The NFL Draft is over and now is the time for everyone to analyze and scrutinize all 254 picks. But instead of giving each team a draft grade like everyone else, I’m going to list the five best steals and five biggest reaches of the draft.

Steals

If he stays healthy, Bowers will be the steal of the 2011 NFL Draft

1. Da’Quan Bowers at #51 (TB). The potential first-overall pick (at least top five) after the NCAA football season ended, Bowers plummeted into the second round because of knee concerns. Make no mistake about, it’s a risky pick by the Buccaneers, but if Bowers can stay healthy for most of his career, Tampa Bay’s defensive line will be some kind of fierce with Bowers, Adrian Clayborn and Gerald McCoy.
2. Prince Amukamara at #19 (NYG). Considered to be the best cornerback by some draft pundits and a top-10 talent by almost everyone, the Giants scooped up Amukamara all the way at 19. With Washington, Houston, Detroit and St. Louis all needing cornerback help, the Giants lucked out having one of the best defensive backs falling into their laps at 19th.
3. Nick Fairley at #13 (DET). Another potential first-overall pick in the weeks leading up to the draft, Fairley slid to 13 because of concerns over his willingness to play every down. Fairley has the talent, and with Ndamukong Suh alongside Fairley, pushing him, and Jim Schwartz  keeping him in line like Schwartz did with Albert Haynesworth, Fairley has a real good chance at succeeding and making Detroit’s defensive line one of the best in the league.
4. Cameron Jordan at #24 (NO). Jordan was probably a top-15 talent, one of the best pass rushers in the draft. I don’t think anyone really knows why he almost fell to the end of round 1, but the Saints were happy to scoop up a defensive end that can step in from Day 1 and play opposite Will Smith.
5. Jimmy Smith at #27 (BAL). Smith has characters issues, having been arrested twice while at Boulder and also failing a drug test. But in terms of sheer talent, Smith is right up there with Amukamara and Patrick Peterson. Baltimore has a good organization with smart people running the team and they’ll make sure Smith stays out of trouble.

Reaches

Ponder was a consensus second-round talent, but the Vikings deemed him worthy the 12th overall pick.

1. Christian Ponder at #12 (MIN). Ponder isn’t a bad quarterback by any means, but taking him in the top-third of the draft is a major reach. Everyone had Ponder getting drafted in the second round, but the Vikings panicked with the apparent run of quarterbacks going in the first round. Unless Ponder can help the Vikings win in the next two to three years, this will be a terrible choice for the Vikings.
2. Jake Locker at #8 (TEN). Locker would have most likely gone #1 overall in last year’s draft, but he decided to stay for his senior year. Locker is coming off a poor senior season, completing only 55% of his passes and throwing 17 TD to 9 INT. He has good size and may be able to succeed with the right coaching, but Tennessee probably could have traded down to the bottom of the first round and still grabbed Locker.
3. Alex Henery at #120 (PHI). Anytime a team drafts a kicker before the seventh round, it’s a reach, plain and simple. Obviously the Eagles don’t anticipate Akers being their kicker any more, but considering Henery was the only kicker drafted, the Eagles could have waited until the seventh or after the draft was over to get Henery.
4. Shane Vereen at #56 (NE). The Patriots need a 20-carry back desparately: BenJarvus Green-Ellis is only decent and Danny Woodhead is versatile, but far too small to carry the load. The Patriots could have taken Mark Ingram in the first round instead of trading away that pick, but chose Vereen. Mikel Leshoure and Daniel Thomas, two running backs that were much higher rated, were still available and the Patriots took another running back 17 picks later.
5. Aldon Smith at #7 (SF). The 49ers needed a pass rusher, but they could have traded down a couple spots and still have taken Smith. Quarterback is also a much bigger need for the 49ers and with them passing on Blaine Gabbert and then seeing Andy Dalton getting drafted in the second, this feels like a major reach.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011 at 8:32 pm and is filed under Uncategorized.  Tagged Cameron Jordan, Christian Ponder, Jake Locker, NFL, NFL Draft, Nick Fairley, Prince Amukamara You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.