2012 NFL Draft Grades: Breaking Down the Winners and Losers from Rounds 2 and 3

With the NFL draft almost half over following Friday night's action, we have a clear idea of what exactly teams are thinking of doing this year. As is often the case, some moves have been off the wall good, other have left a lot to be desired. 

Trying to define winners and losers and hand out grades right now is a lesson in futility, because we really don't know what these players are going to do until they step on the field. 

That being said, we can look at the talent available relative to where it was picked and make conclusions based on that. 

Here are the winners and losers following the third round of the NFL draft. 

Winners

Indianapolis Colts

We can talk all we want about Andrew Luck, but the Colts did an outstanding job of giving him weapons to throw to at the tight end position. It started with his Stanford teammate Coby Fleener with the 34th pick and continued with Dwayne Allen in the third round. 

Some might scoff at taking two (very well-regarded) tight ends back to back like that, but the Colts know that a quarterback is only as good as the players he has to throw to. Plus, just think of how much better the offense will be with two tight end sets knowing these guys will be out there. 

Wide receiver T.Y. Hilton might end up as nothing more than a slot receiver or special teams player, but he has good hands and has shown a knack for going over the middle. 

There is still a long way to go in this rebuilding process, but the Colts' future looks a lot brighter following their bold moves on Friday night. 

Grade: A-

New York Jets

I have gone on record all throughout this process as saying that Stephen Hill is the best pure talent at the wide receiver position. He might be too raw for some people's taste, but if you want a potentially game-changing pass-catcher, he is the man in this draft. 

For the Jets to grab Hill in the second round with the 43rd pick was outstanding, both in terms of need and value. 

They followed that up by selecting the underrated linebacker Demario Davis in the third round. He needs to improve his tackling ability, but he has incredible field vision and can close on defenders surprisingly well. 

Grade: A-

Losers

Seattle Seahawks

It was easy to criticize the Seahawks after the first-round selection of Bruce Irvin, but things did not get better for Pete Carroll and co. on Friday night. In fact, things dropped off the table in a hurry. 

The selection of Bobby Wagner is not terrible from the standpoint that he is a bad player—he could turn into a quality inside linebacker—it is just the value that the Seahawks are getting is not very good. 

Looking at the third round with Russell Wilson, who no one was expecting to go anywhere near that high. He is basically a non-prospect at this point. His size is a big problem against bigger defensive linemen in the NFL, and he has never been the model of health.

The Seahawks already have enough quarterbacks. They should have looked to the offensive line at some point. 

Grade: D+

St. Louis Rams

The NFC West has had an interesting run in this draft, with the St. Louis Rams doing things that continue to perplex. I like the pick of Janoris Jenkins at No. 39, but their other choices on Friday left a lot to be desired. 

Wide receiver Brian Quick was at best the fifth- or sixth-best pass-catcher on the board when the second round started. He played at Division-II Appalachian State, so he has never gone against elite competition like what he will see now. 

Running back Isaiah Pead is basically an east-to-west player right now, because he doesn't have enough power to run through defenders in the NFL. And, sadly, he isn't fast enough to get around the edge of a defense. 

Grade: C-

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