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Grades are in for the NFC South:

Atlanta Falcons
Picks:
Rd1 – QB Matt Ryan
Rd1 – OT Sam Baker
Rd2 – ILB Curtis Lofton
Rd3 - CB Chevis Jackson
Rd3 - WR Harry Douglas
Rd3 - FS Thomas DeCoud
Rd5 – OLB Robert James
Rd5 – OLB Kroy Biermann
Rd6 - RB Thomas Brown
Rd7 – CB Wilrey Fontenot
Rd7 - TE Keith Zinger
Analysis:  QB Matt Ryan was the consensus #1 QB in the draft, but there was some debate on whether he is a franchise quality QB.  He is a proven winner with a college team that had many subpar components and has all the intangibles to succeed.  OT Baker was considered a solid second round tackle because of injury concerns.  His blocking style is a good fit in Atlanta’s zone-blocking scheme.  If he can avoid injuries, he’ll be worthy of this pick.  He allowed 4.5 sacks in his last 889 pass plays.  ILB Lofton is an underrated player who can really find the ball quickly.  His abilities will help solidify a leaky run defense.  CB Jackson was a need pick and probably a slight reach.  He does not have the elite speed you’d hope to have in a starting CB and I think they had better options.  WR Douglas will attempt to become the starter at the slot position.  He’s very explosive and can get yards after the catch.  He will be a good compliment to the bigger WRs already on the team.  FS DeCoud is a very agile safety who may be able to move up in Nickel defenses to play the slot receiver…a valuable trait to have in a free safety.  He’s also a very good special teams player and considering how often this team will be punting, they’ll need good gunners.  OLB James will have to show he’s a bigger player than his 5’11” frame suggests.  Other LBs have done it, but it’s rare and he may be destined for a permanent spot on special teams.  RB Brown is a smaller RB at 5’9” and 205lbs, but he can still break tackles.  His biggest obstacle is ball security, and that’s a big obstacle in this league.  CB Fontenot was a four-year starter who has track speed.  The concerns on him are his speed is straight-line only and he is not very fluid.  He probably would only make this team as a fifth CB if at all.  TE Zinger is more of a blocking TE which will be a needed skill in this shaky offensive line.

Overall:  I’ve seen grades for Atlanta all over the board and although I like the pick of Ryan, I would have liked it a lot more if Glenn Dorsey was not available.  Many analysts have pegged Dorsey as a “once in a decade” type DT and I don’t believe you let a guy like that go when DT is one of your biggest needs.  I believe they let public perception dictate how they should draft and they too Ryan in order to “start fresh” after the Vick fiasco.  If the QB flops, that will only make things worse so they may have been better off with Brohm in the second.  Everyone knew that Baltimore wanted Ryan so they could have gotten extra picks for trading down if they didn’t want Dorsey.  Then they could have landed the second best OT in Clady.  Trading up so high to take Baker is a mystery and I can only assume that they heard a team with a first round pick was going to take him (maybe the Texans who also reached).  If they stood pat, I think Dorsey, Brohm, and the two best OLmen they could get with their other two second round picks would have looked MUCH more appealing.  Even the other players they selected have a lot of questions and limited upside.  Lofton and Douglas may do something, but outside of that, it’s a crap shoot.  For a team with more questions at OL and DL than most teams, to come out of the draft with one lineman on either side is shocking.  They also lost Crumpler in the offseason and didn’t take a pass-catching TE, which is something you really should have for a new QB. 
Grade: F

Carolina Panthers
Picks:
Rd1 - RB Jonathan Stewart
Rd1 - OT Jeff Otah
Rd3 - CB Charles Godfrey
Rd3 - ILB Dan Connor
Rd5 - TE Gary Barnidge
Rd6 - DT Nick Hayden
Rd7 – DE/OLB Hilee Taylor
Rd7 – OG Geoff Schwartz
Rd7 - OG Mackenzy Bernadeau
Analysis:  RB Stewart was one of the four RBs considered to have first round talent.  He’ll step into this offense immediately and fill the long empty shoes of Stephen Davis.  OT Jeff Otah was the last remaining tackle with a first round grade and was a great selection.  He’ll probably project to right tackle, but they already have Jordan Gross.  At 340lbs, Otah will bring a massive presence to the line.  CB Godfrey is a solid corner that has the ability to play safety.  He is a sure tackler and solid cover corner who was a good value in the third.  An even better value in the third was ILB Connor who some had as a late first round selection.  Connor was a tackling machine in college and holds the Penn State (Linebacker U) record for career tackles.  He will take the place of Dan Morgan and really boost the Carolina starting LBs.  Getting TE Barnidge in round five is another very good value.  Barnidge won’t wow you with his blocking, but he is a terrific pass-catching TE that runs crisp routes.  DT Hayden will compete to replace Kris Jenkins.  Hayden is much smaller (291lbs) than Jenkins, but he may be stronger as he had 34 reps at the Combine.  He’s a good run stuffer, but won’t get much penetration.  DE/OLB Taylor will be a permanent LB for Carolina.  Considering he was taken in the seventh, his best chance to make the team would be to star on special teams.  OGs Schwartz and Bernadeau will compete to depth spots on the team.  Schwartz has excellent size (330lbs) and could replace Wharton (who’s moving to the inside in ’08) in ’09.

Overall:  RB Stewart was a question mark going into the draft because of a foot injury, but the Panthers had inside information since it was their team doctor that did the surgery.  He must have been confident in his work as they shocked many by choosing Stewart with the thirteenth overall pick.  I loved the Panthers next move to trade up into the first and select Jeff Otah.  He brings incredible size to this line that will now be ready to bring back the bruising style the Panthers had in their short-lived glory years.  With the value they got from almost every pick, they’ve done a better job than most teams.  They have six potential starters that I can see (Stewart, Otah, Godfrey, Connor, Barnidge, and Hayden) and that’s a sure sign of a successful draft.
Grade: A

New Orleans Saints
Picks:
Rd1 - DT Sedrick Ellis
Rd2 - CB Tracy Porter
Rd5 - DT DeMario Pressley
Rd5 - OT Carl Nicks
Rd6 - K Taylor Mehlhaff
Rd7 - WR Adrian Arrington
Analysis:  DT Ellis is extremely explosive and is an elite DT prospect.  Ellis is equally effective at penetrating and run-stuffing.  He had arguably the best Senior Bowl week of any player and was not far behind Dorsey on a lot of boards.  CB Porter has drawn some comparisons to Terrance Newman in his coverage ability.  The comparison stops there though as Newman is one of the better tackling CBs in the league and Porter falls short in that phase of his game.  DT Pressley is another explosive tackle who can penetrate and is a great value for the Saints in the fifth round.  He’ll push for playing time, but will need to work on his ability versus the run.  OT Nicks is a second or third round talent, but is raw and bring with him some character concerns.  He could be an incredible value at this point, but he could just as easily be a bust.  K Mehlhaff will have a great opportunity to make the team as he is very accurate.  He lacks elite leg strength, but should be fine in a dome.  WR Arrington is a possession receiver that will compete for a forth or fifth WR spot this year and may end up on the practice squad with a chance to play next year since Henderson and Patten are both on one-year deals.

Overall:  DT Ellis will be the centerpiece of this defense for the next ten years.  Trading up to acquire him was an excellent move by the Saints who would have settled for LB Keith Rivers, but Ellis is a much better talent at a position of greater need since LB was addressed in free agency.  A troubled secondary will also get a boost from Porter who will be able to play the nickel corner immediately and may surprise some people who haven’t heard of him.  The OT and DT taken in the fifth were very good value moves and could prove to help in the future trenches and as we saw last year with Nick Folk, taking a kicker in the sixth round isn’t necessarily a bad move.  On this offense, Mehlhaff could have some real value.  We also have to count LB Jonathan Vilma in this draft since the Saints traded picks for him.  That acquisition also boosts this draft grade.
Grade: B+

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Picks:
Rd1 - CB Aqib Talib
Rd2 – WR Dexter Jackson
Rd3 – OG Jeremy Zuttah
Rd4 – DT Dre Moore
Rd5 - QB Josh Johnson
Rd6 - ILB Geno Hayes
Rd7 - RB Cory Boyd
Analysis:  CB Talib is a big CB that is a great playmaker who should fit the Tampa 2 defense well.  WR Jackson (the “other” small receiver name Jackson) may turn out to be just as good as DeSean Jackson of Cal, if not better.  He’s extremely explosive and will benefit from going to a team with a small explosive veteran (Joey Galloway) to learn from.  OG Zuttah is extremely versatile and has a lot of skill.  He can play all five positions on the line, but will more than likely stick at Center or possibly guard in the pros…it just depends where they need him the most.  DT Dre Moore was a solid value in the forth as he was projected as high as the second round.  He has a good all-around game and will compete to start immediately.  QB Josh Johnson doesn’t have a cannon for an arm, but he is accurate as his 43 TDs to 1 INT in 2007 demonstrates.  He also runs a sub 4.6 in the 40 which shows his tremendous athleticism.  He has a lot of potential to develop.  ILB Hayes fits well into this defense.  He’s not a big LB, but the Tampa 2 utilizes LBs with speed and he has plenty of that to go along with solid tackling skills.  RB Boyd’s strength is catching out of the backfield, but he isn’t known for his power.  At 6’1” he’s big enough to add weight to his current 213lb frame, but he appears to be a developmental player.

Overall:  Taking Talib over Jenkins has the potential to come back and bite the Bucs.  With all the skills he has, he brings along a record of admitted drug use while in college.  His full time dedication came into question during the Combine as well.  The analysts showed a film clip of him chasing a WR (Jordy Nelson) who timed slower than Talib, yet, he was pulling away from him and it appeared Talib gave up with about 25 yards to go.  Jackson in the second was a considered a reach by some, but I like versatility in draft picks and his special teams ability will give Tampa some extra yards each game that they aren’t use to getting.  Zuttah and Moore address the trenches and have huge upsides.  Josh Johnson was a surprise pick considering the Bucs had six other QBs on the roster before Johnson, but none have his upside.  He has a great role model in Jeff Garcia who is another small QB with an average arm.  Garcia has learned to beat the opposition with his accuracy and his ability to scramble and that’s the kind of QB you’d want teaching Johnson.  It was disappointing that they didn’t move any of their other QBs during the draft.  I would think they could have gotten a late round pick for at least one or two of these guys.  The remaining picks are developmental guys that may or may not pan out, but this draft’s success will come down to Talib and how he turns out as a pro. 
Grade: B