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June 17 2026
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PREVIOUS SPORTS
Football Predictions: A Second Slice
August 27, 2008
Clint Dempsey Interview
August 1, 2008
NFL Draft Review
April 30, 2008, 2008
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SPORTS
DRAFT REVIEW: NFC EAST
DALLAS Cowboys Grade: B—
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 22 (22) | Felix Jones | RB | Arkansas |
| 1 | 25 (25) | Michael Jenkins | CB | South Florida |
| 2 | 30 (61) | Martellus Bennett | TE | Texas A&M |
| 4 | 23 (122) | Tashard Choice | RB | Georgia Tech |
| 4 | 27 (126) | to TEN for Adam Jones | CB | |
| 5 | 8 (143) | Orlando Scandrick | CB | Boise State |
| 6 | 1 (167) | Erik Walden | OLB/DE | Mid. Tenn State |
Critical Analysis
- I pity secondary coach Dave Campo. Getting the best out of Jenkins and Scandrick could mean being on their backs 24/7, and minding them won't
get any easier once 'Pacman' Jones is in town. Fast and talented as this makes the Cowboys secondary, 'character issues' is writ large.
- Felix Jones' flash'n'dash coupled with Marion Barber's bruising style is a combination hard not to like. Jones is an electrifying
runner given a sniff of daylight, but I wonder if his high average (8.7) per carry at Arkansas may have taken some advantage of defenses
breathing out when Darren McFadden left the field. Still, the same principal should work pretty well here. I love that they added Tashard
Choice, who becomes Marion Barber's heir apparent. Despite unimpressive measurables, he led the ACC in rushing in '06 and '07. However,
operations on both knees during those seasons sounded a note of caution, hence the 4th round value. Neither has shown a lot as a receiver.
- Special teams should get a kick out of Scandrick — he blocked several of them in college, including four as a senior. Both Jenkins and
Felix Jones have kick return prowess, so this is a good class for that phase of the game.
- While TE Martellus Bennett could have gone pro as a basketball player, he may not quite be the second coming of Antonio Gates. He's going to
be productive, though, and matched the need created by trading Anthony Fasano to the Dolphins for a fourth round pick.
- With a TE and a LB replacing those traded away, the Cowboys effectively only double–struck at RB and CB, with Pacman on the side. So,
as athletic a haul as this looks, they only really addressed needs at two positions, ignoring a need at safety, and depth needs at offensive
line and wide receiver (although they did later sign productive UFA Danny Amendola of Texas Tech). As wild as some commentators may be about
it, I can't grade it better than a B, and a B– at that, because 'arrests' isn't a defensive category that's en vogue in the NFL right now.
NEW YORK Giants Grade: B—
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 31 (31) | Kenny Phillips | S | Miami (FL) |
| 2 | 32 (63) | Terrell Thomas | CB | USC |
| 3 | 32 (95) | Mario Manningham | WR | Michigan |
| 4 | 24 (123) | Bryan Kehl | OLB | BYU |
| 5 | 30 (165) | Jonathan Goff | ILB | Vanderbilt |
| 5 | 32 (198) | Andre Woodson | QB | Kentucky |
| 6 | 33 (199) | Robert Henderson | DE | Southern Miss |
Critical Analysis
- With safety Sammy Knight and three linebackers including Kavika Mitchell gone, the Giants efficiently retooled. Kenny Phillips
was the top–rated safety on most boards, and has a sufficient blend of ability to start early. Thomas shares good size with
Phillips, and might be considered a safety convert.
- Went inside and out at LB with Goff and Kehl, who both tested well at the combine; Kehl would seem to be the one with an early
shot at a start role, Goff more of a depth pick. Sixth round pick DE Robert Henderson may find the roster a little too packed with
pass–rushers to get time as a specialist unless Michael Strahan drops the retirement bomb.
- Mario Manningham joins a crowded roster at receiver, as the Giants took Sinorice Moss and Steve Smith in '06 and '07 with second
round picks, but Manningham was a steal in the third round compared to his perceived draft value and has the moves to get open as a pro. He is a shade taller than Moss and Smith (although not rangy like Amani Toomer and Plaxico Burress).
- Woodson looks to take fellow Kentucky alumnus Jared Lorenzen's roster spot, but must compete with former pro starters Anthony
Wright and David Carr for clipboard holding duties behind Eli Manning.
- Overall, a competent draft which as usual for the Giants plundered only the bigger–name programs. They addressed their top three
needs without landing any blue chips, and after the draft added four prospects to the offensive line, one or two of which the Giants may
have time to develop into depth. However, this draft was more of a fill–in draft than a show stopper.
PHILADELPHIA Eagles Grade: C
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 2 | 16 (47) | Trevor Laws | DT | Notre Dame |
| 2 | 18 (49) | DeSean Jackson | WR/RS | California |
| 3 | 17 (80) | Bryan Smith | OLB/DE | McNeese State |
| 4 | 10 (109) | Mike McGlynn | OL/LS | Pittsburgh |
| 4 | 16 (115) | to MIA for RB Lorenzo Booker | | |
| 4 | 18 (117) | Quintin Demps | S/RS | UTEP |
| 4 | 32 (131) | Jack Ikegwuono | CB | Wisconsin |
| 6 | 18 (184) | Mike Gibson | OL | California |
| 6 | 34 (200) | Joe Mays | ILB | North Dakota State |
| 6 | 37 (203) | Andy Studebacker | OLB/DE | Wheaton |
| 7 | 23 (230) | King Dunlap | OL | Auburn |
Critical Analysis
- Philly clearly decided that their front seven needed help. Laws was the nation's leading D–line tackler last year (112), but looks more like an update than an upgrade of what they already have and could rotate out on passing downs. Smith and Studebacker might be after the same DE/OLB situational pass–rusher job, and both are stepping up from a lower level of play. Along with Mays, one of them will have to eye a special teams role.
- Donovan McNabb might have been hoping for a big–bodied receiver to out–physical somebody in the endzone. Perplexingly, he got a small–bodied terrier with deep speed, who seems more like an upgrade to Kevin Curtis than the franchise receiver Eagles fans have been seeking for years.
- The Eagles took two DBs in the 4th round, and the second, Ikegwuono will be the best, eventually, a potential shut–down corner who went this low only because of ACL and MCL damage in January that will keep him out for '08. Safety Demps might be a liability at this level, but between Demps and Jackson, the return game should see some pep.
- The Eagles made three picks for the O–line: McGlynn played tackle and guard in college, but has the snaps to make it as a center here. Similarly, Gibson was a college tackle who may move inside to guard. Dunlap is just big (6–8, 310). By the time the Eagles figure out what to do with them (or in the case of Dunlap, if they can do anything with him), McNabb might be playing somewhere else.
- Picking up Lorenzo Booker for a 4th round pick was nice — Booker has the potential to be a backfield receiver in the Westbrook mold and cost the Dolphins a 3rd only last year.
- If selecting players at the right position was all the draft is about, I'd be grading the Eagles an 'A', as they satisfied no less than seven positional needs. But they needed to get back in the divisional hunt and the players they took don't advance their cause in the short–term. As for Donovan McNabb and the fans, they are left to cling to some vague hope (or, considering the Drew Rosenhaus connection, fear) that Lito Sheppard can be traded for Chad Johnson. But by drafting a corner with an injury delay, they don't have the luxury of parting with Sheppard cheaply. In fact, with Ikeqwuono something for '09, a 1st round pick deferred until next year, a collection of linemen who need considerable adjustment, receiver ignored until the third round, this draft smacks of a lack of urgency, of a team going through the motions until the McNabb era becomes the Kolb era, and for that I won't even give it a B–. How can you add 11 players are still get a flat C?
WASHINGTON Redskins Grade: A–
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 2 | 3 (34) | Devin Thomas | WR | Michigan State |
| 2 | 17 (48) | Fred Davis | TE | USC |
| 2 | 20 (51) | Malcolm Kelly | WR | Oklahoma |
| 3 | 33 (96) | Chad Rinehart | OL | Northern Iowa |
| 4 | 25 (124) | Justin Tryon | CB | Arizona State |
| 6 | 2 (168) | Durant Brooks | P | Georgia Tech |
| 6 | 14 (180) | Kareem Moore | S | Nicholls State |
| 6 | 20 (186) | Colt Brennan | QB | Hawaii |
| 7 | 35 (242) | Rob Jackson | DE | Kansas State |
| 7 | 42 (249) | Chris Horton | S | UCLA |
Critical Analysis
- Washington upgraded the size of their receiving corps, adding the 6–3 Kelly and 6–2 Thomas to 5–10 incumbents Antwan Randle El and Santana Moss. These two big bodies could both be starters a year from now (Eagles fans would have been happy with either of them). Adding Davis in the second round as well seems a little like overkill, though — they already have a good pass–catching TE of near identical build in Chris Cooley, and as Davis is not a strong blocker, this looks more like greed than need. Of course, if Cooley gets injured this year, the front office will look genius.
- Although Washington went for an offensive lineman only once in the draft, they were swift to sign up three more (Kerry Brown, Appalachian State; Shannon Boatman, Florida State; Devin Clark, New Mexico) soon after. Although Rinehart played tackle, none is a sure–fire hit anywhere but guard, and Brown may be at the front of the queue for that.
- Of the defensive backs taken, Tryon is a canny defender and dangerous returner who stepped up well from JuCo to Pac–10 play, and despite small size could surprise again; Moore is a demon hitter in traffic, and like Tryon is quicker in a live game; Horton is a hard hitter who may be a step too slow for safety and undersized for LB, but who could be a special teams punisher.
- Continuing the special teams theme, Washington took the top punter available (and the only one drafted) in Brooks.
- Washington had a very busy draft day, and after a dizzying array of moves and swaps, the nation's capital can claim an impressive new receiving corps. It was a flashy first day that earnt critical acclaim, but on day two, Washington belatedly turned its attention to its biggest needs, safety and offensive tackle, ensuring a solid grade. Being picky, I'd have liked to have seen a DT or an OLB on day one, but that aside, this was one of 2008's best groups.
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