2009 NFL Draft one year later: Detroit Lions

We have to call this one a home run for the Lions. Sure a lot of these guys got chances to play because the Lions roster was so devoid of playmakers, but the Lions landed at least three legitimate starters, and quite possible four in one draft class. Considering they landed nearly no talent in the ten drafts former GM Matt Millen ran, this is quite a feat.

 2009 NFL Draft one year later: St. Louis Rams

It seems that the St. Louis Rams were well on their way to having a great draft. Just months after the NFL draft I gave them high marks for their first two picks. If not for the potential in this draft class, and the season ending injury to two of the keys draft picks we could very well say this draft was a failure. However given all those facts let us give it a one year grade of incomplete.

 2009 NFL Draft one year later: Kansas City Chiefs

While we always say the best way to build up a team is through the draft, there is a pattern emerging here. So far three of the teams that picked in the top five in the 2009 draft are picking in the top five of the 2010 draft. This seems to suggest either there was more than one draft’s worth of work to be done, or that bad NFL teams made bad NFL decisions. I leave that to all of you to figure out amongst yourselves.

 2009 NFL Draft on year later: Seattle Seahawks

The 2009 draft of the Seattle Seahawks shows the failure of pre draft player rankings. The draft is not a science, it is merely conjecture. I along with Mel Kiper and Todd McShay are wrong far more often then we are right. Last year everyone had LB Aaron Curry has the most NFL ready prospect in the draft. Many of us wanted him to go to St. Louis, I wanted my Lions to draft him, but he ended up not even being the best LB in that draft, and we could argue that he wasn’t even in the top ten of best prospects from the 2009 draft one year later.

 2009 NFL Draft one year later: New York Jets

The New York Jets may have had the best draft of all the 2009 teams. With just three picks they scored a franchise QB, a future featured RB, and a solid OG. Not too shabby. I gave them high marks last summer for this draft, and I might be higher on them now.

 2009 NFL Draft one year later: Cincinnati Bengals

If it were not for their second round pick, which should be labeled felony robbery, the 2009 draft of the Bengals would be about a big, a disaster as one could imagine. It seems to me that the lack of a true General Manger hinders this team’s ability to make solid moves in the draft. Their second round pick was a no brainer, and they may have gotten a good value in the third, but one year later I am still very skeptical about the 20009 draft of the Cincinnati Bengals.

 2009 NFL Draft one year later: Oakland Raiders

If you ever wanted to know why the Oakland Raiders have gone from one of the most respected NFL Franchises, to the laughing stock that they are today, it is decisions made, like the ones made last year at the NFL draft , that have ruined this franchise. Al Davis hire a General Manger already, dude this draft looks worse a year later. They reached way past two quality wide outs, to draft a guy who caught nine passes. The price tag of that 7th overall pick, 38.25 million dollars over five years with 23.5 million guaranteed. Great Job Al.

 2009 NFL Draft one year later: Jacksonville Jaguars

This is how NFL team are supposed to draft. The 2009 Jaguars draft class is a shiny example of how teams should conduct the draft. Their first four picks became regular starters, and six of the nine players they selected played at least 14 games. That is a very good draft, and one year later it looks even better. This is how a front office puts its team into the best situation on the field that it can.

 2009 NFL Draft one year later: Green Bay Packers

This is how the draft is supposed to work. Use your first pick to take a player at a position of need, and then make a strong move to move up and get a player in the bottom half of the first round. Six of their 2009 draft picks played in at least nine games. It looks like they netted at least three starters, and quite possible a fourth in the 7th round. This draft looks just as good as it did one year ago, and if Brad Jones can take over the OLB spot for teh departed Aaron Kampman it looks even better.

 2009 NFL Draft one year later: San Francisco 49ers

The 2009 49er draft class was severely hurt by a senseless hold out, injury, and dare I say it even a few bad draft picks. This class really ends up being a draft class of back ups. While I was pretty down on this draft a year ago, WR Michael Crabtree might have had a great year had he not held out, and we really can blame that on Al Davis.

 2009 NFL draft one year later: Buffalo Bills

The 2009 Buffalo Bills drat class produced a pro bowler, and two starters along the offensive line. That is a high quality draft no matter which way we chose to dissect it. One year ago I said that the Bills may have reached a bit to select Jairus Byrd however that move seems to have worked out, since he made the pro bowl in his rookie year. They had a plan for their 2009 draft, and it seemed to work out quite well. I haven’t even mentioned Aaron Maybin who lost a good part of his maturation to the NFL game by singing his deal so late. All in all it was a pretty good draft class for the Bills.

 2009 NFL Draft one year later: Denver Broncos

With five selections if the first two rounds of the 2009 NFL draft the Broncos should have been able to score a lot more talent than they did. I cannot believe that they had five of the first 64 picks in this draft, and they really only scored with the 12th overall pick. One year ago I had a hard time trying to figure out their overall strategy. While thy should have been using their draft picks to find players for their new 04 defense, they spent a lot of picks on defensive backs even though they had signed S Brian Dawkins in free agency.

 2009 NFL draft one year later: Washington Redskins

The Redskins scored with the 13th overall pick when there got LB Brian Orakpo, and they are lucky they did because the rest of this draft class did next to nothing. A year ago I was critical of the decisions made by this front office, a year later they shot callers are gone and a new regime is in town. Orakpo made the pro bowl and should be a fixture on the Redskins defense for years to come. Other than that they spent five draft picks on nothing. That goes to show that NFL executives must do well on draft day or risk losing their jobs later.

 2009 NFL draft one year later: New Orleans Saints

We can look at the 2009 draft of the saints in a lot of different ways. Since two of their four picks went down to injury there is a strong feeling to give them an incomplete grade, since they won the Super Bowl we can easily give them a pass, but we can also point out that 2009 was not a great draft for this team. Does it really mater? Not so much now, but this team could regret not going in a different direction in the 2009 draft day down the road. One year ago I gave them high marks, understanding the logic behind the moves, they didn’t work out (at least in the short term), but the Super Bowl Champions get a lot of leeway.

 2009 NFL draft one year later: Houston Texans

Is there a better grade then perfect? I mean, we are talking about a team that used the 15th overall pick to select the eventual 2009 Defensive player of the year. We are also talking about a team that added two quality pieces that helped them go from 22nd in yard allowed in 2008, to 13th in 2009. The Texans got solid pieces with almost every one of their picks, and injury hurt some of their year one production. A year ago I was very high on the 2009 Texans draft, sitting here a year later I feel a lot better about it.

 2009 NFL draft one year later: San Diego Chargers

This is one of those cases that seem to prove the most NFL ready tag is often a clue that a player is going to struggle. Larry English came to the NFL as one of the most ready for the next level players in the 2009 draft. The Chargers took him with the 16th pick, and he didn’t do much, kind of like the under performing season of Aaron Curry. A year ago I gave the Chargers high marks not so much for this pick but for finding two starters in the later rounds, including one of the finest day two draft steals of 2009.

 2009 NFL draft one year later: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Any way we try to slice this, this draft grade hinges on whether or not QB Josh Freeman develops into a franchise QB. Other than him the 2009 Bucs draft class started one game. All indications are this is a team headed in the wrong direction, a solid 3rd overall pick in the 2010 draft could change that, but the coaching staff and front office seem in over their head. One year ago I called their approach to the draft unconventional, considering this was a team rebuilding. Now, a year later, that seems to hold true, but if Freeman delivers we would still have to call this draft a success.

 2009 NFL draft one year later: Philadelphia Eagles

This is how elite organizations remain elite. They score on their first two draft picks, and then find solid role players in the later rounds that can step in and help the team. It is what we expect from the finer organizations out there, and over the last decade that is exactly what the Philadelphia Eagles have been. One year ago I gave the Eagles high marks for adding new offensive weapons to the mix, and now year later I am still very high on this draft class.

 2009 NFL draft one year later: Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings only had five picks in the 2009 draft, yet they were able to score a significant contributor with each one of those picks. Of course when your first pick ends up being the offensive rookie of the year, things could not get much better. The Vikings front office delivered a solid draft class and it one of the many reasons they had so much success during the 2009 season. One year ago I gave the Vikings very high marks for tuning in a draft class that not only addressed their primary needs, but found great talent at a number of positions.

 2009 NFL Draft one year later: Baltimore Ravens

We can look at the 2009 Baltimore Ravens draft class in tow very different ways. Sure they scored with their picks in the top rounds, but their picks in later rounds made no impact at all, in fact most of them did not make the team. So we have to weigh three potential starters against the failure to land quality prospects in the later rounds. Of course that is pretty simply landing three starters in any one draft class is the standard and that is what the Ravens accomplished. One year ago I gave the Ravens pretty high marks for their draft, even though they did not address their need for a number one receiver. That is an issue they have filled vi trade and free agency now, but could have helped during the 2009 season.

 2009 NFL draft one year later: Atlanta Falcons

Man how do you asses a draft where the first two picks went down with injury and rode out their rookie campaigns on the injured reserve list? It seems that we have to give the Falcons a mulligan, because it could very well be that this draft class turns into something special. A year ago I gave the Falcons high marks for getting two stars and adding depth along both offensive and defensive lines.

 2009 NFL draft one year later: Miami Dolphins

I want to be higher on this draft class; I really do as I was an advocate of taking QB Pat White high in the 2009 NFL draft. However I cannot understand how they used the 44th overall pick on him, and then deciding to not use him hardly at all. It makes little sense to me. While they did land two starting CB’s, and that was one of their biggest positions of need, they missed on several late round pick. One year ago I gave the Dolphins high marks for the decision to take the two corners, and making a move that was outside the box. It didn’t work out and that grade has to come down one year in.

 2009 NFL draft one year later: Indianapolis Colts

When a team cuts a fourth round pick in training camp, they are generally saying that they made a big mistake. That is the case for the Indianapolis Colts 2009 draft class. They may have netted three starters in this draft, and a year ago I was very high on their decisions, but the proof is in the pudding. One year out this is a below average draft class, with huge upside. If it works out it will be another draft day coup for Bill Polian, if it doesn’t people are still going to consider him a draft day genius.

 2009 draft one year later: New York Giants

This is a weird one; it is never good when two of a team’s draft picks are not retained by the practice squad. Some of that we can write off as injuries. Ya know injuries happen and there is no real way to plan around them. However the main picks in this draft had very little production and that is a lot more concerning. Granted picking at the bottom of the first round, the team does not need to hit a home run, but putting together a solid draft class is the goal, and so far that is not the case here. One year ago I gave the Giants average grades for their offensive heavy draft, but I have soured on it a lot since then.

 2009 NFL draft one year later: Tennessee Titans

Sometimes when a team has a big letdown, or a stumble we sit back, and wonder why. The Titans had just that, and I think we can put some of the blame on a pretty awful draft. None of their picks started half of their games. Only Kenny Brit has a significant contribution to this team. That is not good considering they made eleven picks in 2009. A year ago I was pretty down on this draft, giving them just an average grade; one year in that grade has slipped into the failing category.

 2009 NFL draft one year later: Arizona Cardinals

Beanie Wells gave this team a boost, it lifted them form the running game from last in the league in 2008 to 28th best in 2009. That is not the improvement one would expect from a first round draft pick. It seems this is one of those draft classes that will take a longer time to bloom.  A year ago I gave this draft class a B Grade; one year out I might drop it to a B- and wait for the full impact of this class to come into effect.

 2009 NFL Draft one year later: Pittsburgh Steelers

Coming off a Super Bowl win, and with their first pick deep in the first round, The Pittsburgh Steelers had to draft for need, and take a best player available stance with their picks. However, it seems they may have missed a bit on this draft. With that said it will be very hard to effectively grade this draft until Ziggy Hood becomes a full time starter for them. If he does this draft was above average, if he doesn’t they missed big time. A year ago I gave the Steelers a B+ grade for drafting to their needs, and pulling a draft day trade that landed them a pretty good receiver.