NFL Draft

2008 NFL Draft Winners: Chiefs and Dolphins take big steps towards rebuilding

Now that the NFL Draft is over, it’s time to take a look back at some of the big winners from the weekend. Two teams who came into the draft needing a great weekend to aid their rebuilding process were the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins. They did just that, but they weren’t the only teams that did well on Saturday and Sunday.

Winners

Kansas City Chiefs: Undoubtedly the biggest winner. Thanks to the Falcons taking Matt Ryan, Glenn Dorsey fell to them at #5, and trading up with Detroit for the #15 pick allowed them to get Virginia’s Branden Albert, who I had pegged as their pick at #5.

Taking Jamaal Charles in the third might seem questionable, but there’s nothing wrong with adding a speed back with potential, after Larry Johnson struggled last season, and with Priest Holmes retiring.

DaJuan Morgan was my second-ranked free safety behind Kenny Phillips, and they got him in the third round, along with Charles and Tennessee TE Brad Cottam (6′8, 270) has great potential as a blocker and receiver if he can stay healthy.

I also liked their pick of Missouri WR Will Franklin (4th round), who has good size (6′1, 205) and speed (4.37 at the combine), and will be a reliable target in the passing game.

Utah St. WR Kevin Robinson (sixth-round pick) will improve a return game that averaged only 19 yards per kickoff return and 7.6 yards per punt return in 2007. Fifth-round pick Barry Richardson, a tackle out of Clemson will prove to be a steal if he can make the most out of his 6′7, 330 pound frame.

My favorite pick of theirs was Gardner-Webb DE Brian Johnston, who I had in the picture for the Chiefs in the middle rounds, but fell to them in the seventh.

Johnston will need to spend some time in the weight room, work on his explosiveness, and refine his technique, but he’s got real potential - 6′5, 280, good quickness, great natural strength, and he loves to make lot of plays (268 tackles, 55 1/2 tackles for loss, 21 sacks, 69 QB hurries, 10 forced fumbles in his career at Gardner-Webb).

Washington Redskins: They didn’t really need Fred Davis, but he’s good insurance in case Chris Cooley gets injured. But, Jason Campbell has to be ecstatic about having both Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly to throw to.

Those picks look great, but they’ll only be great if: 1) Thomas isn’t just a one-year wonder, and 2) if Kelly isn’t a bust or moves to tight end. Then again, if the latter happened, he might end up being pretty good.

Taking Colt Brennan in the sixth round was also a good pick. Todd Collins will be 37, and while Brennan will likely be the #3 guy this year, he’ll get a chance to learn and be able to run the show in the near future in case anything happens with Campbell.

Dallas Cowboys: The Cowboys added a speed back to complement Marion Barber, taking Felix Jones #22. They also traded up from #28 to #25 to get USF corner Mike Jenkins. They also got Boise St.’s Orlando Scandrick (5th), which will provide more quality secondary depth.

Like the Redskins, they didn’t NEED to take a tight end early, but after trading Anthony Fasano, getting Texas A&M’s Martellus Bennett in the second was a smart acquisition. Bennett has about as much upside as anybody else in the draft, and if he can tap into his potential and raw talent, he’ll be a big asset.

Miami Dolphins: Sure, they didn’t go defense with their first pick as some might have hoped, but offensive line was Miami’s biggest need. They addressed it by taking Jake Long first, Utah St. tackle Shawn Murphy in the fourth, and in the sixth, taking UConn guard Donald Thomas, who is a pretty raw prospect, but has terrific athleticism and great potential.

They did address defense by getting two top defensive ends in Phillip Merling, who dropped to the second round, and Hampton’s Kendall Langford (6′6, 290), who might move to tackle. They also got Arizona tackle Lionel Dotson (7th), who had a big senior season (50 tackles, 6.5 sacks).

On offense, they got lucky with Chad Henne falling to the bottom of the second round, and that means John Beck is going to be in for a fight. They also added depth in the backfield with Toledo’s Jalen Parmalee and Montana’s Lex Hilliard. I would’ve liked for them to add a receiver at some point, just to add some depth at the position, but they did well overall.

Green Bay Packers: They didn’t NEED to add another young receiver, but Donald Driver isn’t getting any younger. Jordy Nelson is a guy I really like, and their last two second-round receiver picks have turned out well, in Greg Jennings (12 TD receptions last season) and James Jones (team’s third-leading receiver as a rookie).

With Brian Brohm still on the board late in the second, they couldn’t let him pass. He’ll push Aaron Rodgers soon, and if Rodgers falters even slightly, with a pro-ready guy behind him, he may not have a long leash. They also got LSU’s Matt Flynn in the seventh, and all he did was lead LSU to the national championship.

They added a few guys who could be key players in the future: Auburn corner Patrick Lee (2nd), Texas TE Jermichael Finley (3rd), who entered the draft after his sophomore season, but will be a nice fit as a receiver in an offense that makes good use of its tight ends, and Louisville OT Breno Giacomini (5th), a former tight end who started at tackle for only one season. He’s a little lean for his 6′7 frame (300 pounds), but he’s got good quickness and athleticism, and if he can bulk up some and spend a few seasons learning, has starting potential.

Other Winners

The New York Giants nabbed Miami safety Kenny Phillips in the first round, and also got a couple of high-profile fallers in Mario Manningham (3rd round) and Andre’ Woodson (6th). Manningham’s talent is unquestioned - if he can just keep it together and focus on football, he’ll make Eli Manning pretty happy. They also added a couple of talented linebackers in the middle rounds, in BYU’s Bryan Kehl and Vanderbilt’s Jonathan Goff.

Cincinnati got the top linebacker prospect in USC’s Keith Rivers, which is a nice fallback after being unable to get Sedrick Ellis, and added a receiver with terrific potential in Coastal Carolina’s Jerome Simpson in the second. Sure, he’s not a high-profile guy, but Simpson will be an immediate contributor in Cincy’s pass-happy offense.

Their picks of Auburn DT Pat Sims (third), Anthony Collins (Kansas offensive tackle in the fourth), Fresno St. DT Jason Shirley (fifth), and Louisville WR Mario Urrutia (7th) could be winners, but all four of those players have questions at this point.

Appalachian St.’s Corey Lynch in the sixth is a great pick - they needed to add a safety at some point, and this guy is a playmaker. Will he be a starter? Maybe, maybe not, but he’ll make some plays for them in the secondary and on special teams.

I thought Pittsburgh should’ve addressed offensive line more than once (they took Texas tackle Tony Hills, Jr. in the 4th), but they had a pretty successful draft. Rashard Mendenhall fell past the Bears and Lions and right to the Steelers at #23, and they won’t have worries in case Willie Parker gets hurt again. Then, in the second round, Limas Sweed fell to them, and he’ll have a chance to come in and win the #3 WR job right away and help Ben Roethlisberger have another career year. Bruce Davis, their third-round pick, had 24.5 sacks over his last two seasons at UCLA.

Time will tell how many of these guys pan out, but there’s a reason why their teams selected them, and hopefully they’ll all make good on the chances that their new teams took on them.

Give your opinion on this year’s biggest first-day draft snub in the poll on the front page!

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