Is there anything more pointless than handing out draft grades the day after the draft ends? Do you judge an investment one day after its made? No, these things take time. Yet, every year after the draft I find myself searching for every draft analysis I can find. The truth is, these analysis are based on perception. How high did the analyzer rate the player and when did that player get drafted. That’s it, that  is why this exercise is so stupid. In football, it’s not just how talented the player is, but what system did he get drafted into. Does that system complement his skill set? Does this player need time to develop, or is he ready to play right away? Not every draft bust is the fault of the player, teams share a role in the players future. Back to the original point, it is beyond stupid to grade a draft at this point. I notice that there is no history section for Mel Kiper Jr on the ESPN website, probably so that people can’t easily find all the terrible mistakes he has made. Remember Mike Williams, WR for USC? There are just too many things to factor in grading a draft, 3 years is probably the minimum amount of time that you need to start to grade the success or failure of a draft.  Do you think Saints fans were excited when the drafted Marques Colston #252 in the 2006 draft? Well, clearly they should have been. The guy is a terrific WR, has posted 1000+ yards in three of his four seasons. The esteemed Dr. Z game the Saints an A for their ’06 draft. Surely he must have known that Colston was the steal of the draft…

SAINTS: Congratulations for not blowing the Reggie Bush pick. You sent light into a city darkened by gloom. That gets you the A. The rest of the draft? Well, you’d better put some linemen in front of this dazzling runner, or it’ll be another Dalton Hilliard story. The first time I saw Bush run I thought of two players he reminded me of, when they were in college: Marshall Faulk and Dalton Hilliard. Same rapid cuts and quick bursts. Scintillating runners. Faulk is headed for the Hall of Fame. Hilliard, believe me, a wonderful little back, had an eight-year career with the Saints, playing behind some miserable lines. His lifetime average per carry was 3.7, and he was only in the 4.0 range twice. So during the draft this time the Saints picked up a veteran center from Cleveland, Jeff Faine. That’s good. The highest-drafted O-lineman they got was tackle Jahri Evans in the fourth round. Raw talent, everyone says. Would you prefer cooked talent?

Or perhaps not.

That’s just one example of many. NFL teams get to watch any and every college game they want. They have the combine to rank and judge all players physical tools. Yet, every year guys bust and others burst. They day after the draft is no time to judge.

I have searched and searched for “NFL Draft 2000″ “grades” or “analysis”, but I can’t find it. Mysteriously, Mel Kiper, Peter King and Dr. Z’s musings are not easily found. I wonder what they had to say about pick #199, Thomas Brady. I am pretty sure that they probably didn’t have much to say on the pick. Nothing more than a late round pick on a developmental QB. Of course, this pick turned out to be the biggest steal of the last 20 years. Why did every team miss out on Brady? He went to Michigan, a big time school. Yes, he was submarined by the Drew Henson hype machine, but his numbers were good. Every one is guilty of missing on him, even the Patriots for waiting till such a low slot to pick him. No one saw a Hall of Fame QB, and in that, lies the absolute failure in instant draft analysis. You just never know.

So I am going to withhold my excitement on this current draft for the Patriots. Sure, in theory it looks good, and I like the potential, but what do I know? All this stuff means nothing until these players actually play. Then at the end of the year, we get something even stupider than instant draft analysis… Don Banks redraft column.

So the point is, hold off on any judgments until these guys actually play a game, or preferably a season or THREE.