2010 NFL Draft Grades: Rounds 3-7

This is the lightning round. No pans here. What’s the point?

Note how little the talent drops off from Round 2 to Round 3. Teams that frittered away their 3rd rounders are feeling foolish.

Round 3

Ed Dickson—Baltimore

He’s a vertical threat tight end with good hands. A real weapon for Joe Flacco. When you add in Ray Rice’s versatility as a pass catcher, Flacco now has check-down options to overthrow at two different levels.

Eric Decker—Denver

If he can come back from injury, he’s a legit 70-catch guy. He’s not fast, but his hands and body control are outlandish. I’m tempted to write Cris Carter-like to cause outrage that I compared a third rounder to a future NFL Hall of Famer and that I dared to not compare a white receiver to Wes Welker or Ed McCaffrey.

John Jerry—Miami

He played tackle at Ole Miss and will move inside for Miami. The Rebels actually had a nice running game and a lot of it was attributed to Jerry. Looks like your standard 10-year starter.

Tony Moeaki – Kansas City

Another great pass-catching TE in a draft absolutely stocked with them. I really liked him at Iowa and he flew under the radar.

Major Wright—Chicago

I remember him when he was only Leftenant Wright. He was a playmaker throughout his time at Florida, but stagnated last year. He's a big hitter and can run.

Colt McCoy—Cleveland

No downside to a third round Colt McCoy that exists with the first round Colt McCoy. The positive attributes are well known. I do wonder about his ability to play in bad weather, specifically extreme wind and rain. The elements have a way of making average arms bad. Kosar and Sipe managed, so we’ll see.

Round 4

Trevard Lindley—Philadelphia

Most consistent cornerback in the SEC. Played for Kentucky, which is why you don’t know who he is. Philadelphia rallied after a poor first round.

Bruce Campbell—Oakland

This is where you draft physical freaks who aren’t fully realized as football players, Raiders. Congratulations. You’re getting it, after only a decade.

Jason Campbell—Oakland

The Raiders traded a fourth rounder for Redskin quarterback Jason Campbell. Not technically a draft pick, but the point remains.

But Jason Campbell sucks, you just exclaimed.

No he doesn’t. He had bad wide receivers and miserable protection. In fact, he’s exactly NFL average. Which means he’s worth two or three more wins than the Raiders would have had with the 270-pound learning-impaired Russell calling the shots.

Darrell Stuckey—San Diego

The guy was a great player at Kansas. Physical, can run and constantly forces turnovers even on miserable defenses. I’m not sure what the knock is on him, but I don’t care.

Thaddeus Gibson—Pittsburgh

Unreal. Another prototype Steeler linebacker. In the 4th round. Texas fans will remember him as the undersized Ohio State DE who terrorized Adam Ulatoski in the Fiesta Bowl. He needs a little time and refinement. He’ll get it.

Round 6

Sam Young—Dallas

He never dominated at Notre Dame, but he’s a NFL player. His size alone (6'8'', 330 pounds) makes him an interesting prospect at right tackle and he doesn’t lack experience. The Cowboys needed something at offensive tackle and this could work.

Dez Briscoe—Cincinatti

Chris Henry comparisons are coming. Briscoe’s My Space page read like prison graffiti and his issues go beyond "boys will be boys" immaturity, but the guy is a baller. This pick costs nothing. If he’s a head case, cut him on Day 3. If he can show up and take care of business, you’ve got a second round talent who completely dominated every corner he faced in the Big 12.

Note to parents: do not name child Dez.

Jonathan Dwyer—Pittsburgh

A Steeler-style big back who slid down the draft board because he tested poorly at the combine with low bench and 40 numbers. He wasn’t a traditional running back at Georgia Tech. The NFL’s lack of imagination amuses me. This is a steal.

Round 7

Kurt Coleman—Philadelphia

Play zone and Kurt is a pretty good football player. He has no measurables compared to the elite safeties, but he’s always in the mix, makes plays on the ball and hits. I’ve watched him at Ohio State for three years now. These late round evaluations are more like the Philadelphia front office I’m familiar with. I wonder if they’d like those two third rounders back?

This article originally appeared on: Barking Carnival

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