Assessing The NFL Draft: NFC West
Ahh, the good ol’ reliable NFC west. The bastion of all that is wrong with NFL parity and proprietors of never-ending suckitude; these four teams have comprised what has unmistakenly been the worst division in the NFL for the past decade (despite two Super Bowl losses, both of which were coincidentally to the Steelers). As such, this division owned three of the top ten picks, two of the top four and this years gritty (i.e. quasi-lucky) Super Bowl reject.
That said, everyone seems to be in agreement that this division is poised for a rebound in 2009. If Arizona can carry the momentum from the playoffs into the 2009 season, if the Seahawks can stay healthy and Hasselbeck isn’t washed up like everyone assumes he is, and if Singletary can keep the Niners focused and finally get them to capitalize on their second half of the season success, they could potentially put two teams in the playoffs. That said, they’re a lot of “if’s” in this paragraph. As a result, the draft was infinitely more important to them than any other division in the league.
Who they drafted: Beanie wells with the second to last pick in the first round, defenders from then until the fifth and some late round cut-ees. Pretty much exactly what they should have done.
Prognostication: From a fantasy perspective, as multi-faceted as Wells is (can run laterally, vertically, for speed or power, for short and long yardage), I’d worry about how often he will be getting goal line carries. Wisenhunt is going to feel a tinge of loyalty to make sure Hightower gets his carries, and most of those I would expect to be in short-yardage situations. Still, if Wells stays healthy he should be a tremendous asset to any fantasy team. With that passsing game and assuming they keep all those receivers, this team could look almost infallible. One does pause for a second though, because everyone’s waiting for the other shoe to drop with Kurt Warner. Again.
In addition to football quality, cheerleader quality is also taking a hit in this division.
Who they drafted: San Fran, coming off another 8-8 year, seem to feel that between Mike Singletary insane genius, his history as a player and players drafted in recent years, that they are properly equipped on defense. At least that would explain taking Michael Crabtree 10th overall and ‘bama running back Glen Coffee in the third (I have no idea what happened to their second pick). Every other pick is superfluous.
Prognostication: Coming off yet another 8-8 season, I like the direction this team seems to be heading in. Amongst all the dark horses going into every NFL season, New Orleans is my favorite to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl and San Fran is my favorite to potentially upset in the playoffs. With the drafting of Crabtree, even with my effected opinion of him, he immediately becomes their best receiver. Alongside Vernon Davis, the ghost of Isaac Bruce, Arnez Battle and Brandon Jones; it goes from looking like one of the five worst receiving corps in the league to among one of the up and coming. Of course, they still have Shaun Hill throwing to them, which is probably worth taking into consideration. Also, if you like Frank Gore as a fantasy player or otherwise, expect Coffee to spell him on a pretty regular basis and cut into his carries.
Who they drafted: Aaron Curry with the fourth overall pick, addressed the aging offensive line in the second and added to their much needed receiving corps in the third. Their next pick was Mike Teel, the beleaguered Rutgers quarterback in the sixth (providing some tangible competition for Seneca “Heisman candidate for the first six weeks of his senior season at Iowa St” Wallace) and three seventh round picks.
Prognostication: With all due respect to all of the aforementioned players, the real acquisition for the ‘hawks is Cincinnati Bengal deflector and perennially most underrated player in the league in TJ Houshmenzadeh. For all the trials and tribulations of the Bengals rather turbulent Marvin Lewis era (Note: the turbulence has in no way been Lewis’ fault), Housh has been the one constant glimmer of hope. Through the good years with Palmer to the defunct 2008 season with Fitzpatrick at QB, Housh has always produced statistically and stayed out of trouble (which puts him in a distinct minority on the Bengals roster). Between him, Hasselbeck returning (too full form or otherwise) and the great first four draft picks (despite my superficial reservations about Curry), I could see the Seahawks bringing Seattle sports out of the abyss they seem to be submerged in. Adjust your fantasy projections accordingly.
Found one.
Who they drafted: Offensive tackle Jason Smith, under-sized linebacker out of Ohio State James Laurinaitis (I hear his dad was a professional wrestler of the WWE variety), then several unrecognizable defenders until closing out the draft with nonsensical offensive players in the 5th-7th rounds.
Prognostication: If you couldn’t tell from what I’ve written already, I’m really not a fan of what the Rams did in this draft or their outlook for the 2009 season. I don’t understand the coaching hire, I don’t know why they let Orlando Pace go just to replace him with Jason Smith (aren’t you just starting at square 1? It feels like the one team that wasn’t going to see a tangible improvement from one year to the next with Smith) and I don’t know why they failed to address their dire receiver situation (as good as Donnie Avery looked in his rookie season, he’s not a suitable first option). For a franchise that dominated the division from about 1999-2004, they’ve had a pretty hard fall from grace. If nothing else, the Rams can serve as a template for the Seahawks as what not to do.
Back tomorrow to close out our draft review with the AFC South.
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