Love the Draft/Hate the Draft

I'm finding it difficult to parse out the meaning of this year's Draft from the general excitement of Draft weekend.

Is the 2009 class an essential restocking of the league's middle class? Or simply mediocre from start to finish? Do we get hot and bothered over reaches like Darrius Heyward-Bey or Larry English? Or acknowledge with a shrug that nearly every player could've been selected a round later?

However it plays out, the Draft is a weekend to gleefully indulge our fanaticism, to dream big about the upcoming season, to over-think the manifold possibilities.

I don't have any draft grades, no winners and losers. But I do have several things I liked (+) and disliked (-) throughout the course of the weekend. Read along.

+ As wary as I am of the Stafford pick for Detroit, the remaining selections were all part of a solid - dare I say it - plan. Tight end Brandon Pettigrew gives them a top talent even if not a dire need. Safety Louis Delmas adds desperately needed physicality to the backcourt. Receiver Derrick Williams is a playmaker, plain and simple. And a ton of big, raw prospects late in the Draft gives coach Schwartz talent to develop in the trenches. I don't know if this class will work out for the Lions, but the logic is there.

- The Browns tried the quantity over quality approach... only they didn't nab much quantity for all the quality they gave up. It's not that Alex Mack and Brian Robiskie won't develop into solid starters, they most likely will; rather, dropping from the fifth overall selection to the 21st and netting only a second rounder and a couple of sixths seems like blowing a golden opportunity. At least, Cleveland is putting themselves in a position to have another shot at a high draft pick next year.

+ Seattle fleeces Denver for the Broncos first round pick next year, giving up their high second round pick, yet the Seahawks still have the juice to nab top interior linemen Max Unger in a trade with Chicago.

- Ten minutes after Seattle selected Aaron Curry with the fourth overall selection, I forgot what he looked like. I was staring at one of those draft promos unable to recognize Curry for several seconds. Why do the Seahawks have this power of making players invisible?

+ Though they are essential the same receiver, the idea of DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin lining up on opposite ends of a formation is enticing. Add in Brian Westbrook spelled by "Shady" LeSean McCoy and the skill positions in Philly might match McNabb's ability to mix short and long seamlessly when he's on his rhythm.

- While Pat White at Miami looks like a good fit, it also looks like the extension of a gimmick. Bill Parcells has a history of extending gimmick until it bursts at the seams (David Meggett, anyone?) rendering White's pro potential capped by his ability to run the Wildcat, not bringing a traditional offense to meet him halfway at his considerable skill set.

+ Bill Polian always drafts like Bill Polian. For instance, NFL.com's write up on the Colts fourth round selection, defensive tackle Terrence Taylor, "Taylor has been a dominating player in the Big Ten. His biggest problem is that he lacks size. He has excellent strength and is a competitive player who plays really hard." Perfect Indianapolis player.

- Mike Brown always drafts like Mike Brown. For instance, NFL.com's write up on the Bengals sixth round selection, running back Bernard Scott, "Many red flags, including his age (25), being kicked off two teams (one in high school, one in college) and several run-ins with police." Hate to say it, but perfect Cincinnati player.

+ In a draft with a ton of solid but not spectacular talent, the Patriots owned the second round, perhaps the best round to own in a such a draft. With four selections, they added a bunch of promising prospects to the bottom of their roster, paving the way for a youth movement next season. Even better, New England parlayed two of their four third round selections into second rounders for 2010.

- With depth issues in several areas, Jacksonville traded up in the third round, giving up 2010's second to New England in the process, and picked a corner from William & Mary one selection after taking a defensive tackle from Temple. That's a lot of pressure the Jaguars are putting on this year and this class.

+ A certain luck seems to follow the post-Vick, post-Petrino Falcons. Last year, Matt Ryan dropped into their laps at three overall, transforming a previously woeful offense into a promising force. This year, Peria Jerry, the most exciting three-technique tackle in college football last year, drops into their laps at twenty-four overall. With a defense heavy draft, the Falcons could continue their ascent up the NFC.

- However some players never find their right fit. TCU safety Stephen Hodge was selected by the Cowboys to be a special teams ace which he should excel at. But Hodge might've been better off being selected by a team that plays the Tampa 2 defense and being moved to weakside linebacker. Hodge was one of the most fearsome hitters in college football last year and plays excellently inside the box. His speed, however, limits his ability to start at safety in the pros. Physically, he's a clone of Derrick Brooks.

+ Gm Ozzie Newsome might get some flack in the media for not addressing some glaring needs like wide receiver, the Ravens patiently restocked cornerstone positions of their team with players that fit their system and can develop into excellent starters. Selecting tackle Michael Oher at twenty-three overall and OLB/DE hybrid Paul Kruger in the second affirmed their identity as well as their depth.

- Sometimes affirming an identity can go a little too far. It's as if Al Davis knows everyone cracks wise about the Raiders valuing speed over all else and is deliberately making a huge show of it to prove who's in charge. Darrius Heyward-Bey wasn't really a reach compared to Davis's latter selections of speedy safety Mike Mitchell and tough guy end Matt Shaughnessy. But just about everyone selected by Oakland timed extremely well in shorts regardless of how they produced in pads.

+ Short on picks from the Jay Cutler trade, yet long on needs in their depth, the Bears wisely traded down from their second round pick and accumulated selections. They were able to address their defensive line depth (prospect Jarron Gilbert and solid Henry Melton) wide receiver depth (well-rounded Joaquin Iglesias and burner Johnny Knox) and add a playmaking cover two corner in DJ Moore.

- NFC North rival Green Bay, however, doubled back on their traditional Draft day strategy for one bold move. GM Ted Thompson's normal MO is stockpiling picks for value, increasing the chances to hit on his selections, and building up competition throughout the team. This year, with the trade of three picks (a second and two third rounders) to New England for the chance to draft linebacker Clay Matthews, the Packers eschewed their patient ways. Along with earlier selection BJ Raji, the Packers might have refashioned their defense with a couple of elite talents. Or they might've tied their fate to a couple lord of the flies talents in a mediocre Draft class.

+ Somehow the Giants managed to hit every need on their roster while never reaching or overreacting. Receivers Hakeem Nicks and Ramses Barden will compete to replace Plaxico. Linebacker Clint Stintim and tackle William Beatty add depth and potential long-term replacements. Tight end Travis Beckum and back Andre Brown add some solid legs to the offense and its skill position rotation. The rich keep getting richer for a reason.

- Is it just me or is Virginia becoming a factory for NFL read but bloodless offensive tackle play? First, D'Brickashaw Ferguson has all the tools to be great yet still plays like a rookie at times well into his third season. Then, Branden Albert coming out last year would rather play guard than tackle. Now, Eugene Monroe to the Jags potentially becomes the next poster child for the outline of a great left tackle but none of the guts of one.

+ I know, I know. Every year, I seem to get excited for the Texans defense to take control in the AFC South. But, good lord, they finally could've put their line in order. Sure, linebacker Brian Cushing should be a nice complement to DeMeco Ryans inside. But the prospect of Connor Barwin coming off the edge opposite Mario Williams, while both flank Amobi Okoye is what could push this defense to the next level. Should Dunta Robinson stay healthy and perhaps even young tackle Frank Okam develop, Houston might finally leap into the AFC's top tier.

- A minor complaint, but this year's Mr Irrelevant might not be very irrelevant. Kicker Ryan Succop, taken with the 256 selection, might make an impact on a Chiefs team desperate for solid production in the kicking game. Every year, the last pick of the Draft is feted with a parade and banquet in Newport Beach, California, during the summer, a sort of fifteen minutes a fame for a player more likely to slide into sudden obscurity. However, Succop, a strong legged kicker, has a great chance of making a career with the Chiefs, stealing the award from a true Mr. Irrelevant.