2007 NFL Draft Recap - Grading the NFC East

Here is our continuing breakdown of the 2007 NFL Draft. Today, Dare to Gamble features the NFC East.

BODOG ODDS

Dallas Cowboys - 15 to 1
Philadelphia Eagles - 18 to 1
New York Giants - 20 to 1
Washington Redskins - 50 to 1

DALLAS COWBOYS

1st - Anthony Spencer - DE/OLB - Purdue
3rd - James Marten - OT - Boston College
4th - Isaiah Stanback - QB/WR - Washington
4th - Doug Free - OT - Northern Illinois
6th - Nick Folk - K - Arizona
6th - Deon Anderson - RB - Connecticut
7th - Courtney Brown - DB - Cal Poly
7th - Alan Ball - DB - Illinois

Grade: B-

I found it funny that the draft pundits on the Saturday broadcasts were surprised that the Cowboys took Anthony Spencer with their 1st round pick. They seemed to think the Cowboys would take a cornerback or wide receiver. Readers of Daretogamble.com could have seen this coming in my analysis of the Cowboys draft Bodog bet.

I have to say I agree with the wisdom of this pick. For those who think this is back to Jerry going wild at Valley Ranch, I say that this pick is definititely influenced by Wade Phillips. Phillips loves to get pressure on the quarterback. He thinks you can never have enough pass rushers.

The Cowboys drafted Bobby Carpenter in the 1st round as an stronside OLB in the 3-4 last year. So draft another 1st rounder this year at the same position, because Spencer's a better pash rusher. The Cowboys played Carpenter inside most of the year in his rookie season, and I'm thinking that's where he's going to stay. At nearly 260, he has the size to do it.

ANTHONY SPENCER'S IMPACT

Meanwhile, Spencer was the 2nd or 3rd best rusher in this draft. That's one of the rarest skills in the NFL, and one of the hardest for teams to find. Jerry and Wade targeted that as THE weakness of the Cowboys defense last year. Roy Williams was exposed in coverage, but that weakness was exposed because the Cowboys couldn't get to the quarterback after Greg Ellis went out. Now, the Cowboys have someone opposite DeMarcus Ware, even if Ellis doesn't make it back from Achilles surgery.

The rest of the Cowboys picks I was less enthusiastic about. Marten and Free were much-needed depth players at the tackle positions. Flozelle Adams is in the last year of his contract, so it's time to start grooming multiple options in case he is gone at the end of the season. At the other tackle, Marc Columbo has already retired once, so I wouldn't say he's a longterm solution at that position. Though he went a round later, many believe Free could be the better pro prospect of the two.

JERRY REACHES

I did not like the pick fo Isaiah Stanback. This is where Jerry usually gets himself into trouble. He's thinking he can pick an athletic sleeper a round or two before anyone else would draft a guy. These never seem to work for him. Stanback was a receiver in college who moved to quarterback due to injuries. Maybe Stanback becomes the next Hines Ward or Anquan Boldin, two other sometime quarterbacks turned star receivers. But I've seen Jerry go down this road too many times to believe he knows what he's doing here.

For instance, Antonio Pittman was still available at this point of the draft. If it's true the Cowboys have shopped Julius Jones in the offseason--and I'm not saying it is--Pittman would have been a nice player to platoon with Marion Barber III.

NOT SO AUTOMATICA

A team official said recently it would be a "cold day in hell" before the Cowboys drafted a kicker. With an extra 6th rounder, they did exactly that with Nick Folk. This could be good. The Cowboys kicker drama has become infamous, so to get one more option isn't such a bad thing.

Deon Anderson will compete with Lousaka Polite at fullback. I saw Courtney Ball on some draft boards as a 3rd or 4th rounder, and he has measurables, so he wasn't a bad 7th round pickup.

Ultimately, this perhaps should be a C grade draft. But Spencer might be the player to put the Dallas defense over the top, while the trade for the #1 pick of the Cleveland Browns next year deserves to garner the Cowboys a better grade. If that pick ends up being a top 5 or 10 selection in the 2008 draft, this weekend might well be graded an "A" weekend for the Cowboys.

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

2nd - Kevin Kolb - QB - Houston
2nd - Victor Abiamiri - DE - Notre Dame
3rd - Stewart Bradley - LB - Nebraska
3rd - Tony Hunt - RB - Penn State
5th - C.J. Gaddis - DB - Clemson
5th - Brent Calek - TE - Cincinnati
6th - Rashad Barksdale - DB - Albany, NY
7th - Nate Ilaoa - RB - Hawaii

Grade: C

The Eagles have to have a more glaring weakness than quarterback. Yet they used their first draft choice (a 2nd rounder) on their future quarterback. Furthermore, they drafted a kid who was rated (on most draft boards) below three other 2nd round quarterbacks.

This just seems like a way to start controversy. ESPN reported that Donovan McNaab was not happy when first informed of this pick. The Eagles had told him they would draft a quarterback to replace the departing Jeff Garcia, but McNaab had no idea it would be this high. After a call from Andy Reed, McNaab gave the pick his official seal of approval.

That's for public consumption, though. The Eagles front office can say what they want, but drafting a quarterback this high has no other purpose than to hedge bets that McNaab can't be the franchise guy anymore. It might betray a lack of confidence in McNaab's ability to stay healthy, since he has missed significant time in 3 of the last 5 seasons. It might mean they want to groom a new quarterback for a couple or three years down the line, when McNaab's contract becomes prohibitive.

McNAAB'S REPLACEMENT?

Whatever the case, you just don't draft a guy this high unless you think you're going to need him. I can't imagine this is a Matt Schaub situation, where they draft the kid to trade him later for a higher pick. They spent a high 2nd rounder on a kid who was considered a bit of a reach. No amount of success in preseason makes him worth a 1st rounder later.

This draft was saved by the other first day picks. Stewart Bradley might start, while Victor Abiamiri could be a solid contributor with some work. So they added some youth to their defense.

TONY HUNT

Fantasy football owners should take note of Tony Hunt. At 6'2" and 220 lbs., Hunt might be the change of pace back the Eagles have always hoped Correll Buckhalter would be. Buckhalter is still on the roster, but his frequent injuries have cost him years of production. Hunt is considered a north-south runner with good hands and blocking ability. He doesn't have breakaway speed or a lot of quickness, but he has skills the Eagles like in a West Coast runner.

Bryan Westbrook had another productive year last year. But Westbrook is an injury waiting to happen. Even in his healthiest years, he has nagging injuries. The last two years, he has really begun to tally up the touches. The Eagles know Westbrook could go out any time, so they drafted Hunt as a first day runner to give them insurance.

NEW YORK GIANTS

1st - Aaron Ross - DB - Texas
2nd - Steve Smith - WR - USC
3rd - Jay Alford - DT - Penn State
4th - Zak DeOssie - LB - Brown
5th - Kevin Boss - TE - Western Oregon
6th - Adam Koets - OT - Oregon State
7th - Michael Johnson - DB - Arizona
7th - Ahmad Bradshaw - RB - Marshall

Grade: c

This wasn't a spectacular draft, but I think the Giants helped themselves on the edges of their units. Aaron Ross has a ton of talent. He is a big corner with great athletic ability, though his forty time isn't world class. Ross is a perfect to deal with big NFC East receivers like Terrell Owens and Reggie Brown. He was only a nickel and dime back at Texas for most of his career, which might raise flags for some.

Of course, Ross was on teams with Michael Huff, Nathan Vasher and Michael Griffin. The lack of experience might be a plus, since you can understand the competition he had for playing time and this means he could blossum with experience.

THE OTHER STEVE SMITH FROM SO CAL

Steve Smith wasn't drafted as high as some of the receivers because he is thought to lack "upside". But he is a solid player known for running good routes. He might well be the type to come in and contribute earlier than some of the raw receivers taken in this draft. With Toomer coming back from injury and Tim Carter traded to Cleveland, Steve Smith might end up lining up opposite Plaxico at some point this season. This was a solid pick.

The fifth rounder, Koets, might challenge for the starting position left by Pettigout's departure. This draft has intrigue, but doesn't exactly wow anybody.

WASHINGTON REDSKINS

1st - Laron Landry - S - LSU
5th - Dallas Sartz - LB - USC
6th - H.B. Blades - LB - Pittsburgh
6th - Jordan Palmer - QB - UTEP
7th - Tyler Ecker - TE - Michigan

Grade: D-

The Redskins get the most consistently low draft grade of any NFL team. Daniel Snyder is frankly profligate with draft choices. He learned that from the first Joe Gibbs regime, which won Super Bowls by trading away a first rounder next year for a second "this" year time and again. That strategy worked real well in the old days. I would say the last few years indicate that it might no longer apply.

The draft is how teams get younger. It is also how a team keeps its salary cap under control. Daniel Snyder doesn't care about all of that. He wants to win now with a veteran team. I have to applaud him for not getting into the salary cap hell the way the Niners did a few years ago, or the Titans did in the last couple of years. But his teams have generally been mediocre, too.

A REDSKIN NAMED LANDRY?

This year is really no different. The Skins drafted Laron Landry, a hard hitting safety that was in everybody's Top 7 elite players. The team puts Landry together with Sean Taylor to have perhaps the most talented and fearsome safety combos in the league. Of course, they passed on Adrian Peterson and a number of defensive options they could have used.

Late in the draft, it seemed Snyder and Gibbs wanted to draft legacies. H.B. Blades is the son of former NFL star, Bennie Blades. Jordan Palmer is the brother of Bengals quarterback, Carson Palmer. Those make nice stories for the Washington beat writers, but whether these kids are being drafted due to name is something I have to question. It just seems like a "fan pick" to me.

OTHER NFL DRAFT ARTICLES

NFC North Recap
Top Ten Steals of the NFL Draft

2007 NFL Draft Recap - Grading the NFC East