Ted Bartlett evaluates draft-eligible prospects in his spare time, among a number of activities he pursues, including golf, MBA classes, and dating women who are much younger than him. When his kindergarten teacher told him that he was advanced, what she was saying was that, with minimal effort, he'd be able to do better than "really passionate" people who try their hardest. He also focuses on the NFL's business and legal environment, offensive and defensive schemes, going off on unrelated tangents, and all 32 teams in the NFL. Follow along as he offers his instant analysis of tonight's NFL Draft.
| # | Team | Player |
Position School |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New England (CAR) | Ras-I Dowling | CB - Virginia | I'm a fan of Dowling. He's more of a zone guy than a man guy, but he's definitely useful. |
| 2 | Buffalo | Aaron Williams | CB - Texas | Weird pick. I think Williams ends up being a solid Safety, but this was far from a Buffalo need. |
| 3 | Cincinnati | Andy Dalton | QB - TCU | Here go the Bengals, taking a smart, responsible guy, knowing that he has a terrible, dysfunctional program to overcome. |
| 4 | San Francisco (DEN) | Colin Kaepernick | QB - Nevada | I'm a huge Kaepernick fan, and I think he'll be the best NFL QB in this Draft unless Newton fully realizes his potential. Great move for SF. |
| 5 | Cleveland | Jabaal Sheard | DE - Pittsburgh | Cleveland continues to rebuild their front 4 with a really solid 3-down DE. |
| 6 | Arizona | Ryan Williams | RB - Virginia Tech | Arizona commits to running the ball better by pairing Williams with the disappointing Beanie Wells |
| 7 | Tennessee | Akeem Ayers | OLB - UCLA | I like him for Tennessee as a much lesser version of what the Broncos were thinking with Miller: a pass-rush capable Sam |
| 8 | Dallas | Bruce Carter | OLB - North Carolina | He's more of a 4-3 Will. I don't get the scheme fit here, but he's a solid player. |
| 9 | Washington | Jarvis Jenkins | NT - Clemson | I don't care for the guy, but good luck for the Skins. Rumor was the Broncos liked him, so I call this lucky. |
| 10 | Houston | Brooks Reed | OLB - Arizona | I really like what Houston is doing here with Reed and Watt. They're going to heat up the QB more than they ever have. |
| 11 | Minnesota | Kyle Rudolph | TE - Notre Dame | Mike Mayock called it. I quote TJ "Keep taking away Fox's ability to (mess) this up!" There you have it. |
| 12 | Detroit | Titus Young | WR - Boise State | I would have gone CB here, but Young is really fast. He projects to be a solid player, but he's no DeSean Jackson. |
| 13 | Denver (SF) | Rahim Moore | FS - UCLA | I don't love the value here, but I think Moore will be a solid player in the NFL. I get the priority for defending the middle better. B- pick to me. |
| 14 | Denver (MIA) | Orlando Franklin | RT - Miami | Well, this signals a change in offensive line philosophy. I wonder where the DT is here, and I'm not too thrilled that neither pick went for one. |
| 15 | St. Louis | Lance Kendricks | TE - Wisconsin | This is a big reach. I don't see this guy being worth a second rounder, and he gets some weak position group effect here. |
| 16 | Oakland | Stefen Wisniewski | G - Penn State | This guy is unimpressive on film to me. Thank Oakland nepotism for this one, as his uncle was Steve Wisniewski. |
| 17 | Indianapolis (WAS/JAX) | Ben Ijalana | G/T -Villanova | The Colts are doing a really smart thing to revamp their awful offensive line. Ijalana is a good player. |
| 18 | San Diego | Marcus Gilchrist | CB/S - Clemson | This has to be about replacing Eric Weddle. Gilchrist is a solid player, and maybe this validates the Moore pick a little bit. |
| 19 | Tampa Bay | Da'Quan Bowers | DE - Clemson |
This is the "balls" pick. He's definitely worth the risk here. |
| 20 | NY Giants | Marvin Austin | DT - North Carolina | Best Player Available for the Giants for the second round in a row. This is how a good team gets better. |
| 21 | Chicago (WAS/IND) | Stephen Paea | DT -Oregon State | Here go the DTs. I was thinking there was a good chance somebody good got to 67, but maybe not. |
| 22 | Philadelphia | Jaiquawn Jarrett | SS - Temple | Hometown guy for the Eagles. It seems like they've been loading up on safeties the last couple years. |
| 23 | Kansas City | Rodney Hudson | C - Florida State | He's a little light and weak, but he has good movement skills in a zone scheme. |
| 24 | New England (NE) | Shane Vereen | RB - California | This is a reach for a role player, while better backs are on the board. I'm sure they see him as a replacement for Kevin Faulk. |
| 25 | Seattle | Mikel Leshoure | RB - Illinois | This makess a lot of sense to me. He'll combine to give two different feels with Jahvid Best. |
| 26 | Baltimore | Torrey Smith | WR - Maryland | The Ravens want to get vertical more effectively this season to open up the underneath areas for Boldin and Mason. I hate Maryland WRs till further notice. (See DHB) |
| 27 | Cleveland (ATL) | Greg Little | WR - North Carolina | This is the kind of WR that the Browns need for their group. I continue to be impressed by what they're doing. |
| 28 | Houston (NE) | Brandon Harris | CB - Miami | This was a great move by Houston to move up for a CB. The Texans are competing with Cleveland and Detroit for best haul so far. |
| 29 | San Diego (NYJ) | Jonas Mouton | OLB - Michigan | This is the first player drafted who I've never heard of. Not much more to say than that. |
| 30 | Miami (WAS/CHI) | Daniel Thomas | RB - Knasas State | Thomas runs a bit upright for me, but he's a solid player. As much as Miami likes to run, I think this makes sense. |
| 31 | Pittsburgh | Marcus Gilbert | OT - Florida | This is a Steelers kind of offensive lineman. He's not the most fluid athlete, but he's a good player on the right side. |
| 32 | Green Bay | Randall Cobb | WR - Kentucky | This seems to be a move to replace James Jones. I think Cobb gives them a slottier slot receiver than they've had. |