NFL Draft 2008: Who Won and Who Lost

Max Iascone by Columnist Written on April 27, 2008
Jacobs

Well, this year's NFL draft is nearly over and it's been an interesting and surprisingly entertaining two days, in spite of Mel Kiper and ESPN as a whole.

With that said, every draft has its share of reaches, blunders, and bad picks, as well as some great picks and the occasional diamond in the rough.

So here's who won and who lost in this year's NFL draft.

 

The Winners

 

1. New York Giants

They may not have done anything flashy or surprising, but the Giants filled just about every hole in their roster with quality players who have a chance to contribute right away.

With their first pick, New York took Kenny Phillips, whose athleticism, instincts, and playmaking ability could make him a more than capable replacement for the departed Gibril Wilson, if not a Pro Bowler.

However, the Giants made their best move late in the third round when they took Michigan wideout Mario Manningham.

New York's receiving corps, especially Amani Toomer, is aging quickly and Manningham's fantastic playmaking abilities make up for his character issues and combine woes that caused him to fall into the third round.

One of the more underrated picks by Jerry Reese in 2008 had to be Vandy's Jonathan Goff, With Kawika Mitchell's departure, New York had become very thin at inside linebacker. Goff is very tough, strong, and hard working.

He should be the starter from Day One next season if he can beat out former backup Gerris Wilkinson for the job.

Goff may not be an every-down starter, but he and Wilkinson will fill the void left by Mitchell on the interior of the Giants' defense.

Big Blue also found a bargain in Round Six in the form of Kentucky QB Andre Woodson, who was a first round possibility before the Senior Bowl.

Woodson is a developmental project at this point, but Eli Manning seems to have earned his place as New York's starting quarterback.

However, if Manning should fall back to his regular season form in the coming years, New York will have a viable option at quarterback in Woodson.

 

2. Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs have had unquestionably the best draft this year in terms of the quality of who they brought in and where they picked their guys.

Most notably, the Chiefs eschewed the biggest need on their roster, the O-line, to take arguably the best player in this year's draft, Glenn Dorsey.

Dorsey may not be the run-stopping 2-gap defensive tackle the Chiefs still need, but he is a disruptive force in the middle who is capable of getting to the quarterback and disrupting plays in the backfield.

Perhaps most importantly, Dorsey is a high-character guy who will bring a culture of winning to the beleaguered Chiefs' locker room.

He is also tenacious at the point of attack and he never gives up on a play. The Chiefs were lucky to be able to draft a player of Dorsey's caliber outside of the top 3.

Ten picks later, Carl Peterson astutely traded up two spots to pick up West Virginia guard Brandon Albert, who was actually a Top Five possibility before Dorsey dropped.

In essence, Peterson had two No. 5 here in that he got two of the guys they wanted at that spot without having to give out two Top Five contracts.

KC's O-line was nothing short of pathetic last year, and Albert's presence along the O-line should take some pressure off of starting QB Brodie Croyle and RB Larry Johnson.

However, I think that KC's best pick (Dorsey was a layup, only an idiot or Al Davis would've passed on him in that situation) occurred at No. 35, when they took Virginia Tech corner Brandon Flowers.

Flowers will provide a much-needed jolt of youth to an aging Chiefs secondary, not to mention a replacement for free agent corner Ty Law.

Flowers may be only 5-foot-9, and his measurables may be somewhat lacking, but the Chiefs saw that Flowers has the instincts and the toughness to be a Pro Bowler for years to come.

In the third round, the Chiefs took a few gambles on Texas RB Jamaal Charles and Tennesee TE Brad Cottam. Charles will likely be used to compliment aging starter Larry Johnson due to his speed and pass catching ability.

Cottam, while he only caught 20 passes in college due to injury, is huge at 6-foot-7 and 270 pounds. He should fill the role of blocking tight end, previously vacated by Jason Dunn, in KC's running game for now.

He also has the athleticism to blossom into a fantastic starter in the NFL when Tony Gonzales retires.

 

3. Baltimore Ravens

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written on April 27, 2008 Opinion

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