In Defense of Bruce Irvin, and Other Reactions To The 2012 NFL Draft

Before you look at that draft grade, remember that many gave the Raiders an "A" for JaMarcus Russell.

"That is exactly who Russell reminds me of. A bigger, stronger and more athletic Elway. Not Randall Cunningham or Daunte Culpepper. But Elway. The Raiders do not need Calvin Johnson." - CBS Sports NFL columnist Mike Freeman before the 2007 NFL Draft. JaMarcus Russell would become one of the biggest busts in NFL history.

"The Seahawks’ draft room exploded in cheers. Team owner Paul Allen was beaming." - Seattle's reaction when Aaron Curry fell to them at the fourth overall pick of the 2009 draft. Two years later, Seattle would cut ties with Curry for a mere seventh round pick.

"Sorry. I still can't figure why, with five picks in the top three rounds, they didn't go get Anquan Boldin or Braylon Edwards. Giants fans have every right to have the attitude "In Jerry We Trust'' about GM Jerry Reese, and they'll just have to trust that Hakeem Nicks...is going to be a go-to guy for Eli Manning by October." - Sports Illustrated writer Peter King after the 2009 draft, when the Giants were in desperate need of a top receiver. Nicks' 444 yards in four playoff games this season helped the Giants to their second Super Bowl in five years.

I didn't dredge up these old quotes to critique their authors, as they merely reflected the general consensus among scouts at the time. Instead, I bring them up as a reminder to keep things in perspective as you sift through the hundreds of knee-jerk reactions to this weekend's draft. In a league where Vernon Gholston was a top 10 pick and Victor Cruz went undrafted, it's foolish to lay strict verdict on a general manager's moves before these rookies ever play a down in the NFL.

In that same vein, I refuse to join the parade of analysts who are mocking Seattle because they "reached" for Bruce Irvin with the 15th overall pick. "He shouldn't have gone higher than 25th," the draft fanatic says. That's all well and good, but Seattle didn't have the 25th pick. Unlike a mock drafter, Seahawks GM John Schneider can't manipulate the first round however he chooses. He had already traded down from pick 12 to pick 15, and clearly liked Irvin. If he couldn't trade down again (always easier said than done) and didn't think Irvin would still be there in the second round, then he was wise to use his first pick on the player he coveted. When you hear about a team reaching, remember that a GM has one selection every 32 picks.

That doesn't mean that we can't pass any immediate judgement on the selections teams made this weekend. But rather than focus on who teams drafted, I instead like to analyze what positions they did, or didn't, address. Here are some of my initial reactions to the 2012 draft.

- I've said this before, and I'll say it again. Unless you have one of the greatest defenses of all time (a la the 2000 Ravens and 2002 Buccaneers), you cannot win a Super Bowl in today's NFL without a franchise quarterback. And identifying that player is only half the battle. After you draft him, you have to give him weapons so a) he has the best chance to succeed, and b) you can properly evaluate him.

Let's take the Browns, for instance. I lauded them after last year's draft, when they for passed up Julio Jones for a boatload of picks from the Falcons. At the time, I said it "could have been the birth of a new era in Cleveland." But the trade didn't come without cost, as it left Colt McCoy with absolutely no weapons to throw to. Once Peyton Hillis didn't replicate his out-of-left-field 2010 season, last year became a lost one for McCoy and the Browns offense. But was it McCoy's deficiencies that doomed Cleveland, or the fact that Greg Little was his best receiver? The Browns had identified their franchise quarterback, but because they didn't put him in a position to succeed, they couldn't properly assess his performance.

So with the extra picks Cleveland got from Atlanta, I thought they would rectify their problem by drafting a top wide receiver. Instead, they doomed themselves to another year of QB uncertainty. They took a running back with their first pick, drafted another quarterback with their second, and didn't draft a receiver until the fourth round. So now it's Brandon Weeden's turn to try to spin straw into gold, as Little and Mohammad Massaquoi run routes against the Steelers and Ravens defense. At least Weeden can turn around and hand the ball to Trent Richardson 25 times a game, which should clearly help his development as a passer. Sigh.

- If you want to see a team develop a franchise quarterback the correct way, take a look at the Colts' draft. After welcoming Andrew Luck with their first pick, they then used their second on his favorite target at Stanford, Coby Fleener. Then in the third round, they selected the second-best tight end in the draft, Dwayne Allen, and a receiver, T.Y. Hilton, to line up across from Reggie Wayne. Sure, the Colts ignored their defense, which was awful last season and needs a major overhaul. But who cares? Right now, priority number one is giving the best possible foundation to their most important player of the next 15 years. I still think Andrew Luck is walking into a historically tough situation, but the Colts brass made it significantly easier for him this weekend.

- Similarly, I applaud Jacksonville making the right move for its young quarterback. It's easy for us fans to say "dump Blaine Gabbert, he sucks." But you have to remember that Jaguars GM Gene Smith and his staff targeted Gabbert after hundreds of hours of scouting, and even traded up six spots in the first round to grab him. It's hasty to give up on such a huge investment after only one season.

So Smith jumped ahead of the Rams on Thursday night to grab Justin Blackmon, the best receiver in the draft. This move may not save Gabbert's job (I still think that he'll never be a competent NFL quarterback). But it will allow the Jaguars to properly evaluate his future after this season, which they couldn't have done with Mike Thomas and Laurent Robinson as their receivers. Win or lose, Jacksonville will know if it needs a franchise quarterback at this time next year. Which is more than what I can say for the Browns.

- Most draft trades can't be judged until a few years after they happen, but the Vikings' deal at the top of the first round is already a winner for Minnesota. Whether he was being honest with the Browns or not, Vikings GM Rick Spielman convinced Cleveland that he could, and would, trade the third overall pick to another team that would take Richardson. So with some smooth negotiation, the Vikings still got the elite left tackle that they desperately needed and picked up three extra late round picks in the process. It's not very often that you can trade nothing for something.

- The draft often reveals how a GM's decisions are influenced by both their division rivals and the mistakes that doomed them the previous year. The Bills drafted Stephon Gilmore in the top 10, knowing that they'll need a new approach to stop the Patriots' dual tight end attack. The Buccaneers definitely had Saints tight end Jimmy Graham in mind when they targeted uber-athletic safety Mark Barron. Although Jerry Jones had already paid big money to cornerback Brandon Carr in free agency, he probably recalled Eli Manning and Michael Vick shredding his secondary last season when he decided to trade up for Morris Claiborne. And even though San Francisco had already signed Mario Manningham and Randy Moss this offseason, they still selected A.J. Jenkins with their first round pick. There's no such thing as too many upgrades when your wide receivers catch one pass for three yards in the NFC Championship game.

- When the NFL created a rookie wage scale in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement last summer, many thought the decreased salary commitments would encourage teams to move up and down the draft board. But I'm not sure anyone anticipated the flurry of movement that we saw on Thursday night. The 10 trades in the first round were the most in a decade, and 16 of the 32 selections were made by a team didn't originally hold that pick.

I felt for the Ravens fans who stayed up until the 29th pick, just to see their team trade out of the first round. But at least they weren't among the Denver faithful, who watched Broncos GM Brian Xanders trade from the 25th pick to the 31st, and then trade out of the first round completely an hour later.

- Once again, I'm convinced that it's easier to pick a perfect March Madness bracket than a flawless mock draft. I correctly predicted three of 32 picks in my mock draft, which sounds awful until you see that Mike Mayock, NFL Network's acclaimed draft guru, only mustered five accurate picks. That's the last time I'll have faith in the Dolphins to make the smart decision.

I will hand out some draft grades, but they'll be for the 2007 rookie class that just hit free agency. Come back in a few days to see which teams chose wisely five years ago, and which wasted their picks. I promise they'll be more accurate than any 2012 draft grades you can find.

Follow me on Twitter: @BostonGiant

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