Grading the MTD Live Draft: NFC Picks 16-32
New Orleans Saints
3. Tank Carder OLB
4. Joe Adams WR
5. Jacory Harris QB
6. Ryan Steed, CB
The Saints are in a tough position having drafted Mark Ingram in the first round last year and losing the 2nd rounder because of the bounty scandal. I am not a fan of the Tank Carder pick. I think it’s a big reach. I have Carder in the late fourth round range on my own personal board. C. Joe Adams pick on the other hand is better. I actually wouldn’t mind if this was switched and Adams went in the third and Carder went in the 4th. Good pick here, perhaps Adams and his speed can replace Robert Meachem. B+. There are some mid-round quarterbacks that I really like–Jacory Harris just isn’t want of them. C-. I love Ryan Steed, I’m a little nervous how he fits in with Spags defense in New Orleans. Steed is an off-zone guy, Spags likes to run zones, but also blitz a lot and leave guys in on man. Still good value at a position of need. B+
Tough position here with only a few mid round picks for the Saints general manager. I liked the Mark Ingram pick last year and if they were able to get Ingram in the late twenties this year I would probably give that pick an A-. With that being said not a great draft, I’m going to include the Mark Ingram as part of the grade. B
Green Bay Packers:
1. Andre Branch – OLB
3. Jared Crick – DE
3. Ben Jones – C
4. Derek Wolfe – DE
4. Robert Turbin – RB
5. Coryell Judie – DB
7. Ryan Lindley, QB, San Diego State
Andre Branch is a solid pick. Not terrific value, but good solid value B-. The Packers are a team with a reputation of taking best player available regardless of position and that continues in this mock here. Ben Jones, Jared Cricka round later than I’d be willing to take them I’d give both picks a B+. Robert Turbin is right about a 4th round value on my board B-. Judie is a mid is an early to mid fourth rounder on my board as well so that’s good value and with a slow free agency period the Packers must improve their defense in the draft B+. Derek Wolfe is solid as well B+. The one thing that is interesting in these type of mock drafts is how little people want to spend draft picks on quarterback. Everyone seems very reluctant to take a qb especially after round one. Lindley is not the best player ever and has some question marks about his consistency accuracy but will be drafted before the 7th round B+.
Overall: good solid draft. I don’t think the value is terrific, but it’s very very solid and will definitely improve the defense this year. B+
San Francisco 49ers
1st round (29th) Kevin Zeitler, G, Wisconsin
2nd round (46th) Rueben Randle, WR, LSU
4th round (126th) Aaron Henry, S, Wisconsin
5th round (158th) Adrian Hamilton, OLB, Prairie View
6th round (190th) Shaun Prater, CB, Iowa
7th round (222nd) Will Vlachos, C, Alabama
An interesting draft and oneI liked to see unfold. The 49ers traded up from the late 2nd round to the mid 2nd round to get Rueben Randle. Let’s break it down. Kevin Zeitler has an outside shot of making it into the first round, but it’s still a bit of a reach to me. C I like the selection of Rueben Randle, but at what cost? To get Randle the 49ers had to move up and give up a 3rd rounder to take him. Is Randle good enough to warrant a 3rd round pick to move up about 15 spots? Not to me. Randle is 50th on my big board. Perhaps I’m a little harsh on Randle, so I don’t love this pick either. C. Aaron Henry has loads of ability and I like his upside, but worry about his instincts big time. He’s still not this high on my big board. B-. Adrian Hamilton is extremely productive and has some natural ability but this might be a touch early. I’ve talked to people who know more about Hamilton than myself (even though I’ve seen many of his games courtesy of his agent) and they believe he might go undrafted. I think I’ve seen enough to warrant a day three pick. Decent value, but probably a round early. C+. Here we go a pick I love. Love, the Shaun Prater pick. A.Will Vlachos is a good pick. Not the best athlete, just a good football player. A
Overall: Not a fan of this draft again the second time for the 49ers in the Mocking the draft live drafts. Clearly I just have a different big board then the 49ers representatives. That’s not a bad thing. People differ all the time that’s what’s so fun about this-is no one truly knows. Still based on my own big board this draft is filled with more than a few reaches. C
New York Giants
1) Alshon Jeffery, WR USC
2) David Wilson, RB Va Tech
3) Bobby Massie, OT Ole Miss
4) Tyrone Crawford, DE Boise St.
5) Justin Bethel, FS/CB Presbyterian
6) Marcus Forston, DT Miami
7) Keith Tandy, CB WVU
This is a really good raft especially at the beginning and at the end. Alshon Jeffery is still a top 20 player on my big board and I’m interested to see how he performs at his Proday this week. The Giants also have Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz coming up as free agents the next two years. With how much money WR commanded on the open market in 2012 NFL off-season, the Giants might not be able to afford paying them both. Grade A-. As a Giants fan I actually hope that the Giants go defense early and often in this draft. I trust Eli Manning to make due with the offensive weapons that he has so I prefer the Giants look defense. Having said all that. David Wilson is good value at this point in the draft-he’s 38th on my big board and the Giants need to fix their running game. A-. The Giants are cleaning up early in the draft, and clearly on offense. Massie is 64th on my big board and he’s taken here late in the third round. He also fills a need. A Here is where the New York Giants and my personal big board diverge a bit. Crawford is about 150 on my big board and is taken here slightly earlier. The Giants have Osi Umeiyora and Kiwanuka becoming free agents after after this year and will probably be looking for a replacement early in the draft. B- I’m not crazy about the Justin Behtel pick. I think the Giants need to add a CB and a Safety at some point for depth reasons, I just would have done a different direction. C. Recently Jerry Reese said he’s worried about Marvin Austin because he hasn’t played in two years (though he think he’ll step up) so taking a DT at some point is a real possibility. I have Forston in the top 120. A+. This might be the best pick. Keith Tandy is 157 on my big board, but is taken at 224th overall here. That’s terrific value. A
Overall: I like what the Giants did here in terms of value and replacing depth. Again no improvement in the LB corps and a big emphasis on offense. I would prefer the Giants to continue to build up a defense that has never been consistent (while the offense puts up points every year regardless of the surrounding talent) which is where I would have taken a different track in this draft, but based on my own big board (was this representative peeking at my big board) it’s one of the best values in this 7 round mock draft. . A draft.
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