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Draft Grades and the 7th Round

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Draft Grade Wrap Up:  The only thing the media (ESPiN) has left to milk after the draft is this crazy phenomenon of immediately "grading" a teams draft before the players have even arrived in their new cities.  We've never seen how Reggie Nelson plays in our defense, but someone is sure qualified to judge the pick.  Personally, I'm a "Three Years to Bust" kind of guy.

But that dosen't mean I won't look at what people are saying.

The Orlando Sentinel says:

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS: B-

HARRY'S VIEW: Trading down and still landing S Reggie Nelson, a much-needed player, was a shrewd maneuver. No one knows much about Justin Durant, but Jack Del Rio will make people aware of him.

Pete Prisco at CBS Sportsline says:

Overall grade: B-. I like the pick of Nelson, and they added picks in doing so, but after that there are some question marks. Second-round pick Justin Durant went higher than expected.

Clark Judge, also at CBS Sportsline put us amongst the "Five Biggest Winners saying:

Jacksonville: The Jags pulled off the niftiest deal of Saturday, trading down four places to take the player they would have drafted all along. That was safety Reggie Nelson, whom the Jaguars picked up at the 21st position after Denver threw in third- and sixth-round draft choices to move up to the 17th spot. Think about it: the Jaguars chose the player they would have taken, anyway, but did it only after the Broncos gave them two more draft choices. Nice.

David Warner at AOL Fanhouse says

The Grade: A-

Jack Del Rio wanted to focus on defense in this draft, and he did well. Nelson, Durant and Podlesh could all be immediate help for this team, and the offensive linemen have potential. Very productive draft for the Jags.

The NFL Minute gives us:

Grade: A-

And of course there is the Hair Spray Guru himself Mel Kiper (Firewalled, sorry) says

GRADE: C
The Jaguars needed a playmaking safety. They not only got Florida's Reggie Nelson but traded down and still got the player they wanted in addition to draft picks. Linebacker Justin Durant (second round) went a little early, but I know Jacksonville really liked him. Wide receiver Mike Walker (third) also went earlier than I expected, but he does have a nice combination of size and speed. Not only do I like punter Adam Podlesh's strong leg, but he runs a 4.45 40 time, which will force defenses to always be thinking about a fake punt. Linebacker Brian Smith has some pass-rush abilities, but I also thought he would go later than the fourth round. Uche Nwaneri as a guard or center made sense in the fifth round. Josh Gattis is an intriguing safety because he had a good 2006 at Wake Forest only to lose that momentum in the months leading up to the draft. Still, Gattis has a chance to be a decent player.

All of this is a bunch of blah blah given that we've never seen these players on an NFL field, but whatever, it matches the "instant gratification" that the 24 hour sports media cycle requires.

You might have noticed that I neglected to say anything about the 7th round.  

We Drafted

1.    John Broussard, Wide Receiver, San Jose State: He's fast and small.
2.    Chad Nkang, Safety, Elon : Clearly a Special Teams Pick
3.    Andrew Carnahan, Tackle, Arizona State: Possible Jar on the Shelf

Undrafted Free Agents:

1.    Brett Goode, Long Snapper, Arkansas
2.    Roosevelt Kiser, Wide Receiver, Florida A&M
3.    Danny Murray, TE, Connecticut
4.    Dan Parish, OT, Florida A&M
5.    Tony Pudewell, TE, Nevada
6.    Lester Richard, Jr. QB Tulane
7.    D.D. Terry, RB, Sam Houston
8.    D'Juan Woods, WR, Oklahoma State

Commentary and Examination to come

-Chris