Winners of the 2010 NFL Draft

Winners and the Loser of the 2010 NFL Draft

Winners:

New England Patriots – The Pats decided to add depth to their cornerbacks selecting former Rutgers standout Devin McCourty. He will not be expected to start right away this adds depth to a New England secondary that was beginning to get long in the tooth. Three former Florida Gators were selected, defensive end Jermaine Cunningham, linebacker Brandon Spikes and tight end Aaron Hernandez are headed north to play for Urban Meyer’s best friend Bill Belichick. The Pats also managed to snap up 6’6, 264 lb Arizona tight end Rob Gronkowski who has been compared to All-Pro Jason Witten. The Patroits always seem to find players who fit their system and this draft is no different.

Seattle Seahawks – The first draft under new head coach Pete Carroll has to be labeled a success. Filling needs at safety, offensive line, running back and corner back they have really done an exceptional job. Russell Okung projects to start at left tackle and helps give the Seahawks starting quarterback (Hasselbeck or Whitehurst) back side protection. Adding Texas safety Earl Thomas gives the Seahawks defense more versatility with his ability slide into the nickel spot. The Seahawks also picked up disgruntled Tennessee Titans running back LenDale White. This move reunites White with former USC head coach Pete Carroll and fills an obvious need after averaging less than 100-yards rushing per game. Finally, after Nate Burleson’s departure for Detroit, the Seahawks needed to find someone who could take pressure off the running game. They selected Notre Dame wide receiver Golden Tate in the second round. Seattle believes he will be able to come in and compete for the #2 receiver slot because of his big play potential. Finally the Seahawks added Jets running back Leon Washington via trade. This will give the Seahawks a thunder and lightning threat with White and Washington.

San Francisco 49ers – The 49ers had to shore up their offensive line during the draft and they did so within the first round. Rutgers mammoth offensive tackle Anthony Davis was drafted with the 11th overall pick. He should be able to play left tackle allowing Joe Staley to move to right tackle giving the 49ers two solid young tackles. Finally six picks later the 49ers selected Idaho guard Mike Iupati automatically making the offensive line a strength heading into the 2010 season. In the second and third round San Francisco decided to bring in some defensive help. USC safety Taylor Mays and Penn State linebacker Navorro Bowman bring immediate big play ability to the golden gate city. Mays is one of the biggest hitters in the draft and sometimes struggles in coverage but is worth the risk. Bowman fell down the draft board because of off-field issue concerns but could become an impact player under Mike Singletary’s tutelage.


Loser:

Jacksonville Jaguars – The Jaguars selected Cal defensive end Tyson Alualu with the tenth overall pick. This puzzled many different people especially with higher rated defense ends on the board like USF’s Jason Pierre-Paul and Derrick Morgan still on the board. The Jags didn’t have a second round pick. With their third round pick they took defensive tackle D’Anthony Smith from Louisiana Tech. This pick wasn’t terrible, the Jags need to rebuild their defensive front and are doing so at a steady pace. There were more attractive options at both picks. Jacksonville did end up picking up Oakland Raiders linebacker Kirk Morrison who led the Raiders in tackles for the past four seasons. This was the best move they have made during the entire draft.