The '09 NFL Draft is done: Who hit the mark and who missed the target?

It is impossible to grade an NFL draft less than 24 hours after its conclusion. As we all know, it takes a minimum of three years for the true value of a draft to be revealed.

Therefore, I’d like to take a different route in analyzing the “winners” and “losers” of the past weekend.

There will be no grading here. How can you grade when none of the students have taken their first NFL exams yet? Instead, let’s simply see which teams got the players they coveted and which teams were left standing at the dock as their ship sailed off into the abyss.

Teams that hit the mark

New York Jets – Rex Ryan and company get high marks for setting their sights on Mark Sanchez and then doing whatever it took to get their man. Finding a suitor for a draft day trade can be as difficult as finding a prom date for a foreign exchange student. If the Orange County Kid can deliver a Lombardi to East Rutherford, he just might supplant Joe Namath as the icons of the J-E-T-S.

Atlanta Falcons – Perhaps none of the names that comprise the Falcons’ draft class of 2009 were the buzz among analysts, but you can’t say that they didn’t address their needs. After losing some key components to their defense through free agency, the Falcons spent the weekend rebuilding. Of the eight selections the Falcons made only one was offensive, tackle Garret Reynolds of North Carolina selected in the fifth round.

Oakland Raiders – Maybe I’m crazy, but I don’t see the Raiders as “losers”. After all, they got the two players they wanted on day one. To me, that is the essence of the draft. Time will tell if Darrius Heyward-Bey or Michael Crabtree is the best receiver in the Class of ’09. As of today, the Raiders – for better or for worse – got the two players they had singled out all along with DHB in round one and the “sleeper” of round two, Ohio safety Michael Mitchell.

New York Giants – Talk about hitting the mark! The Giants found value in almost every round. Instead of trying to replace Plaxico Burress with one pick, they addressed their receiver needs with two players. Hakeem Nicks looks like he’ll be a quality possession receiver and in round three the Giants got a big red zone target for Eli Manning in Cal Poly San Luis Obispo receiver Ramses Barden. Barden was the popular sleeper pick of the receiver crop and at 6’6″ he’s every bit the imposing figure that Burress was.

Teams that missed the target

Cleveland Browns – Trading out of the top 10 in 2009 was no easy feat. The Brown deserve credit for being able to find a trade partner. However, making multiple trades in the first round just to select a center – albeit the best center in the draft – makes the Browns appear as if they had no game plan on Saturday.  Cleveland did well with the rest of their draft, but one would be hard pressed to believe that all their first round maneuvering was done with Alex Mack in mind all along. If that was the case, then why not just pick Mack after having completed the first or second trade? Again, this is about getting your guy at all costs and not about saving face.

Philadelphia Eagles – The Eagles, much like the Browns, had a solid draft after round one. But the selection of Jeremy Maclin alone kills off all credibility of Andy Reid having any plan on draft day.  Maclin might be a good all-purpose player in Philly, but he’s not going to give Donovan McNabb anything else in the passing game that DeSean Jackon doesn’t already. With a multitude of receivers still on the board, the Eagles chose to play it safe and select the guy who was rated higher and not the player that best fit their needs.

Dallas Cowboys – While the Cowboys had only one pick on the first day, most knew all along whom they were eyeing. Jerry Jones couldn’t hide his fascination with Pat White and so the Dolphins leapt from the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and snatched White off the board leaving the Boys to scramble to trade out of the first day all together. Again, this is about getting your guy. How could Jerry Jones not see this coming? Miami pioneered the NFL birth of the Wildcat formation. There was no way that Tony Sparano was going to let the best hybrid QB in the draft end up on the roster of a rival.

Detroit Lions – This has nothing to do with Matthew Stafford. For all intents and purposes, the Lions couldn’t win for losing with the number one pick in the ’09 draft. After taking Stafford, common logic said to get lineman to protect the new face of the franchise and pick defenders to make sure said face gets the ball more often than not. With Michael Oher on the board, it seemed only right to get a possible franchise tackle to protect Stafford.  Instead, the Lions chose to pick a tight end, Brandon Pettigrew, with their second first round pick and then alternated defensive and offensive picks with their remaining eight selections.

Finally, I’ll pick an overall winner of the 2009 NFL draft. Surprise! It’s not even an NFL team.

The University of Southern California – The 2009 NFL draft ended up being one massively long infomercial for Pete Carroll and USC football. If Carroll was right and Sanchez made the wrong decision to leave school early, then how may high school All-American quarterbacks out there are going to line up to be just as wrong? If being wrong nets you a top 5 contract and a job in New York City, then who wants to be right? Not to put all their eggs in one basket, the USC defense did its part to make sure all the top defenders out there are eyeing the sunny campus near Downtown Los Angeles as well. Ray Maualuga might have slid out of the first round, but he still made it three Southern Cal linebackers selected in the first 40 picks of the draft. Simply put, if you want a shot a great job after college, see Pete Carroll.