John Clayton (aka The Crypt Keeper) graded us losers...

[NIGHT STALKER]

Here are the winners and losers in a fascinating day of wheeling and dealing:

Winners

1. The Seahawks: As great as the first two rounds went for Pete Carroll and the Seattle Seahawks, Saturday might have generated even bigger excitement. Since the heyday of Shaun Alexander, the Seahawks haven't been able to run the football. On Saturday, they picked up the 1-2 punch of White and Washington. The price was ridiculously cheap. Washington cost a fifth-round pick. White came for a swap of seven places in the fourth round and a swap of nine picks in the sixth. To make things even sweeter, the Titans gave the Seahawks a seventh-round pick. Those moves might have been an indictment of a running back class that had seven players taken in the first two rounds. No back went in the third round. White has a chance to reunite with Carroll and be his power runner on first and second down. Washington joins Justin Forsett in the Seahawks' tandem of quick, explosive backs. The Seahawks were looking to replace Julius Jones in the draft, but for little cost, they got depth and options that this draft may not have offered.

2. The Raiders: For years the Oakland Raiders have been rightfully criticized for reaching for speedy players who can't produce on the field. Al Davis got it right this year. He added to a solid draft by picking up Campbell for a conditional fourth-round pick, whose conditions appear to be unachievable. For the Redskins to get that fourth-round pick, the Raiders would either have to make the playoffs or Campbell would have to go to the Pro Bowl. Odds of that are about as good as JaMarcus Russell being on the Raiders' roster this fall. The Campbell acquisition is expected to close the disastrous Russell era. Raiders fans must be rejoicing. Russell created a black hole as far as completing passes consistently. If that weren't enough, the Raiders didn't reach for choices. Their defense is going to be better with linebacker Rolando McClain and defensive tackle Lamarr Houston. Instead of reaching for speedy left tackle Bruce Campbell in the first round, the Raiders got him in the fourth. Sure, Davis couldn't resist going for the fastest player at the combine -- Clemson wide receiver Jacoby Ford -- but he did it with a fourth-round choice, much better than watching the fast but butterfingered Darrius Heyward-Bey.

3. The Eagles: As always, the Philadelphia Eagles love being a moving target by jumping forward and backward with draft-day trades. They made six deals, but after a slow start, they settled in and had a solid draft. The selections of defensive end Brandon Graham and safety Nate Allen in the first two rounds were solid. The Eagles may have gotten greater value for depth on Saturday. They drafted Northwestern quarterback Mike Kafka, who could develop into a solid backup. TE Clay Harbor, a fifth-round pick from Missouri State, could become a fullback or be used more as a blocker to help the offense. Getting Clemson linebacker Ricky Sapp in the fifth round was a bargain. Fifth-round wide receiver Riley Cooper is a 6-foot-4, 222-pound target who could help in the red zone.

Losers

1. Tony Pike: In the middle of his senior year, the Cincinnati QB was being looked at as a possible first-round pick by draft experts. He ended up going in the sixth round to a Carolina Panthers team that took Jimmy Clausen in the second round. Pike has one of the stronger arms of the QBs in the draft, but he's not mobile and not considered a great athlete. He suffered a broken arm last fall and the Bearcats' coaching staff almost didn't give him a chance to regain his starting job, lowering his stock.

2. The Jets: Like the decision to replace Thomas Jones with LaDainian Tomlinson at halfback, the Jets made two curious moves in the past two days that didn't necessarily improve the team. The second-round selection of Vladimir Ducasse led to the release of Pro Bowl guard Alan Faneca on Saturday. Then the Jets drafted Joe McKnight in the fourth round and traded Leon Washington for only a fifth-round pick, which New York used on fullback John Conner. The Jones-Washington combo worked for so many years, but the Jets were worried about Jones' age (32 in August) and Washington's inability to be satisfied with a long-term contract. The Jets lost a lot of leadership in Jones and Faneca, and the Conner selection could spell the end of fullback Tony Richardson's career with the Jets. As the Jets have done on occasions, they had only a four-player draft class. Those small classes lead to free-agent signings such as Faneca, whom the Jets needed to get more out of than just two seasons.

3. Arizona: The Cardinals made the strangest move of the day, trading cornerback Bryant McFadden to the Pittsburgh Steelers one year after signing him away from Pittsburgh in free agency. The Steelers knew by midseason they should have kept McFadden because William Gay wasn't ready to handle the starting job in his place. Could Arizona head coach Ken Whisenhunt be making a similar mistake? It's possible. Whisenhunt believes Greg Toler, a fourth-round pick last year, can take over for McFadden just as Mike Tomlin believed in Gay. McFadden played 88 percent of the downs for the Cardinals last season. He had a lot of short passes completed against him, but he gave up only three touchdown passes. The Steelers couldn't be happier getting him back. Now, the pressure is on Toler. All the Cardinals received was a 40-spot advance into the fifth round to take quarterback John Skelton of Fordham.

John Clayton, a recipient of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's McCann Award for distinguished reporting, is a senior writer for ESPN.com.

[gang_green03]

Some of his points are fair although I disagree. I also think its fair to say people in the media are going to overrate Faneca but replacing him with an uproven commodity does come with some risk. Basically since we're getting rid of relatively big name and proven players many casual fans/media will question the moves.

[SayNoToDMC]

John Clayton, a recipient of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's McCann Award for distinguished reporting, is a senior writer for ESPN.com.

So John Clayton has a place in the HOF and Joe Klecko doesn't? I'm burning that place to the ****ing ground

[Maxman]

I think he made some really fair points. The Jets need to get these picks right. If they do, it is a non-issue. In a way it is a good thing, the Jets have talented players. As they get older, they need to replace them with new talented players.

It beats the alternative which we have been too familiar with.

[Biggs]

2. The Jets: Like the decision to replace Thomas Jones with LaDainian Tomlinson at halfback, the Jets made two curious moves in the past two days that didn't necessarily improve the team. The second-round selection of Vladimir Ducasse led to the release of Pro Bowl guard Alan Faneca on Saturday. Then the Jets drafted Joe McKnight in the fourth round and traded Leon Washington for only a fifth-round pick, which New York used on fullback John Conner. The Jones-Washington combo worked for so many years, but the Jets were worried about Jones' age (32 in August) and Washington's inability to be satisfied with a long-term contract. The Jets lost a lot of leadership in Jones and Faneca, and the Conner selection could spell the end of fullback Tony Richardson's career with the Jets. As the Jets have done on occasions, they had only a four-player draft class. Those small classes lead to free-agent signings such as Faneca, whom the Jets needed to get more out of than just two seasons.

Tomlinson didn't replace Thomas Jones, Green did. Faneca was going to be released regardless of who we drafted. It's clear Leon couldn't be resigned and it's likely he wouldn't be ready to be a full time player for a good portion of this year. Cleary the Jets needed a third down back and punt returner. McKnight is going to be an impact player in a limited role from day 1.

Agree that it may take time for these guys to jell but the core of the team is intact and the team is clearly improved on paper from the team that played IND last year. A game that both Jones and Leon had little to no impact and Faneca was abused in.

Tony Richardson is going to be on this team this year unless age has cought up to him and his skills have declined. Conner a 4th round pick is likely to contribute to this team for years.

Faneca wasn't great in either year he was here. We over paid for him to provide stability for both D Brick and Mangold he did that while he's over all play declined. Brick and Mangold are clearly two of the best players on our team and it's now their turn to provide stability for a young player inserted between them. This is how teams continue to get better before age catches up to them.

The Jets are going as far as Sanchez takes them. Faneca had become a liability in protecting that investment. This could end up being a bad move but I have faith in the Jets management. Think about that when was the last time any of us could say that since Parcells left?

[Larz]

his points are fair enough, but I think a loser grtade is too strong because the jets made moves on a proactive basis, rather than draft for need and didn't help his mock draft

f em

[BwanaZulia]

I think he made some really fair points. The Jets need to get these picks right. If they do, it is a non-issue. In a way it is a good thing, the Jets have talented players. As they get older, they need to replace them with new talented players.

It beats the alternative which we have been too familiar with.

Last year: 3 players, two of which pulled us long into the playoffs.

The year: 4 players. So if we only have 2 of the 4 pull us long into the playoffs, I will be happy.

BZ

[BwanaZulia]

his points are fair enough, but I think a loser grtade is too strong because the jets made moves on a proactive basis, rather than draft for need and didn't help his mock draft

f em

He also isn't taking into account the two WRs we got from the draft.

If you give away a draft pick to get a player, it should be accounted for.

BZ

[DMaynard]

He does have a couple of fair points. But he looks like a chicken and should therefore hide under his bed for the rest of his pathetic life. With all due respect ...

[HessStation]

LOL, did he say Pike has a strong arm?

[nycdan]

He also isn't taking into account the two WRs we got from the draft.

If you give away a draft pick to get a player, it should be accounted for.

BZ

In a world where people think before they write, yes, I'd agree with you.

I do think we need to start drafting a few more players to fill out the 'cheaper' part of the roster better, but for now, I can't fault the results.

Having said that, Clayton makes a fair point, but tried to make a lot more hay with it than it deserves right now. If the OLine and running game fail this year, then yes...he can say "I told you so".

[DMaynard]

LOL, did he say Pike has a strong arm?

He was comparing it to his own chicken wing.

[newjakecity]

How come he's including who was cut in the (be it over the weekend or earlier in the offseason) as part of our draft grade? And if he does this, why isn't the Santonio Holmes acquisition mentioned?

Just sayin

[slats]

I always thought he looked more like Mr. Mackey than the crypt keeper.

2. The Jets: Like the decision to replace Thomas Jones with LaDainian Tomlinson at halfback, the Jets made two curious moves in the past two days that didn't necessarily improve the team. The second-round selection of Vladimir Ducasse led to the release of Pro Bowl guard Alan Faneca on Saturday. Then the Jets drafted Joe McKnight in the fourth round and traded Leon Washington for only a fifth-round pick, which New York used on fullback John Conner. The Jones-Washington combo worked for so many years, but the Jets were worried about Jones' age (32 in August) and Washington's inability to be satisfied with a long-term contract. The Jets lost a lot of leadership in Jones and Faneca, and the Conner selection could spell the end of fullback Tony Richardson's career with the Jets. As the Jets have done on occasions, they had only a four-player draft class. Those small classes lead to free-agent signings such as Faneca, whom the Jets needed to get more out of than just two seasons.

I thought the Jets pretty much had in house replacements for both Faneca and Leon, but I certainly can't give them poor grades for making sure they shored up those spots with draft picks.

Faneca's bad, mmmkay?

[THE ILK]

Tomlinson didn't replace Thomas Jones, Green did. Faneca was going to be released regardless of who we drafted. It's clear Leon couldn't be resigned and it's likely he wouldn't be ready to be a full time player for a good portion of this year. Cleary the Jets needed a third down back and punt returner. McKnight is going to be an impact player in a limited role from day 1.

Agree that it may take time for these guys to jell but the core of the team is intact and the team is clearly improved on paper from the team that played IND last year. A game that both Jones and Leon had little to no impact and Faneca was abused in.

Tony Richardson is going to be on this team this year unless age has cought up to him and his skills have declined. Conner a 4th round pick is likely to contribute to this team for years.

Faneca wasn't great in either year he was here. We over paid for him to provide stability for both D Brick and Mangold he did that while he's over all play declined. Brick and Mangold are clearly two of the best players on our team and it's now their turn to provide stability for a young player inserted between them. This is how teams continue to get better before age catches up to them.

The Jets are going as far as Sanchez takes them. Faneca had become a liability in protecting that investment. This could end up being a bad move but I have faith in the Jets management. Think about that when was the last time any of us could say that since Parcells left?

Excellent post!

[MTJ06]

I love how he says "The Jones-Washington combo worked for so many years"

Jones and Washington were on the Jets together from 2007-2009. Jones didnt have a good season in 2007, rushing for 1,100 yards and 1 TD, and Leon was hurt for most of 2009 so how did this combination work for so many years?

They had one good combined season which was 2008, so 1 year is now "so many years"

[HessStation]

I love how he says "The Jones-Washington combo worked for so many years"

Jones and Washington were on the Jets together from 2007-2009. Jones didnt have a good season in 2007, rushing for 1,100 yards and 1 TD, and Leon was hurt for most of 2009 so how did this combination work for so many years?

They had one good combined season which was 2008, so 1 year is now "so many years"

...and no, he doesn't get a free pass for not knowing this. The guy's full time job is to know 32 teams inside and out. That's it. Between this post above and taking Faneca/Leon into account but not Holmes/Edwards shows how little thought Clayton put into these grades.

[THE ILK]

He's a joke!

[KINGDIRK]

1) LT and TJ are both "close to done", however LTs ability as a receiver gives him a one up on TJ in our offense.

2) Did the Vladimir Ducasse selection really push Faneca out the door? Or was it his declining skills, advancing age? Forget what his name is and realize he was BELOW league average in pass blocking skills? If you have to replace an Olineman like that, why wait?

3) Leon Washington is a 28 year old RB recovering from a compound fracture. Most likely he will not be ready to start the season and like most athletes coming off major surgery his first year back will not be vintage Leon. So what exactly did Clayton think a damaged Leon with only 1 year left on his contract was going to bring back in a trade? If you were an NFL GM how much would you give up for Leon? Answer is not much anything. So we move up and get the top FB in the draft to replace our 38 year old FB. Nothing wrong with that.

4) The Jones-Leon combo did work. But what does the past have to do with the present?

A 32 year old who is close to done and a RB coming off a major fracture. Elite NFL teams get rid of guys a year too early not too late.

[Thai Jet]

I can't say I find too much to argue with Clayton. He makes some very strong points that many of us here have already thought . I guess we'll know how it worked out by February.

[Marky Mark Sanchez]

According to him we should stick with one of the worst aging Olinemen on the team, and a pair of running backs who are long in the tooth and coming off injury. Guess what Johnny, we got two of the best twenty receivers (Holmes is top ten), a starting Olinemen, our future fullback for the next decade (which is very important to a good running game), an excellent cornerback who some graded as the drafts' best, and a solid backup runningback.

I guess we should have kept Leon, Faneca, and our original draft picks so that in a year we could release half of our best players and still lose Leon and Faneca without replacements. Meanwhile next year we will also be looking for a starting OLB, DE and a Tackle/Guard. I predict that we will hit with all our picks and trades, and I only hope that we will be able to keep this team together for years to come. Keeping Holmes and Edwards will be tricky if Edwards thinks he deserves ten million a season; six would be more than fair for a still inconsistent dropper with offfield issues.

[Jetsfan80]

I think he made some really fair points. The Jets need to get these picks right. If they do, it is a non-issue. In a way it is a good thing, the Jets have talented players. As they get older, they need to replace them with new talented players.

It beats the alternative which we have been too familiar with.

The Jets have hit on about 80 % of the picks we've had with Tannenbaum in charge. So I'm not worried about us hitting on the 4 picks we had this year. All 4 look solid.

If Clayton had done his job and factored in that we got Braylon and Holmes with 2 of the picks we didn't have, he wouldn't have gone out of his way to rate us "losers".

[Irish Jet]

2. The Jets: Like the decision to replace Thomas Jones with LaDainian Tomlinson at halfback, the Jets made two curious moves in the past two days that didn't necessarily improve the team. The second-round selection of Vladimir Ducasse led to the release of Pro Bowl guard Alan Faneca on Saturday. Then the Jets drafted Joe McKnight in the fourth round and traded Leon Washington for only a fifth-round pick, which New York used on fullback John Conner. The Jones-Washington combo worked for so many years, but the Jets were worried about Jones' age (32 in August) and Washington's inability to be satisfied with a long-term contract. The Jets lost a lot of leadership in Jones and Faneca, and the Conner selection could spell the end of fullback Tony Richardson's career with the Jets. As the Jets have done on occasions, they had only a four-player draft class. Those small classes lead to free-agent signings such as Faneca, whom the Jets needed to get more out of than just two seasons.

He doesn't even mention our first round pick. No, seriously.

Secondly it was not a "4 player draft", 4 picks maybe but that's a ridiculous comment, ignorant to the fact that we came away with two starting NFL WR's.

Idiot.

[rick34125]

It's hard to say the Jets were losers in this draft.

It's true they drafted 2 "replacement" players, but those players needed to be replaced. Does that make it a bad draft?

If the knock on the Jets is that they've lost leadership with this draft, then I say we didn't need to draft leadership, we needed to draft youth and athleticism. We're already gaining additional leadership from players who are coming into their own this year, like Mangold, Sanchez and Revis.

And as already pointed out, the Jets immediately improved themselves with the additions of Edwards and Holmes. Wilson will make an immediate impact as well.

This was a solid draft by the Jets this year. They are a better team now then they were last year on both sides of the ball.

[MasonJet]

He spends all that time talking about the Jets running back situation and he doesn't even mention Shonn Greene?

Fail.

[R3V1S24]

clayton is an eggheaded douchequeef

i can't tell you how many pundits i've heard talk about the "loss of leon and how it will adversely effect the team." did any of these morons see us go to the AFC Championship without leon for the better part of the season?

[THE ILK]

clayton is an eggheaded douchequeef

i can't tell you how many pundits i've heard talk about the "loss of leon and how it will adversely effect the team." did any of these morons see us go to the AFC Championship without leon for the better part of the season?

He must have missed that too.

[Aten]

As the Jets have done on occasions, they had only a four-player draft class. Those small classes lead to free-agent signings such as Faneca, whom the Jets needed to get more out of than just two seasons.

This is pretty much right on except for that last part. Just looking at the contracts it seems like Woody was the one we anticipated having to replace this offseason but he's just been far too good.

[jack48]

Some of his points are fair although I disagree. I also think its fair to say people in the media are going to overrate Faneca but replacing him with an uproven commodity does come with some risk. Basically since we're getting rid of relatively big name and proven players many casual fans/media will question the moves.

Most of these football pundits could not manage a Pop Warner team. The Jets were the folks most qualified to determine whether Faneca could still play or not, and I am fine with their decision. It stands to reason that if he still could get it done they would never have cut him in an uncapped season. They apparently felt that Jones was declining by the end of this season. Now what they saw in Tomlinson I do not know. They say they liked his skill set better than Thomas'. Thomas is basically a smaller Shonn Greene. Neither of them can catch. And it may not be fair to judge what LTom did behind that crap SD O-Line.