OPTIMIST/PESSIMIST - THE AFC EAST DRAFT CLASS

by Zac, Throwing Into Traffic

OPTMIST/PESSIMIST will take a look at the NFL through both sides of the glass: The one that is pleasantly half full and the one that is bitterly empty. Today, we look at the AFC East Draft class.

Buffalo Bills:

OPTIMIST:

Alright Bills fans, you might want to be sitting down for this: Your team had one of the best first days of any team in the draft. With everyone creaming themselves over workout wonder Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie or soon-to-be High Times Athlete of the Year for 2009 Aqib Talib, the Bills stuck to their guns and took the most stable and proven corner in the draft in Leodis McKelvin, who will impact the return game as well as adding another versatile piece to a scary looking secondary. Then, with equally flashy, equally untrustworthy DeSean Jackson on the board, the Bills recognized need over highlight fodder and took 6’6” target James Hardy, forcing teams to lay off of blanketing Lee Evans and leaving the opposite side of the field open. That’s an intelligent, well thought out draft if I’ve ever seen one.

PESSIMIST:

Oh yeah, Bills, it’s a much better idea to take Leodis McKelvin instead of the corner who’s much better at the position or the one who’s much more athletic. Best to stick with that mediocrity formula that’s got you staring down the barrel of a decade long playoff drought. Also, kudos to you guys for thinking it’s a good idea to take a player with known personality problems and stick him in one of the most depressing, God-forsaken cities on Earth. You just know he’s going to get found with dead bodies in his car when he inevitably snaps midseason.

Miami Dolphins:

OPTIMIST:

When people are comparing your number one draft pick to Joe Thomas, only potentially MORE intelligent at the position, you know you did something right. Furthermore, there’s something to be said for a front office keeping its wits about them and taking SIX linemen with nine picks. Parcells has been around the block long enough to know that bad teams become better by winning in the trenches, and steals like Shawn Murphy and Phillip Merling will go a long way toward winning at the line on both sides of the ball.

PESSIMIST:

It’s too bad that lineman don’t catch touchdown passes, because I doubt Ted Ginn Jr. will be doing much when teams routinely throw three guys on him because there’s nobody else to cover. No worries though, because I doubt that Josh McCown (whom failure has made look like he has a drinking problem), Chad Henne (was it me, or did get fatter every time ESPN cut to him on draft day), or John Beck (nothing like being told you’re not performing as well as Cleo Lemon was to build a kid’s confidence) will be doing much damage through the air anyway.

New York Jets:

OPTIMIST:

I’m a total homer, but even if I wasn’t, I’d still think that Vernon Gholston has the ability to revolutionize a team’s pass defense on his own. Fine, he took plays off in college; when you can bench press the guy lining up across from you, it can be hard to stay motivated sometimes. The key here is that the team finally picked up a player who will fit perfectly into their 3-4 scheme, especially given an offseason devoted to adding solid role players to support him.

PESSIMIST:

And if the draft was only one round long, the Jets would be the big winners. Unfortunately, you still need to stick around for the remaining six rounds, and I’m not sure the team made a single good decision after Gholston (which was kind of like getting credit for spelling your name right on an exam). Trading up to make sure you can get Dustin Keller is dumb; doing so when every single quality WR prospect is still available is even dumber; doing so when you already have two TEs and are forcing Laveranues Coles and Jericho Cotchery into ill-fitting #1 and #2 receiver roles, respectively, is the height of stupidity. Uness Marcus Henry is the steal of the draft (Optimist’s note; And he might be…) the Jets are setting themselves up for another season of snoozefest offensive football. Oh, and way to take a quarterback that everyone says has a noodle-arm. It’s not like you guys already have one of those, or anything.

New England Patriots:

OPTIMIST:

Seriously, f*ck this team and their prudent, well-reasoned, financially responsible drafting. Jerod Mayo steps into a linebacking corps that will be able to show him the ropes early. If he can add that kind of knowledge to what many people believe to be the best physicality of any LB prospect, this defense may have just gotten irritating all over again. Also, Kevin O’Connell is going to be a stud. The kid throws a pretty deep ball, has serious wheels, and can throw on the move. If he doesn’t have to step into the signal calling role too soon (and let’s face it, he probably won’t see significant PT for at least three or four years), he’s got time to hone his unique physical gifts and emerge as the sleeper QB of this draft class.

PESSIMIST:

Could someone explain to me how it makes any damn sense to take a quarterback in the third round with plenty of corners on the board and a defense that has us all heralding the arrival of Eli Manning as an elite QB? Other than that…dammit…they actually did a decent job of bolstering special teams and not reaching…dammit I hate this team.