Grading Time.

So it's time to grade the draft. I'm not going to grade everyone, just teams I thought made a significant impression either way.

Detroit Lions: B-. Everyone's giving them pretty good grades so far, but I'm not that impressed. $78 over six years with $41 million in guaranteed money. For one guy. And he hasn't even played a game yet. And they're the Lions. Also, from listening to ESPN radio for the last week, Quarterbacks taken in the first round have like a 30% success rate. So yeah, there's a 70% chance that you bet the farm on the wrong horse. They needed a Quarterback, but when the rest of their team is just horrible, someone's going to be the scapegoat in two or three years when they're back in the same place they're in now and I think that scapegoat is going to be the #1 pick with the $41 mill in guaranteed money. I do like how they used their Roy Williams picks on a Tight End and a Receiver, and then spent the rest of their picks mainly on defense, because, let's face it, they're terrible on both sides of the ball. I'm just not sold on the Stafford pick; I think a lot of the reason why Matt Ryan was so good in his first year was because they have a decent O-Line and then Michael Turner in the backfield. And their defense isn't too bad. And they just traded for Tony G. Stafford's not going to have all of that. Megatron helps, but the rest of the offense is bad and their defense is just terrible. With that said, I don't know who else they would pick; it was a lose-lose situation in my opinion.

Oakland Raiders: J-. Darrius Heyward-Bey? Darrius Heyward-Bey? DARRIUS. HEYWARD. BEY. Good Lord. Raiders are a debacle. Trade down and take him late in the first or early in the second. This is a terrible pick, especially when Crabtree and Maclin are sitting around waiting to shake hands with the Commissioner. They spent the majority of the rest of their picks on Defense, apparently they are going to stay with their plan of sticking with JaMarcus Russell. Mindbottling. I mean...Jesus.

Philadelphia Iggles: A. It pains me to say that the Iggles did a good job, but they did. It basically cost them a Sixth rounder to move up two spots to get the guy they wanted in Jeremy Maclin. Then they addressed some areas where they have holes due to free agency; Runningback and Tight End. Then it's a mix of defense and offensive line with another Wide Receiver. They have to be thanking the Radiers for being the Raiders and screwing up badly enough so that Maclin fell to them with the 19th pick.

New England Patriots: B+. When you've got 97 picks in the draft, it's kind of hard to make a misstep here. They've spent the last couple of years trading out of the first round (where they would have to spend a lot of money on a rookie) and into the later rounds (where they can pick up guys and develop them for cheap). They used most of their picks on defense, where they're looking a little creaky. They didn't have that big name guy because they didn't have a first rounder, but I'd rather have four second round picks than a late first and second round pick.

Tampa Bay: D+. So wait a minute here, you had Brian Griese, then you cut him, then you trade a sixth rounder to get him back, THEN you go out and draft a QB with your first round pick? Ok then. The problem is, the Bucs don't have a whole lot for him to throw to and their backfield is brittle to say the least. They acquired Kellen Winslow, but it's going to be his first year with Tampa, with a first year QB and a first year coach. So, how do you think this is going to end? I think it's going to end badly. One of the only positives is that at least the defense is still somewhat decent.

Cleveland Browns: B+. The Browns actually did a pretty good job here. They traded down and picked up a sixth rounder and got a guy that will bolster their offensive line, then they picked up a wide receiver with one of their Kellen Winslow picks, then they focus on Defense for most of the rest of the draft. Not bad. They know their weaknesses and are trying to address them, unlike last year's offseason where they just went out and spent money.

San Francisco 49ers: B. And that grade is mainly because of the Crabtree pick, which was due in part to the fact that the Raiders are completely inept. They didn't have a 2nd rounder and they spent their 3rd rounder on a Runningback. I know the NFL is becoming a two back league, but seriously, you've got Frank Gore back there, how about spending that pick on the defense? They spent a fifth round compensatory pick on a Quarterback to address the absolute mess there, but really, is that guy even going to make it to the practice squad? They didn't have a whole lot of picks because of trades, I understand that, but they really need defense and o-line help and they really didn't do anything to help themselves there.

San Diego Super Chargers: C. Kind of a disappointing draft. They went with an undersized Defensive End for their first pick, I guess that means they're probably not going to resign Merriman. Then it was Guard, Tackle, Guard, 3rd down back, corner, safety, receiver. Pretty boring.

N.Y. Jets: C. The reason why I'm giving them such a bad score is because they only had three picks and they've just completely mismanaged things for the last couple of years. They traded to rent Brett Favre for a year, then they traded up to get Dirty Sanchez. So, they're actually in a worse spot than they were two years ago when they had Chad Pennington, who went to the playoffs with Miami. The thing I keep hearing about Sanchez is that teams like his "intangibles". What the hell does that even mean? I think Sanchez does alright, and he could have a great season if that O-line holds up. Teams don't have a whole lot of tape on him, he could have a great first half and then start to fade. Their schedule kind of backs that up; in their first eight games, they have their two toughest games (against the Pats and the Titans) at home and they start off with Houston, play the Fins twice and play the Raiders. Their second half is pretty brutal. After their bye, it's Jacksonville, at New England, Carolina, at Buffalo, at Tampa, Atlanta, at Indy and then they finish at home against the Bengals. That is rough. They could start 5-3 and finish 6-10. And that might be tough on a dude that has gotten use to winning his whole life. And then there's the New York media, who just loves to pile on. Good luck, Mark.

That's about it.