http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/redraft/ 15 Emilio Garcia-Ruiz picks apart the draft each week en Copyright 2008 Thu, 04 Dec 2008 13:34:31 -0500 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=4.2-en http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss At Redraft Headquarters, we spend all our time uncovering and then mocking the mistakes made by NFL general managers and their scouts. So when we screw up like we have with Joe Flacco, our policy is to admit it 0- and then offer an excuse as to why our mistake could have happened to anyone. Flacco (Baltimore, first round, 18th) was terrible for most of the first month of the season. In his first five games, he had a quarterback rating better than 64 once. In his first seven games, he completed more than 18 passes once. So we ruled out moving him up. And when he started emerging over the past couple months, we refused to budge. We'll fix it this week by Redrafting Flacco to a more fitting position. And we won't spend one second dwelling on the possibility that the Redskins' defense might make Flacco look positively http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/redraft/2008/12/week-13-ravens-flacco-up-in-class.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/redraft/2008/12/week-13-ravens-flacco-up-in-class.html Thu, 04 Dec 2008 13:34:31 -0500 The staff at Redraft Headquarters has been tracking NFL rookies for 12 weeks, but even we are occasionally surprised when an unheralded pick suddenly changes a game. That happened again on Sunday when wide receiver Harry Douglas (third round, 84th pick overall) scored his first two touchdowns in the Falcons' 45-28 win over the Panthers. For the Falcons, it was just one more stunning contribution from a draft pick in what has easily become the best draft of 2008. Quarterback Matt Ryan has locked up rookie of the year honors, linebacker Curtis Lofton is a tackling machine and offensive tackle Sam Baker was starting and playing well before being sidelined because of back surgery. http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/redraft/2008/11/week-12-falcons-dimitroff-star-of-draft.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/redraft/2008/11/week-12-falcons-dimitroff-star-of-draft.html Tue, 25 Nov 2008 18:02:21 -0500 So after 11 weeks of fiddling, we at Redraft Headquarters believe we have the top of the first round about right based on actual performance on the field, not predraft hype. Lots of running backs and wide receivers up high. Three linebackers, although one got hurt. The player with the biggest gripe would be the Redskins' Chris Horton, who got jobbed out of millions of dollars because NFL personnel folks decided he was a seventh-round pick. The biggest busts are all on the defensive line, where enough money is being wasted to bail out a small nation. The talent at running back was validated again by the Denver Broncos last week. Not only did the third-best Arkansas running back in the draft, fullback Peyton Hillis (seventh round, 227th overall), score two touchdowns for the Broncos, but another Denver rookie fullback, Spencer Larsen (sixth round, 183rd), became the first player http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/redraft/2008/11/in-week-11-rookie-value-clear.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/redraft/2008/11/in-week-11-rookie-value-clear.html Wed, 19 Nov 2008 23:14:29 -0500 The election's over, but we at Redraft Headquarters are still making voting projections. And we're calling the Rookie of the Year race in the NFL for Matt Ryan. It's not just that Ryan is starting at quarterback as a rookie and performing well. But his play has saved the Atlanta Falcons, who were expected to be devastated for years because of the Michael Vick mess. Yes, credit needs to go to running back Michael Turner, the best free-agent acquisition in the league, and to a suddenly stout defense, led by monster John Abraham (11 sacks). And there will be those who argue for one of the great running backs in the draft or wide receiver DeSean Jackson or the underrated wide receiver Eddie Royal. But we think it's going to take a catastrophic injury or a complete collapse to keep Ryan from being named the top rookie. As always, your http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/redraft/2008/11/falcons-ryan-outclassing-the-field.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/redraft/2008/11/falcons-ryan-outclassing-the-field.html Wed, 12 Nov 2008 00:18:15 -0500 Gil Brandt wrote this week that he thinks 2008 might be the best NFL draft class since 1983. We know he wrote this because we re-read the sentence about 15 times to make sure we weren't hallucinating. We here at Redraft Headquarters have long trusted Brandt's judgment but after weeks of analyzing every first-round pick's performance we just don't agree. Yes, the running back and wide receiver classes have been great, but what about defense? Other than linebackers Jerod Mayo and Curtis Lofton, we struggle to find any defensive players who make a weekly difference. Four of the first five picks on defense have been major disappointments. Chris Long has been so-so. The defensive backs have been brutal. All these players may develop eventually, but with what first-round picks are paid, shouldn't teams be getting something now for their money? As always, your Redrafts are welcome in the comments below. http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/redraft/2008/11/no-defense-for-08-nfl-draft.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/redraft/2008/11/no-defense-for-08-nfl-draft.html Wed, 05 Nov 2008 18:20:53 -0500 Remember last spring when everyone was talking about how the 2008 draft was filled with great defensive linemen? On March 8, ESPN's Mel Kiper had five in the top 10 of his mock draft. It's eight weeks into the season and two of them are on their way to being complete busts. Chiefs and Jets fans have to be outraged by the poor play of Glenn Dorsey and Vernon Gholston, both of whom signed huge contracts and are now out of our Redraft first round. Dorsey has been virtually immobile in Kansas City, which has lost six of seven games. Gholston has been unable to make the transition to a new position in the pros for New York. As always, your Redrafts are welcome in the comments below. 1. Miami Redraft: QB Matt Ryan. He went third to the Falcons but should have been No. 1. He lost to Eagles http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/redraft/2008/10/dorsey-gholston-proving-unworthy.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/redraft/2008/10/dorsey-gholston-proving-unworthy.html Thu, 30 Oct 2008 09:58:02 -0500 The Cincinnati Bengals' disastrous season had one thing go right: First-round draft pick Keith Rivers, who has started every game at linebacker and is second on the team in tackles. Then Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Hines Ward crushed Rivers on a block Sunday, breaking his jaw and ending his season. We here at Redraft Headquarters have to believe that with the season lost, the Bengals, in hindsight, would still have drafted Rivers. After all, he'll be back in 2009 and could be a fixture on the defense. But what do you think? Does a season-ending injury to a first-round pick automatically mean the pick was a failure? Do you have to see how the rehab goes? Does the answer differ if a team is in contention? As always, your Redrafts are welcome in the comments below. 1. Miami 2008 Pick: OT Jake Long. He's playing well but the Dolphins need a http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/redraft/2008/10/loss-of-rivers-latest-bengals-disaster.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/redraft/2008/10/loss-of-rivers-latest-bengals-disaster.html Thu, 23 Oct 2008 15:03:59 -0500 We here at Redraft Headquarters admit we once believed that Matt Ryan was no better than a middle-of-the-first-round gamble. We didn't like his arm strength. Thought he had poor mobility. Thought his heroics in that miracle game against Virginia Tech were primarily due to bad defensive calls. Today, we're here to atone. Matt Ryan should have been the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. We were wrong. And Miami and St. Louis were wrong to pass on him. There. All better. As always, your Redrafts are welcome in the comments section below. 1. Miami 2008 Pick: OT Jake Long. He might be a starter for a dozen years at tackle but quarterbacks make the show go. Redraft: QB Matt Ryan. What more do you need to see? http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/redraft/2008/10/falcons-ryan-gains-redemption.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/redraft/2008/10/falcons-ryan-gains-redemption.html Wed, 15 Oct 2008 10:23:23 -0500 With every Atlanta victory the argument grows stronger that quarterback Matt Ryan should have been the No. 1 overall pick in the draft last spring, especially with the Miami Dolphins lacking a clear future at the position. Ryan has the Falcons at 3-2, which seemed like an impossibility after the Michael Vick/Bobby Petrino disasters. More clear is that it was a horrible idea to spend five of the first 10 picks on defensive linemen. At this admittedly very early juncture, not one of those players has made a contribution befitting his guaranteed salary figure and it is hard to say which defensive lineman has been the biggest disappointment: Glenn Dorsey or Vernon Gholston. We here at Redraft headquarters are frantically moving up the running backs and wide receivers who should have been the ones getting that first-round loot. As always, your Redrafts are welcome in the comments section below. http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/redraft/2008/10/should-matt-ryan-have-gone-no-1.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/redraft/2008/10/should-matt-ryan-have-gone-no-1.html Thu, 09 Oct 2008 00:26:55 -0500 As we redo the first round of the NFL draft using on-field performance, there is but one issue at Redraft headquarters this week: How high should Redskins safety Chris Horton go? We admit that the fluky nature of his previous interceptions gave us doubts. But his play Sunday against the Cowboys changed all that. For now, we'll put him 15th overall. But what do you think? As always, your Redrafts are welcome. 1. Miami 2008 Pick: OT Jake Long. Dolphins had the week off but Long will be tested by the Chargers. Redraft: Long. He was No. 1 last week. 2. St. Louis 2008 Pick: DT Chris Long. A 31-14 loss to the Bills gets Coach Scott Linehan fired. Would a better pick here have changed anything? Redraft: WR Eddie Royal. The former Hokie (Denver, second round, 42nd) is up to 27 catches with a couple touchdowns. 3. Atlanta http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/redraft/2008/10/where-should-redskins-horton-go.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/redraft/2008/10/where-should-redskins-horton-go.html Thu, 02 Oct 2008 10:16:03 -0500 It was a very quiet weekend at Redraft headquarters. Matt Ryan looked good for Atlanta. Steve Slaton scored a touchdown and won the starting running back job for Houston (Ralph Freidgen had to be delighted to see him scoring on someone else). And Joe Flacco played well enough for Baltimore to win. Running backs still rule. Other than that? Not much. As always, we want to know how you would Redraft. 1. Miami 2008 Pick: OT Jake Long. An interesting analysis of Long's slow start can be found here. In last week's Redraft, we dropped Long to the Patriots at No. 10. And that's who he finally played well against. Redraft: Long. He's back at No. 1. 2. St. Louis 2008 Pick: DT Chris Long. Rams moved Long to left end. He was better, but Seattle won 37-13. Redraft: WR Eddie Royal. The former Hokie (second round, 42nd) leads http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/redraft/2008/09/week-four-ryan-stars-for-falcons.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/redraft/2008/09/week-four-ryan-stars-for-falcons.html Thu, 25 Sep 2008 12:24:48 -0500 What a wild week for first-round draft choices, with performances ranging from brilliant to catastrophic. (Man, were we wrong about moving the Saints' Tracy Porter into the first round last week. Hello, Santana Moss. And teammate Sedrick Ellis? We're moving him back down after the Redskins turned him into a pinata.) It remains all about the running backs, though. Four of the top 10 rushing leaders in the league are rookies. 1. Miami 2008 Pick: OT Jake Long. The Fins were so bad against Arizona on Sunday that we're thinking Bill Parcells needs a five-year plan. We'll give him the best player regardless of position, so Tim Tebow will have someone to play with in a 2011 playoff push. Right now, that isn't Long. Redraft: RB Darren McFadden. He's averaging seven yards a carry for the woeful Raiders. We know the Dolphins have Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams. They'll be http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/redraft/2008/09/redraft-week-3.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/redraft/2008/09/redraft-week-3.html Wed, 17 Sep 2008 22:46:16 -0500 Here at Redraft, where the second-guessing on the NFL Draft never ends, we're having a nasty argument about where to slot Chicago running back Matt Forte after his 123-yard performance against the Colts. The Bears got him in the second round, 44th overall, but we're redrafting him into some first-round money. As always, your thoughts are welcome. 1. Miami Dolphins 2008 Pick: OT Jake Long. He was called for two penalties, the line allowed four sacks and Miami averaged less than three yards a carry. And this was against the Jets. Redraft: QB Matt Ryan. He might wind up as the next Stan Humphries but at this moment he moves up to No. 1. http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/redraft/2008/09/redraft-week-two.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/redraft/2008/09/redraft-week-two.html Wed, 10 Sep 2008 17:50:05 -0500 Here at Redraft headquarters, where the second-guessing never ends, we'll redo the first round of the 2008 draft until we get it right. Already we've changed the Great Defensive Linemen Draft into the Great Running Backs Draft. And we've got a couple of players picked later who are ready to move up onto our board. http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/redraft/2008/09/redraft-week-one.html http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/redraft/2008/09/redraft-week-one.html Wed, 03 Sep 2008 08:25:19 -0500