DawgTalkers.net Forums The Archives 2013 NFL Season NFL Draft (2013) Grade the Draft

I'll grade on personal opinion for the player, slotting/positional/need value

3 Richardson: B....A+ player, C value (A need, D value), C- trade

22 Weeden: A-....B+ player, A+ value

37 Schwartz: B+....B+ player, B+ value

87 Hughes: INC....haven't scouted the player at all, thus incomplete for me, D value

100 Benjamin: INC....haven't scouted the player enough, C value

120 JM Johnson: B....B- player, B+ value (Top 3 ILB in the 4th, ILB low value position though)

160 Miller: C....C player, C value

204 Acho: B....C+ player, A- value

205 Winn: B+....B- player, A value

245: Wade: B-....C player, B+ value

247: Smelley: B ...C+ player, B+ value

Bottom line for me, I would rather look at the potential of starters. I would rather take a QB/HB, and have 3/5th's of an offensive line than go into next year with a HB/WR, 2/5ths of an oline and Colt McCoy...

We got a huge value steal on D-Line with Winn it seems, and how often are we saying that with our later round picks. We got players who ultimately provide depth at key positions all throughout the roster with the EXCEPTION of WR... where i think we gaffed if anywhere the most. The sake of giving our WR corpse another year to play for the sake of providing depth all across the team? Well... you can't cure-all a team like ours in one Draft. Heckert's been doing this for 3 now so we'll see if we've come anywhere.

I think one things for sure, this draft stats that offense wasn't good enough, they targeted the areas of the team they felt were weakest and got us 3 starters. They're showing they want to win now, rather than showing that we're "building to next year" like they did last year. WILL it translate to wins, of course that's debatable and I would probably be the biggest cynic in that regard but I hope the answer is yes. I will at least be more excited to watch the browns on the prospect that every time we get the ball it won't be a porous 3-and-out...

I'm glad your happy

I'm coming around on some of these picks. Think Hughes will be a good rotation guy and think the same with Winn. Benjamin will help with keeping the D honest and him and Cribbs on the field together should cause some D's to worry.

I'm happy too!

I was a bit stumped by the Hughes pick ..... especially when I read that he was lazy and so on ......

But then I read that he had like 51 tackles last year, to go along with 5 sacks, and that just doesn't sound like a lazy guy to me. Lazy DTs make 20 tackles in a season. (especially a 12 game season) This guy averaged over 4 tackles per game from the DT position. That's pretty strong for an interior lineman.

I started thinking about who he reminded me of .... and he starts to remind me of Rubin a bit. He's a guy who seems to get by on sheer effort as much as raw talent .... who works hard .... has limited athleticism, but works his tail off to be better than the next guy ..... and I like that kind of player.

Will he be a star? Who knows? I think that he can be a valuable player for us though. Every 4-3 team needs to be deep at all DL positions. He gives us a new primary backup for our starters inside. Adding him to our current guys, and our 2 free agent signings, and we should have a damn nice rotation.

The DL could be developing into a real strength ..... and considering that just a year ago we were trying to figure out how to fill enough DL positions to field a 4-3 defense, that's pretty amazing.

The more I ponder the draft, the more I like it. I wanted another WR ..... but a lot of the guys available were similar to the guys we already have. With the exception of Norwood, all of our receivers are 6'1"- 6'3" ...... 200-220# guys, with solid, but not spectacular speed. There's no sense adding more of the same, even though blazing speed isn't the primary requirement to play WR in the WCO. We filled big time needs in the 1st 2 rounds ..... and by the time our 3rd rounder rolled around, I don't know that the guys left at WR were huge upgrades. Seems to me on reflection that most are number twos and threes ..... guys with flaws ....... or guys who are kinda what we already have. No sense taking more of the same.

The Richardson pick was a no brainer, though do wonder if we got duped in the trade up. In the end I don't know that it's anything to cry over. We had a stockpile of picks, and in the end, we sent off a couple of fliers to ensure we landed our target.

The Weeden pick ... sigh. Colossal reach. If you're taking a QB in the first, you better be sure that he's a franchise guy. And I don't think Weeden is a franchise guy. I suspect we'll be looking to draft his replacement in the next few years, and it might be a new regime doing so. Age isn't a huge factor with me, but it certainly adds to the long list of question marks surrounding Weeden and our decision to take him in the first.

The Weeden pick will make or break this draft, and I don't have a good feeling about it. Like I said, you don't take a non-franchise QB in the first.

Can't say I know all that much about Schwartz, so I really won't comment, but it was a position of need, and on paper, he's a four year starter in an expansive offensive scheme in terms of blocking.

Hughes ... I don't get. I understand having your own board, but you need to consider market value as well. It seems any time our team makes a head scratching reach, there's reports that someone else was going to jump the gun if we didn't (I remember this with Chaun Thompson), but I don't really see the likelihood of this kid not being there for us later on. Massive, massive reach, that really doesn't make sense on any level.

Benjamin is a flier pick, and one that I don't have much of a problem with. Our team could really use some speed. I don't expect him to pan out, but this is the point of the draft where you should start taking those chances.

Liked the James-Michael Johnson pick. There's a lot of potential there.

Don't know much about Miller, but on paper he sounds versatile, and it seems we got good value there.

I could see Acho contributing as a situational pass rusher if we can mold him right over time. I've seen a poster or two talking about him stepping in and making immediate impact, but I don't see it. Very raw, but, again, this is the time to take fliers.

Winn has been noted as having work ethic issues, but I think he's a great value here with lots of upside, and I'm content with the pick.

Wade has the potential to develop into a #3 for us, and is once again great value here.

Don't know much about Smelley. Wonder if he'll even make the team (although Marecic is a dud and we are a bit long in the tooth at the TE position).

Not going to slap a grade on anything, but overall I'm fairly hesitant. The Weeden pick was a huge, huge risk, and our FO better hope that it pans out. When you're as bad as we are, in such dire need of talent, you don't burn firsts on a non-franchise QB, which is exactly what we did.

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you can bet your bottom dollar that our first pick in next year's draft will be a legit WR.

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Except all the people who didn't want to draft Blackmon at #4 this year won't want to draft next year's top WR with a top 5 pick either, since he's the same height and 20 pounds lighter than Blackmon.

Tell you what, though... I wouldn't mind spending a third on Swope from A&M. That guy gets it done.

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and by the time our 3rd rounder rolled around, I don't know that the guys left at WR were huge upgrades. Seems to me on reflection that most are number twos and threes

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I got that same feeling. No sense in reaching for more of the same. Everyday that goes by I feel better with this draft. Hope it works out.

My vote for next year's 'Crabtree or Blackmon'...

Robert Wood WR USC.
6'1" 190 4.4

http://www.usctrojans.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/woods_robert00.html
Overall in 2011 while starting all 12 games, he had 111 receptions for 1,292 yards (11.6 avg.) with 15 TDs, plus 17 kickoff returns for 393 yards (23.1 avg.), 13 punt returns for 118 yards (9.1 avg.) and 7 carries for 16 yards (2.3 avg.). He was fourth nationally in receptions (9.3, first in Pac-12), eighth in receiving yards (107.7, second in Pac-12) and 16th in all-purpose running (151.6, fourth in Pac-12). He was 1 of only 2 players in the nation in the Top 16 in each of those categories.

CAREER: In his career, he has 176 catches for 2,084 yards (11.8 avg.) with 21 TDs, 55 kickoff returns for 1,364 yards (24.8 avg.) with 1 TD, 14 punt returns for 122 yards (8.7 avg.) and 13 carries for 76 yards (5.8 avg.). He has 3,646 all-purpose yards on 258 plays (14.1 avg.). He ranks fourth on USC's career kickoff return list (1,364 yards) and tied for sixth on the career pass catching ladder (176 receptions). He has 9 100-yard receiving games in his career, including twice with 200 yards (joining Keyshawn Johnson and Dwayne Jarrett as the only Trojans to have done that), and 5 career outings with double digit receptions. He has 25 career starts.


Here's a more potentially dominating player to watch.

Da'Rick Rogers WR Tennessee
Ht:6'3"
Wt:206 lbs
40:4.4 secs
Vertical:41 inches

Hmm, I'll keep an eye on him as I plan on watching a lot of Tyler Bray next year, but he seemed to rack up a lot of stats against garbage defenses last year.

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DATE	OPP		RESULT	REC	YDS	AVG	LNG	TD	ATT	YDS	AVG	LNG	TD
9/3	Montana		W 42-16	5	100	20.0	47	1	0	0	0.0	0	0
9/10	Cincinnati	W 45-23	10	100	10.0	15	2	1	-4	-4.0	0	0
9/17	@Florida	L 33-23	5	62	12.4	22	1	0	0	0.0	0	0
10/1	Buffalo		W 41-10	7	180	25.7	58	2	0	0	0.0	0	0
10/8	Georgia		L 20-12	5	71	14.2	17	0	0	0	0.0	0	0
10/15	LSU		L 38-7	3	63	21.0	44	0	0	0	0.0	0	0
10/22	@Alabama	L 37-6	2	32	16.0	21	0	0	0	0.0	0	0
10/29	South Carolina	L 14-3	4	35	8.8	12	0	0	0	0.0	0	0
11/5	Mid Tennessee	W 24-0	9	137	15.2	47	1	0	0	0.0	0	0
11/12	@Arkansas	L 49-7	5	106	21.2	48	0	1	3	3.0	3	0
11/19	Vanderbilt (OT)	W 27-21	10	116	11.6	19	2	0	0	0.0	0	0
11/26	@Kentucky	L 10-7	2	38	19.0	23	0	1	11	11.0	11	0

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I think it's a bit early to put Blackmon into Crabtree's category...

Yeah, unless he meant that it was too early to put Blackmon in that low a category?

Crabtree just had his career year in yards last year with 874, and had his career high in TD catches the year before with 6. He caught 4 last year.

Crabtree also was not a big play machine by any stretch of the imagination. He's been very ordinary so far in his career.

Wasn't Heyward Bey taken that same draft? 64 receptions, nearly 1000 yards recieving and 4TD's

I think all they mean by name dropping Crabtree is Crabtree, like Blackmon this year, was hyped as the top WR of his draft class...

I was more comparing/contrasting the two. Both were the top WR in their class. Both are about the same build. Both were prolific college WRs. Robert Wood fits the same catagories.
Crabtree has been an underwhelming pro. Blackmon? We'll see.

It does seem like a lot of the really impressive, dominating 1st round receivers are the big, strong types.

Sorry, didn't realize it would be unclear.

It's a bit early to limit Blackmon's upside due to Crabtree's unfulfilled potential. Crabtree is one of the few receivers who put up stats in college that can even sit at the table with Blackmon, but that IMO is not a good reason to say Blackmon will disappoint at the NFL level.

Same build?



Blackmon outweighs Woods by 20 pounds.

Semantics. Woods 'college weight' is 190. Blackmons combine weight was 207. Let's see what Woods weighs at the combine. Eitherway it was a ball park comparison. It's not as though I was comparing Crabtree to Alshon Jeffery.

The crazy thing about Woods is that he may not even be the best wide receiver on his team. Marqise Lee, as a freshman, had 73 receptions, 11 TD's, and 1,143 yards. And he's bigger than Woods.

(They were also high school teammates along with USC's third receiver George Farmer)

I think the Draft will eventually lead to a B- grade due to Richardson being very good. Weeden is an interesting pick but I think way TOO HIGH. This year, another wasted year, will finally prove we need WRs. McCoy is out, Weeden is in and the WRs still don't get open and drop a lot of balls.

Then next year we'll get a new HC and start that all over again.(Which I can't wait for, I detest Shurmur. He's a third tier coach at best.)

If it wasn't for the fact I liked the 3rd day of picks I'd give our draft an D.

Now I give it a C

Just finished watching USC and Colorado and yeah, Lee was better in this game. He did drop a wide open touchdown. Both guys dropped two passes and scored two touchdowns.