Team-by-team thoughts on the NFC draft picks

by Dan Kadar on Apr 25, 2009 10:29 PM EDT

• Dallas made no picks on day one but has 12 tomorrow. Expect a lot of activity from the Valley Ranch.

• Outside of Hakeem Nicks, it's hard to imagine Clint Sintim and William Beatty getting a lot of playing time for the Giants. For New York, its an average start to the draft.

• After the first day of the draft, Donovan McNabb should be smiling. The team got receiver Jeremy Maclin and running back LeSean McCoy. Great draft. The Eagles could strike out the rest of the draft and still be successful.

• Put Brian Orakpo at strong-side linebacker or defensive end and he should excel for the Redskins. The team was wise not to trade its whole draft to take Mark Sanchez.

• Chicago made no picks but picked up Carolina's 2010 first-round pick. Good trade for the Bears.

• After selecting Matthew Stafford first overall, Detroit had something of odd draft. The team really needed a left tackle and middle linebacker. Instead, it got a tight end in Brandon Pettigrew and a safety in Louis Delmas. Still, all three will be starters this season.

• Green Bay did a great job of adding playmakers on defense in tackle B.J. Raji and outside linebacker Clay Matthews. Both will help the team's transition to a 3-4 go easy.

• Boom or bust is the theme for Minnesota, which went with wide receiver Percy Harvin and offensive tackle Phil Loadholt. Loadholt will at least give the team a strong presence on the right side of the line.

• While Atlanta may have done well taking a defensive tackle, it's odd that Peria Jerry was the choice. Safety William Moore will at least be able to help near the line of scrimmage or even shift to weak-side linebacker.

• The Panthers got a steal in round two with defensive end/outside linebacker Everette Brown. It's uncertain, though, how much his ego is bruised after lasting all the way until pick 43. Sherrod Martin gives the team a good physical corner.

• New Orleans may have only had one pick on day one, but the team made the most of it by taking Malcolm Jenkins. He could play cornerback or safety and likely excel.

• Tampa trading up to select quarterback Josh Freeman was a reach. The fans hate it, but new head coach Raheem Morris loves it. It'll be fun to see how the Buccaneers proceed with five quarterbacks.

• Arizona did the perfect job of filling its needs with running back Chris Wells and outside linebacker Cody Brown.

• St. Louis immediately made itself a contender for the NFC West title by taking a starting left tackle in Jason Smith and a defensive leader in middle linebacker James Laurinaitis. There are plenty of cornerbacks available on day two.

• With only one first day pick, the 49ers made the most of it by taking receiver Michael Crabtree. He's a difference maker on offense, if someone can get him the ball.

• Seattle had the best draft of the day. Not only do the Seahawks get the best player in the draft with Aaron Curry, they get a starting offensive lineman in Max Unger and Denver's 2010 first-round pick.

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Comments

I have to disagree with you on the Giants.

Stintim could very well start on the outside for the G-Men, and one of the main goals of the draft for them was to get depth on the O-Line. Besides WR, there was no real “need”, so of course they won’t have that many starting players. But Nicks, Beatty, and Stintim are all players that could easily have been taken in the first round.

"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw

by squid92 on Apr 26, 2009 12:08 AM EDT reply actions

Tampa's gonna cut a QB real soon

The Bucs aren’t gonna go in to training with 5 QBs fighting over the clipboard. Odds are very good they’re gonna cut Griese (who was more a favorite of Gruden’s than anyone), if they can do it this weekend without taking a cap hit they probably will. They’ll give Johnson a shot during the preseason but will most likely cut him too unless he outperforms Leftwich (that FA contract he signed is looking more suspect every minute).

So far, the fan response I’m seeing on the boards and the usenet lines: three-fifths hate it, one-fifth questions it, one-fifth blindly accepting it like they were paid Republican talking heads on Fox Not-News.

by witty on Apr 26, 2009 8:31 AM EDT reply actions

While I agree with what you said

There’s no need for the political crack. This is a football blog, I think politics is best left out of it.

by Brendan Scolari on Apr 27, 2009 12:38 AM EDT up reply actions

Giants draft

I’m not disappointed at all. Fact is, the Giants have fewer ‘need’ areas than just about any team in the league — at least as far as spots that needed to be filled right away. The one they had ~~-WR -~~ they addressed with the guy seen as the most NFL ready of the first-round wideouts (other than Crabtree). Sintim has a chance to contribute, and long-term could be the impact OLB the Giants have not had for a long time. As for Beatty, the Giants got a guy who might be their left tackle within a year or two. No matter who they picked, the player would be in a backup role right away, and I think this is the pick that has the folks at BBV the most excited.

by Ed Valentine on Apr 26, 2009 9:29 AM EDT reply actions

LOL

I’ll do this nicely.

Nicks, Beatty or Sintim would have been FINE with me if they got drafted by teh Giants at #29. That all 3 area on the giants makes it an A for me.

Id say it may be A+ cuz of my initial bashing of the Nicks pick, not cuz I don’t like Nicks, but cuz Rey-Ma was on the board. But Rey dropped cuz he is a space cadet and can’t cover a lick (the main reason Antonio Pierce isn’t an All-Pro).

So I think the Giants got a A+ first day, and considering JR does better in day 2, this is another reason why teh Gints have been contenders for a while.

by FreeBradshaw on Apr 26, 2009 9:46 AM EDT up reply actions

Even if the Giants has the Top 5 picks in the draft

maybe one of them would start right away (Crabtree would be there probably…)

BUt the Giants aren’t looking for starters. THey have starters in place everywhere. Nicks and Sintim are going to compete with the young guys at their positions. Beatty, considering the Giants O-Line is the best in the league, is going to learn from the best O-Line in the league (not to mention, maybe the best O-Line coach..)

by FreeBradshaw on Apr 26, 2009 9:48 AM EDT up reply actions

Gotta agree with the other Giants fans

not sure how it could be a bad thing that a young team who finished with the best record in the NFC a year after winning a Super Bowl and whose only starter lost this offseason is a WR had an average draft just b/c they drafted guys who won’t start next year. They could have had the top 3 picks in the draft and 2 of the guys likely wouldn’t be starters next year.

by cjmulrain on Apr 26, 2009 10:02 AM EDT reply actions