NFL draft: Some get bouquets, some bashed

An effort Sunday to report that humanity is blissfully months from the next wave of NFL mock drafts turned up far too many 2011 NFL mock drafts. (Someone please pass the cyanide.)

If you think the 2011 Vikings will pick 29th and be best served by selecting Delaware quarterback Pat Devlin, go to walterfootball.com. If you're completely exhausted by the NFL draft, join in for one final look (we promise) at the hits and misses from the 2010 draft:

Hit: Patriots coach Bill Belichick selecting 12 players for the second consecutive year. Of those 24 picks, 11 came in the first three rounds. The fading dynasty that was smoked 33-14 by the Ravens at home in a wild card game last season is rapidly reloading.

Miss: The Cardinals trading cornerback Bryant McFadden back to the Steelers after signing him away from them last year.

Hit: This just sounds weird, but the Raiders had a great three days. They didn't reach for a player in the first round. They got good value picking Texas defensive tackle Lamarr Houston in the second round. They got great value taking Maryland offensive tackle/superdreak Bruce Campbell in the fourth round. And they only had to give up a fourth-round pick in 2012 to get Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell and start putting lazy JaMarcus Russell behind them.

Miss: It's a shame it took the Bills until the 209th pick (Troy's Levi Brown) to remember they don't have a quarterback.

Hit: Tight ends. Twenty of them were taken. The Ravens, Patriots, Texans and Rams each took two.

Miss: The Bears having only five picks, none higher than the third round, and using one of them on a quarterback (Dan LeFevour). How does that help Jay Cutler or the team that bet its future on Jay Cutler?

Hit: The Ravens getting Texas outside linebacker Sergio Kindle 43rd overall and 6-4, 364-pound (or so) Alabama nose tackle Terrence Cody 57th overall. Cody and Haloti Ngata could dominate at defensive tackle.

Miss: Tim Tebow, Broncos H-back, er, quarterback. Not only did he go in the first round, Denver traded picks in the second, third and fourth rounds to move up in the first round.

Hit: Vikings running back Toby Gerhart's honesty when asked if his bio from Stanford was accurate in listing zero fumbles in his collegiate career. "No, that's not accurate," he said. "I think I had six fumbles over the last two years."

Miss: The Jets dumping another veteran who helped them lead the league in rushing in 2009. After ditching running back Thomas Jones for an aged LaDainian Tomlinson, the Jets released starting left guard Alan Faneca after taking a guard, Vladimir Decasse, in the second round.

Hit: Pete Carroll is off to a nice start with the Seahawks. He used the sixth overall pick (Russell Okung) to replace Walter Jones. He had the guts to use the 14th overall pick on Texas safety Earl Thomas instead of his own Southern California safety Taylor Mays. And he capped a solid draft by trading for running backs LenDale White and Leon Washington.

Miss: The Jaguars and Browns had the biggest reaches of the first and second rounds. The Jags used the 10th overall pick on Cal defensive tackle Tyson Alualu, and the Browns used the 38th overall pick on Oregon safety T.J. Ward. If they tried to trade down for these guys, maybe they should have tried harder.

Hit: The Panthers pulling the trigger (probably not a good cliché when referring to the NFL) on Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen at No. 48 overall. Not being a first-round pick will help Clausen develop at a more reasonable pace.

Miss: The Panthers selecting two more quarterbacks after Clausen. Appalachian State's Armanti Edwards, a third-round pick, likely will be moved to receiver. But what about sixth-round pick Tony Pike of Cincinnati? How does that help the team? Better yet, how does that help Clausen think the Panthers believe in him?

Hit: Ten gloriously wonderful months before the NFL scouting combine, Brett Favre speculation and months of discussing whether the Vikings should take Delaware quarterback Pat Devlin with the 29th pick.

Mark Craig • mcraig@startribune.com