NFL Draft Recap - Grading the NFC West

We finish off our coverage of the National Football Conference with a look at the NFC West. Look for our AFC coverage starting tomorrow.

BODOG ODDS

Seattle Seahawks - 12 to 1
Arizona Cardinals - 35 to 1
San Francisco 49ers - 45 to 1
St. Louis Rams - 55 to 1

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS

2nd - Josh Wilson - DB - Maryland
3rd - Brandon Mebane - OT - Central Maryland
4th - Baraka Atkins - DE - Miami
4th - Mansfield Wrotto - G - Georgia Tech
5th - Will Herring - LB - Auburn
6th - Courtney Taylor - WR - Auburn
6th - Jordan Kent - WR - Oregon
7th - Steve Valios - OT - Wake Forest

Grade: C-

To think the Seahawks didn't have a first round pick in the NFL draft, they did okay. Baraka Atkins and Mansfield Wrotto were nice selections in the 4th round. But when your 4th rounders are the buzz of your draft, that draft wasn't so great.

You also have to consider that one of those picks came as a result of ditching Darrell Jackson for a fourth rounder. This was no big surprise, since the Seahawks have Deion Branch, Nate Burleson and D.J. Hackett on their roster. After spending this year's 1st rounder on Branch and a crazy amount of money on Burleson, they couldn't afford to pay Darrell Jackson.

(Note: The Seahawks gave Burleson a huge contract in "retaliation" for the Vikings signing of Steve Hutchinson. Burleson ended up as the kick returner last year. That's showing them.)

So the Seahawks traded Jackson and drafted Courtney Taylor and Jordan Kent in the 6th round.

THE TRENCHES

Early in the draft, the Hawks tried to address needs in their offensive and defensive fronts. Brandon Mebane, Baraka Atkins and Mansfield Wrotto should bolster the fronts for Seattle, while also having the advantage of offering wacky names for the media guys to butcher.

Josh Wilson is a speed burner, though he might lack the size to match up with strong NFC West receivers like Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin. He should give the Seahawks some speed on the edges of the defense, and he has good break on the ball. But Josh Wilson isn't enough to make this a stellar draft for Seattle.

ARIZONA CARDINALS

1st - Levi Brown - OT - Penn State
2nd - Alan Branch - DT - Michigan
3rd - Buster Davis - LB - Florida State
5th - Steve Breaston - WR - Michigan
7th - Ben Patrick - TE - Delaware

Grade: C+

I like the selection of Levi Brown. Don't get me wrong. But since the Cardinals were selecting 5th overall and Brown was slotted between 8 and 10, I think the Cardinals might have traded down a few spots to maximize the value of their pick.

That being said, Levi Brown is a good fit in Arizona. Were he a left tackle, he might have vied with Joe Thomas as the top lineman in the draft. Playing the right said was not an advantage for the big kid from Penn State.

But in Arizona, Levi Brown is guarding the backside of Matt Leinart. Since he's blocking for a lefty quarterback, he is essentially called on to play the role of the left tackle. That made Brown tremendously valuable to the Cardinals, moreso than he would have been for any other team.

ALAN BRANCH

Alan Branch was a value pick early in the 2nd. Early draft boards had him as a top ten pick, perhaps going as high as the 6th pick overall to Washington. So when he slipped into the second, Branch became a huge value, even if you fear his lack of intensity in college translates into the pros. If the Cards get full commitment out of Branch, he becomes a stud in the middle of their D-line.

Branch's former college teammate, Steve Breaston, was a solid 5th rounder, too. With Fitzgerald, Boldin and Johnston ahead of him, Breaston is unlikely to be a receiving option any time soon. But he was a top kick returner in college, filling a need for the Cardinals. After personally seeing the havoc Devon Hester could wreak last year, the Cards wanted to improve their kick return situation. Ken Whisenhunt is from the Steelers, who always put a premium on this.

We have Branch and Breaston as two of the steals of the draft. So we have grade their draft high. But their slight reach on Levi Brown and a lack of overall draft picks (only 5) make this an average draft for the Cardinals.

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS

1st - Patrick Willis - LB - Mississippi
1st - Joe Staley - OT - Central Michigan
3rd - Jason Hill - WR - Washington State
3rd - Ray McDonald - DE - Florida
4th - Jay Moore - LB - Nebraska
4th - Dashon Goldson - DB - Washington
4th - Joe Cohen - DT - Florida
5th - Tarrell Brown - DB - Texas
6th - Thomas Clayton - RB - Kansas State

Grade: B

Mark my words; the Niners will be one of the sleeper teams next year.

They made a late push to unseat the Seahawks in their division last year. The Niners swept Seattle in the regular season and had the tiebreaker. So it's not like the Niners are light years away from competing in their division.

And I've liked what they added this offseason. They added Nate Clements, thought by many to be the top free agent this year. The cornerback should help them compete against the many receiving threats of their division rivals: the Cardinals, Rams and Seahawks.

A CONTENDER IN THE MAKING?

Meanwhile, they added more players in this last weekend's draft. Patrick Willis was a late riser in the draft, and he should give the Niners an extra playmaker on a unit which has shown a lot of progress the last two years under Mike Nolan.

Joe Staley was a steal in the second, giving the Niners another solid blocker to put in front of Alex Smith and Frank Gore.

THE DARRELL JACKSON TRADE

I'm also factoring the trade for Darrell Jackson into this draft grade. Jackson is like a poor man's Terrell Owens. He likes to fake injuries in preseason to get out of practice, usually because he's disgruntled about the front office. He has had a string of nagging injuries like Owens, along with a reputation for dropping the ball in key moments. But when the day is done, Darrell Jackson is one of the top producers at the wide receiver position.

Of course, Owens and Jackson are different kinds of players entirely. Don't think I'm comparing their style of play. My point being, Jackson brings a few headaches along with him, but has had solid production for the Seahawks for years now. Until the moment he was traded by the team, Jackson was still the Seahawks's #1 performer at the position. Jackson gives Alex Smith the veteran go-to guy he needs in the Niners offense. To get that for a 4th rounder is great value, because Jackson is still 28 years old and in the prime of his career.

THE REST OF THE DRAFT

The Niners added a 3rd round receiver, just to hedge their bets. They also continued to draft defense, finishing with 5 of their last 6 picks on that side of the ball.

This was only an average draft if you figure the rookie draft picks, but I'm grading it one grade higher due to the Darrell Jackson trade. He's may help San Francisco dethrone his former team in the NFC West this year.

ST. LOUIS RAMS

1st - Adam Carriker - DE - Nebraksa
2nd - Brian Leonard - RB - Rutgers
3rd - Jonathan Wade - DB - Tennessee
5th - Dustin Fry - C - Clemson
5th - Clifton Ryan - DT - Michigan State
6th - Ken Shackleford - OT - Georgia
7th - Keith Jackson - DT - Arkansas

Grade: C

The Rams added a solid pass rusher in Adam Carriker of Nebraska. He's a big, cornfed kid at 296 pounds. That should help the Rams with their chronic troubles at stopping the run.

BRIAN LEONARD

On the other side of the ball, they made a mystifying pick of Brian Leonard as a fullback. With Stephen Jackson coming into his own, the Rams need anything but another ball carrier. Sure, Leonard single-handedly brought the Rutgers football program to prominence. But I don't see how Leonard's talents are going to be fully realized in St. Louis.

If Leonard was a battering ram to help spring Jackson, I might understand this more. But he is a Mike Alstott type performer. He provides another threat running the ball, and can get out in the pass routes. Leonard might even play the role of an H-back, which might be what the Rams are thinking.

The rest of the Rams picks were only pedestrian. While Scott Linehan continues to add big, tough kids to his roster, I wonder if they are enough to deal with losses due to age and free agency. Bodog has the Rams as the NFC West team least likely to make the Superbowl next year, which is a sad statement, given the Cards and Niners are in the division.

OTHER NFL DRAFT POSTS

NFC South
NFC East
NFC North

NFL Draft Recap - Grading the NFC West