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| 2008 NFL DRAFT GRADES | |||||
| Grades | |||||
| Grade | Team | Key Player | POS | College | Reason |
| A |
 |
Glen Dorsey | DT | LSU |
The Chiefs absolutely kicked arse in this draft. Dorsey is a beast, Albert was a steal, Flowers is a starter and even Jamaal Charles was a steal. They dominated this draft. |
| A |
 |
Jonathan Stewart | RB | Oregon | Stewart is a future stud RB and they added OT Otah to help clear his way. Dan Connor has the makings of a solid run-stuffer. Very solid draft from head to toe. |
| A |
 |
Jake Long | OT | Michigan | Long will man the LT for years and was a solid pick. Chad Henne will be a starter in the NFL and Merling was a steal where they got him. |
| A |
 |
Ray Rice | RB | Rutgers | Joe Flacco has the physical skills to lead this team. Ray Rice was a steal who will take over in a year or 2. Gooden and Zbikowski are nice additions to the defense. Starters added top to bottom. |
| A |
 |
Devin Thomas | WR | Michigan St. | The Skins loaded up on targets for Jason Campbell. Devin Thomas was an absolute steal, then adding Malcolm Kelly that late sealed the great draft. Fred Davis will just add yet another weapon. |
| A |
 |
Rashard Mendenhall | RB | Illinois | Mendenhall is a beast and fits this team perfectly. Limas Sweed could be a serious red zone weapon if he can get healthy. Dennis Dixon has down the road potential as a Kordell Stewart type. |
| A- |
 |
Matt Ryan | QB | Boston College | I’m not a big Matt Ryan believer…any other year he would have been a 3rd round pick. That being said, the Falcons have loaded up with possibly 5 starters from this draft. A step in the right direction for sure. |
| B+ |
 |
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie | DB | Tennessee St. | DRC is a future stud. DE Calais Campbell and WR Early Doucet round out a great draft for Arizona. They have 3 impact guys right up front. |
| B |
 |
Felix Jones | RB | Arkansas | The Cowboys filled two big needs with Felix Jones and Mike Jenkins. Jones will provide the lightening to MBIII’s thunder and Jenkins will be a lockdown. If Pacman behaves this team is Super Bowling. |
| B |
 |
Darren McFadden | RB | Arkansas | McFadden was clearly the centerpiece of their draft and a instant impact. They didn’t do much else after that. One diamond and a gang of dirty rocks. The Ghost of Al Davis lives…..what? He’s still alive? No way. |
| B |
 |
Kenny Phillips | S | Miami FL | The G-Men locked up a safety from the “U”…those are always good. The Manningham and Woodson picks late were great value picks in my book. Solid plus draft for the G-men. |
| B |
 |
Ryan Clady | OT | Boise St. | Clady is a beast and will anchor the O-line for years. That alone means a solid draft. WR Eddie Royal is a work in progress. Ryan Torrain has to have everyone’s attention just because he’s another late round Denver RB…they always pan out don’t they? |
| B |
 |
Vernon Gholston | DE | Ohio St. | Gholston better pick up his motor on the field to have an NFL impact. He’s a bodybuilder with football skills and he takes plays off. If he gets the motor going, he’s a demon edge pass rusher. TE Dustin Keller is a weapon…great trade up to get him. |
| B |
 |
Jerod Mayo | LB | Tennessee | Do the Pats ever screw up a draft? Mayo has the makings of a great LB. He can play inside or out and you just know the Pats will coach him up. The rest of their draft wasn’t overly impressive but they have a way of taking mediocre and making it good. |
| B |
 |
Chris Williams | OT | Vanderbilt | I thought they should have gone Brandon Albert in the 1st but Williams will be a great pass blocker and frees them up to move Tait to the right side. Not a great pick, not a bad pick. Matt Forte is a sleeper who could kick Ced Benson to the curb. |
| B |
 |
Leodis McKelvin | DB | Troy | Great pick! McKelvin is a lockdown corner who brings spark to the kick return game. WR James Hardy is exactly what they needed opposite Lee Evans. Their two big needs were addressed in this draft…solid. |
| B |
 |
Chris Long | DE | Virginia | Chris Long is a non-stop motor stud so they lock up a blue-chipper right away. Then Donnie Avery? Huh? Exquiz me? The 1st WR taken in the draft is a speedy smurf from Houston? Ungood. Keenan Burton who they took in the 4th round will be a better pro WR. |
| B |
 |
Aqib Talib | DB | Kansas | Talib is a playmaker with size who will impact right away. WR Dexter Jackson has lightening quicks but he’s small and will take some adjusting time to pick up the NFL game. QB Josh Johnson is an intriguing developmental project. Solid draft. |
| B |
 |
Gosder Cherilus | OT | Boston College | What? No WR? Shocking! All 3 of Matt Millen’s brain cells must have worked together on this day. Cherilus is a RT, so not the greatest pick in my book but it beats another WR. LB Dizon is a future star. RB Kevin Smith could prove to be solid and DT Fluellen from Florida St. has a lot of upside. Overall a pretty good draft for the Lions. |
| B |
 |
Jordy Nelson | WR | Kansas St. | Nelson is a talented WR with upside, Brohm was a steal where they got him. CB Patrick Lee and TE Jermichael Finley both have great upside as well. This was the All-Upside draft and solid from top to bottom. |
| B- |
 |
Sedrick Ellis | DT | USC | Ellis is an absolute monster. He’ll spend is Sunday’s in the opponent’s backfield. DB Tracy Porter out of Indiana will be solid but needs work. The rest of their draft was blah blah blah. |
| C |
 |
Tyrell Johnson | S | Arkansas St. | Johnson will be a solid addition to the defense but he’s nothing spectacular. Adding Booty at QB has long-term potential. This draft wreaked of mediocrity. |
| C |
 |
Philip Wheeler | LB | Georgia Tech | Wheeler and Marcus Howard provide potential spark to their defense but for the most part this draft sucked. Picking RB Mike Hart late was nice and something tells me he’s going to show up on our fantasy radar soon. |
| C |
 |
DeSean Jackson | WR | Cal | DT Trevor Laws has a non-stop motor. DeSean should provide some much needed speed to the WR corps. The rest of the draft was a roll of the dice IMHO. Small school projects and injured players hoping to come back. |
| C |
 |
Keith Rivers | LB | USC | Rivers is a solid and safe pick but there’s not much upside there. You get what you get with him. WR Jerome Simpson is a project. WR Andre Caldwell could go down as a value pick…then again he is a Florida WR and we all know how well they do in the NFL. Average draft at best. |
| C |
 |
Duane Brown | OT | VA Tech | An average OT at best with the 1st round pick? Why not get that RB? There were so many other directions Houston could have gone. Brown wasn’t the best one. RB Steve Slaton was a system RB in college and won’t do jack in the NFL. |
| C |
 |
Kentwan Balmer | DT | North Carolina | Balmer is a solid DT who should develop further and be a great pro. OG Chilo Rachal out of USC should be an immediate contributor as well. LB Larry Grant from Ohio State in the 7th is going to end up being a steal. Overall this was a sub-par draft. |
| D+ |
 |
Derek Harvey | DE | Florida | Harvey and DE Quentin Groves give the Jags some improved speed rushing from the edge. Neither one strikes me as a future star and the rest of their draft blew. |
| D |
 |
Lawrence Jackson | DE | USC | Huh? With Merling still out there and a HUGE need at WR you go Lawrence Jackson? How many blunts were being passed round the War room? There’s just nothing about this draft I really like. Owen Schmitt will add a toughness from the FB slot, other than that I think the Hawks dropped the ball this year. |
| D |
 |
Antoine Cason | DB | Arizona | Antoine Cason and Jacob Hester do not a draft make. Cason will be a decent NFL DB, Hester does a lot of things good but nothing great. This draft sucked for the Chargers. |
| F |
 |
Beau Bell | LB | UNLV | They didn’t have a pick until the 4th round…only so much shine you can give shatola. Bell should make the roster and TE Martin Rucker has the upside to be a contributor as well. Other than that…garbage. |
| F |
 |
Chris Johnson | RB | East Carolina | They reach on speed demon Chris Johnson at RB when it really wasn’t a position of need. They then add a DE Jason Jones from Eastern Michigan who’s a classic tweener DE/DT. Their biggest need was WR and they waited until the 4th round to add Lavell Hawkins of Cal? That’s it? You blew it. |