1. QB Cam Newton B-

I would have taken AJ Green. I’ve made it clear that I don’t like this quarterback class very much. If Andrew Luck was here, he’d obviously be the no brainer. But I wasn’t sold on any of these quarterbacks and thought Clausen deserved another shot with a better supporting cast. I’m not knocking them too much because they are going for the homerun, which is what you’re supposed to do with the first pick.

65. DT Terrell McClain B-

Defensive tackle and wide receiver were their biggest needs, but I think McClain was a reach at this point. I had a 4^th round grade on him.

97. DT Sione Fua A

I like this value a lot more than McClain at 65 and they needed two defensive tackles. That’s how thin they were at the position. Fua’s abilities also compliment McClain’s well. Nice pick.

98. CB Brandon Hogan C-

Not my favorite pick. I had Hogan rated with a late round grade because he’s injured and cornerback was not a major need. They needed a wide receiver and Edmond Gates would have fit this spot like a glove.

132. WR Kealoha Pilares D

They finally got their receiver, but Pilares is a reach here. His stats may look nice, but they were bloated by a pass heavy offense. I didn’t have Pilares getting drafted.

166. OLB Lawrence Wilson B-

Wilson is a good value here, but he doesn’t fill a need at all. Linebacker is a position where they have the most depth. That’s how they were able to survive all their injuries at the position last year. However, Wilson is a good value and he can definitely play special teams so I don’t hate this pick in the early 6^th round.

203. G Zachary Williams B

They gave up 50 sacks last year, about one per every 9.5 pass attempts, so Williams fills a need and you can definitely find guard talent late, but I think Williams was a minor reach. However, this is the late rounds so minor reaches aren’t huge deals.

244. G Lee Ziemba A

I like this pick a lot more than their other guard selection. They needed more than one offensive lineman and I thought Ziemba could have gone in the 5^th. He can also play right tackle if Jeff Otah gets hurt again.

Overall: 

This wasn’t the best draft. I’m not a huge fan of their first pick and I think there’s a very good chance they end up regretting that one. Jimmy Clausen was not fairly ruled out as a franchise quarterback. Plenty of quarterbacks suck as a rookie and go on to have fine careers and Clausen didn’t have a lot of help last year. Give him AJ Green and worst case scenario, he still sucks and in that case, you know he’s not the answer and probably have a high pick in a much better quarterback class and your rookie quarterback has an elite weapon to throw to. I also thought they could have gotten Cam Newton a better weapon. They should have addressed that position earlier and Pilares doesn’t make sense in the 5^th. A tight end also would have been nice because I don’t think Jeremy Shockey has much left in the tank. There was some picks I did like, but overall I think this was a mediocre draft and I didn’t like how they handled the first pick.

Grade: C+