When the Denver Broncos signed a 36-year-old future Hall of Famer to play quarterback, everyone assumed they were gearing up for a serious run at the Super Bowl. But this draft class tells a different story.
We'll be seeing a lot of this from Osweiler.
The Broncos only landed one player, Derek Wolfe, who will compete for a starting job in 2012. They also only added one offensive weapon, Ronnie Hillman, who is nothing more than a 3rd-down back who will have to fight for carries with Willis McGahee and Knowshon Moreno.
But the most surprising selection was Brock Osweiler, who will be groomed as Manning’s eventually replacement. Osweiler is a nice developmental prospect, but in the late 2nd round the Broncos could have added another impact player who would actually help in their pursuit of a Super Bowl title during the Manning era.
It would be very interesting to hear Manning’s reaction to this draft class. He can’t be happy about the lack of support he’ll receive from the Broncos rookie class.
When you’re as close to a Super Bowl berth as the San Francisco 49ers were in 2011, you need to add some impact players in the draft to push you over the top. Unfortunately, the 49ers failed to add a single starter, instead settling for developmental prospects who will do little to help in 2012.
The Seattle Seahawks made the reach of the draft by selecting Bruce Irvin in the 1st round, but that wasn’t the last of their poor decisions. And for the second straight year, Pete Carroll and GM John Schneider demonstrated a complete lack of understanding as to how to use the draft to effectively improve their roster.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers draft was a little top heavy due to trades, but they came away with three players who will start from day one and immediately turn them into legitimate playoff contenders.
The Green Bay Packers needed to address their defense, and did so in a big way this weekend. The Packers used each of their first five picks on defensive prospects, and added at least three players who will play significant roles in 2012.
The Cincinnati Bengals used 10 picks and managed to land eight players to whom I had given 3rd-round grades or better. This was truly an unprecedented haul for a franchise that needed to make a splash in order to compete with the Steelers and Ravens.
The Pittsburgh Steelers typically take a conservative approach to the draft, which has served them very well in years past. But they’re breaking the mold this year, and targeting players with a ton of upside who have fallen to due some off-field concerns.
The Washington Redskins wasted no time finding a backup quarterback for Robert Griffin. The Redskins selected 
One of the biggest names on the trading block today is Cleveland Browns quarterback Colt McCoy. The Browns are reportedly shopping him around due to the fact that they are more comfortable with Seneca Wallace as Brandon Weeden’s backup in 2012.