So Drayton Florence goes for 15 million over 3 years and Josh Wilson goes for 13.5 million over that same period of time. Something’s not right here. Wilson is a much better cornerback than Florence and the Redskins needed another starter opposite DeAngelo Hall. They got a great value here.

Grade: A

This is being reported as a 5 year 12 million dollar deal with 7.5 million guaranteed, but it’s not 5 years. It’s just 5 years to prorate the signing bonus. It’ll void after 2, presumably if Morgan does something like play at least 1 snap or something. This is just some Dan Snyder salary cap magic. This is a 2 year, 12 million dollar deal with 7.5 million guaranteed.

Josh Morgan has never surpassed 698 yards in a season. In 2009, he had 52 catches for 527 yards and 3 touchdowns and in 2010, he had 44 catches for 698 yards and 2 touchdowns. He’s never had a good quarterback until 2011, when he missed 11 games with an injury. In 5 games, he had 15 catches and 220 yards and a touchdown. Josh Morgan is a classic overrated for being underrated guy. Everyone has been saying he’s underrated so much this offseason that he became overrated. He’s a solid #2 receiver coming off a major injury (a brutal broken leg). That’s not worth 6 million per year.

Grade: C

Johnson’s contract is essentially for the veteran’s minimum with 2 million over 2 years. He’s had a bit of a rough NFL career so far as Josh Freeman’s primary backup in Tampa Bay after being a 5^th round pick out of San Diego in 2008 with 10 interceptions to 5 touchdowns and a career 57.7 QB rating. However, Johnson was Harbaugh’s QB at the University of San Diego from 2005-2006 and had a 66 to 13 TD-INT ratio, which he followed with a 42-1 TD-INT ratio in 2007 after Harbaugh left for Stanford. Johnson and Harbaugh clearly wanted each other and, while he’s unproven, he’s perfect for a backup role in San Francisco, with Colin Kaepernick behind Alex Smith.

Grade: A

By Vince Vitale 

Well it seems like if the St. Louis Rams did not have bad luck they would not have any luck at all. After losing several players to injury on Sunday the Rams have now lost LB Josh Hull who tore his ACL in practice today. Hull has been placed on IR and will be lost for the season. With Chris Chamberlain fracturing a toe against the Cardinals the Rams are now down to 4 healthy linebackers James Laurinaitis, Na’il Diggs, Larry Grant, and David Vobora for the game against the Oakland Raiders on Sunday. As I continually state the lack of depth on the St. Louis Rams will play a major role in their 2010 season and early injuries certainly will not help.

http://www.stlouisramfan.com/

Middle Linebacker

Auburn

6-2 240

Draft board overall prospect rank: #77

Draft board overall middle linebacker rank: #5

Overall rating: 73 (3^rd round)

40 time: 4.80

3/23/11: Of all the Combine “snubs,” Josh Bynes is my highest rated. He doesn’t get a lot of talk among the draft community, though Todd McShay seems to like him (believe me, I considered lowering my grade on Bynes upon finding out this fact). I don’t know how Bynes got passed over. He doesn’t do anything amazingly, but he played in a power conference, the SEC, as a defensive leader for the National Champion Auburn Tigers, both on the field and off the field, as a vocal locker room guy and an “unofficial team captain” as his teammates have called him.

He’s a 3 year starter and with best statistical year being 2009, where he had 104 tackles. He doesn’t have great athleticism, but he’s got good technique and he drops into coverage with the best of them. He’s best off in a cover 2 scheme where he can drop back into coverage more. He can make plays on the ball as well, with 7 picks in 3 years.

He’s an experienced high character kid, who is vocal in the locker room (boldly predicting the Tigers to go all the way in the preseason, when no one believed they could). He does all the little things and he’s a jack of all traits. His coverage skills are a valuable asset and he’s got experience in a power conference. He could end up a late round steal and one of the next on the list of guys who didn’t get invited to The Combine, but wound up as starters in the NFL. At worst, he’s a special teamer, something he did well in his time at Auburn.

NFL Comparison: Gary Brackett

Addai isn’t great, but he was the only running back who could actually run the ball on their roster last year, so they almost had to do this. If they let him go, they’d have to rely on rookie Delone Carter, which isn’t a good idea and Peyton Manning took a 10 million dollar pay cut specifically so they could resign Addai. However, Addai can’t stay healthy and 14 million over 3 years is way too much to pay for him, even if it was almost a necessity.

Grade: B

Wide Receiver 

Texas

5-11 183

40 time: 4.57

Draft board overall prospect rank: #132

Draft board wide receiver rank: #16

Overall rating: 68*

2/28/10: Again, maybe another guy who has having a bad day, but a 4.57 hurts his stock until he proves himself to be faster than that at his pro day. This is a guy who needs to be fast at the next level to succeed.

            10/4/09: If you look at Jordan Shipley, you wouldn’t think he was a football player. When you look at him play, you realize he is quite a good one. However, when you look at him play right now, you’re seeing basically the type of player he’ll be for the rest of his football career. His not very athletic and, because he redshirted twice with injuries, making him a 6^th year senior, he’ll be 24 by draft day. He’s a very smart player and can add to an NFL team right away. He runs good routes and makes a lot of catches. He projects as a slot guy in the NFL because he doesn’t have starter caliber athleticism. He has good straight line speed and is one of the best kick returners in the history of the University of Texas. He’s not overly tall or athletic and won’t win a lot of jump balls. He is fragile and has already had his fair share of bad injuries. He has a small frame and will get out muscled by cornerbacks and by other defenders on run plays. He seems like the kind of guy who can stick around in the league for a while, as a depth guy, a 3^rd or 4^th receiver. He’ll never be a star in the NFL or even a starter, but he’ll stick around awhile, barring another major injury, because he’s smart, consistent, and fundamentally sound.

NFL Comparison: Brandon Stokley

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

The Bears have one of the worst receiving corps in the NFL. No one caught more than 37 balls last year and the receiver who played the most snaps for them was Roy Williams. Brandon Marshall was an absolute steal for 2 3^rd rounders and Jay Cutler has to be thrilled. The pair combined for 206 completions from 2007-2008. The Bears still have cap space to go after another receiver or to sign Mario Williams and take a receiver in the first or second round.

Grade: A

Karlos Dansby: 5 years 43 million 22 million guaranteed

Patrick Willis: 7 years 54 million 29 million guaranteed

Jon Beason: 5 years 50 million 25 million guaranteed

Look Beason is a very good player, but you can’t possibly argue that Beason is worth more than Dansby and Willis. You can’t argue that Beason deserved to be the highest paid middle linebacker in NFL history. If you’re going to pay a defensive player who doesn’t rush the passer or cover receivers 10 million per year for 5 years with half of that guaranteed, you better make damn sure he’s the best player in the league at his position and Beason just isn’t. He’s a great player, but he’s not the best. At best, you can argue he’s on the same level as Dansby. The Panthers overpaid by about 7-10 million.

Grade: C

Goodwin used to be a good center, but he’s 33 in December and his best days are behind him. This deal is a 3 year deal that takes him until he’s 35. Given how the market has deflated on free agents in recent days, Goodwin getting 3 years 10.9 million with 4 million dollars guaranteed looks pretty outrageous.

Grade: D