The rich get richer
It's impossible to start talking about the winners of this year's NFL draft without mentioning the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots. If you look at the move they made before the draft to acquire Corey Dillon, they were way ahead of the pack.
Adding Dillon to a championship team was big enough. But then New England added the draft's best run stopper with the 21st pick in the draft in Vince Wilfork from the University of Miami. The Patriots went on to add several other key players and once again proved why they are so far ahead of other teams in the NFL.
If you include Dillon into their draft strategy, which I do, then the Patriots addressed all their big needs. I think New England had a spectacular draft.
I also like what the San Diego Chargers did in this year's draft. They got their quarterback of the future in Philip Rivers as well as additional picks in the deal for Eli Manning. San Diego ended up adding some key personnel through the draft and has more picks in the future to address its weaknesses.
The Oakland Raiders changed their mentality in this year's draft and chose a franchise left tackle in Robert Gallery. This was a good pick – he will be playing with the Silver and Black for the next 12 years.
Dennis Green did a phenomenal job for the Arizona Cardinals. In Larry Fitzgerald, the Cardinals drafted the best athlete available and a player who can play in three-receiver sets. Arizona also got some help for its soft defense.
I love the way teams jockeyed in the first round. After picking Charles Rogers with the No. 2 pick last year, the Detroit Lions traded down and used the No. 7 pick on wide receiver Roy Williams.
By letting the Browns take over the No. 6 spot in the first round to draft Kellen Winslow Jr., the Lions received a second-round pick which they used to fill a void at the linebacker position with Teddy Lehman.
The Buffalo Bills did a phenomenal job acquiring top-rated talent in the draft. They got wide receiver Lee Evans who should prove to be another weapon for Drew Bledsoe. The Bills believe that Bledsoe will bounce back this season. Also, the Bills added their quarterback of the future in J.P. Losman from Tulane.
