On with the TSKS Rankings:

I Really Like What They Did

The Patriots' biggest-need position entering the offseason was tight end. They signed a couple of quasi-broken ones in free agency, Christian Fauria (who has a real chance to be good this year) and Cam Cleeland (who probably doesn't). There were two clean-character, Pro Bowl-caliber tight ends in this draft, and four or five teams who badly wanted one of them. The Giants plucked Miami's Jeremy Shockey with the 14th pick. The Patriots knew Seattle was dying for Colorado's Daniel Graham, who'd be a better fit for their offense than Shockey because he's a better blocker. So New England traded up 11 spots -- while keeping its second-round pick -- with Washington to get Graham.

Excellent decision. Excellent value. Wideout Deion Branch, who came in the second round, is a speedy slot receiver who will complement Troy Brown and Donald Hayes well. I get the feeling the Patriots are going to be good for a long time.

2. Washington. We all knew Dan Snyder needed to do something starry in this draft. He couldn't get the receiver he coveted, Tennessee sprinter Donte' Stallworth (Steve Spurrier would have turned him into a legend). So Washington traded down twice for the player it might have taken at 18, Tulane quarterback Patrick Ramsey, and picked up three extra picks in the process. Ramsey had become a hot prospect since the scouting combine for his incredibly tireless arm -- one scout told me he threw to receiver after receiver for their workouts in Indianapolis and estimated he threw 2,000 passes while at the combine -- and what-do-you-want-me-to-do-next work ethic. One quibble: Ladell Betts in the second round? They could have used that pick more wisely.

3. St. Louis. Last Monday the Rams traded a throwaway pick -- their late sixth-rounder, No. 206 overall -- to Indianapolis for the heir to Az Hakim, receiver/returner Terrence Wilkins. Wilkins is 90 percent of Hakim, without the penchant for fumbling. He's the type of player opponents have to worry about every time he touches the ball. Wilkins also doesn't cost $3.5 million a year, which is what Hakim got to go to Detroit. This is called smart personnel management. Would the Rams have preferred to keep Hakim, a dangerous third wideout? Yes. Is it worth a cap savings of $2 million a year to replace him with one of the best returners in the game and a very good fourth receiver? Absolutely. Now, fast-forward to Thursday. Mike Martz told me, "I'd love to have a chance to work with Eric Crouch. He's barely scratched the surface of his potential." So here comes Crouch in Round 3 to St. Louis. And just remember how Martz loves to use option passes with his wideouts. I bet you right now Crouch is second on the Rams in touchdown passes this fall.

4. Oakland. It has become fashionable lately to rip Al Davis as an old hack on draft day. Having two picks in each of the top two rounds helped him here, obviously. But I watched a lot of tape of Phillip Buchanon this month, and any team that got him was going to be improved this fall. Woe is the team trying to pass on a defensive backfield that includes Charles Woodson and Buchanon as its cover corners.

5. Dallas. I should preface this by saying the Cowboys' biggest need entering the weekend was at corner. There were two corners they loved, Quentin Jammer and Buchanon. They got neither. They did get three picks with first-round value -- Roy Williams, Gurode and Bryant -- and where I come from, three big players in one draft is pretty good. This draft will be an all-timer if Derek Ross, the third-rated corner on many NFL boards, comes through here.

6. San Diego. I've been critical of some of the recent overspending by GM John Butler (Tim Dwight, Stephen Alexander), but there's no question the Chargers got terrific players and value in their first three picks. Jammer will be a great pro. Second-round guard Toniu Fonoti and receiver Reche Caldwell could both start early this season. Excellent job of picking the best players in the right spots -- and picking need players.

7. New Orleans. Stallworth and Charles Grant are a draft all by themselves, two players at the team's neediest positions. And getting center LeCharles Bentley begins to retool an offensive line in need of retooling.

8. Tennessee. Sometimes you just have to take a chance, and the Titans did with Albert Haynesworth at defensive tackle. He needs to get stronger, mentally and physically. I love the Titans picking Rocky Calmus in the third round. Perfect spot for him. Who can't find a spot for the college game's best overall defensive player over the past two years?

9. Buffalo. Since the day I watched Bryant McKinnie make mincemeat out of Dwight Freeney in a Miami-Syracuse game last fall, I thought McKinnie was the type of franchise tackle any team would love. I don't think Mike Williams is as good, though he's certainly a good player. But to get Bledsoe for next year's No. 1 -- that makes the weekend worthwhile. It's true that Bledsoe over the past four seasons has morphed into an everyday quarterback, but that's better than the Bills had. Now, with Bledsoe and Alex Van Pelt under center, the Bills should be at least a 9-7 team this fall.

10. Minnesota. Bruce Coslet thinks McKinnie might be Anthony Munoz. I agree.

I Like What They Did, But I Might Be Wrong

11. Jacksonville. They came within a minute of throwing their second-round pick at Dallas so they could move up three spots in the first round to draft McKinnie, which I really couldn't have criticized because McKinnie's so rare. But it was probably smarter for them to take a defensive tackle, John Henderson, and a good offensive tackle prospect, Mike Pearson, instead of taking one great player.

12. Indianapolis. Freeney, the 266-pound defensive end, is going to be under pressure to justify going 11th overall. But the Colts have lacked a speed-rushing threat going back to Gino Marchetti. Freeney is a perfect fit for them.

13. Pittsburgh. I keep hearing that taking the Antwaan Randle Els of the world will someday catch up to Bill Cowher. I don't buy it. I think football is a game of playmakers. Randle El, used as a lesser Slash, will help the Steelers make big plays.

14. Philadelphia. I trust that Jim Johnson, the defensive coordinator, will be able to turn three defensive backs -- Sheldon Brown, the corner from South Carolina, especially -- into valued players on a good defense. I mention Brown because he is a supremely high-character guy, and a player who might get beat, but in the long run will never let a team down. Also, I always love the local-boy-makes-good story, and the drafting of pip-squeakish running back Brian Westbrook from Villanova will give the Vet Stadium louts something to cheer for as a situational player.

15. Arizona. Wendell Bryant begins the rebuilding of a once-proud defensive line. I wish they'd done more of it in this draft. And I love Josh McCown, the third-round quarterback from Sam Houston State. He's a risk-taker with a gutty streak that reminds me of Brett Favre. I just can't figure out when he'll ever get to play here.

16. Kansas City. Just like you can never have too much starting pitching, you can never have too many defensive linemen. Ryan Sims and Eddie Freeman should plug the run and give the Chiefs some upfield pass rush, too.

17. Miami. We all knew this was The Ricky Williams Draft. When you don't pick until 90th, you probably won't get much help. But keep one player in mind: tight end Randy McMichael. He'll make this team and catch 45 balls in the new tight-end-friendly offense.

18. New York Giants. They've wanted Mark Bavaro Jr. for years and they got a more offensive tight end in Shockey. He's not the best blocker, and that will have to change. But what a receiver. I'm not much of a college football watcher, but I've seen enough of Shockey to know he might have the softest hands of any tight end ever. Every catch looks Ozzie Smith-simple.

19. Houston. One thing bugs me. Spurrier let Jabar Gaffney get out of the first round. I know he wanted Ramsey, but if Gaffney was such a great player Spurrier would have found a way to get another one so Gaffney could have been added to the Gator Alumni Society at Redskin Park.

20. Cleveland. I love William Green. So he had some college trouble. So he smoked pot. So he ticked a few of his coaches with some attitude. Watch the man play. Watch him make reliable, Emmitt Smith-type moves. Watch him maximize his holes. One question, though: Why did an AFC GM tell me on Friday that the Browns were trying to move Jamir Miller? You need Miller, Butch. He's a cornerstone player.

21. Tampa Bay. For not having a pick until Tuesday, the Bucs got two guys Gruden will certainly use in his offense: a slowish but productive receiver in Walker, and situational back Travis Stephens.

22. San Francisco. Tall cornerback Mike Rumph enters a division with Shaq-esque receivers like David Boston and Koren Robinson. I just wish for the Niners' sake that Rumph was a legit 4.4 guy.

I Can't Figure Out What They Did

23. Carolina. I don't want to kill the Panthers, but this is not the time to be picking boom-or-bust guys. I bet 75 percent of NFL personnel people think DeShaun Foster, at his best, is a top-five pick in any draft, and, at his worst, is a coach-killer. Terminal fumbler. Attitude guy. They'd better hope Julius Peppers is special -- and that Chris Weinke is good enough to make people not dwell on the success Joey Harrington will have as an NFL player. Because he will have some.

24. Denver. Mike Shanahan, you know you're the man. But you had a weird weekend. You'll probably make something good out of top pick Ashley Lelie, even though he's had a hamstring injury longer than I've been shaving. But Clinton Portis in the second round? New rule in the NFL this year: You can't have more than 16 running backs on the roster, Mike.

25. Baltimore. With one pick in the top 50, I thought the Ravens would address a crying need, and I didn't see the bawlingest being free safety. Ed Reed is helpful. I thought Baltimore would have been better served with an offensive or defensive lineman or a corner.

26. Detroit. Poor Matt Millen. The guy has a black cloud over his managerial head. All he wanted to do was create a buzz for the third pick in the draft, trade down a couple of times, keep a pick in the top 10, pick up a couple of extra twos or maybe a late one and a two ... and what happens? His biggest action Saturday was a 20-second pre-draft phone chat with Jerry Jones during which the Dallas owner reiterated that he didn't want to trade up to take the No. 3 pick off the Lions' hands. Don't get me wrong; I'm a huge Harrington fan. How can you not be? He does it all, and bleep the people who say he can't throw downfield. What hogwash. But this was a team with six or seven crying needs. Maybe quarterback was one, but it might be the only one unless Kalimba Edwards gives Detroit some juice on pass-rush downs.

27. New York Jets. No team outside of Dallas needed a corner more in this draft. The Jets didn't get one. Maybe they'll sign a corner or two (Donnie Abraham?) after June 1, but this was a weird way to address a crying need.

28. Chicago. Big reach for the B.C. tackle, Marc "Peter Falk" Colombo.

I Really Don't Like What They Did

29. Green Bay. I do like Javon Walker. I do not like him enough to pay a first- and second-round pick for him. That deal, moving up in the first round to get Walker, meant the Packers, who have their share of age on the roster, had one pick in the top 90.

30. Atlanta. For all the holes this team has, running back didn't seem like one of them to me. T. J. Duckett in the first round? After spending gazillions on Warrick Dunn? The left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing here. Where's the receiver Michael Vick so desperately needs?

31. Seattle. They wanted tight end Daniel Graham, who would have been a perfect fit for Mike Holmgren's offense as a blocker and a catcher. They got Jerramy Stevens, who, aside from the fact that his first name is misspelled, might force Holmgren to hire a private eye just to keep him in line.

32. Cincinnati. Moral of the Draft: Never take a first-round pick 10 spots above where he deserves to go. Get value for him. Taking Levi Jones is fine. Taking him at 10 is absurd.

Former supermodel Carol Alt still looks pretty good at 41. She revealed last week that she keeps in girlish trim, in part, by jumping on a trampoline most days, and if she is not in a place with a trampoline (I wonder how many hotels or businesses actually have them), she jumps up and down on her bed.

1. I think Jimmy Johnson did a nice job on TV. He's a natural at that stuff. ESPN should have used him more. That panel of players at the ESPN Zone was a waste of time.

2. I think I have an appreciation, a real one, for the scouting and drafting process after seeing it up close and personal with the Cowboys over the past three weeks. I'm writing about some of it in the magazine this week, and I may share some thoughts about it in this column next Monday. I think it's the type of thing people underrate.

3. I think these are my personal thoughts of the week:

a. Is it always hot in Dallas, or is it just me?

b. Montclair (N.J.) High Softball Note of the Week: So we're playing mighty 9-2 Paramus Catholic at home Friday, and sophomore southpaw Mary Beth King is in the circle for your Mounties, and we've got them 1-0 entering the top of the fifth, and the game's got to go five (or at least four and a half with the home team ahead), and the Paramus Catholic coach is stalling because there's a black storm cloud moving in from the west, and I'm thinking what an honor it is for our team that this very good team is stalling, and Mary Beth has a 2-2 count on the leadoff hitter in the fifth and CRACK! A lightning bolt streaked across the sky beyond right field. That was it. The umps waited a half-hour, and it started pouring, and the game will have to be resumed at a later date. That would have been the biggest win for our program in two or three years -- and it still might be, when we pick it up. You can tell I'm the pitcher's father, can't you?

c. Coffeenerdness: I really feel a need to resume my bashing of Starbucks about cleaning the espresso pods between uses. For those of you not familiar with this jargon, here's a primer: When you order a hot espresso drink at Starbucks, the barista bangs out the old espresso grounds into the garbage and is supposed to rinse the receptacle with hot water from the espresso machine. Eighty percent of the baristas, in my experience, don't rinse. That creates a bitterish aftertaste in the drink. When I've said something about this in the past, I usually get the "Here's the commie pinko" look that Archie Bunker used to give Mike Stivic. And so I have started to bring drinks back, when I can, or to order the grande white mocha instead of the grande hazelnut latte, because the white mocha seems to mask the aftertaste better. Oh, what I go through for a good latte. Is anyone up in Seattle listening? Or Starbucks managers in north Jersey?

4. I think you'd better eat your Wheaties, Jeremy Shockey. The Giants are going to put you to work.

5. I think the first day of the draft is one heck of a lot of fun.

6. I think the second day of the draft might be better spent watching bocce.

7. I think these are my baseball thoughts of the week, me being such a sick fan:

a. Rotisserie Nerdness: So No. 1 daughter Laura King, the Tufts freshman, is in her dorm room nine days ago watching Red Sox-Yankees. Shea Hillenbrand, her hero and crush and favorite third sacker, hits a two-run homer off Mariano Rivera. She calls me. "Dad!" she yells. "You've got to pick up Shea!" On my rotisserie team, she meant. I told her I would. Jeff Cirillo's been killing me there anyway, and Hillenbrand was a free agent, so I put in a claim for him and got him. I activated Hillenbrand and sat Cirillo. So last Monday, Cirillo's on the bench in favor of a hot Desi Relaford for Seattle, and Hillenbrand singles, doubles, walks and knocks in two for the Sox. I am nominating Laura King as the early leader for Suburban League Executive of the Year ... Also made a deal last week: Sent Mike Cameron and Freddy Garcia to the Swinging Singles for Bobby Abreu and Wade Miller -- with the option to substitute Todd Ritchie for Miller if Miller stays on the DL for too long with his neck spasms. I had that 30-30 Abreu itch and had to scratch it ... And wait! Just made another deal! Dealt Cirillo, Mike Williams and Daryle Ward for Juan Pierre, Tom Glavine and Kris Benson.

b. I'd like to know what's wrong with Barry Zito.

c. I think it's going to be another long year for the Rangers. Can't buy a pennant, Mr. Hicks, without three good starters and a bullpen. You have neither, and it's not even close.

8. I think no one out there appreciates how hard NFL scouts work. And I mean no one.

9. I think these are my other non-football thoughts of the week:

a. The Osbournes is one of the funniest shows ever.

b. Fast food is getting healthier at drive-thrus. McDonald's has a nice chicken breast sandwich now.

c. I can't believe what a wasteland TV is. Flipping around the other night, the only thing I found that caught my interest out of 8 million channels was Perry Mason.

10. I think I'm proud of my fellow Bobcat this morning. Punter Dave Zastudil of Ohio University got picked by the Ravens. Go Dave.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Peter King covers the NFL beat for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com. Monday Morning Quarterback appears in this space -- no kidding -- on Monday mornings.

 

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