Lots to like/dislike in NFL draft

"He is going to immediately energize that fanbase, that football team — on the practice field, in that locker room. Three years from now, you could be looking at a guy that's certainly one of the elite top-five quarterbacks in this league. Look out because the skill level that he has is certainly John Elway-like."

— Mel Kiper Jr., April 28, 2007, the day the Raiders selected JaMarcus Russell No. 1 overall.

Ouch.

In Mel's defense, we all overreact analytically to the NFL draft. We all contribute to months of hype leading up to a three-day explosion of verbal diarrhea that should be packaged with decaf, grains of salt and three years of patient observation.

Saturday morning, on Day 3 of the 2015 NFL draft, NFL.com handed out grades for the first two days. The lowest grade was a C, which went to the Steelers. Yep, that's right, 31 teams received B-minus or better. Where was that grading curve back in high school calculus?

There are no letter grades here, although some idiot (guilty) did like the Johnny Manziel pick last year and is dumb enough (guilty) to suggest he needs more than two starts before being thrown away.

So, without further delay, here are some "likes" and "dislikes" from the 2015 NFL draft:

• The Giants for making best use of the three-day format to trade up seven spots for Alabama's Landon Collins, the best safety, with the first pick of the second round.

• The Falcons for hiring Dan Quinn to bring Seattle's mentality to Atlanta. Quinn grabbed a pass rusher (Vic Beasley) eighth, a big corner (Jalen Collins) 42nd, and a running back (Tevin Coleman) 73rd that NFL.com calls a "violent run finisher." Sound like a familiar blueprint?

• Cardinals General Manager Steve Keim adding a first-round offensive lineman (D.J. Humphries) to prized free-agent signing (Mike Iupati), picking up a pass rusher (Missouri's Markus Golden) and, last but definitely not least, taking themselves off the Peterson-Dogra wish list by selecting a running back (Northern Iowa big back David Johnson) in the third round. Thank you, Steve.

• Déjà vu? Ten years ago, the Patriots picked 32nd overall after winning the Super Bowl. They quietly selected a guard named Logan Mankins. There was no screaming and hollering. Mankins went on to be a five-time first-team All-Pro. Thursday, the Patriots, coming off another Super Bowl victory, picked 32nd. They took Texas defensive tackle Malcom Brown. There doesn't seem to be much screaming and hollering, but it's a good bet the guy can play at a higher-than-32 level.

• The Titans should have asked the Browns about hitching their rookie franchise quarterback to a freakishly talented but undependable receiver with a mountain of off-the-field issues. Dorial Green-Beckham, Tennessee's second-round pick, might not be the next Josh Gordon. But I wouldn't want him as part of my foundation.

• You say look at Jameis Winston's second-half comebacks. I say look at who made them necessary.

• We're in Year 2 of what is one of the best back-to-back years of draft-eligible receivers. The Browns have needed a young quality receiver in both drafts. But they went without one over six picks last year and six more this year before taking Vince Mayle in the fourth round.

• Poor Drew Brees. After botching their salary cap to the point where they had to dump Jimmy Graham and Kenny Stills, the Saints went into the draft with four of the top 78 picks. At 13, they took a tackle who might not play right away. Then they took a couple of linebackers, one of which supposedly was a reach, and topped off the first four picks with Brees' potential heir apparent, Garrett Grayson.

• NFL fans who mistake news for wanting to be entertained. Some of us said early on that Peterson wouldn't be traded. He wasn't. He won't be. Forever and ever. Amen.

Mark Craig • mcraig@startribune.com