Final Draft Recap: NFC East

Dallas Cowboys
24th Overall (from Philly through Denver and New England) -- Dez Bryant, WR, Oklahoma State
55th Overall (from Philly) -- Sean Lee, ILB, Penn State
126th Overall (from San Diego through Miami) -- Akwasi Owusu-Ansah, CB/S, Indiana University of PA
179th Overall (from Miami) -- Sam Young, OT, Notre Dame
196th Overall -- Jamar Wall, CB, Texas Tech
234th Overall -- Sean Lissemore, DT, William & Mary

Dallas only had six picks, but they did a good job with what they had. Instead of letting Dez Bryant fall into the laps of the Baltimore Ravens, Jerry Jones traded up for Dez Bryant to make amends for passing on Randy Moss in 1998 (though Greg Ellis actually had a nice career). I don't think Dez is going to be quite as successful as Randy Moss, but he's got one of the best quarterbacks in football throwing him the ball. Baltimore has three potentially explosive receivers if Roy Williams would ever get his head straight.

Sean Lee was a big pick-up, despite being a little undersized for the 3-4. He has the frame to add weight and he's a very physical blitzer who can shed blocks with the best of them. If Lee can stay healthy, he's going to pair with last year's third round pick Jason Williams to form a formidable interior. Dallas' front seven is going to be stacked as usual.

The drafting of AOA (I'm refusing to spell his name again) was a huge steal. He's a corner with safety versatility. Plus his name means "Born on Sunday." He was born to play in the NFL. He's from a very small program with limited experience against top competition, but Born on Sunday has great instincts, quickness, and the potential is there. He just should not be thrown into the fire right away. Eventually though, he'll be the free safety to pair with Gerald Sensabaugh.

The Boys also found potential starters in Sam Young (RT) and Jamar Wall (will be a nickel or dime guy early in his career). The Cowboys also found a late round project in Sean Lissemore. The Cowboys have quietly been pumping some of the best project 3-4 DE's in the NFL. Marcus Spears, Kenyon Coleman (NYJ and CLE), Stephen Bowen (I'm very high on him), and Jason Hatcher.

Grade: B+
Reasoning: I see three starters here, possibly four, and at the maximum five. Sean Lissemore could turn into a very good rotational end in Dallas.




New York Giants
15th Overall -- Jason Pierre-Paul, DE, South Florida
46th Overall -- Linval Joseph, DT, East Carolina
76th Overall -- Chad Jones, FS, LSU
115th Overall -- Philip Dillard, MLB, Nebraska
147th Overall -- Mitch Petrus, OG, Arkansas
184th Overall -- Adrian Tracy, DE, William & Mary
221st Overall -- Matt Dodge, P, East Carolina

Well the Giants took one of the bigger boom-bust prospects in the draft by going after the highly talented, but low producing Jason Pierre-Paul. Pierre-Paul is in the same mold as Robert Ayers. He looks good on tape and has incredible athleticism but the production doesn't match the hype (Ayers went 18th overall last year to Denver). JPP has the upside, but he's going to be under a lot of pressure to succeed in New York and he probably won't play much this year unless Osi Umenyiora gets banged up or falls out of favor again.

The rest of the draft was pretty nice though. Linval Joseph is a great pick in round two. The stout run defender will eat up double teams while allowing Chris Canty to rush from the inside more. Chad Jones was a third round steal, but he might have to move to strong safety. With a pick that high I wonder if the Giants are still worried about the healthy of Kenny Phillips.

Philip Dillard has great instincts, but athletically speaking I'm not sure he's the sideline-to-sideline guy that the Giants want. He may have been better off in a 3-4. Mitch Petrus has a good chance to develop into a starter and would inject some nice youth into the Giants running game. Adrian Tracy is a long-term project and Matt Dodge will likely handle kick-off duties this year and should replace Feagles as punter.

Grade: C+
Reasoning: I see two definite starters in Joseph and Dodge. The Giants could get as many as six starters from this draft, but I don't anticipate them being successful NFL players. JPP is under the big New York spotlight. That really is a major concern for me. It's a lot of pressure.



Philadelphia Eagles

13th Overall (from San Francisco through Denver) -- Brandon Graham, DE, Michigan
37th Overall (from Washington) -- Nate Allen, FS, South Florida
86th Overall (from Green Bay) -- Daniel Te'o Neisheim, DE, Washington
105th Overall (from Cleveland) -- Trevard Lindley, CB, Kentucky
121st Overall -- Keenan Clayton, OLB, Oklahoma
122nd Overall (from Green Bay) -- Mike Kafka, QB, Northwestern
125th Overall (from Dallas) -- Clay Harbor, TE, Missouri State
134th Overall (from Tampa Bay through Cleveland) -- Ricky Sapp, DE, Clemson
159th Overall (from San Diego) -- Riley Cooper, WR, Florida
200th Overall (from Indianapolis) -- Charles Scott, RB, LSU
220th Overall (from Denver through Detroit) -- Jamar Cheney, MLB, Mississippi State
243rd Overall (Compensatory Selection) -- Jeff Owens, DT, Georgia
244th Overall (Compensatory Selection) -- Kurt Coleman, S, Ohio State

I'm not even sure where to begin. Thirteen picks...only two of them were compensatory selections and only one of them was actually an Eagles original pick and that was in the fourth round. It's safe to say that Philadelphia wanted to reload through the draft and they absolutely did that. The value that they were able to get from round one through seven was absolutely incredible. This might go down as one of the greatest draft classes in NFL history when it's all said and done.

The Eagles had a ton of picks coming into the weekend, and they made it known that they wanted to make a big leap up--they did. And they got my favorite defensive end in the draft Brandon Graham. Short arms and stature aside, Graham is a bowling ball. He's a force on the bull rush and an extremely disciplined run defender. While his pass rushing moves aren't extremely diverse, he has enough to get by at the next level as a pass-rushing left defensive end. Philadelphia has so much depth at defensive end now...Trent Cole, Brandon Graham, Juqua Parker, Darryl Tapp, Ricky Sapp, and Daniel Te'o Neisheim.

And sticking with the DE's that the Eagles picked up they got huge steals with Daniel Te'o Neisheim and Ricky Sapp. Teo is going to be a great situational rusher at left end and could probably one day be a starter. Teo was a big producer in college and a terrific run defender who plays with discipline and always holds the point of attack well. Sapp is a raw pass rusher who may get converted to linebacker, but will likely wind up on the blind side.

But the Eagles made a plethora of superb draft decisions. Nate Allen in the second round over Taylor Mays was a MUCH better decision. Allen is a better cover safety and will guard over the top allowing Samuel to roam and act as more of Cromartie type. Allen could start immediately.

But it gets that much better. A steal in the fourth round in the form of Trevard Lindley--the great press corner from Kentucky. Lindley's stock fell from a mid first round grade in pre-season down to the middle rounds due to a down year at Kentucky, but Lindley is one of the best press corners to come out this year, and should push Joselio Hanson and take over the number two corner job that Sheldon Brown left behind.

QB Mike Kafka is a terrific sleeper pick, he doesn't have the strongest arm, but he's mechanically sound and makes great decisions. He's not afraid to push the ball downfield either. He can make plays with his feet and has the ability to extend plays with his feet with his pocket presence. The biggest concern with Kafka right now is fixing his footwork and his slightly high release. Still, he could definitely start at the next level.

In the later rounds, Jamar Cheney and Jeff Owens were enormous steals. Owens is only going to be a rotational rusher in Philly with studs Mike Patterson and Broderick Bunkley, but Owens can develop for a few years and be viewed as insurance one either Patterson or Bunkley hits a contract year. Cheney is a second round talent in my opinion and he's a great sideline-to-sideline MLB and I'm shocked he fell all the way to the seventh.

The other super sleeper is Charles Scott. I'm not sold on LeSean McCoy as ever being more than a #2, and while I don't love Scott, I think he could take carries away from McCoy with a little work in camp. The only Eagles pick I disliked was the Keenan Clayton pick. He's not very athletic and he benefited from having enormous talent around him at OU.

Grade: A+
Reasoning: I see four definite future starters and multiple players who are going to make an impact even if they aren't starting. The Eagles are so young and deep that I could see eight or nine guys from this class who could be starters, but won't because of the amount of depth on this team. Still, expect to see multiple guys from this draft class wind up starting for other teams. Absolutely superb draft by Andy Reid. It's hard to mess up when you have 13 picks, but the Eagles got great value at almost every selection and found guys in the sixth and seventh round with starting potential.




Washington Redskins
4th Overall -- Trent Williams, LT, Oklahoma
103rd Overall -- Perry Riley, LB, LSU
174th Overall (from Washington through Miami) -- Dennis Morris, TE, Louisiana Tech
219th Overall (from Miami) -- Terrence Austin, WR, UCLA
229th Overall (from New England) -- Erik Cook, C, New Mexico
231st Overall (from Philly through Denver and New England) -- Selvish Capers, OT, West Virginia

The Redskins did not have a great draft. Because they play a zone blocking system, they took Trent Williams over Russell Okung because Williams is a better fit, but after half a decade of extensively following the draft you have to go with the best player available and build the scheme around your players. But still, Williams should be fine as a run blocker, but he's a project as a pass blocker.

Perry Riley is an interesting selection as he could eventually move inside and join Rocky McIntosh to form a very athletic and dangerous inside linebacker tandem.

Derek Morris was a terrible pick-up. He's going to move to fullback, but I never like the position switch. There is not a huge success rate. Erik Cook was a nice late-round pick-up. He's a project, but he's a monster in the trenches and could develop into a very good run blocker in Washington.

Selvish Capers is not good. He was not even worth a seventh round pick. Does he fit the ZBS? Yes. But his struggles in pass blocking are going to be a major source of irritation for Redskins fans if this guy does take Stephon Heyer's job.

Grade: C-
Reasoning: I see three future starters here, but the only one I really think will have a positive impact is Perry Riley and that's not going to be right away. Washington is going to struggle to protect McNabb and they still have a long way to go offensively, which is a shame because defensively, even with the switch to the 3-4, they are one of the best teams in the NFC.