2011 NFC South NFL Draft Grades

With the NFL lockout looking as though it is about to end, it is about time to end my little vacation get this series finished!  Given how much time has passed since the draft, I am going to run through these last two divisions quickly, but I am always available on twitter to talk about your teams’ newest players.

Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons are traditionally conservative in their draft strategy, but changed their ways this year by making a blockbuster trade to move to the 6th overall pick and draft Julio Jones.  Jones BLEW UP the NFL Scouting Combine and did so on a broken foot.  He is an explosive playmaker that will further help Matt Ryan develop into the franchise QB he has been playing like the past few seasons.  Normally I say that the winners of draft-day trades are the teams that acquire picks, but I can not say that this time.  The Falcons are on the verge of becoming a Championship team.  Their regular season was VERY impressive last year and the only area of concern on offense for me was at WR2.  Jones alleviates that concern immediately and could be the one peice of the puzzle that was missing for the Falcons.  I can’t grade them too high when they paid so much, but I truly believe time will show this to be a great pick for the Falcons.  In round three, the Falcons added Akeem Dent from Georgia.  Dent has a fast motor that never quits and should be able to make an impact on special teams while he earns a spot in the starting lineup.  Lastly, in round 5, Atlanta added a more traditional change-of-pace back with the selection of Jacquizz Rodgers.  Rodgers has INCREDIBLE lateral movement which was on display at the scouting combine and I think is likely to return kicks as well as see the field in third down scenarios.

My Grade: B-

Carolina Panthers

Oh Carolina… The Panthers were in a tough spot with the first pick in the draft.  They took Cam Newton to be the new QB of the future despite how risky it was.  Newton’s talent is matched only by his potential, but he is as unproven as a Heisman winner and National Champion can be after his brief career at Auburn.  The problem is, that despite all this potential, Newton fits the prototype that scares a lot of people: mobile, inexperienced and accuracy issues.  On the flip side, he wins. Enough said, really.  He won an NCAA National Championship with Auburn AND the NJCAA National Football Championship at Blinn College the year before.  I for one do not think that Newton will be able to translate his game to the NFL, but i’m sure he’ll make enough plays that it will be fun to watch!  Also, with two picks in round three, the Panthers took two interior defensive lineman (Terrell McClain and Sione Fua) to help bolster their 23rd ranked rush defense.  The success of this draft will be entirely dependent on whether or not Newton is a success and since my gut tells me he will not, I cannot grade them well.  Sorry Panthers fans, I hope I am wrong.

My Grade: D

New Orleans Saints

The Saints made great strides in this draft.  They surprised me by selecting Cameron Jordan with the 24th overall pick, but only because they didn’t select Mark Ingram, who they traded back into the first round for.  Jordan is a VERY talented and physically gifted defensive end and should prove very valuable to Gregg Williams, who loves to blitz from the second and third level.  Ingram is what the Saints needed most of all, a punishing interior rusher.  Pierre Thomas was as close as they had and he missed the vast majority of the regular season last year, leaving Chris Ivory to carry the load with Reggie Bush.  Ingram is also quite a good pass blocker and should prove to be a key addition for a team more than talented enough to make another Super Bowl run.  In round three, the Saints took Martez Wilson to help Gregg Williams with his blitzing schemes.  Wilson is a versatile player that can lineup either inside or outside and could very well see the field in his rookie season as a pass rusher on third downs.

My Grade: B+

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Buccaneers are an exciting, young team with a lot of pieces in place already.  They were a surprising 10-win team last year and there is a lot of pressure for them to continue their winning ways.  The biggest need for Tampa was a pass-rusher at defensive end.  They sure got that as they took Adrian Clayborn and Da’Quan Bowers with their first and second round picks.  Bowers was a first round talent that slid due to his knee injury.  It is a pretty serious one and will likely keep Bowers from having a very long career in this league.  With that said, there was not a more talented DE in this year’s draft class and Bowers should make an impact on the field starting in his first game.  I am not a huge fan of taking back to back players at the same position, but since when is the ability to rush the passer from both sides a bad thing!?  In the third round, Raheem Morris decided to stay on the defensive side of the ball and took Mason Foster to play LB.  Foster isn’t the biggest guy on the field and he isn’t the fastest, but he has great instincts and is pretty quick for the position he plays.  Foster reminds me a lot of Jon Beason, so if they get lucky, the Buccs will have a long term starting linebacker.

My Grade: C+