NFL Draft winners and losers

You may not be able to judge a book by its cover, but you sure can judge an NFL organization… You may not be able to judge a book by its cover, but you sure can judge an NFL organization by the way it drafts.

And the word organization, not to be confused with team, is key here. Lost in the shuffle of manic, 16-game regular seasons and SportsCenter Top 10s is the truth that fans boast the colors of and spend countless hours rooting for a business.

Never more does the business front of the league come to the foreground than the weekend of the NFL Draft, where fans’ dreams are made reality or your organization’s reality becomes a nightmare. Some choose to address immediate needs (see Houston and the New York Jets) while others simply look to fill the depth chart (Baltimore) and a few draft eventual successors to key positions (such as New England and Denver).

That being said, there are right and wrong ways to draft and it isn’t just about passing on Reggie Bush, picking Vince Young or ending Matt Leinart’s wait in the green room. The key is to draft to fill holes, and a front office’s ability to identify those holes and patch them up with the best available players is what separates bad franchises from superior ones and superior franchises from playoff organizations.

When the dust finally settled after this year’s draft, after seven rounds and 255 picks, it became a bit clearer as to which organizations are moving in the right direction and which aren’t.

A few immediately come to mind. First, the winners…

New England — If you’re like me, you’re sick of New England. You’re tired of them taking overlooked talent, cleaning it up and polishing it off and then rubbing it in your face, sometimes twice a year.

That’s why I’m scared, because the Pats drafted some incredible offensive talent for a change and who knows what they will be able to do with it.

Laurence Maroney will be a great successor to Corey Dillon and Kevin Faulk when the time comes. Dillon hasn’t been healthy since he got to New England and Faulk isn’t an every-down back. Factor in their ages and Maroney’s explosiveness and you have more reasons to hate the Patriots.

Then there is Chad Jackson, arguably the best receiver in the draft that the Pats smartly moved up to get. He’ll be a great compliment to Deion Branch. From these two high-profile picks the Pats went back to drafting obscure talent, something that they may be more comfortable doing because they know, in the long haul, it will work out for them.

Philadelphia — Despite an unfamiliar draft position at No. 14, the Eagles did very well for a variety of reasons.

Somehow, Florida State stud defensive tackle Brodrick Bunkley, who, mind you, repped 225 pounds 44 times at the NFL Combine, fell to Philadelphia, despite everybody figuring he would go in the top 10. Bunkley is an outstanding pickup for the Eagles and can simply beat up whatever distracts the Eagles next. It is, after all, the off-season and somebody has to be unhappy in Philly.

On the other side of the line, the Eagles got first-round talent in the second round when USC offensive tackle Winston Justice was still available at the 39th pick. Despite the very necessary NFL-sounding name, Justice possesses not only the talent but the attitude to play in Philadelphia for he, after all, appears to have dropped out of the first round for his character shortcomings.

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And, of course, the losers…

Chicago — While I totally agree with the idea of trading out of the first round, the Bears still need a receiver for Rex Grossman to throw to in the preseason before he goes down with his early injury.

Chicago’s first pick, Danieal Manning, was strong, given the Bears’ uncertainty at the safety position, but that was about all the Bears did in this draft. Devin Hester could turn out to be a nice pick in the second round, but he would also bust like a pinata and probably generate the same level of surprise.

Contrary to popular belief in Chicago, you do need some semblance of an offense to win. Let’s assume the impossible and say that Grossman dodges an injury this year, how will the Bears throw the ball? Can you name one Chicago receiver (aside from Muhsin Muhammad, who, by the way, turns 33 this week and won’t be around forever)?

Buffalo — I think that the Bills’ front office, of combined age nearing 3,000, rolled out of bed the morning of the draft and experienced a thought process that went something like this… “What? There’s a draft? For the NFL? Do you think we could take part in this?”

I love the Bills so it breaks my heart to watch them do what they did over the weekend. Passing on Leinart at No. 8 leaves a sour taste in the mouth of those who find J.P. Losman to be a mistake, but it didn’t mean the draft had to be this bad.

Passing on Bunkley was a huge mistake, an err magnified when the team later traded back into the first round only to get an inferior defensive tackle in John McCargo. Does anybody else think that the team could have drafted Bunkley at No. 8 and then maybe, just maybe, gotten Donte Whitner, the team’s first selection and promising prospect, when it picked McCargo? Isn’t the defensive line more grave of an issue than the secondary right now?

Looks like winters will remain cold and playoff-less in Buffalo for a bit longer.

Geoff Dutelle is a staff writer for The Pitt News. E-mail him your favorite draft picks at gmd8@pitt.edu.