2008 NFL Draft Review
Round 1
| Pick | Team | Pos | Player | School |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miami Dolphins | OT | Jake Long | Michigan |
| A smart, safe pick. Long gives the Dolphins an anchor for their offensive line. | ||||
| 2 | St. Louis Rams | DE | Chris Long | Virginia |
| Long is the pass rusher and complement to Leonard Little the team was looking for. Long at DE and Carriker at DT is better than Dorsey at DT and Carriker at DE. | ||||
| 3 | Atlanta Falcons | QB | Matt Ryan | Boston College |
| Ryan was the #1 QB on most boards but is no sure thing. Dorsey at DT and Brohm in round 2 would have been a better combination. This pick will make or break the Falcons draft. | ||||
| 4 | Oakland Raiders | RB | Darren McFadden | Arkansas |
| Dorsey was tempting but finding a dynamic playmaker to take pressure off JaMarcus Russell was the right move. | ||||
| 5 | Kansas City Chiefs | DT | Glenn Dorsey | LSU |
| The top defensive player in the draft lands in the Chiefs lap at #5. The Chiefs weakness up the middle is no more. | ||||
| 6 | New York Jets | DE | Vernon Gholston | Ohio State |
| Gholston is the top 3-4 OLB prospect in the draft and should instantly energize the Jets pass rush. | ||||
| 7 | New Orleans Saints | DT | Sedrick Ellis | USC |
| Kudos to the Saints for getting the DT they wanted and needed. The price they paid to move up was not that steep either. | ||||
| 8 | Jacksonville Jaguars | DE | Derrick Harvey | Florida |
| The Jags make an aggressive move up to fill their need for a pass rushing defensive end. | ||||
| 9 | Cincinnati Bengals | OLB | Keith Rivers | USC |
| By standing pat the Bengals miss out on not only Sedrick Ellis but also backup plan Derrick Harvey. That complacency nets the Bengals the top LB in the draft. Not a bad fall back option. | ||||
| 10 | New England Patriots | OLB | Jerod Mayo | Tennessee |
| The Patriots plan to trade down and draft Rivers is foiled by the Jags surprise move up to draft Harvey. The Pats reach slightly for Mayo but he fills a big need for youth and athleticism at linebacker. | ||||
| 11 | Buffalo Bills | CB | Leodis McKelvin | Troy |
| The Bills fill their need for a cornerback with the top corner in the draft. His return skills are an added bonus. | ||||
| 12 | Denver Broncos | OT | Ryan Clady | Boise State |
| A near perfect fit. The Broncos need a left tackle and Clady is arguably the best left tackle prospect in the draft and a good fit for their zone blocking scheme. | ||||
| 13 | Carolina Panthers | RB | Jonathan Stewart | Oregon |
| Stewart is a very talented back and will form a solid 1-2 punch with DeAngelo Williams. The question is did they really need to draft another RB? This pick caused them to losed their 2009 1st rounder later in the draft. | ||||
| 14 | Chicago Bears | OT | Christopher Williams | Vanderbilt |
| The Bears get the left tackle they needed to begin re-fortifying the offensive front. | ||||
| 15 | Kansas City Chiefs | G | Branden Albert | Virginia |
| Trading up for Albert was one of the best moves in the draft. Getting Albert at 15 is a coup considering many mocks had the Chiefs taking him 5th overall. Getting Dorsey and Albert is a remarkable use of their 2 1st rounders. | ||||
| 16 | Arizona Cardinals | CB | Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie | Tennessee State |
| Rodgers-Cromartie comes with the small school risk but he has rare the rare size/speed combinations desire at CB. He fills a big need for Arizona. | ||||
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| 17 | Detroit Lions | OT | Gosder Cherilus | Boston College |
| You can argue the Lions should have taken Otah, but taking a tackle was the right move. Cherilus is an excellent right tackle prospect. | ||||
| 18 | Baltimore Ravens | QB | Joe Flacco | Delaware |
| An aggressive and likely unnecessary move up to get their QB. Flacco has an excellent arm but has to improve on his accuracy. The Kyle Boller scouting report sounded eerily similar. | ||||
| 19 | Carolina Panthers | OT | Jeffrey Otah | Pittsburgh |
| After making a surprise RB pick at #13, the Panthers give up their 2009 1st rounder and more to fill their need at offensive tackle. Otah has tremendous upside but is he a RT or LT? | ||||
| 20 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | CB | Aqib Talib | Kansas |
| Buccs pass on Rashard Mendenhall and their choice of wide receiver options to take a raw corner. Talib has upside but also has character concerns. A Tampa 2 team taking a 1st round corner is a bit of a surprise. | ||||
| 21 | Atlanta Falcons | OT | Sam Baker | USC |
| The run on offensive tackles causes the Falcons to trade back into the 1st round to reach for an offensive tackle. A need pick as they must protect their QB investment. | ||||
| 22 | Dallas Cowboys | RB | Felix Jones | Arkansas |
| Jones is an excellent prospect with big play ability but passing on Rashard Mendenhall to take him is a bit of a surprise. | ||||
| 23 | Pittsburgh Steelers | RB | Rashard Mendenhall | Illinois |
| Pittsburgh gets tremendous value as a power back falls into their lap. | ||||
| 24 | Tennessee Titans | RB | Chris Johnson | East Carolina |
| Johnson has big play potential but passing on their choice of wide receivers for a situational back is a mistake. The Titans have now spent a 1st or 2nd round pick on a running back three straight years. | ||||
| 25 | Dallas Cowboys | CB | Mike Jenkins | USF |
| Jenkins was one of the top 3 corners in the draft and is an excellent value for the Cowboy defense. Not counting on Pac Man was a smart move by Dallas. | ||||
| 26 | Houston Texans | OT | Duane Brown | Virginia Tech |
| The Texans have needed to upgrade their offensive line for years but taking Brown is a bit of a reach. Yet another team is forced to fill a need at OT. That said, Brown has the athleticism to do well in the Texans zone blocking scheme. | ||||
| 27 | San Diego Chargers | CB | Antoine Cason | Arizona |
| With no offensive tackles on the board, the Chargers take Cason who should be able to contribute right away as a nickel back. | ||||
| 28 | Seattle Seahawks | DE | Lawrence Jackson | USC |
| A bit of a surprise to see the Seahawks take a DE instead of a DT but the Giants proved last year that a team can never have enough pass rushers. | ||||
| 29 | San Francisco 49ers | DT | Kentwan Balmer | North Carolina |
| The 49ers pass on playmakers to toughen up in the trenches. Balmer was considered on of the top 3-4 DE prospects in the draft. | ||||
| 30 | New York Jets | TE | Dustin Keller | Purdue |
| With all the wide receivers still on the board, the Jets trade up to select a tight end who can not block? | ||||
| 31 | New England Patriots | |||
| 32 | New York Giants | S | Kenny Phillips | Miami (FL) |
| Phillips is the next in the line of great Miami Hurricane safeties. Look for him to start from day one in the Giant secondary. | ||||
# Denotes Underclassman