On Saturday, I gave you some of my early grades for picks made in rounds 1 and 2, but instead of sticking with that format, I decided to scrap it in favor of a more traditional approach to grading out each team’s draft class for this year.

This is going to be a two-part series so make sure to check back tomorrow for my NFC grades.

As always, if you disagree or think I’m a genius, feel free to leave your thoughts and questions in the comment section. Thanks for all your support and enjoy!

AFC East

Grade: C

I really liked Buffalo’s first two picks - CB Leodis McKelvin and WR James Hardy - but after that things kind of dropped off a bit for me. Both McKelvin and Hardy will come in and contribute on their respective side of the ball immediately, but they reached quite a bit in my mind with several of their Day 2 picks, so this grade could have been much higher. The only guy they got after the 2nd round that has a legit chance to start is DE Chris Ellis, and while I think their other players were alright, they could have done much better with the amount of picks they had.

Grade: B

After suffering through a disastrous 1-15 season last year, the Dolphins had to pretty much blow the whole team up and start over from scratch. Bill Parcells did a nice job of getting all-world OT Jake Long into a deal prior to the draft and I think that picking DE Philip Merling in round 2 was a solid move as well. Like many others, I’m not sold on QB Chad Henne’s ability to lead a team in the NFL, but it was good value where they took him, so I can’t complain too much. Their other picks were pretty questionable, considering the point of the draft in which they were taken, but I do like the pick of RB Jalen Parmele, who can contribute immediately via special teams, and fill in nicely if Ricky Williams decides to retire in favor of smoking dope once again.

Grade: B-

The Patriots had a pretty solid draft class this year, but head coach Bill Belichick has set the bar so high when it comes to how his teams select players that it’s become pretty difficult for them to achieve the highest grade. They did the smart thing by trading down with the Saints from their #7 overall pick to the #10 overall pick, and while I think they would have taken LB Keith Rivers if he was there, he wasn’t so they turned to the next best player at that spot in LB Jerod Mayo. I don’t really understand their reasoning behind the rest of their picks, but I’m giving the benefit of the doubt here to the Hoody, since he’s pretty much confirmed his status as a God after taking his team to their 4th Super Bowl in 7 years last season.

Grade: B

I thought the Jets did a nice job in this draft - nothing spectacular, but not too bad either. DE/LB Vernon Gholston is going to be a stud in their 3-4 defensive scheme, and I really liked their trade back up with the Packers to get TE Dustin Keller late in Round 1. He should be an excellent weapon for whatever retread QB they decide to trot out there each week. Speaking of QBs, I also really like their selection of QB Erik Ainge out of Tennessee. He doesn’t have all the prototypical tools you want in a franchise QB, but he does have a lot of intangibles that you look for when you’re trying to pick a QB - leadership, maturity, and intelligence.

AFC North

Grade: B+

Trading back with the Jaguars from the 8th pick to late in the 1st round was a solid move by GM Ozzie Newsome once their preferred pick QB Matt Ryan was off the board, but I think they could have hung around a bit longer to get QB Joe Flacco instead of trading back up. Then again, the draft is a crapshoot at bets, so teams have to go with their gut instinct and get the guy they want most of the time. I really liked all of their middle round picks, especially SS Tom Zbikowsky. That’s the kind of player I expect to see on the Ravens’ defense, and while Ed Reed is still one of the best safeties in the league, it can’t hurt to add a guy like Zbikowsky back there for quality depth.

Grade: C+

The Bengals did an alright job with this draft class, but as usual I was left scratching my head with some of their picks, given the comments they’ve made in the weeks leading up to the draft about their Pro Bowl WR Chad Johnson. That being said, I do like a lot of their players, so overall it was a pretty good haul. I really think they got some steals when they took WR Andre Caldwell and DT Pat Sims, and although they obviously would have preferred to take DT Sedrick Ellis in round 1, LB Keith Rivers will do just fine and should bring some much needed character and integrity to a team riddled with malcontents and thugs.

Grade: B

Without any picks until the 4th round, the Browns did a nice job of adding talent where they could, and should have solidified a team that is on the verge of breaking through to the playoffs this year. I really like their pick of TE Martin Rucker (I know, I’m biased) and getting DT Ahtyba Rubin in the 6th was an absolute steal considering most pre-draft mocks had him slotted much higher than that. LB Beau Bell was another solid pick as well, so all in all, the Browns did some solid work with what they had at their disposal.

Grade: B+

The Steelers were a team that went in a different direction than I thought they would on Day 1, but looking back on it now, they made the right call across the board. Drafting RB Rashard Mendenhall with the #23 overall pick was a steal, and he should be a tremendous complement in the backfield to Fast Willie Parker, who doesn’t have the body to maintain the kind of pounding he’s taken over the past 2 seasons without future HOF RB Jerome Bettis. And I really like the fact that they stuck to their guns and still got WR Limas Sweed in round 2. He’ll give the Steelers the big target at WR that Big Ben Roethlisberger has been clamoring for all off-season long.

AFC South

Grade: C-

The Texans were a team that I though could have done some serious damage early on in the draft, but much to my surprise they failed miserably on Day 1. They did make up for it in Rounds 3-7, but this draft could have been much better overall in my mind. Trading back 8 spots in round 1 to take a 3rd round talent in OT Duane Brown was not a good move, especially with a potential star RB in Rashard Mendenhall sitting there on the board, and reaching for a very raw player in CB Antwaun Molden in round 2 was questionable at best. Getting LB Xavier Adibi and DT Frank Okam in rounds 4 and 5 respectively saved the Texans draft, but like I said before, they could have done a lot better with the amount of picks they had.

Grade: B-

The Colts made quite a few interesting picks this past weekend, but overall I think they did a nice job of addressing some of their bigger needs. I was quite pleased when they took C Mike Pollak, as I’m pretty sure Jeff Saturday isn’t going to be around for many more years, and I loved their pick of LB Philip Wheeler in Round 3. Wheeler isn’t the best LB in the class but he’ll definitely turn some heads in Tony Dungy’s Cover 2 defense, as he has the quickness and agility to shed blockers and make a lot of plays. I don’t understand the pick of LB Marcus Howard but I guess he was more of a value pick then a need, so I can’t complain too much. And getting C Steve Justice in the 6th was the steal of the century in my mind. He should compete for playing time right away at guard and if Pollak doesn’t work out, he’ll slide into the center spot as well.

Grade: C-

I really like DE Derrick Harvey and DE/LB Quentin Groves, but not enough to trade away most of the team’s draft picks, which is exactly what the Jaguars decided to do this past weekend. The Jags could have easily stayed put and taken solid defenders at those spots without sacrificing valuable picks in the rest of the draft. Then again, players like Harvey and Groves don’t come along everyday, so head coach Jack Del Rio must have felt they were worth it. I do like the pick later on the draft of CB Trae Williams but I still think the Jaguars could have done a lot better by retaining their picks and sticking to their board so that’s why I graded them out so low.

Grade: D+

The Titans definitely get the lowest grade in the book with this draft class, as they failed to address their most pressing issues early on, and reached for players of lesser talent at positions of strength instead. I know they really liked some of the RBs available in round 1, but once Felix Jones and Rashard Mendenhall were off the board in front of them, they should have traded back or drafted a different position. Instead they reached big time by taking RB Chris Johnson who does not fill a need on the team, and will only see limited action as a change of pace back. Their only real solid pick was TE Craig Stevens and even then, I think they could have done better by taking a more accomplished receiver like TE Martin Rucker instead.

AFC West

Grade: B+

I think Denver did a nice job of sticking to their board and drafting quality players at positions of need for the most part in this draft. OT Ryan Clady will lock down a spot on the offensive line for the next 5 years, and keep QB Jay Cutler upright more often than not. Getting WR Eddie Royal will only make the Broncos offense better, as he brings electric speed and agility to both the WR corps and their special teams. The best pick by Denver though, might be RB Ryan Torain who fits in perfectly with the Broncos zone-blocking scheme, and should be the next in a long line of successful Broncos RBs. Finding FB Peyton Hillis still sitting at the end of the draft was another good move by head coach Mike Shanahan, and the Broncos should benefit from his pass catching ability out of the backfield.

Grade: A

The Chiefs easily get the highest grade on the books for this draft, and although I’ll admit that I’m just a little bit biased here, almost every single major media outlet agrees with me on this one. The Chiefs got the steal of the draft when DT Glenn Dorsey dropped into their lap at the #5 overall pick, and while DE might have been a more pressing concern after the team trade away Jared Allen last week, Dorsey is a once in a lifetime talent that cannot be ignored. He’ll easily make the entire Chiefs defense much better next season. Then somehow by the grace of God, the Chiefs found themselves in a position to draft their top rated O-line player in OT/OG Branden Albert in the middle of round 1, and they didn’t miss. Albert will provide much needed stability along an O-line that was atrocious last year. CB Brandon Flowers will fit in perfectly with the Chiefs cover 2 defense, and when he’s paired with the sleeper pick of this draft in CB Brandon Carr, the Chiefs could find themselves with two of the best young corners in the entire league.

Grade: C+

The Raiders did what pretty much every single sane individual in the country expected them to do by taking RB Darren McFadden in round 1. McFadden will bring a lot of energy and excitement to Raider Nation, but overall the pick does little to help the team in the long run, as RB was most definitely not a position of need with Justin Fargas, Dominic Rhodes, and Michael Bush already manning that spot. But I can’t fault the Raiders too much for this pick, as McFadden is just too good of a talent to pass up when you’re team that is as bad as the Raiders have been over the past 3 seasons. The one pick that I really like a lot is CB Tyvon Branch, who has explosive speed and can help out immediately in the Raiders return game while he learns how to play CB at the NFL level from Pro Bowl CBs Nnamdi Asomugha and DeAngelo Hall.

Grade: B-

The Chargers were another team that had very little to work with throughout the majority of the draft, but they made the best with what they had by taking solid players for the most part. I really like the pick of CB Antoine Cason as he should pair with their other electrifying CB in Antonio Cromartie to form a solid duo for many years to come at that spot. I’m not really sure why they traded up to get FB Jacob Hester but then again, Hester does have a lot of leadership qualities that a team like San Diego needs right now, being on the verge of pushing through to a Super Bowl. He won’t come close to replacing the Chargers former lead blocker in Lorenzo Neal, but he should give them a solid change of pace from Pro Bowl RB LaDainian Tomlinson next season.

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