AFC West

Oakland Raiders

I don’t know why I am even giving this team column space as Al Davis will run this team into the ground until he’s there himself. Why hire front office personnel if you are going to override them and pick guys who you like (mostly based on their 40 times). There just was not enough upside in Darrius Heyward-Bey to warrant picking him before Crabtree. He’s got great speed, and it stops there. He’s a raw route runner and he still fights off the ball a bit when catching outside his frame. Vampire Al could have traded down about eight spots and still gotten Heyward-Bey, but he didn’t and that’s why the Raiders will continue to draft in the top ten until he turns over the operations to actual football people who reside in the current date and time (and not the 1970s). Michael Mitchell was yet another example of this, and could have been the biggest head scratcher of the entire draft. Yes, I will buy that the Bears were interested, but I would also say that even though I do not trust Angelo I trust him to know that Mitchell could have been had any time from the third round on. Even if Mitchell ends up starting, he will have to play at a Pro Bowl level to justify why he was picked that high in the second when plenty of other worthy candidates were on the board. The only thing that keeps me from completely panning this draft was the selection of Louis Murphy in the 4th round. That was a very good value, and he should see the field early with the lack of WR depth on this team. I also won’t fault the Matt Shaughnessy pick either, as he can be a solid base 4-3 DE, but not as a third rounder. Poor is all I can say about this draft class until Al’s personal choices prove otherwise.

Denver Broncos

I think I’m smelling a theme within the AFC West, and it smells like draft day poo. The Broncos have done nothing but take missteps since the Josh McDaniels era began. Thanks for Cutler by the way, enjoy Neckbeard’s floating ten yard outs. I would suggest buying stock in Jack Daniels, as Orton is bound to be hitting it hard after his third consecutive three INT game come week four of the regular season. With a large stable of running backs already on the roster, a suspect defense in desperate need of an influx of talent, the Broncos made the great first round pick of…Knowshon Moreno???!!! I think Moreno is a solid RB, and should be a starting caliber player, but he’s not top 15 worthy in my book. I don’t think he will hold up physically as an every down back, so why waste a pick this high on a player such as this? Or maybe McDaniels realized Orton isn’t very good and that they need to run the ball well in order for him to be even remotely successful? Denver then went and followed up the Moreno pick with an even more head scratching move with Robert Ayers of Tennessee. Ayers was a fast riser going in to the draft, even though this was based mostly off the potential he showed in his Senior year and at the Senior Bowl and not his production in college. What makes no sense to me is that I think Ayers is a really bad fit as a 3-4 rush OLB. He’s a solid 4-3 DE who can anchor against the run and get after the QB when needed, but I think he’s too stiff to be able to drop into coverage and play the OLB position. Once again, there were an incredible amount of better players on the board when this pick came around, but the Bronco’s swung and missed once again. And just when you thought the picks couldn’t get worse, the whole Seattle trade comes out of left field and makes for an even more laughable start to day one for Denver. I will say that I really liked Alphonso Smith, and I think he’s going to be a top notch cover corner for a long time in this league. I just don’t think it was worth sacrificing next year’s number one pick for him, or at least not the pick that will more than likely be higher. If the Broncos shock everyone and finish 10-6 or better, then this is a moot point, but I would be willing to bet my mortgage that 6-10 is more than likely the outcome of the 2009/10 season. Darcel McBath is a solid safety prospect, but was a reach, and Richard Quinn was a MAJOR reach for the end of the second round! If they wanted a blocking TE, they could have gotten someone like Bear Pascoe in the 4th or 5th round. The only thing that somewhat saves the Broncos were there reasonable picks on day two. Dave Bruton was a good value and provide some depth with McBath at safety. Seth Olson fits well into the zone style running game of the Broncos, so he’s a solid value as a back up. Kenny McKinley was a bit underrated coming out of South Carolina and is not a bad pick here, but I don’t think he will be a major contributor in the passing game. Here’s what I said about Tom Brandstater, the QB they picked in round: “He’s a long shot and needs work, but I can see a team taking a 6th or 7th round flier to see if they can make him the next Matt Cassel.” I find it funny that the guy who helped mold Cassel is the person who drafted him. The best value pick the Broncos made all day was 7th round OC Blake Schlueter, who will provide depth and could potentially start some day. Overall, this is a poor draft and it will look even worse come draft day 2010 when the Seahawks are getting a chance at a top prospect while the Broncos wait for the 31st pick to go on the clock so they can prepare to make their first selection of the day. See, you get what I did there?? I’m smart like that.

Kansas City Chiefs

And the ‘what were they thinking?’ train keeps on rolling! The Chiefs biggest move of the draft was trading their second round pick for QB Matt Cassel. I’m still of the opinion that he’s got more Scott Mitchell in him than Matt Hasselbeck, but the jury is out. The one thing that is certain is he will be playing behind a very inexperienced and poor OL and will have few pass catching options outside of the no doubt to be double covered Dwayne Bowe. Picking Tyson Jackson in the first with the thought to start him right away at 3-4 DE was a no brainer, but picking him third overall was brainless. I will stand by my early analysis that Jackson was heavily overrated due to the fact that he fit so well into this type of defender. He may start, but in order to live up to his immense salary cap number, he’s going to need to be an impact player. And there are very few 3-4 DE’s that I would consider as ‘impact players’ in the NFL. What is even more puzzling was the pick up of Alex Magee in the third. With Jackson joining, this team has a glut of 3-4 style DE’s so Magee was almost a wasted pick. He has some upside, and can fit this defense, but I think he would have been better off as an undertackle in a 4-3 defense. I can understand drafting for depth, but with such a poor offensive line, the Chiefs would have been much better off going with an OL here instead. In fact, the only pick that actually made a bit of sense was Mr. Irrelevant Ryan Succop. He’s got a strong leg and may even end up winning out their starting place kicker spot. I can see the Chiefs being very bad this year, and this division should be an absolute cake walk for the Chargers. If you ask me, the Scott Pioli era has not started off well at this point.

San Diego Chargers

As you will have guessed by now if you have read my coverage, I’m a big fan of the Chargers front office. They do a very good job of scouting and they have a great feel for the type of player that fits their schemes well, even if some experts consider those picks reaches. The pick of Larry English was a huge surprise to me, but I can’t say it’s a bad pick. With Shawne Merriman out last year, you could see how much this impacted the pass rush. Shaun Phillips is a very good bookend OLB, but he needs someone on the other side of him to help pull away the double team. English is a converted down DE who excels at getting to the QB, so it provides good depth and insurance should Merriman go down once again or demand too much in free agency during the off-season. What was most surprising about the English pick was that there were two guys left on the board who I thought the Chargers would be all over (Michael Oher and Rey Maualuga). But AJ Smith threw everyone a curveball and went for the glamour position in rush OLB, which makes dollars and sense. The third and fourth round picks (respectively) of guards Louis Vasquez and Tyronne Green were excellent moves. The Chargers needed an upgrade of talent and depth at this position, and I think both have potential to start (and I like Green a bit more than Vasquez). I was thrown for a loop with the pick of 4th round DT Vaughn Martin. I had to look up information on who he was, as I have seen very little game film on Western Ontario. So with that, I can’t comment on how he is as a player, but I can say he’s an incredible athlete. He put up some amazing personal workout numbers for a very big DT. He’s athletic enough to play DE but big enough to play some NT as well. It’s a typical pick for the Chargers, who are willing to draft a talented player and let them develop into an eventual starter. Gartrell Johnson is the anti-Chargers RB. He’s a big battering ram, short yardage back, which this team did not have on its roster. LT and Sproles will be the primary backs, but don’t be surprised if Johnson gets some touches here and there to wear down defenses late in the game with his physical running style. The other pick I really like is 6th rounder Kevin Ellison. He’s a touch slow for SS, and might have been a better pick as a WLB in a 4-3, but he’s a very good football player. I read an article that said Ellison was the one player who almost every USC defender picked last year as the best player on that side of the ball. Considering the beasts that played for the Trojans last year, that’s fairly lofty praise, and I think it’s worth a shot on him even if he is a step slow. He’s going to find a way to contribute and I want those guys on my team. Overall, this is another under the radar but solid draft for the steady Chargers. As mentioned above, I think the Chargers have at least a two year window to run away with the AFC West due to the lack of talent on the other teams in the division.