Grading the draft

I managed to watch the entire first round of the draft and while I love the draft it was tough to stay awake for all 6 hours of it. It especially rough after Pittsburgh traded up and I had no one to cheer for until the Lions pick in the second round. What's funny is that I watched it with my friend Aaron and his family but I think he could have cared less while the rest of us were trying to guess which player would come off the board next. Anyways here are my initial thoughts on the winners and losers of the draft:

Winners:

Matt Leinart - yes he fell to number 10 and that probably cost him 20 million dollars but he goes to a team loaded with offensive talent and he won't be thrust into the starting position right away. He also has a great QB coach in Dennis Green so I suspect Leinert will be very successful and might actually turn the Cardinals into a winner someday.

The Jets - They did the smart thing and refused the temptation to mortgage their draft for Bush and instead chose the two best offensive linemen and also got a good QB to groom for the future. I suspect that the Jets are a team on the rise with their new leadership.

The Eagles - Similar to the Jets, they were able to fill key holes with quality players. Getting Winston Justice in the second round was a steal. And Bunkley would be the next Warren Sapp but without the mouth. Look for this team to rebound this year.

Ohio St - They had 5 players taken in the first round and 7 taken the first day. It is obvious that this team was loaded with talent and the future looks bright for the buckeyes.


Losers -

Houston - I still have no idea why they chose Williams over Bush. They took a guy that nobody had even heard of three months ago and wasn't even the player of the year in his conference over the most dynamic player to come out of college in a decade. It's decisions like this that get GM's fired and nobody in Houston will be sad with he is fired. This draft pick will go down as the worst since taking Mandarich over Barry Sanders.

Lendale White - I really thought he was the real deal but apparently his lackluster attitude and rumored drug use turned off a lot of teams. And while I usually put more stock in how a player played during the season than how he acts off the field I do understand why he fell. He was facing the biggest job interviews and he failed to take them seriously enough to get into shape. If he doesn't take that seriously when millions are on the line how seriously will he take practice?

Bad Characters- White was not the only one to fall this year because of character issues. It seemed like their were several players that had first round talent but 7th round character and finally the NFL teams decided to avoid these pitfalls early. I am surprised and pleased because how many times can teams get burned by suspensions, trials and types of distractions. Maybe this will be a wakeup call for the younger athletes to stay out of trouble.

The Lions - When your best two QB's are a perennial backup and an Arizona cast off you can't have that much confidence in you're passing game even if Martz is now the coach. So why the heck did they pass up a franchise QB for an undersized linebacker with a history of concussions? It's mistakes like this that keep Detroit from ever being a legitimate football team.

Michigan- How far has the program fallen that no players are chosen on the first day and only three altogether. For years the problem with Carr was that he didn't get enough out of his talent. Well apparently, he doesn't even have talent anymore. How many more years of mediocrity can Michigan afford before they decide to hire a better coach.