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NFL Draft Winners - 2008
The 2008 NFL Draft was full of surprises and movement all over the board, as it seemed like every team was trading to move up and get the guy they needed. While no one will know which teams were the real winners of the draft until a few years down the road, we are going to pick out the top 5 teams who we thought really improved their team with a strong weekend in the draft. Everyone knew that Miami was going to take OT Jake Long from Michigan with the #1 pick, as they had him signed before draft day, leaving the St. Louis Rams with the first pick of the day and they added DE Chris Long from Virginia. To round out the top 3 the Atlanta Falcons drafted QB Matt Ryan from Boston College. While you have much better chances finding a great player with an early pick, the teams that have the best drafts are the ones that make great picks in the 3rd, 4th, and later rounds. So with that said here are our 2008 draft winners.
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1. Kansas City Chiefs
It’s hard to argue with this one, this team just might have had the best player in the draft drop all the way to them at the 5th pick in the draft. The Chiefs were able to nab LSU’s DT Glen Dorsey, who should be a force on a young d-line. That line was hurt by the trade of DE Jared Allen, but in the trade the Chiefs were able to get another 1st round pick and get offensive lineman Branden Albert out of Virginia with the 15th pick in the draft. In the 2nd round they likely got their new starting cornerback in Brandon Flowers out of Virginia Tech. Kansas City had 9 more picks in the 3rd through 7th rounds, that enabled them to address a lot of needs. Some big day two picks were OT Barry Richardson out of Clemson, RB Jamaal Charles out of Texas, TE Brad Cottam out of Tennessee, and WR Will Franklin out of Missouri.
2. Dallas Cowboys
Like the Chiefs the Cowboys had two first round picks, and with those picks they got two players who should have an impact on an already solid team. With the 22nd pick they landed RB Felix Jones out of Arkansas, and with the 25th pick they got CB Mike Jenkins from South Florida. The team was also able to add some depth at TE with Texas A&M’s Martellus Bennett. This team didn’t need much and what it got early has us thinking they just might be the team to beat in 2008.
3. Washington Redskins
We are staying in the NFC East for this one, as the Redskins just might have had the best 2nd round in the draft. Without a 1st round pick they were still able to get WR Devin Thomas out of Michigan State, TE Free Davis from USC, and WR Malcom Kelly out of Oklahoma. All 3 should really help the progress of QB Jason Campbell, whom many thought was just some playmakers away from a big year. The Redskins got some good talent late in OG Chad Rinehart out of Northern Iowa, and what many believe was the best punter in the draft in Durant Brooks out of Georgia Tech in the 6th round.
4. Pittsburgh Steelers
This team had a couple of big time players fall to them in both the 1st and 2nd rounds. In the first round they were able to get a very good running back in Rashard Mendenhall who will be a great backup to Willie Parker. In the 2nd round they were able to get what many people thought was the best wide receiver in the draft in Texas’s WR Limas Sweed, who is the tall receiver QB Ben Roethlisberger has been wanting. The team got 2 solid picks in rounds 3 and 4 in UCLA OLB Bruce Davis in round 3, and Texas OT Tony Hills in the 4th round.
5. Carolina Panthers
This team finishes up our top 5 with a pretty solid 2008 draft. They were able to get a very good running back in Oregon’s Jonathan Stewart at pick 13 overall, and traded up for OT Jeff Otah at pick 19 in the first round. We think both players will have impacts right away for a team that struggled in 2007. The team got a really good player in Iowa’s CB Charles Godfrey early in the 4th round. Godfrey is expected to move to safety where the Panthers feel he will be a much better NFL player. The team didn’t stop there in the 3rd round, as they were able to steal away LB Dan Connor out of Penn State with the 11th pick in that round.
So there you have it the 5 best teams we feel had the best 2008 NFL Draft. Be sure to check back this summer, as we will be doing full team previews, and much more. As always feel free to leave any comments in our comment box.
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