Thumbs Up: To the three teams picking at the top of the rounds, for choosing quality over quantity. Many times poor teams are overly seduced by the concept of trading away their top picks in order to accrue more picks later in rounds, particularly at the top of the 2nd and 3rd rounds in recent years. But this year the Rams, Lions and Bucs all held their spots and plucked more premium talent from one of the deepest drafts in memory. The Lions even traded up to snare Jahvid Best, who in their opinion is set to be a star running back. By adding fewer-but-better players, those downtrodden franchises all significantly raised the top-shelf talent on their teams. It might not help short-term, but when this rookie class hits its full stride in 3-5 years, those three teams each have potential Pro Bowlers. That?s better than each team having five or six adequate starters spread around but no stars--which is precisely why those teams have consistently been picking so high. I?m not sure all the picks were the right ones, but I applaud the change in philosophy. To the Oakland Raiders, for exhibiting patience and acumen. When Bruce Campbell made everyone drool at the Combine, most every pundit slotted the physical marvel to the Raiders with the #8 overall pick. Based on past experience, that not only seemed possible but inevitable. But Al Davis isn?t so crazy after all. Instead of reaching for a physical freak, he drafted the best ILB in the draft by a huge margin in Rolando McClain, a player that had a fairly poor workout no less. In the second round, rather than be tempted by superfluous skill position athletes, the Raiders plugged a major hole by taking DT Lamarr Houston. Picking up McClain left incumbent MLB Kirk Morrison without a role, so rather than let him languish they added value by dealing him to Jacksonville (where he?ll help) and picked up the more stereotypical Al Davis speed demon in Jacoby Ford. Davis landed his prize linemen in Jared Veldheer and the aforementioned Campbell where they belonged--in the 3rd and 4th rounds. No reaching, no spit-take head scratchers. They even picked up Jason Campbell via trade, a clear sign that the JaMarcus Russell era is over, which every Raiders fan gives an enthusiastic thumbs up as well. Other teams I thought drafted very well: Kansas City Chiefs (take that all who think I blindly rip Scott Pioli!), Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers. Thumbs Down: To the Carolina Panthers, for not learning from past mistakes. I love the Jimmy Clausen pick, but the 3rd round was an unmitigated example of the definition of insanity. Badly in need of a wideout to take pressure off Steve Smith, the Panthers drafted Brandon LaFell, a carbon copy of the man he?s angling to replace, Dwayne Jarrett. If the last big, stiff-routed, iffy-handed wideout didn?t work, what makes GM Marty Hurney believe this one will? Hurney then compounded the mistake by trading a 2nd rounder next year to New England (who else?) to move up and select an undersized FCS quarterback, Armanti Edwards, that will transition to wide receiver. With the very next pick the Patriots took Ohio University wideout Taylor Price, who is bigger, stronger, faster, and has actually run a pass route and proven he?ll catch anything near him. The spin from Charlotte is that Edwards can be Josh Cribbs for them, but Cribbs is four inches taller and 35 pounds heavier, and even so he has struggled to find a role in Cleveland?s offense. Two years ago they grossly overpaid to move up and get Jeff Otah, who admittedly has been pretty good, and last year they dealt way too much to get Everette Brown. For a team completely devoid of depth across the board, the Panthers simply cannot afford to keep borrowing from the future to pay for the present--especially when the present doesn?t look too promising. They also can?t afford head-scratchers like taking a 3rd QB (Tony Pike) in the 6th round, not with so many depth issues all over the field. To Taylor Mays, for proving why he dropped in the draft. Mays would have been a top-eight pick in 2009 but elected to return to USC and play for new Seahawks coach Pete Carroll. After another college season of demonstrating little actual football acumen beyond having a to-die-for body, Mays plummeted into the middle of the 2nd round, costing him tens of millions of dollars. He took out his frustration on Carroll, who passed on him twice and took a different safety with one of those picks. There were whispers that Mays lacked self-awareness, and his comments proved it. Teams that I felt could have done better over the weekend: Jacksonville Jaguars (hating on the slots, not necessarily the players), Indianapolis Colts, Cincinnati Bengals, and the Tennessee Titans save the Myron Rolle pick. He might not be a great NFL player, but he?s worth the roster spot in P.R. and the locker room. Thumbs Twiddling: To the Philadelphia Eagles, for extreme makeover, NFL edition. No playoff team has dramatically altered itself as much as the Eagles, and that radical transformation continued over the weekend. In the early rounds the Eagles loaded up on undersized defensive talent. This comes at a time where most teams are swinging in the other direction, trying to get bigger and more physical. If you look up pre-draft guides on several of the Philly draftees after Brandon Graham, the word ?finesse? is likely to appear. In scout talk, there?s a slim margin between finesse and ?soft?, especially for defensive players. It?s an intriguing gamble in such a tough division that features Brandon Jacobs, Marion Barber, and Larry Johnson and some nasty offensive linemen. I do like some of the talent that Philly selected: Brandon Graham is a nightmare for tall tackles, because he?s quick enough to get into their pads before they can extend their arms and has the base strength to drive them backwards; Nate Allen is a fundamentally sound ballhawk with great range at safety; Daniel Te?o-Nesheim reminds me of recent acquisition Darryl Tapp as a speedy end with football smarts. How the numerous gambles Andy Reid & Co. have wagered this offseason remains to be seen, but they concluded that what they had before wasn?t going to work anymore, and for that I applaud the Eagles for taking such risks...even if it means a regression. Other teams that I can?t decide how I feel yet: San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns, New York Giants, Green Bay Packers. Thumbs Sucking: To ESPN, for ruining the drama. We get it, Worldwide Leader--you are omnipresent and all-knowing, and you never miss an opportunity to shove that down our throats. But you absolutely ruined one of the facets of the draft that everyone loves--the suspense of the pick. We don?t want to see the player about to be drafted on the phone; we want to see Roger Goodell step up and announce the pick with uncertainty and surprise in our minds. If you want to cut to the player reaction, that?s great...just wait until the pick is announced. That was the number one complaint I heard on the message boards and chats about the draft. It seemed like too many chefs making a pretty simple dish, too, though that critique could be leveled on pretty much any network covering pretty much anything these days.