AFC East draft review 2013

Ok, so allow me to say this: My mock draft for the 2013 NFL draft wasn’t nearly as bad in retrospect. I did not post my draft order, and that’s fine since I had Chance Warmack going number one overall. The silver lining is that number 27 overall was the only pick that was correct. That is DeAndre Hopkins to the Houston Texans.

Now I will voice my opinion on how each team did in the first round, and draft over all. There will be some biasedness considering events that occurred before the draft in free agency. Yes, I’m talking to you Buffalo…. It will be long; however I will be breaking it up into Conference, Division, and Alphabetical order by city name. I will begin with the AFC East, and make separate posts for each. As we get closer to the season, I will have season predictions, my playoff predictions, and my Super Bowl winner. Without further ado; the AFC East:

Buffalo Bills:

First Round: D-. EJ Manuel (16^th), QB, Florida State

Overall: D

Buffalo, let me just say that you should never have EVER let Ryan Fitzpatrick leave. He was a serviceable quarterback until Johnny Heisman became available in two years. EJ Manuel isn’t even the best QB in an extremely thin group of QB’s. I looked at the season statistics. Buffalo seriously needed Offensive, Defensive linemen, and a WR. They only addressed their need of WR, and it was too late to get an instant starter by that time. This is a complete and utter bombing, worthy of a lower grade, but I’m being generous because it is still truly too early to tell how it will play out.

Miami Dolphins:

First Round: B. Dion Jordan (3^rd), DE, Oregon

Overall: B.

Overall, the Dolphin’s draft didn’t have anyone jump out at me as “OMG STAR” but they did definitely do a better job addressing needs than the Bills did. It’s possible they could have drafted someone who was a higher need at the time, particularly on the offensive line, but an unsung need for Miami was defensive line. They could have addressed TE earlier but needed CB more. Not bad, Miami should improve from this draft. I still don’t expect them to do better than 2^nd place in their division, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they got 3^rd.

New England Patriots:

First Round: No first round pick.

Overall: B+.

New England has a wonderful history of excellent drafts. Doesn’t stop me from disliking the air they breathe. They did a good job addressing the loss of Welker, and repairing a depleted and exposed defense. Unfortunately, history (oh, the ever loveable history) is against second round pick, Jamie Collins, OLB, Southern Miss.

New York Jets:

First Round: A-. Dee Milliner, CB, Alabama (9^th) and Sheldon Richardson, DT, Missouri (13^th)

Overall: B+.

The Jets may have actually had a decent draft. They addressed the loss of Revis Island, brought in fresh blood for the defensive line, and possibly brought in a new starting QB. I would rather have seen the pick used on Geno Smith used for something slightly more important, say a LB or RB, however you generally cannot go wrong with first round talent in the second round.