Average total drafted in last 5 years: 28.8

1. Luke Kuechly (Boston College) Top 15

2. Dont’a Hightower (Alabama) 1

3. Lavonte David (Nebraska) 2

4. Mychal Kendricks (California) 2

5. Zach Brown (North Carolina) 2

6. Bobby Wagner (Utah State) 2-3

7. Sean Spence (Miami) 3-4

8. Nigel Bradham (Florida State) 3-4

9. Bruce Irvin (West Virginia) 4-5

10. Josh Kaddu (Oregon) 4-5

11. Terrell Manning (NC State) 4-5

12. Keenan Robinson (Texas) 4-5

13. Kyle Wilbur (Wake Forest) 4-5

14. Demario Davis (Arkansas State) 4-5

15. Tank Carder (TCU) 4-5

16. Travis Lewis (Oklahoma) 5-6

17. Emmanuel Acho (Texas) 5-6

18. James-Michael Johnson (Nevada) 5-6

19. Audie Cole (NC State) 5-6

20. Vontaze Burfict (Arizona State) 5-6

21. Chris Galippo (USC) 6-7

22. Alex Hoffman-Ellis (Washington State) 6-7

23. Najee Goode (West Virginia) 6-7

24. Miles Burris (San Diego State) 6-7

25. Danny Trevathan (Kentucky) 6-7

26. Tyler Nielsen (Iowa) 6-7

27. Jerry Franklin (Arkansas) 7-U

28. Caleb McSurdy (Montana) 7-U

29. Tahir Whitehead (Temple) 7-U

30. Darius Fleming (Notre Dame) 7-U

31. DJ Holt (California) 7-U

32. Cameron Collins (Oregon State) 7-U

33. Ryan Baker (LSU) 7-U

34. Shawn Loiseau (Merrimack) 7-U

35. Marcus Dowtin (North Alabama) 7-U

The full value of this deal is 5 years 33.5 million, but it’s essentially a one year, 8 million dollar prove it deal because only the first year is guaranteed (7 million signing bonus, 1 million base). But still, 8 million dollars a year for one of the worst starting offensive tackles in the league last year (61th on ProFootballFocus, allowing 10 sacks, 40 pressures, and committing 6 penalties). That’s a lot. I know they didn’t have a lot of other choices, but yikes! The Cardinals better hope Riley Reiff falls to them at 13, solidifies the left tackle spot, and Brown can resurrect his career at right tackle. However, even an elite right tackle isn’t worth 8 million. Eric Winston is one of the best and he got 22 million over 4 years.

Grade: D

Deal for Seahawks: Yet another veteran going for cheap. If I was an NFL team, I would definitely trade 2-3 mid round picks for proven vets this offseason. Washington is not a starting caliber back, but he’s an explosive change of pace guy and a Pro-Bowl kick returner, two things the Seahawks really need. He’ll fit in well with LenDale White.

Grade: A

Deal for Jets: They did sell him for cheap, but I understand why they did this. Because they were able to steal Joe McKnight (Leon Washington 2.0) in the 4^th round, they could trade Leon Washington and his expiring contract for a 5^th rounder.

Grade: B+

Leon Hall is one of the best cornerbacks in the league when he’s right. He was arguably better than any cornerback not named Darrelle Revis or Charles Woodson in 2009 and the Bengals are betting he bounces back from an injury plagued down year in 2010. If he does, this 4 year 39 million dollar contract with a mere 14 million guaranteed is going to be a bargain. I like this.

Grade: A

Wide Receiver

Miami

6-2 209

Draft board overall prospect rank: #28

Draft board overall wide receiver rank: #4

Overall rating: 82 (early 2^nd)

40 time: 4.45

3/28/11: Time travel with me for a bit. The year is 2008 and Kenny Phillips has just been taken 32^nd overall by the New York Giants, the 14^th straight year a Miami Hurricane went in the first round. In the two drafts since then, no Hurricanes have been drafted in the first round. Leonard Hankerson could be the one who puts a stop to this madness.

Despite quarterback Jacory Harris struggling mightily throughout the season, Hankerson still dominated for the Hurricanes this year. Hankerson caught 72 passes (30% of his team’s total) for 1156 yards (37% of his team’s total) and 13 touchdowns (62% of his team’s total). This was against good competition and he’s no one year wonder, leading the way with 45 catches for 801 yards in 2009 as a junior.

He was the star of the Senior Bowl and should have been MVP as he carried MVP Christian Ponder all game. Hankerson ran crisp routes and found the ball on under throws. He proved to be faster than expected at The Combine with a 4.45 at 6-2 209. He doesn’t appear to be that fast on tape, but he has adequate speed and good moves in the open field.

His main issue is drops. He has gigantic hands, but he drops too many balls. A lot of teams will have him significantly lower on their boards for this reason, while some will be intrigued enough by his physical prowess and production to give him a look in the first round. For me, the benefits outweigh his drops and I have a borderline first round grade on him. He’s so physical and productive and he is a very crisp route runner. He finds the ball well and is tough to bring down in the open field. He’s also a red zone target.

NFL Comparison: Pierre Garcon

Deal for Seahawks: LenDale White is a risk, but the Seahawks pretty much give up nothing to get him, moving down from 104 to 111 in the 4^th round to get him. If anyone can bring LenDale White’s talent back out, it’s Pete Carroll so I really like this move, coupled with their trade for Leon Washington. The Seahawks have stablized the running back position for a 5^th rounder and a swap for 4^th rounders.

Grade: A

Deal for Titans: What’s the difference between Alterraun Verner and Walter Thurmond. 7 picks, and apparently LenDale White. I know the Titans were done dealing with him, but they pretty much got absolutely nothing out of this deal. White still has some talent. The Titans could have at least gotten an extra pick in the process to use on a replacement. Who is going to spell Chris Johnson in the backfield now? He can’t carry the load on his own.

Grade: C-

Running Back

Oregon

6-0 241

40 time: 4.62

Draft board overall prospect rank: #148

Draft board running back rank: #13

Overall rating: 60*

            LeGarrette Blount burst onto the national stage in a big way this year. The thing is, he probably wishes he hadn’t. Blount burst onto the national stage by punching on opposing player after a poor performance in Oregon’s week 1 national televised game against Boise State. Blount was initially suspended for the season, but reinstated for the last two games of the season to put together a very disappointing senior season with 22 carries for 82 yards and 2 touchdowns. Already with red flags about his weight and work ethic, Blount slipped from a late round pick to a guy who was most likely going to go undrafted, which was very disappointing for a guy coming off a junior year in which he rushed for 1002 yards on a mere 137 carries and looked poised to break out as a senior. However, Blount’s pro hopes turned around when he was invited to the Senior Bowl. Blount was given one last chance and made the most of it. In my opinion, he was the best running back there. He had a lot of very nice runs and looked impossible to stop in the open field. His looked in as good of shape as I had ever seen him in, and ran with a great pad level and bulldozed guys over in the open field, on one play breaking a tackle and then jumping 4 yards, over a defender, and into the end zone, and on another play, literally dragging the entire defense with him from about the 6 yard line to the 2 yard line on a play that set up a touchdown. Most importantly, he looked determined and committed to turning his life around and playing football. He looked like a younger Jamal Lewis or Brandon Jacobs. Now, its easy to get excited about that one game. Though he showed a lot of good things, the character red flags are still there. You can’t punch someone in the face on national TV and expect that to go away just because you had one good game. He also needs to lose about 10 pounds to become more mobile and break more tackles with quickness rather than pure brute strength and pad level. His hands are pretty much bricks. He did catch 2 passes in 3 games this year, which isn’t bad, but he had only 2 in his entire junior season. His ability to break the big gain is fairly limited and for that reason, any team that runs with him often will have a fairly limited, however consistent and grinding, offense. As the Bengals showed us this year, that doesn’t always work. In the end, I think someone takes a chance on Blount late, say 5^th round or later. It is likely going to be a team that doesn’t put a ton of stock on character, but he has good upside. I don’t see him as an every down back, but he’s, at the very least, a solid goal line back, granted he keeps his emotions in check.

NFL Comparison: Lendale White

*=For a breakdown of what this means, click here 

Trade for Buffalo: Buffalo isn’t going anywhere fast and the only place Evans is going is south ability wise. Why not trade him, get a 4^th rounder back, and see if David Nelson can have a Steve Johnson esque season this year.

Grade: A

Trade for Baltimore: They really needed a veteran #2 with Derrick Mason gone. Coming off of a lockout, the Ravens didn’t feel comfortable starting one of two rookies, Torrey Smith or Tandon Doss, at receiver with the other lining up in the slot. This trade pushes Smith to the slot and gives them a veteran upgrade in the lineup. However, receivers never do well after switching teams (ask Anquan Boldin) and Evans is a declining player. I don’t know if he’ll even be better than Derrick Mason would have been for them.

Grade: D

Just weeks after resigning LaMarr Woodley for 6 years 61.5 million, the Steelers keep another young part of their amazing defense in town with a 6 year 50 million dollar deal. He’s one of the best middle linebackers in the league and deserves to be paid as such.

Grade: A

Trade for Seattle: I hate to completely bash a move like this. There could be something I don’t know. Maybe Jackson was stinking it up in camp. Maybe he came to camp out of shape. Maybe he wasn’t getting the new playbook. Maybe. That being said, on the surface, this looks like a horrendous move for the Seahawks. The Seahawks had a mere 28 sacks last year and already lost their leading pass rusher Patrick Kerney (5.0) to retirement. Jackson was 2^nd on the team last year with 4.5 and doesn’t turn 25 until later this month. The former first round pick in 2008 looked poised to finally step up and be their leading pass rusher for a team that desperately needed it and they traded him for a 6^th rounder. Missing 9.5 of the 28 sacks they had last year, as well as their most promising young defensive end, the Seahawks figure to have one of the worst pass rushes in the league this year and that’s a very bad thing for their weak secondary.

To make matters worse, this move coincided with the acquisition of Kentwan Balmer from San Francisco for a 6^th rounder. Getting a 6^th rounder back for Jackson, it’s alright to say the Seahawks swapped Jackson for Balmer. Even though the two were drafted one pick apart in 2008, their careers are far from similar. Balmer is an absolute bust who wasn’t going to break the rotation in San Francisco. Jackson is an average starting defensive end who the Seahawks desperately needed. Again, there may be something I don’t know here, but on the surface this looks like a horrendous move.

Grade: D

Trade for Detroit: Another great bargain pickup for the Lions. In the past few months, the Lions have added a starting caliber defensive tackle for a 5^th rounder (Corey Williams), a starting caliber guard for a 5^th rounder (Rob Sims), a starting caliber cornerback for a 6^th rounder (Chris Houston), and a starting caliber defensive end for a 6^th rounder (Jackson). While Jackson and Williams won’t start this year, they’ll still both be big parts of their defensive line rotation. If the Lions are ever going to get back to the playoffs, bargain shopping is going to be how they do it. Strong drafts as they had in 2010 and in some ways in 2009 also help.

Grade: A