2012 NFL Draft Grades: Teams That Lost by Drafting for Need

Drafting to fill a specific need can set teams up for huge failure. It can leave them making reaches and not utilizing the full value of their pick. 

And there is no bigger crime in the draft than not maximizing value. In instances like this, it is better to take the best player available, or trade down. And it is always possible to get something to trade down. 

This becomes especially important with the early picks. You don't want to waste valuable draft real estate on a reach. Here are three teams that blew this draft by going for needs. 

Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks filled two big needs with their first two picks, and they sacrificed value to do it. With their first pick they made what many felt was the shock of the first round by taking Bruce Irvin. 

To the Seahawks credit, they did make a slight trade down before picking up Irvin, but they almost certainly could have gone down further and still had a chance to take Irvin, and even if someone did grab him first, they would have been better than taking this one-trick pony at No. 15. 

Seattle ended up taking a player that will only be able to play in passing situations with the 15th overall selection. While pass rushing is a valuable commodity, you'd like to see a team get a more complete player at this position. Combine that with the fact that Irvin has huge character concerns, and you have a real head scratcher. 

With their second round selection, they made yet another reach with LB Bobby Wagner. Obviously, Seattle grabbed the players they wanted. The just overdrafted them to do it. 

Overall Draft Grade: D+

Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jaguars needed to draft a wide receiver so that the bad QB they drafted last year will hopefully not be as bad next season. 

This led to them trading up to take Justin Blackmon. He is not worth trading up for. Blackmon has neither elite speed or great size. Is Blackmon worth the cost to trade up, when they could have sat stile—or traded down even—and drafted Michael Floyd? I think not. 

They followed up that head scratching move by taking a punter in the third round. 

Now let me just say, I am not averse to a team spending a third on a punter. An elite punter can be a true game changer, especially in a defensive struggle. However, the Jaguars are far too terrible to be addressing that need in the third round. 

Overall Draft Grade: C-

Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs clearly made nose tackle as priority in this draft, and they spent the No. 11 pick on Dontari Poe. 

Poe certainly has all the measurable, and had he had the production in college to go with it, he would have been a great pick here. 

However, he didn't, and consequently he was a reach. The Chiefs had to have been worried that another team was about to snag Poe, but they shouldn't have kept this from trading down. 

If Poe was gone they could have drafted for another need, liking taking G David DeCastro, and tried to find another NT later in the draft. I didn't mind the rest of their picks, but this was a needless risk with their most valuable selection. 

Overall Draft Grade: B-