What don't the Cards need? Dansby is one of those guys who's great on the highlight reels, and if he plays with more consistency, he could be a star for coach Dennis Green. A good pick, at the right place. The Cards are doing OK. But, again. McCown?
Here, Eli, here's some help for you. There was some talk about moving tackle Barry Stokes to guard if the Giants picked a big tackle, but with the trade for Manning in the first round, the Giants are left with Snee as their OL pick, and he'll plug in at guard rather nicely. Hey, everything after Manning is icing anyway.
The Chargers, let's be serious, are in serious need of help, and even that Manning-for-Rivers swap in the first round isn't going to solve much of anything. San Diego cut a couple of defensive linemen in the offseason, Marcellus Wiley and Raylee Johnson, so they need plenty of help on that side. Olshanksy's strength is his strength. It's still not the Chargers' strength
The Chiefs got what they needed with their first pick in this draft, a big guy in the middle to slow down opposing running attacks. Siavii is biggish, 340 pounds or so, but for a team that allowed 146.5 yards running a game, 30th in the league, he's beautiful.
We love the Lions' picks. They went with Lehman here, and you could almost hear the champagne corks popping in Detroit. This guy turns on the switch and never turns it off. He's relentless. Not as talented as some of the other linebackers, but he makes up for it with his high-revving motor. The Lions will love this guy, and so will Detroit fans.
Well, the Steelers needed defensive help, probably no place more than at corner. The question with Colclough is whether his experience at Tusculum is good enough to translate to a spot in the NFL. He has the skills. It'll be up to the Pittsburgh coaching staff to make sure they make the most of it.
Del Rio gets his defensive help with a steady, smart, productive inside linebacker who is expected to move to outside LB in the pros. This is the part of the draft where teams have to fill needs, first and foremost, more than going with the best player available. The Jaguars got a good player and a good character guy who fills a role. What more can you ask for in the second round?
Great pick for Tennessee here, considering the retirement of longtime TE Frank Wycheck. He could quickly become Steve McNair's best friend. He's not the best blocker, or so say the scouts, and the Titans need that from a TE. But he'll loosen up defenses with his pass-catching abilities. Not bad at all for a first pick in the draft for the Titans.
This may be that RB that coach Mike Shanahan always finds in the draft and the one he passed up in the first round. He's a strong, no-nonsense back, though he's a bit on the smallish side. There are questions about him. Still, no one but Shanahan thought much of guys like Terrell Davis, Olandis Gary and Mike Anderson, all later-round picks who worked out for the Broncos. We'll give Shanahan the benefit of the doubt on this one.
Good pass-rusher, fast, smart, high intensity. But, no, he's not Jevon Kearse. The question with LaBoy is the level of competition in college. He played in the WAC, and that's a long way from the AFC South. Fills a need, though. Maybe the biggest need for the Titans.
The Cowboys got their much-needed running back -- bye-bye Troy Hambrick -- and still amassed all those extra picks this year and a first-rounder next year, too, by trading out of the first round. This guy has game-breaking speed, but if he fumbles the way he did in college, he'll have to put up with the wrath of Bill Parcells.
With their first pick in the draft, the Colts went with a guy who has absolutely no regard for his body. The problem is his body is smallish. But he's willing, which is a big part of it, he's a hard worker and he fills a need, especially with cornerbacks Walt Harris and David Macklin gone.
By picking Gallery in the first round, this is already a winner of a draft for Al Davis. Now, with Grove, it's clear the Raiders are looking to re-start that offense that slipped to 27th in passing last season. Grove evidently can play either guard or center. The Raiders will be better because of their first two picks.
More offensive help, which is what the 49ers need. Linemen Derrick Deese and Ron Stone have moved on, so the team will plug in Smiley, who may not be the greatest lineman in the draft, but he's good here. Tim Rattay, the QB, certainly won't argue with the choice.
New head coach Lovie Smith seems to be getting his way, doubling up on the defensive linemen in the first two rounds. The Bears cut Keith Traylor and Phillip Daniels and have replaced them with Tommie Harris (14th overall) and Johnson. This guy could use a few more pounds, but he's a welcome addition.
Thomas teamed with Karlos Dansby, picked by the Cardinals 15 slots ago, as linebacking terrors at Auburn. Not sure if Thomas is a starter yet, but he could work his way in there. The Vikes could use some offense sooner or later.
The SEC Defensive Player of the Year, Ratliff may be good enough to start beside Deltha O'Neal, who the team got from the Broncos this offseason. Ratliff is not big, but the book on him is he has a good nose for the ball. The Bengals still have another second-rounder, too.
Another wideout. They're all over the place. Especially, if you look, in your back yard. LSU's Henderson is a kind of late bloomer, but he impressed scouts at the Senior Bowl with his speed and skills. With a good summer, he could work his way into a starting spot with the Saints.
With the Ravens' first pick of the draft, they'd have loved to have landed a good WR, especially after that whole Terrell Owens thing fell through. But, well, there are only so many of those to go around. So the Ravens went with a run-stuffer in the middle. Not what they need. The best they could do.
There was an offensive tackle named Munoz from Southern California once. He worked out pretty well. Rogers, for sure, is no Hall of Famer. But he's a solid left tackle and will help the offense, if maybe not right away. Still, the Cowboys have to feel good about how their draft has gone.
Another Boulware from Florida State. This one's a little smallish for a linebacker, but he has the body type, scouts say, that will fill out as his career progresses. There are holes there to patch after some defections, and Boulware may not be able to do that right away. But he could be a good one in time.
The wide receiver from Marshall is no Randy Moss. But he's probably faster. Denver has some aging wideouts in Ed McCaffrey and Rod Smith. If coach Mike Shanahan can polish Watts, he could become a capable replacement, though probably not right away.
He's huge. Huge! Not much of a pass-catcher, evidently, and he's had a knee injury. But he has some good moves, and the Jaguars liked him enough to move up, make a trade with the Packers and select Jones from a little ways down I-10 in Tallahassee. He and Fred Taylor will be monsters to stop.
Don't knock Marvin Lewis when it comes to picking defensive players. The Bengals could use help at safety, and Williams is athletic. He may not start right away, but under Lewis, expect him to get better, and sooner rather than later. The secondary looks a lot better with Williams, Keiwan Ratliff (the 49th pick overall) and newcomer Deltha O'Neal around.
Another defensive end for the Titans, who have big shoes to fill there with the departure of Jevon Kearse. Hopefully for them, between Odom and earlier second-round pick Travis LaBoy, those shoes can at least be partially filled. Odom's another of those players that could have used another season in college. But it's too late now. We'll see.
Defense? Defense? Yes, the 49ers finally go defense, after going WR and OG with their first two picks. The 49ers were 27th in the league last season against the pass. Thus the pick of Spencer, who also was an accomplished special teams player at Pitt.
Jones tested well in the vertical jump and he's strong, both good characteristics for a safety. Still, he's a low second-rounder. On the other hand, the Browns traded with Indianapolis to move up to get him, so they must like the guy. This isn't a fifth-round crapshoot. But this guy clearly isn't an immediate star.
The Saints go back to defense with this pick, choosing Watson to help out a decidedly weak linebacking corps. Orlando Ruff, the middle linebacker, is especially suspect. Watson is smart and active and could give Ruff a run for the starting spot.
The Chiefs have some guy named Tony Gonzalez at tight end. He's pretty good. So the pick here of Wilson is a bit of a question. Maybe they're trying to put a scare into Gonzalez. At this point of the draft, Wilson probably was way high on their board and they couldn't afford to pass him up. Or at least that's the guess. It's a mystery.
Colbert is the 10th wide receiver taken in the first two rounds. He's not that other guy from Southern California, Mike Williams, who is hoping supplemental at best. But Colbert is sure-handed, the possession-type. He'll be a backup to Muhsin Muhammad and Steve Smith, but he could be a good one in time.
The third LSU player taken in the draft, Hill is the second defensive lineman taken by the Pats. There are some questions about his stamina, but at this stage, there are questions about everyone. Hey, if anyone can afford to take a chance, the Patriots can.
