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| 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.
