2010 NFL Draft: NFC East Team Grades
By Josh Sanchez
NFC East
Dallas Cowboys
Grade: B
Players: 1st Dez Bryant, WR, Oklahoma State, 2nd Sean Lee, LB, Penn State, 4th Akwasi Owusu-Ansah, CB, Indiana-PA, 6th Sam Young, T, Notre Dame, 6th Jamar Wall, CB, Texas Tech, 7th Sean Lissemore, DT, William & Mary
Thoughts: Jerry Jones wasn’t going to make the mistake he made when passing on Randy Moss, so he made a big move on the first day of the draft when trading up to select top-rated wide receiver, Dez Bryant. While I love the move to trade up and draft Bryant, there were more glaring needs that the Cowboys should have addressed. Sam Young was a good pick in the late rounds, but they needed to address the issue at left tackle a bit sooner than they did — they better hope that Doug Free can mature into a quality tackle. One of the best moves the Cowboys made was trading up and selecting Sean Lee in the second round. He’s a tough kid that has star potential and is a hard-nosed player. Were it not for health issues throughout his collegiate career, he could have gone in the first-round. My favorite move was the selection of small school prospect Akwasi Owusu-Ansah. Owusu-Ansah had a second-round grade and was still on the board when Dallas picked in the fourth round so Big D jumped on the phone and made him their choice. Owusu-Ansah has the size (6’0, 207-pounds) and speed (4.47 40-yard dash) to play both cornerback and safety. It will be interesting to see where he lands on their roster.
New York Giants
Grade: B+
Players: 1st Jason Pierre-Paul, DE, South Florida, 2nd Linval Joseph, DT, East Carolina, 3rd Chad Jones, S, LSU, 4th Phillip Dillard, LB, Nebraska, 5th Mitch Petrus, G, Arkansas, 6th Sdrian Tracy, OLB, William & Mary, 7th Matt Dodge, P, East Carolina
Thoughts: Staying true to form, the New York football Giants added even more talent to their front seven on defense. The selections of Jason Pierre-Paul, Linval Joseph, and Phillip Dillard all look to be great value picks that should be able to contribute in the NFL within the first two years of their careers. Pierre-Paul is one of the most physically-gifted players in this year’s draft and Joseph was a gem. Getting Mitch Petrus in the fifth-round also brought value and a tough interior lineman to help bolster the G-Men’s rushing attack. One of the biggest moves for New York was getting their punter of the future in the seventh-round. Okay, so not really, but you have to love the toughness that the Giants added to their roster in the first few rounds.
Philadelphia Eagles
Grade: A
Players: 1st Brandon Graham, DE/OLB, Michigan, 2nd Nate Allen, S, South Florida, 3rd Daniel Te’o-Nesheim, DE, Washington, 4th Trevard Lindley, CB, Kentucky, 4th Keenan Clayton, OLB, Oklahomam 4th Mike Kafka, QB, Northwestern, 4th Clay Harbor, TE, Missouri State, 5th Ricky Sapp, OLB/DE, Clemson, 5th Riley Cooper, WR, Florida, 6th Charles Scott, RB, LSU, 7th Jamar Chaney, LB, Mississippi State, 7th Jeff Owens, DT, Georgia, 7th Kurt Coleman, S, Ohio State
Thoughts: Despite trading away their franchise quarterback for a second-round pick leading up to the draft, the Philadelphia Eagles put together one of the best drafts over the weekend. The Eagles aggressively went after the pass rusher they desperately needed when they traded up in the first-round to grab Michigan’s Brandon Graham. The Eagles also received a gift when Ricky Sapp of Clemson fell to them in the fifth. Philly went into the draft looking for help at safety as well, and they got a potential star with South Florida’s Nate Allen. There was talk that he could have went at the end of round one, so that was great value. Philadelphia got a solid project quarterback in Mike Kafka in the fourth, so that will be a story to watch as he will eventually be groomed into the back-up quarterback or possibly be traded a la Matt Schaub in the future. Riley Cooper, Jeff Owens and Kurt Coleman were all great picks at the tail end of the Eagles draft making it one of the deepest talent-wise this year.
Washington Redskins
Grade: B
Players: 1st Trent Williams, T, Oklahoma, 4th Perry Riley, OLB, LSU, 6th Dennis Morris, TE, Louisiana Tech, 7th Terrence Austin, WR, UCLA (5-9, 165); 7th Erik Cook, C, New Mexico, Selvish Capers, T, West Virginia
Thoughts: Washington made the right move with their first pick (4th overall) when they passed over the talented safety Eric Berry and one of the quarterbacks in this year’s class when they filled their biggest need and grabbed Trent Williams of Oklahoma to be their franchise left tackle. You also have to love the move to acquire Donovan McNabb with their second-rounder, but the team should have looked for a young signal-caller in the mid-rounds to develop into a future starter. Of course, maybe Mike Shanahan is very high on Colt Brennan and thinks he could develop into the long term solution. Grabbing Selvish Capers in the final round was a brilliant addition, as he was rated as a top-ten tackle by a handful of scouts.