him.

Overall Draft Grade: A-

I'd say this has to be in the running for the best draft of that year

scrimmage wrote:(1) SS Kenny Phillips - has loads of potential. Last year was his first full year after having knee surgery in 2009 and he played decently well. He didn't make a lot of plays as he mainly played in deep coverage, but he excelled there. A year removed from surgery, he should bust out next year and solidify himself as a top 5 SS. At the moment though, I'd give this pick a B as he's only given us one full season since 2008.

(2) CB Terrell Thomas - fringe pro-bowl player. I think of him as a Charles Woodson lite. He boasted a 5 INT (he did in 2009 too), 4 FF, 101 tackle, and 21 PDEF season last year. His metrics slightly regressed last year in comparison to his 2009 campaign, but he's still a very good player. A

(3) WR Mario Manningham - probably the best #3 WR in the league. Could definitely start on most teams. Has breakaway speed and is a big play threat. Had about 960 yards and 9 TDs filling in for Smith the last half of the season. Great value in the third round finding a receiver like Manningham in the third round. B+

(4) LB Bryan Kehl - not on the team anymore. The only memory I have of him is in 2008 when he had a pick in a Steeler's game. Other than that he was a total nonfactor. He's on the Rams now I believe but I'm not sure if he starts. D

(5) LB Johnathan Goff - currently our starting MLB. Surprisingly a very good gap stuffer and run stopper. Doesn't really have any sexy stats and doesn't excel much in pass coverage. Still finding your current starting MLB in round 5 isn't that bad. B-

(6) QB Andre' Woodson - isn't on the team. Don't really remember even seeing him in a preseason game. F

(6) DE Robert Henderson - see Andre' Woodson. F

Terrell Thomas a near pro bowl player???? That must be why they spent their first round pick on a corner this year. Terrell Thomas isn't good. Manningham was a real good pick though.

The Jets 08 draft was a bust thanks to Gholston.. I agree with Puppetz above.. Keller is real good and was dominant early in the year, but was held back once Holmes returned to the team this year. Has a ton of potential. He gets a B+ or so.

I think Lowery should get a B as well.. he's not the greatest player, but he's a solid contributor for a 4th round pick. Plays the slot and transitioned to safety as well.. had two pick 6's this year.

It's a shame Ainge has all those personal problems. I liked him at Tennessee and he was awesome in all preseason games he played in.. I thought he could be the long term Jets backup.

scrimmage wrote:

(6) QB Andre' Woodson - isn't on the team. Don't really remember even seeing him in a preseason game. F

I remember in NFL Head Coach, you could draft him and he would become a stud QB in no time. He had like 97 arm strength or something. It was funny I would just trade away my QB and draft him.

And Pint, Colt Brennan is in UFL not CFL

KWicK78 wrote:

SnA ExclusiVe wrote:1st Round: Joe Flacco Obviously was picked to be a backup, but has completely become what we originally expected from Joe. Strong arm, great accuracy. Great first pick.
2nd Round: Ray Rice Getting Ray Rice in the 2nd round was obviously a great choice for us. He's now one of the best backs in the league.
3rd Round: Tavares Gooden Great coverage linebacker, but that's about it. I still think Tavares has lots of room to grow and has great potential.
3rd Round: Tom Zbikowski Our first "ninja" safety. Future starter for us and proved he can be a solid FS last year when Ed was on PUP.
3rd Round: Oniel Cousins A backup player, that's about it.
4th Round: Marcus Smith A receiver who's now on the practice squad.
4th Round: David Hale Lineman who's on the practice squad.
6th Round: Haruki Nakamura Our second "ninja" safety. Great nickel rusher and pretty average in coverage. Also has room to grow, but getting him in the 6th round was good.
7th Round: Justin Harper Same as Marcus Smith.
7th Round: Allen Patrick Never heard of him.

Overall Draft Grade: A-

I'd say this has to be in the running for the best draft of that year

Probably, but I don't want to jump to conclusions when I haven't seen other teams' drafts yet. But certainly a great draft for us, getting 2 starters including 1 Pro-Bowler and then 3 rotational players that are fully capable of being starters for this team some time down the road.

SteelersJMB wrote:http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/2008-04-27-draft-grades_N.htm

That article was published in 2008...

SnA ExclusiVe wrote:

SteelersJMB wrote:http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/2008-04-27-draft-grades_N.htm

That article was published in 2008...

No shit. Thats the point.

Brownsxfanx31 wrote:

SnA ExclusiVe wrote:

SteelersJMB wrote:http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/2008-04-27-draft-grades_N.htm

That article was published in 2008...

No shit. Thats the point.

Sna isn't very smart.. it takes him a very long time to get things.

Seahawks-

1st Round Pick 28 DE Lawrence Jackson- No longer with the team. Back up caliber player taken where a starter should have been taken. One thing though that class sucked for Defensive line so far. Still has a chance of being good but not with the Seahawks and now is behind KVB and Avril. Grade: D

2nd Round Pick 38 TE John Carlson- A good pick. He has potential. Solid player and a go to target for Hasselbeck at times. Grade B

4th Round Pick 121 DT(now DE) Red Bryant- Up until last year Bryant was a waste of time and money. But Pete Carroll saw something. He's now the anchor of our run defense and helped the Hawks with their top 3 run defense until he got injured. In the weeks after he was injured the Hawks run defense dropped as low as 30th. Grade: A-

5th Round Pick 164 FB Owen Schmitt - a good full back in a similar mold as Leonard Weaver (possibly the reason the Eagles picked him up when Weaver got hurt). Grade: C

6th Round Pick 189 LS Tyler Schmitt - Potential. Never botched a snap at SDSU. Hurt his back his rookie season got placed on IR and released the next season (2009). Still a free agent. EDIT: Was not aware Tyler was the second LS taken in the draft in its history *sigh* Grade: D-

7th Round Pick 233 RB Justin Forsett - Great finesse back that isnt afraid of taking some hits. He was great in 2009 and wasnt afraid to give up carries and step out of the lime light in order to make the Seahawks better. The true definition of team player. A great steal of the 2008 draft. He'll be amazing behind a good offensive line which is why Seattle wen O line this year. Grade: A+

7th Round Pick 235 K Brandon Coutu - A good kicker while he was in Seattle. He was a makeshift replacement when Josh Brown left and before Seattle got Olindo Mare. Has potential but hasnt shown much. Grade: D

Undrafted: LB David Hawthorne: A great undrafted free agent. An amazing tackler for one of the NFL's deepest and possibly one of the NFL's best corps of linebackers. 235 Tackles in 27 starts. I'd post a youtube highlight but barely anyone outside of Washington know much about him. Grade A fucking +

Overall Grade: C. Forsett was a great pick and getting Hawthorne was amazing but the failures almost outweigh the greatness. Typical late Seattle era Holmgren draft.

Edit: the issue with that story is that its easier to grade drafts three or more years later than just a few months after wards.

JermikesHere wrote:

Brownsxfanx31 wrote:

SnA ExclusiVe wrote:

SteelersJMB wrote:http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/2008-04-27-draft-grades_N.htm

That article was published in 2008...

No shit. Thats the point.

Sna isn't very smart.. it takes him a very long time to get things.

I think what he is talking about is the fact of what was stated in the topic post. We are supposed to be grading them AFTER 3 years, if this is the whole point, than why do we need an article that graded them during that draft year (08), and why should those said grades matter if its three years old? Sure its nice to see what people graded our teams draft after the actual draft, but those grades dont really matter after three years do they?

BaltRavensFan20 wrote:

JermikesHere wrote:

Brownsxfanx31 wrote:

SnA ExclusiVe wrote:

SteelersJMB wrote:http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/2008-04-27-draft-grades_N.htm

That article was published in 2008...

No shit. Thats the point.

Sna isn't very smart.. it takes him a very long time to get things.

I think what he is talking about is the fact of what was stated in the topic post. We are supposed to be grading them AFTER 3 years, if this is the whole point, than why do we need an article that graded them during that draft year (08), and why should those said grades matter if its three years old? Sure its nice to see what people graded our teams draft after the actual draft, but those grades dont really matter after three years do they?

Or is called compare and contrast

Brownsxfanx31 wrote:

SnA ExclusiVe wrote:

SteelersJMB wrote:http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/2008-04-27-draft-grades_N.htm

That article was published in 2008...

No shit. Thats the point.

So then why not say something? I didn't know what his intentions were with that article...

BaltRavensFan20 wrote:

JermikesHere wrote:

Brownsxfanx31 wrote:

SnA ExclusiVe wrote:

SteelersJMB wrote:http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/2008-04-27-draft-grades_N.htm

That article was published in 2008...

No shit. Thats the point.

Sna isn't very smart.. it takes him a very long time to get things.

I think what he is talking about is the fact of what was stated in the topic post. We are supposed to be grading them AFTER 3 years, if this is the whole point, than why do we need an article that graded them during that draft year (08), and why should those said grades matter if its three years old? Sure its nice to see what people graded our teams draft after the actual draft, but those grades dont really matter after three years do they?

Are you serious? The point was VERY CLEARLY to show how different the way people judge drafts when they happen (like all writers and analysts are doing the past 2 days about this years draft) compared to a few years down the road after the players have played a couple of seasons. Goes to show how pointless and meaningless the draft grades for 2011 are.

SnA ExclusiVe wrote:

Brownsxfanx31 wrote:

SnA ExclusiVe wrote:

SteelersJMB wrote:http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/2008-04-27-draft-grades_N.htm

That article was published in 2008...

No shit. Thats the point.

So then why not say something? I didn't know what his intentions were with that article...

Didn't think I'd need to..