Mel Kiper: We're giving out the grades today. Let's get started!
Oz, DC: Mel, which safety does Laron Landry compare to in the current NFL? What are your thoughts on the Commanders draft inspite of the limited selections? Thanks
Mel Kiper: He's an in-the-box safety. Tough, aggressive. Form tackler. He's probably like a Roy Williams. He has that ability. I think he's a little better in coverage. But he's not going to be the center fielder. Sean Taylor will be that. They will use his strengths. They will mask his weaknesses. He doesn't have great ball skills or hands, but they won't put him in a position where he has to use those skills. He will make impact plays on or around the line like Williams.
Dori (Chicago): i really like that bears took Greg Olsen the best tight end in the draft and also Garret Wolfe the running back from NIU, based on the bears playbook that they need 2 types of running back and the so needy tight end position would you think that these players are going to be impact players or maybe pro bowl caliper players
Mel Kiper: I think both will have huge rookie years. Olsen is a pass catching TE and will open up that offense more than it has been. Wolfe will catch some passes out of the backfield. He'll be an all-around dynamo. He'll catch some passes, return some kicks, run the ball. He could be one of the more productive rookies.
Branson (Chesapeake Beach, MD): Mel any good free agent signings of players not drafted?
Mel Kiper: I think a good one was Darius Walker. He went to the Bears. They added Wolfe, he's a situational guy. Walker is in that mix as well. He was one of the only bright spots when they lost to LSU. He's a guy that will have an opportunity.
Mel Kiper: The Bears have already gotten some high profile signings. They got David Ball, Walker, Chris Leak.
Lee (Dallas, TX): How about your top 5 and bottom 5 drafts from the weekend?
Mel Kiper: The top 5 in order: San Francisco, Cleveland, Minnesota, Carolina and the fifth would be Pittsburgh.
Mel Kiper: The bottom five: Tennessee, Houston, Washington, Philadelphia and the Giants.
Brad (Rochester, NY): What do you think of the Bills drafting Edwards? Should they have gone with a CB, or was Edwards a value pick at the end of round 3?
Mel Kiper: He was a very good value pick, but I wasn't thrilled with that pick, even though he's a good value pick. Taking the young QB when you have a young QB baffles me. You have Losman. If he plays well, Edwards will never see the field. It will take a couple of years before you feel comfortable with him as your backup. They lost a lot of guys in the off season. They didn't get a corner. What they have to hope for is Ashton Youboty stepping into that corner spot. They could have used that pick for Fred Bennett, Brandon McDonald, Tarell Brown, Daymeion Hughes. There are some corners they could have gotten there.
Mel Kiper: Edwards had a much higher grade than those guys, though. He did have a very good grade. They could have gotten Michael Bush to be in there with Lynch. They could have had Antonio Pittman. They did draft Wright, who I like. If he can stay healthy, he can be a good 1-2 punch with Lynch. Overall, I gave them a B.
Jim, New York: Mel, how did the Eagles do? Did they make a mistake in drafting Kolb as high as they did?
Mel Kiper: I think they drafted the kid too high. I looked at him as a mid-third.
I thought the big mistake was letting Dallas getting into the first round and getting Anthony Spencer. You can't do your division rival a favor. That was as big a mistake as drafting Kolb in the second round. That's why I gave them a lower grade. Their later picks - 3, 4 round picks - were OK.
Marc (Sacramento, CA): I know we are just coming off of the high of the 2007 NFL Draft, but who do you see as the top prospects of the 2008 NFL Draft??? You can we look forward too as being the #1 pick next year???
Mel Kiper: Definitely. The top guys are Brian Brohm, Jake Long, Glenn Dorsey, Sam Baker, Early Doucet, Frank Okam, Dan Connor, Antoine Cason, Gosder Cherilus, Sedrick Ellis.
Mel Kiper: Those are all the seniors. There is one super blue chip junior that could have a big impact on the draft process and that's Darren McFadden.
Branson (Chesapeake Beach, Maryland): Any players suprise you that didn't get drafted this past weekend?
Mel Kiper: Jared Zabransky, Toby Korrody, Matt Moore, Darius Walker, Rhema McKnight, Renardo Foster, Tim Duckworth, Enoka Lucas, Nu'u Tafisi, Justin Hickman, David Patterson, Nate Harris, Rory Johnson, Juwan Simpson, KaMichael Hall, Kenny Scott, Duwane Coleman, DeAndre Jackson, Patrick Ghee, Antwan Stewart, Brandon Sharp, Matt Clark, Kody Bliss.
Ben (Mobile AL): What did you think of Ginn going so early? Could they just not find anyone to trade down with or were they worried others felt as strong about his NFL talents?
Mel Kiper: Nobody in the top 13 were able to trade down. Teams just don't want to give up draft picks any more. And they don't want to pay the money. Teams are treating this draft a lot differently. They're not giving away the draft picks and big money. They'll do it later in the round, but not in the top 10. So, Miami had to make a pick. He does have some speed to burn. More so than Ted Ginn, John Beck is going to be compared to Brady Quinn.
Mike (D): Do you think Stanton would've still been there in the 3rd for the Lions to take??
Mel Kiper: It's possible that he could have still been there, but they needed a young QB. The surprise to me is that Detroit traded off of 34. They could have taken John Beck and Trent Edwards. Edwards didn't go until the late third round. You could have waited on one of those QBs. They targeted Stanton and took him. He'll be compared to Beck and Quinn for that matter. They could have had Quinn at No. 2.
todd robison (ca): will michael bush compete for the raiders starting rb position or will it take a while? what draft pick will have the biggest chance at starting other then russell?
Mel Kiper: I think you can expect more contributions from him in 2008. He has to get himself back to 100%. He had a year of inactivity last season. He hasn't played football in a long time. I won't expect major contributions from him until 2008. Anything from him is a bonus.
Jamaal (Washington Twp, NJ): For the Bengals, how does Leon Hall grade out against last years CB selection...Jonathan Joseph? Thanks.
Mel Kiper: Need made them do it. It was all based on need. They had to have a corner. There was no getting around a corner. Leon Hall at 18 was a very good pick. He doesn't have the speed of Joseph. He's more fundamentally sound as a corner. These two should complement each other very well. He's got tremendous jumping ability. He has good ball skills. He just doesn't have great catch up ability.
Mike (San Fran): Mel, talk a little about the 49ers draft and why they get your #1 draft ranking. Thanks!
Mel Kiper: A lot of things. First, they had a lot of picks. They jumped back into the first round to get Joe Staley at No. 28. They were able to get a first rounder back from Indy. They got Patrick Willis to start off the draft. He should be an outsanding LB. They got a WR in Jason Hill. They traded for Darrell Jackson. They added defensive players that fit the 3-4. And they got some real good backup types later. I think 8 of their 9 picks should make the football team and be contributors.
Mel Kiper: They will be a trendy playoff selection this year. You can be a lot of analysts will project them to be in the playoffs next year.
Travis (Canada): Mel, grade out the Saints draft filled with small school prospects?
Mel Kiper: Jahri Evans was a small school guy and Colston was a starter last year. They've gone into the small school ranks for players. They got Jermon Bushrod from Towson. Dave Meggett was from Towson. David Jones a CB from Wingate. He was a playmaking corner with good size. He had 15 INTs in his career. He was a good small college back. They have used the non-DIA ranks effectively.
Josh (Sheboygan, WI): Mel, what were your top 5 reaches from the draft? Who were your top 5 steals?
Mel Kiper: The reaches in the draft were, in no specific order: Gerald Alexander in the second round to Detroit, Brannon Condren in the fourth round to Indianapolis, Clint Oldenburg in the fifth round to New England, Usama Young in the third round to New Orleans, John Bowie to Oakland in the fourth round, Kevin Kolb in the second the Philadelphia, Craig Davis to San Diego in the first round, Michael Griffin in the first, Chris Henry in the second to Arizona.
Dan (Tampa): So Mel, the draft's over. What do you do now? Do you have a cave to hibernate in?
Mel Kiper: You have a little bit of a break unti August 1. My season goes hard from August 1 to May 1. From noon to 3, you can listen to me on the radio on Saturdays all through the off season. Saturday, August 25 is the last show. We talk college football, NFL. The review is worked on in May. Then the preview goes out in September. On ESPN.com, I'll be updating my big board. The first one goes up at the end of May.
Joe (Decatur, GA): Who are some of the guys who will make immediate impacts given where they landed?
Mel Kiper: Calvin Johnson, we know he'll have a big impact. Joe Thomas should start right off the bat. Normally, the guys that you can expect the most impact from are the RBs and the hybrids, the DE/OLB. Marshawn Lynch will have a great opportunity to be their feature back. Anthony Spencer has a good chance to be the defensive rookie of the year.
Tom (Boston): Mel, what about your top 5 steals??
Mel Kiper: TE Ben Patrick in the 7th round to Arizona. CB Chris Houston to Atlanta in the second. LB Paul Posluszny to Buffalo in the second. WR Dwayne Jarrett to Carolina in the second. OL Ryan Kalil to Carolina in the second. DL Charles Johnson in the third to Carolina. TE Greg Olsen to Chicago in the first. OL Josh Beekman to Chicago in the fourth. Leon Hall to Cincinnati in the first. Brady Quinn to Cleveland at pick No. 22. Eric Wright to Cleveland in the second round. Mason Crosby to Green Bay in the sixth round. Sidney Rice to Minnesota in the second round. Adrian Peterson to Minnesota at pick 7. Aundrae Allison to Minnesota in the fifth round. David Harris to the Jets in the second round. Michael Bush to Oakland in the fourth round. Dallas Baker to Pittsburgh in the seventh round. Joe Staley to San Francisco at the end of the first round. Tarell Brown to San Francisco in the fifth round. Courtney Taylor to Seattle in the sixth round. Tanard Jackson to Tampa in the fourth round.
rob (FL): Why did LB Brandon Siler of Florida drop to the 7th round? He played great for the National Champs, never got in trouble and was projected to go much higher.
Mel Kiper: I thought he'd be a fourth round pick. I was never as high on Siler as some were. His stats were inflated because he played behind a great defensive line. I always thought he was a little overrated. It surprised me a little that he lasted to the seventh, but I wasn't shocked.
Mel Kiper: And he was also on my list of overrated players.
Eric (NY): Hi Mel, did the Jets give up too much to get Revis at 14 and your thoughts on David Harris?
Mel Kiper: They had no lead corner on this team. No No. 1 corner. They had to have it. There are only two corners that were rated above the rest - Hall and Revis. Once he ran a 4.39 at his pro day, he moved up on a lot of peoples' boards. They also moved up in the second round to get David Harris who should be an ideal LB for their scheme. Plus they only had three picks. They also got a kid in the sixth round who I thought could have gone a little higher than that. He's a good developmental OL prospect. When you can get an elite corner and a quality ILB for their defense, I don't have a problem with what they did.
Ray (Chicago): Mel, you think the bears had a good draft? we needed a outside LB but we failed to get one. was this a mistake?
Mel Kiper: They got one - Okwo out of Stanford. He's a little undersized, but he's what they like. They got a situational dynamo in Wolfe. The reached a bit for Bazuin, but he's a quality DE. They got a steal in Olsen. I gave them a B grade. Bazuin and Okwo fit their scheme.
Mel Kiper: Wolfe has a chance to be a very interesting rookie as a complementary piece of the puzzle.
Matt : Two Harbors: Where you suprised to see Petrino pass on former Louisville DT Akoye?
Mel Kiper: No, because DE was a bit more pressing. Once Levi Brown and Landry were gone, I thought they would go with Okoye. DT and DE are need areas, but DE is more pressing. I wasn't surprised they took Anderson. I was surprised they took Laurent Robinson where they did.
Josh (Sheboygan, WI): Was there any teams that in your opinion didn't do too well on day 1 that recovered and made good moves on day 2?
Mel Kiper: Good question. Green Bay did some intersting things on Day 2. They got a variety of players on Day 2. I thoguht Minnesota did a good job on Day 2 - Day 1 as well. I like New Orleans on Day 2. I liked what Pittsburgh did on Day 2.
Mel Kiper: I thought this has been a good year. We covered a lot of ground with the chats. I had a lot of fun. We went from the college season to the NFL season, all the all star games, the combine, all of it. You can get all the final grades on ESPN.com. The top 25 senior board will go up toward the end of May. I hope you all call into my radio show. It would be great to hear from some of you on the show. We take calls and e-mails. Every Saturday in the summer until August 25. We'll start back up with the chats on Wednesday, August 15 from 1-2 p.m. ET.
