NFL Draft 07: Roundtable Review

As part of b5media’s continuing coverage of the 2007 NFL Draft, we’ve brought our football experts together to discuss this year’s proceedings. Our panelists are Aaron Brazell (Suicide Fan Podcast), James Edwards (Squib Kick), and David Kindervater (Every Morning Quarterback). Your moderator is b5’s Geoff Young, who knows just enough about football to stay out of the way and let the experts do the talking. This is Part 2 of the series. Part 1 is at Suicide Fan Podcast and Part 3 is at Squib Kick.

Geoff: Which team shot itself in the foot in this weekend’s draft, and why?

David: There are several strong (or weak, I guess you could say) candidates, but I would define draft “foot-shooting” as a failure to address your team’s needs and the Seattle Seahawks, a solid playoff team last season, did very little to improve their standing. They needed help (and depth) at safety and failed to get any new bodies here. Same with the O-line and tight ends. They drafted guard Mansfield Wrotto (who?) in the 4th round, but no tight ends were selected at all. The Hawks didn’t even have a first-round pick, so the hope of a solid draft was kind of shot from the start. Their best pick was speedy CB Josh Wilson from Maryland in the second round, but corner was not a pressing need for Seattle. Other poor showings: Chiefs, Redskins and Eagles.

Aaron: No doubt, the Miami Dolphins. They made the worst decision ever by not picking up Brady Quinn. At this point, Culpepper may or may not be back in Miami and there is no guarantees regarding his performance when he comes back. That leaves the question mark of Trent Green. KC doesn’t seem too willing to part with him, and Miami isn’t making the right moves to get him. They did draft John Beck, but I don’t know how well that will pan out. Personally, I feel like the Jets made some very questionable moves early on. Namely, they bought Carolina’s #14 pick overall and a 6th round pick for a 1st, 3rd and 6th round pick. In the end, they ended up with 4 picks in the entire draft and the first round pick was Darelle Revis, a cornerback. Pricey move. Questionable result. The second surprise to me was San Francisco getting New England’s #28 pick for their first round pick next year. SF is a recovering team, but they are far from a sure thing for an over .500 team next year. New England may have just gotten a top 10 pick in next year’s draft and may still win the Super Bowl to boot!

James: The Dolphins taking Ted Ginn Jr. was absolutely crazy. Even in the interview they only talked about him returning punts. A six-win team needs more than a good punt returner. You won’t find me a big fan of Tampa Bay picking up Gaines Adams. Not that he won’t be a great player, it’s just that they obviously wanted Calvin Johnson and were unwilling to go along with Matt Millen’s ransom.

Geoff: Thanks, gentlemen, for your insights. Be sure to read Part 1 and Part 3 of our roundtable discussion as well.