[CBFF] FW: No grading curve here ... these drafts stunk

[Tom Shannon]

Feed: Inside the Bears
Posted on: Friday, April 04, 2008 1:35 PM
Author: Brad Biggs
Subject: No grading curve here ... these drafts stunk

 


Cedric Benson.
Mike Williams.
Aaron Rodgers.
Troy Williamson.

Maybe the Bears didn’t make the worst choice in the first round of the 2005 draft among NFC North clubs.

Scouts Inc. takes <http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3329140>  an interesting look at the class from three years ago and if you buy into their grading, no one in the division did well.

For the Bears, who earned a D, the most productive player of the class has been traded away to the Carolina Panthers. We’ll find out what they turn safety Chris Harris into in three weeks when they use the fifth-round draft pick they picked up in exchange for him.

Hope remains Benson can return from his fractured leg and become a productive workhorse back. The Bears are so hopeful they’ve been searching the country for a running back to compete with him and odds are probably better than not they use a first-day pick on another back.

Wide receiver Mark Bradley is being counted on for big things this season. He made six catches in 2007.

Quarterback Kyle Orton will be locked into a duel with Rex Grossman for the starting job when the (voluntary) offseason program commences Monday at Halas Hall.

The Lions have a whole lot of nothing left to show for their ’05 class. Predictably, they earned an F with a draft class that only John “Bluto” Blutarsky could be proud of on his report card. Did Williams ever do a thing?

Minnesota also checks in with an F according to Scouts Inc. Williamson has been traded to Jacksonville and defensive end Erasmus James, another first-round pick that year, has been invisible. You can’t blame Minnesotans for not wanting to pour taxpayer dollars into a new stadium with draft picks like these.

The Packers drafted 11 players in ’05 and the one that matters most—Rodgers—will finally get his chance this season. If he’s a solid replacement for Favre, the draft is a hit. If he’s not, it’s so-so. Right now, Scouts Inc. pegs it with a C. Offensive lineman Junius Coston has been productive as a fifth-round pick. Free safety Nick Collins, a second-round choice, is a rank-and-file guy as is linebacker Brady Poppinga, a fourth-round choice who was a standout special teams player before moving into the lineup.


View <http://blogs.suntimes.com/bears/2008/04/no_grading_curve_here_these_dr.html>  article...