Read and React: Getting picked apart

After our latest grades on the NFL draft, it's pretty clear that I would have been everyone's favorite professor.

Readers flooded the mailbag this week griping over my leniency with draft grades. Among the responses, I was accused of being a "homer" for about a dozen different teams. Others thought I was buttering up personnel people, or simply didn't want to make fans angry. Whatever the case, even if those had been my intentions, I would have failed miserably.

There's nothing like a little draft analysis to send the readership needle into the red. Undoubtedly, the last four days have seen more vicious hate mail flow in than ever. Some of it was downright felonious. But I'm not going to play that game this week. Instead, we'll stick with the more level-headed readers, who actually have some constructive feedback.

One of the hottest topics was why I didn't hand out more crummy draft grades than usual. We'll address that in a bit. Another interesting subject was the scenario that befell three draft picks this weekend, and how they seem to shed light on the NFL's skewed value system. Specifically, readers wanted to know why Northwestern's Luis Castillo remained a first-round pick despite admitting steroid use while preparing for workouts – while Oklahoma's Dan Cody got downgraded for having undergone treatment for depression while in college.

Even with some of the poison that flowed in this week, we got a lot of poignant feedback from readers. And we'd like to keep it coming. So let us hear from you, and as usual, if you want to be considered for the mailbag, include your first and last name as well as your city and state.

To the mail …

DRAFT GRADES ("Draft report card: NFC," April 24, 2005 and "Draft report card: AFC," April 25, 2005)

Only one grade of "C" in the NFC? And five of 16 teams grading out to A-minus or better? You need a different scale my friend. At least two teams whiffed on the draft and no more than one or two deserved an "A."
Greg Kellogg
Palmdale, Calif.

First off, I don't believe in "F" grades in the draft. As long as a team picks up something, they didn't fail. Secondly, there are too many D's and C's handed out in draft report cards. Why? Because draft classes are fluid, and really shouldn't be graded until three years down the road. Grades given immediately after the draft should really lean heavily on whether or not a team addressed needs with their picks. If they addressed a decent amount of needs with picks, they start out with a "C" automatically, simply for the effort of trying to fix problems. After that, it has to hang on the "projection" most teams put on players. If you are filling a need in a late round, and the player you select is "projected" far earlier in the draft, that's going to bump your grade up. The point fans should always remember about grades: They are merely an initial feel of how a team did while trying to solve problems. They are not predictions of whether or not the players selected are Hall of Famers or busts.

Bypassing a local favorite as the Minnesota Vikings did in letting the Dallas Cowboys take Marion Barber in Round 4 puts the onus on third-round pick Dustin Fox. Unfairly of course – but when they followed up that sin by trading a fourth and a fifth to get Ciatrick Fason, Fason's performance will be forever compared with not only Barber, but also the career of Elton Brown (whom Minnesota passed up).
Dennis Murphy
Plymouth, Minn.

Have you ever seen Dustin Fox play? You think he'll give the Vikings depth? I'll bet $100 he doesn't make the team. He's terrible and too slow. He won't even help their special teams. I doubt if he could even help the equipment managers.
Jim Stuckey
Hanoverton, Ohio

Fox will make the team. I guarantee it.

Alex Smith is a franchise quarterback? Based on what? He's just the best player in a lousy draft. He could become the next Joe Montana or Steve Young, or he could become the next Jim Druckenmiller or Tim Rattay.
Peter Reigo
San Francisco, Calif.

I was shocked that safety Ernest Shazor from Michigan went undrafted after being projected to be a second-to-third-rounder. Did his skipping of the combine workouts lead teams to think he has some major injury problems?
Justin LeBlanc
Bozrah, Conn.

We got a ton of mail about Shazor falling out of the draft. He had a bad workout, running very slowly, and some teams thought he was going to have to play linebacker in the NFL. The position switch might have killed his draft stock because there is a prevailing feeling Shazor doesn't have the instincts to play linebacker. Still, his falling completely out of the draft was a surprise. The Arizona Cardinals grabbed him as an undrafted free agent.

Am I blind, or did Heisman Trophy winner Jason White not get drafted at all? Is there any chance that he could find success somewhere as an undrafted free agent?
Adam Miller
Modesto, Calif.

It was a shock to see White go undrafted while Matt Cassel – Matt Leinart's backup at USC – was selected. But White will get a shot with some team as an undrafted free agent, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him pop up in NFL Europe. Still, his lack of arm strength is going to make it a rough road no matter where he lands.

I know the Houston Texans needed help in their defensive line, but why would they trade picks and lose out on Derrick Johnson, who was rated one of the best, if not the best, linebacker in the draft. That would have been a steal at the 13th pick.
Eugene Floyd
El Paso, Texas

You say that the two defensive ends and the cornerbacks were good picks for the New York Giants. But you say the Giants needed help at safety, running back and defensive tackle. Did you miss the Giants' fourth-round pick, Brandon Jacobs? A nice, big, 260-pound running back for short-yardage situations?
Gregg Jacobs
Boston, Mass.

You are absolutely right. Jacobs' selection should have been taken into account. To all the Giants fans who have emailed: Your team did address running back depth.

I read your report card for the Seattle Seahawks' draft and was wondering what need at cornerback you were talking about? With the recent signings of Kelly Herndon and Andre Dyson, I don't really see a need there. A pass rusher and a couple of actual linebacker prospects would have been nice though.
Paul Wallace
Spanaway, Wash.

This was another one that I missed. Dyson's late signing should have bumped cornerback off Seattle's "need" list. It was an oversight on my part.

Michael Munoz, I realize, has battled injuries but was still one of the top 20 linemen in college football any of the four years he was playing. How could talent like that be passed up? I mean he is at least worth a fifth- or sixth-round flier.
Phil Murphy
Fort Worth, Texas

Munoz was an above-average tackle, but not one of college football's 20 best linemen – in any of the years that he played. A lot of that was hype because of his father. His knee problems made him a safer bet as an undrafted free agent, which is why he wasn't selected.

WINNERS AND LOSERS ("Day 1's winners and losers," April 23, 2005)

So let me get this straight. One guy (Dan Cody) with a medical problem takes steps to treat it with legally prescribed medication and the NFL decides this is such a bad thing that it causes him to plummet in the draft. Meanwhile, another guy (Luis Castillo) with a medical problem takes steroids and the NFL decides that it has absolutely no effect on his draft status. These are two wonderful messages being sent by the NFL: If you're an athlete suffering from depression, don't tell anyone because it could cost you; and if you're an athlete with an injury, by all means take steroids to improve your performance and put money in your pocket.
Jim Love
San Antonio, Texas

It's pathetic to call Dan Cody a "loser" because he battled with depression. Depression is a chemical ailment, and not something you can control like drug use. The inclusion of Cody and the DL from Wisconsin in the same conversation is shameful.
Daniel Bernstein
San Francisco, Calif.

Come on. Use some common sense. I wasn't calling Cody a loser because of his battle with depression. I was calling him a draft "loser" – as in, he lost something – because his stock slid so badly.

It's all about the money, isn't it? It seems ridiculous to me that the "losers" of the draft are losers because they aren't getting the incredible sums of money some are. I don't feel bad for some of them, especially the one guy you mentioned who tested positive for marijuana (Anttaj Hawthorne). He's not a loser because he lost money for himself.
Jake Frank
Billings, Mont.

Don't you think it's a little hypocritical that Anttaj Hawthorne drops into the sixth round from the second round because he used marijuana – which doesn't effect performance – whereas Luis Castillo maintained his position despite using steroids? I can understand the "lack of commitment" argument, but come on. Castillo might have first-round talent, but how much of that is actual talent and not skills/numbers bloated by steroid use?
Bill Munson
New York, N.Y.

I'll say this: It was pretty hypocritical to hear personnel people call Hawthorne "stupid" for smoking marijuana before the NFL combine, but then say Castillo "made a mistake" by taking steroids in the same time frame. Seems to me that they were equally dumb decisions.

You pick winners and losers as though you have some crystal ball telling you which players are going to the Hall of Fame and which will be busts. The reality is that it will take at least three years for any of that to be decided.
Theo Hamer
Baltimore, Md.

You called the Green Bay Packers first-day losers, but the fact is this draft was a huge win for the Packers. The NFL draft is nothing more than an over-hyped gambling expedition. Aaron Rodgers was the steal of the draft, and although not needed, no team with an aging quarterback could pass on picking him up.
Steve G.
Green Bay, Wis.

I hope your comments about the Packers being a first-day loser turn out to be incorrect. One thing that is incorrect is the notion that there was no need for the Packers to draft someone like wide receiver Terrence Murphy. He may prove to be the right guy or the wrong guy, but currently the Packers have nobody to field kickoffs.
Jeff Espinola
Denver, Colo.

I mostly agree with your assessment of the Packers' draft, but doesn't anyone remember what happened last year when Robert Ferguson went down? A little Smurf punt returner became part of the offense, and that's never any good.
George Mueller
Brookfield, Wis.