Draft Recap

The NFL Draft is over and of course there is much to be said about the whole damn thing. As expected of the 2 local teams, the Ravens look to have done alright while the Redskins look like they just don't get it.

Redskins - LaRon Landry looks to be a great player. He seems to have a great attitude to go along with his physical skills. His brother is also Dawan Landry from the Ravens, so he will have a good idea of what to expect coming into the League. But this pick really wasn't necessary at all. The Skins already have 5 safeties on the roster after trading Adam Archuletta. Do you really need to go 3 deep at each safety spot? And although Landry has better athleticism than Archuletta does, especially comparing their ages, he seems to be in the same mold of a player as Taylor and Archuletta. He is a headhunter. He loves to hit. We saw what happened last season when you play 2 safeties who love to get up and make plays but can't seem to get back into coverage adequately. Maybe Landry can cover deep and make plays near the line, but he will be forced to do that with the Redskins defense as it is right now.

The rest of the 'Skins picks were on the second day. Not much high impact probability, but a great chance to add depth to a team that desperately needs it. With their 4 picks the team took 2 LBs, a QB, and a TE. I understand taking 2 LBs. It is a position with starters filled in, but injuries happen and you need depth as well as special teamers on a roster. The TE and QB choice just don't fit what this team needs. Gibbs loves his TEs. He can't get enough of the friggin' H-Back type of guys on his team, and this seems like a pick made to appease the offense after giving Gregg Williams his choice to get Landry. The QB choice is the worst though. This team already has 3 QBs on the roster. Jordan Palmer might be a decent late round pick, but not for this team.
The Skins biggest problem on their roster was the D-line. The team only had 19 sacks in 16 games last year. That is atrocious. How do they justify drafting a 4th quarterback who won't see any game time even if he makes the team, while not trying to find somebody to help their D-line. Maybe the 'Skins made all the right moves, but I don't see it that way right now. I'm frustrated as a fan, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.

Ravens - Now on to the draft kings. The Ravens seem to always draft contributors to their team. While their 2007 draft looks boring without any big names besides Troy Smith, it looks like they did a solid job of filling needs on an already talented team.

Ben Grubbs was supposedly the best guard in the draft. Although the Ravens drafted 29th, they got maybe one of the best players in the draft, because OG is such an underappreciated position. With Edwin Mulitalo cut by the team this offseason, drafting an impact guard seems to be a smart move. They also added more depth to the O-line with their 3rd round choice of Marshall Yanda.
Yamon Figurs was their other 3rd round choice. While I know nothing about him, I heard he had the fastest time at the draft, so that isn't that bad.
The Ravens other choice were a FB(a position needing depth), 2 OLBs(good choices to help counter the loss of Adalius Thomas), and Troy Smith at QB(good pick for Ravens with only 2 QBs on roster last season).
So the Ravens addressed their needs. With a talented roster coming back, the depth at critical positions will be great for this team. Although there aren't any highlight reel players like Ed Reed, Ray Lewis, or Todd Heap in this draft class, it looks like it can still be a great success.