Each and every year at the NFL Draft—this year included I'm sure—you will hear guys like Mel Kiper, Todd McShay, and Mike Mayock start handing out draft grades.  Sometimes as early as day one! 

To me, it's absolutely ridiculous to start giving draft classes grades before any players have even put on pads, much less before the draft class is even finished.

I think that the absolute minimum amount of time to reflect on a draft and speculate on how it turned out is three years.  So here I am, attempting to put together the way the first round would've gone if teams knew what they know now. 

So let's start at No. 1...


1. Houston Texans: Mario Williams, DE, N.C. State

I tried to find someone else for the Texans to take here, but the fact remains that they play in a division where in order to get to the top, you have to get to Peyton Manning. 

Charlie Casserly made a great pick for a great player and unfortunately was fired for it.

2. New Orleans Saints: Haloti Ngata, DT, Oregon

The Saints had a hole up the middle for a few years until the drafting of Sedrick Ellis. Ngata is a humongous defensive tackle with surprising athleticism for his size.

Reggie has been a good player at times, but he's the sort of back that puts New Orleans in a position to maybe draft a running back pretty high again this year.

3. Tennessee Titans: Greg Jennings, WR, Western Michigan

The Titans address the wide receiver position before it becomes a year in-year out problem for the organization. 

Vince Young got off to a quick start but has completely fallen apart since the Pro Bowl his rookie year.

4. New York Jets: Marcus McNeill, OT, Auburn

They go with the same position, but with a guy who thus far has proven to be better than D'Brickashaw Ferguson.

5. Green Bay Packers: Marques Colston, WR, Hofstra

They wound up grabbing the best receiver of the draft in the second round, but this time he's already off the board, so they go with the more than serviceable No. 2 option.  Colston certainly gives Favre a big target for his last couple years

6. San Francisco 49ers: DeMeco Ryans, MLB, Alabama

They get their guy in the middle a year before Patrick Willis comes out. DeMeco has proven to be a very good player and was a steal for Houston in the second round.

Vernon Davis hasn't lived up to his potential consistently, dropping him in this Re-Draft.

7. Oakland Raiders: Jay Cutler, QB, Vanderbilt

Al Davis gets to fall in love with a guy's arm a year before JaMarcus Russell.  Jay Cutler has proven to be a better player than JaMarcus thus far, and Michael Huff is on the verge of being a total bust, clinging onto his roster spot.

8. Buffalo Bills: Joseph Addai, RB, LSU

Picking Addai here gives Buffalo a versatile offensive weapon at the running back position, and helps them avoid selecting a guy with regular legal troubles. Donte Whitner has been a good player in the league but probably wasn't worth the eighth pick.

9. Detroit Lions: Antonio Cromartie, CB, Florida State

The Lions could stick with their pick of Ernie Sims, but I think they'd go with Cromartie. He plays a position that's harder to fill, and he can flourish in any defense. 

Sims had been very productive in Marinelli's Cover-Two but his selection wouldn't be enough to have saved Rod's job.

10. Arizona Cardinals: Ernie Sims, LB, Florida State

The Cardinals take one of the best players left to help out a defense that was terrible.  They could've gone with a running back, but they were still excited over the Edgerrin James signing. 

And, Matt Leinart has proven to be better at hitting beer bongs than open receivers.

11. Denver Broncos: Brandon Marshall, WR, UCF

They still get their guy but much earlier in the draft. Despite his off-the-field troubles, Marshall was a gem in the fourth round.

12. Baltimore Ravens: Cortland Finnegan, CB, Samford

They can address the cornerback position before their guys get so old they have to cut them all. They also get a hell of a player at the 12th pick. 

The Ravens made an excellent selection with Ngata, but here he's off the board.

13. Cleveland Browns: DeAngelo Williams, RB, Memphis

The Browns get an offensive playmaker to try and fix a stagnant attack from 2005.  This move could help either avoid the signing of the aging Jamal Lewis, or at least give him someone to split carries with. Williams could do a lot in Cleveland.

14. Philadelphia Eagles: Santonio Holmes, WR, Ohio State

Holmes gets to stay in state, while the Eagles actually make an attempt to give McNabb a viable option at wide receiver. This was the year they realized how much they really need a good receiver. They finished 6-10 in their first post-T.O. year.

15. St. Louis Rams: A.J. Hawk, LB, Ohio State

Hawk's proven to be a good player in the NFL, but he wasn't worthy of the number five pick. Hawk would help out a defense that has always been an issue in St. Louis much more than Tye Hill has so far.

16. Miami Dolphins: Donte Whitner, S, Ohio State

The Dolphins went safety in '06, but this time they actually get a good one.  Like Hawk, Whitner has played well, but not top-10 quality.  He'd be a good pick here at 16.

17. Minnesota Vikings: Mathias Kiwanuka, DE, Boston College

It's too late to take back the picks of Erasmus James and Kenechi Udeze, but here they address the defensive end need before they have to throw draft picks at KC to get Jared Allen. They still might though.

18. Dallas Cowboys: Reggie Bush, RB, USC

Bobby Carpenter has turned out to be nothing more than a special teamer thus far in his career. The Cowboys get a guy to help Julius Jones out a little earlier than he did, to pair with Marion Barber and who I think would be an upgrade over Felix Jones, from what little we've seen of him.

19. San Diego Chargers: D'Brickashaw Ferguson, OT, Virginia

The Chargers miss out on McNeill in the second round and Cromartie here in this Re-Draft, so instead they take D'Brickashaw here at 19 to give their O-line a boost.

20. Kansas City Chiefs: D'Qwell Jackson, LB, Maryland

They take a very good player, and this move keeps them from bringing in the stopgap that was Donnie Edwards. D’Qwell could’ve become a leader on the defense that they have really been attempting to build up the past couple years.

21. New England Patriots: Devin Hester, CB/WR/KR, Miami

The Patriots were a good enough team to draft a luxury guy like Hester who can add an X-factor to any team. He could give them depth at either CB or WR, and give them a guy who is already one of the greatest return guys of all time. 

Laurence Maroney has shown some flashes of being a good NFL running back, but he has been oft injured and inconsistent.

22. San Francisco 49ers: Kamerion Wimbley, OLB/DE, Florida State

They took Lawson here at the same position. Wimbley has just shown more than Lawson has up to this point. While Wimbley fails to put up the sack numbers, he's very good at providing a solid, consistent pass rush in Cleveland. He may not be worthy of being selected 13 like he was, but he could be a solid pick here.

23. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Antoine Bethea, S, Howard

Bethea has flourished in the Cover-Two defense in Indy, and Tampa was looking for that guy after the departure of John Lynch.

Davin Joseph was a good pick here, but I think Monte Kiffin would've loved a guy like Bethea in his last few years as D-Coordinator.

24. Cincinnati Bengals: Maurice Jones-Drew, RB, UCLA

Running back is a position that seems like Cincinnati was always trying to upgrade. With draft picks like Chris Perry and Kenny Irons, they never wound up with anyone better than the vet Rudi Johnson.

MJD not only gives them an explosive player, but keeps them from signing the troubled Cedric Benson as well.

25. Pittsburgh Steelers: LenDale White, RB, USC

Pittsburgh was coming off their Super Bowl win and the retirement of Jerome Bettis.  So here, the Steelers don't miss a beat as they get their next bruiser to pair with fast Willie Parker.

The Steelers took Santonio Holmes here and got a good bargain. Holmes, however, isn't here, so they go with LenDale White.

26. Buffalo Bills: Owen Daniels, TE, Wisconsin

Daniels would have given the Bills a top-notch tight end in the NFL, giving them a good offensive weapon to pair with Lee Evans (and in this draft Joseph Addai).  This would've kept Buffalo from overpaying for Robert Royal at the TE position. 

The Bills took John McCargo, who they’re obviously not happy with after attempting to trade him to the Colts. McCargo failed a physical, voiding the deal.

27. Carolina Panthers: Nick Mangold, C, Ohio State

The Panthers simply get their franchise's center here for years to come, rather than spending a pick on Ryan Kalil a year later.

The Panthers went with DeAngelo Williams here who got off to a slow start, but after retooling the O-line and drafting a spell-back, Williams exploded in 2008 and went before the Panthers got a chance to take him again.

28. Jacksonville Jaguars: Elvis Dumervil, DE, Louisville

Jacksonville addresses a lingering need with a solid player in the undersized Dumervil. Two years later the Jags would gear their entire first day to trying to solve the pass-rush problem. Instead they grab a quality player here to pair next to John Henderson and possibly still Marcus Stroud.

29. New York Jets: Matt Leinart, QB, USC

Matt Leinart has definitely gotten off to a rocky start in his career. With party boy scandals off the field and being benched in favor of journeyman Kurt Warner in Arizona. 

With that said, the Jets are left with virtually no one after the Brett Favre experiment, so I would see them taking a chance here, something few teams wind up doing in a Re-Draft.

Vince Young was a possibility but I don't see anyway that he could handle the New York media.

30. Indianapolis Colts: Leon Washington, RB, Florida State

The Colts took Addai here to replace Edgerrin James. With him along with the other top running backs off the board, the Colts grab the extremely versatile and explosive Leon Washington, only adding to Peyton's weapons. Leon might not be as good as Addai, but maybe Peyton Manning could make you think twice.

31. Seattle Seahawks: Vernon Davis, TE, Maryland

Vernon Davis has yet to live up to the potential that he shows in the workout room, but he has shown flashes.  Davis could've added an interesting dynamic in Seattle, given an opportunity to play with a good quarterback.

Davis so far was unworthy of the No. 6 selection, but with his given athleticism, he could be a solid pick for a good offense at 31.

32. New York Giants: Rocky McIntosh, LB, Miami

The Giants would probably like to get Kiwanuka here again, but he's off the board.  They wound up moving him to OLB with their depth at DE anyway. So, here they grab one of the best players left at the OLB position. They get an athletic and versatile guy in Rocky McIntosh.