RT Anthony Davis, Rutgers: I have mixed feelings on this. Let me first go so far as to dig into drafts past and mention DE Andrew Williams. Williams, a very athletic 3rd round DE was drafted with the intent of having a solid, dynamic backup to former 1st rounder DE Carter. The value was there, the talent raw but the intent of the pick was excellent. That said, it’s how I feel about Davis. Am I the only one who remembers when a decade ago Rutgers was next to Duke as the perennial big name school with a seemingly inept 1-3 wins per year division 1A program? The Scarlet Knights were often lampooned by referencing them versus a certain monthly female bodily function. He has workout and weight issues, ran like mud at the combine, benched like a mid-round linebacker, and all of the tape says he’s powerful but lacks discipline in his play and he is sloppy in hand placement. The upside is, to be fair, he has the frame, he often plays with a naturally low center of gracvity, delivers a devastating ‘pop’ off the LOS, and his ceiling is immense.

When it comes to the intent of this pick, I give it an A. I love that we have our scouts and confidence and our man was there and we made a really smart trade to get him. Anyone remember 2004, when WR Clayton went right in front of us (and we later admitted he was our target player…) and we ended up plummeting and picking a bust in WR Woods? So, trade a 4th to secure the ‘guy we want’ at our biggest position of need? That was brilliant. In terms of the actual player, my opinion is a C+ for now. We got a consensus top OT but I don’t like the risk. We made a great move and executed wisely to fill a big hole…I’m just not sold on the guy we got.

LG Mike Iupati, Utah: Alright, I bite. I love the idea that we may once again have a dominant, pro bowl level guy like a Sapolu in the middle of our line. While I have no doubt we can take RT Davis and have the best run blocking off the right side since the 2006 season, I think Iupati will do similar to the left side. Wragge is not getting younger, we’re not going to pay Baas, and Rachal needs to step up this year. Plus, Snyder is just as bad at OG as he is OT. This pick added a top flight OG talent. In terms of value and intent, I give it an A- and in terms of the player I give it the same.

S Taylor Mays, USC: So what can be said? He’s healthy, he likes to hit, often takes poor angles or pursuit, is not a great ball swatter or ball hawk, and often goes for hits over solid plays on the ball. the positives are his experience, his physical numbers, and likely his desire to prove himself a top safety. I envision Mays as a possible form of upgrade over S Lewis. He has the build to play on the LOS and he has better speed and range. Possibly a year as our SS #2 and we will be able to move on from Lewis who concussions are a concern. On defense, only NT is a more pressing concern in terms of players and tenure. For intent and value this pick is an A+. Excellent value on the pick at a need spot. As for the player, I’d say it’s a B right now. He does have solid value and ability and with good coaching, can excel. That aside, it’s not like Goldson wasn’t equally as hampered when he was a 4th rounder.

OLB Navorro Bowman, Penn State: I adore the way we dropped back and managed to add a future draft pick here. That 4th next year can either help us add depth or increase our maneuverability in rounds 1-3 to help cherry pick the best players to put us over the top. I am curious to see where we end up placing Bowman because in my book, he looks more like a Willis backup. He doesn’t have great pass rushing skills nor does he have the size to take out lead blockers and seal the edge on outside runs. But Bowman does have speed and like most ‘Linebacker U’ turnouts, great natural instincts and lightning fast read reflexes. If he can just add 10 lbs or so of muscle, he has the read speed and capability to be a ‘Mike’ fill-in. We missed our shot I suppose at top Ted backups to develop and instead went for a great Willis backup. In that sense I’d label this pick a B+ in value and design and the same for the player. At the least he should add a lot of speed and power to our special teams units and keep our starting defenders more fresh.

RB Anthony Dixon, Mississippi State: Love this pick. Absolutely LOVE it on so many levels. Let’s start with the bravery involved. By going with yet ANOTHER backup RB pick we are in a sense passing a referendum on our previous picks. Clayton has big guns but no vision. Coffee, I don’t know if he has enough initial acceleration and balance to be effective. Dixon on the other hand is likely going to be asked to be an inside runner and short yardage runner at his size. I like his value immensely at this pick and either we just more or less cut ST captain Robinson, will cut RB Coffee in camp, or maybe Dixon is meant to be a functional-FB heir. He may lack the weight and experience but his hands are great for 6th rounder and he can run for power, so he could edge in as a 2nd FB/RB specialist of sorts. As it comes to helping our depth and his value and versatility this pick is an A.

TE Nate Byham, Pitt: Love this pick as much as the previous. Why? I miss TE Bajema. You read that right. Do I think he has anything on TE Vernon Davis? Not to save his life. But there is something to be said about a cheap, versatile player who fills almost half a dozen key emergency slots on gameday. In our big running, plow over people 2006 season Bajema was a key cog. He was in on a third of our offensive plays and a staggering 70% or so of our runs. As a 2nd TE, he was a solid blocker. But he could also be a somewhat useful 2nd FB, a blocking wing TE, he played on field goal and kickoff return units and if we needed one…could also long snap. In the freak event we lost a FB/LS/key ST’er/TE during a game, Bajema had our back. Just like how it’s great to have a guy who can cover multiple OL spots or a versatile LB who can play inside or outside in a pinch. That said, Byham (as far as I know) has no blocking FB/LS experience. But he is a good ST’s blocker and is one of the nations top collegiate blocking TEs. Last year we gambled on Bear Pascoe based on his fringe athletic build and work ethic, but he wasn’t a natural football player. Byham not only excelled at a solid program in his role, but is ready for the NFL in that aspect. The player value here is very good and I like that we added a power blocker to our fold, this pick is an A- in my book. All that is missing is if he happens to be an excellent long snapper or has FB experience too.

WR Kyle Williams, Arizona State: I’m not enthused by this pick. In my book, I have a habit of using 6th and 7th rounders on only 3 types of players. One is special teamers like kickers, punters, etc. The second is flyers on injured and/or troubled players who have excellent talent but could shape up to be big impact guys like when we gambled on Tai Streets. The third is when it comes to simply snagging a player to force camp competition and to shake up depth. Williams lacks size or physicality to be an impact WR in the NFL and he is a sloppy route runner, a serious negative in my book. But he does have great acceleration off the LOS and blazing speed. So as far as I can tell, this pick is us taking a ‘flyer’ on a speed prospect possibly to add to our KR/PR camp depth but I suppose he does hold value as a Kickoff cover/punt cover gunner/contain type of player. However, more so than any of the previous picks, I think his contribution will be to push other fringe players and return men than to be a direct impact himself. Overall, a B- for the intent and ideals but a D for the player. There were better similar players out there and many we could have had for no pick at all. At this pick, a likely cut and practice squad NT to develop would have been smarter, if only to shake up our similar prospects during a crucial year.

DB Phillip Adams, South Carolina State: This pick beats me. My only personal guess is that between his physical nature (he is good in bump coverage) and man on man attitude, we have ourselves another CB/S tweener in the mold of Hudson. So he need to show punt blocking/coverage and gunner/cover man ability on punt and kickoff teams to win a spot.  This is clearly a 2nd straight flyer. I have a deep seeded fear that history will show that Iupati, Bowman, Dixon, and Byham will be good long-term producers and Davis, Mays, and our last 2 picks could end up as mistakes. I see the ‘replace Hudson’ attempt here, I just don’t see the need for a draft pick when I’d rather see a flyer at OG to challenge Wragge, Wallace and De La Puente. I give this pick a C- overall.

What I Liked

- Some solid draft savvy. We moved sup to get our man at RT and dropped down to add a useful pair of picks this draft and next. Note to draft pundits: Just because the Patriots draft around like madmen does not make them ‘masters of the draft’ when they simply load up on players they cut in a year or two! Look at 2009 for example. S Chung hardly lit up the world, Brace was so unused that they gave a big extension to NT Wilfork instead. In the end, only middle rounder WR Edelman made an impact. Plus, don’t get get me started on how they blow top picks on TEs they discard two years later. End rant.

- I love how we came through on getting a RT and also managed to add a blocking TE while at the same time finding a backup SS and RB/FB prospect to develop. Getting a new OG and likely backup Mike LB was nice too. What would have made this draft grade would have been to pass on S Mays and turned our 2nd rounder into a later 2nd and a 4th and having used both on a 4-3 DE speed/edge rusher and a 3-4 OLB prospect later on.

What I Disliked

- I really, really, really wanted OT Trent Williams but his combine and ability were so good he went as the 1st OT in the draft. I’m not nearly as high on Davis The guy who didn’t play both sides at a national title competing school, who ran the 40 in about half a second faster, had more vertical leaping and bench ability and impressed scouts in the agility and footwork drills.

- Seemingly wasted pair of last picks. Neither has NFL level talent.Was a practice squad likely DE or NT really that hard to find or maybe a FB to challenge Norris? In a camp like we are headed towards, yeah, even a third FB is a good idea for bodies.