Now that some of the dust has settled from the draft and we all have had time to breath deeply for a few minutes, check out some info on the draftees, and think about it for a minute it is time to look at the NFC West and see how the Cardinals compared.  I realize that evaluating the draft picks before they have played an NFL game is kind of fool hearty, but so are mock drafts and that didn't slow us down. 

The Rams Drafted:

1-1 QB Bradford

2-1 LT Saffold

3-1 CB Murphy

4-1 WR Gilyard

5-1 TE Hoowmanawanui

5-15 DE Hall

6-1 TE Onobun

6-20 DE/OLB Sims

7-4 CB Johnson

7-19 DE Selvie

7-48 LB Hull

Not a bad draft but I am not nervous.   Their first five picks will likely be starters.  Saffold and and Murphy are solid if not flashy.  Gilyard will be a solid returner.  Hoo... is a great inline blocker for Jackson.   The rest...  Nothing that makes me nervous. No one that is likely be an impact player.  Potential, but not impact. 

The Seahawks Drafted:

1-6 LT Okung

1-12 S Thomas

2-28 WR Tate

4-13 CB Thurman

4-29 DE Wilson

5-2 S Chancelllor

6-16 TE McCoy

7-29 DE Davis

7-38 WR Konz

Really good draft.  Solid LT, and a great safety tandem in Thomas and Chancellor.  Tate is a 3rd or 4th WR with return possibilities but not blazing speed.  Thurman will likely start and McCoy will be a solid addition.  Wilson is a good DE and will end up starting in my opinion.  Davis is a solid 7th rd pick.   Konz... No clue.  At least 7 likely starts within the next few years.  They just got a huge infusion of talent.

The 49ers Drafted

1-11 LT Davis

1-17 G Iupati

2-17 S Mayes

3-27 LB Bowman

6-4 RB Dixon

6-13 TE Byham

6-37 WR Williams

7-17 CB Adams

Eh... They will be better but not impressive.  Davis is solid in run, Iupati is solid in the run, Byham is a good inline blocker, and Dixon is a smash mouth rusher.  Not hard to see what they were trying to get.  Mayes is a classic looks like Tarzan plays like Jane in my opinion and does not make me nervous at all.  Bowman will add to special teams and add depth.  So they got 3 starters and 2 good depth players.  Adams and Williams are pure projects.  Are they better?  A little I guess.  Their OL is going to be better but Dan Williams schooled Iupati in the Senior Bowl. I'll take that match up any day of the week. 

The Cardinals Draft

1-26 NT Williams

2-15 ILB Washington

3-24 WR Roberts

4-32 OLB Schofield

5-25 QB Skelton

6-32 CB Calvin

7-26 TE Dray

Trying to get rid of my preconceived notions about who should have been taken (i.e. what is up with Warren that no one drafted him), is not easy but let's step back and try to be objective.  Williams is a clear upgrade and will make the entire defense better.  He is the #1 NT in the draft.   For me Washington needs to be 240+.  He said he will be "at least" 235 at mini camp which is where Lenon is.  He needs to lower his hips when tackling but he is a dart in the hole and if Williams et. al. can consume the blocks Washington will be impactful.  A 240lb Washington is as good as Weatherspoon or better, in my opinion.  I think Washington will be better than Dansby.  Roberts... I liked Gilyard as a 4th receiver instead of Roberts and I liked J. Ford as a returner over Roberts, but I have not seen film of him so I am limited.  He may be a good blend of receiver and returner.  Stats look good on him.  Schofield is the steal of the draft.  Before his knee injury I had him graded next to Hughes as an OLB and some days I thought he was better than Hughes. He might have been the #1 rush OLB.  If he can come back and play like he did before the injury, he will be a pro bowl player.  He is better than C. Brown or Davis and would beat out Haggans and maybe Porter if he was healthy.  I can not rave enough about this guy.  That knee is the "if" but man he is worth the risk.  Skelton could be a starter in 2 years.  Calvin and Dray... potential but not impactful right now.  3 top 35 ranked players on defense.  The last two picks were not my favorite picks but I will wait and see.

So who won the draft?  I think the Seahawks and the Cardinals are clearly the leaders with the Cards getting the edge because of the level of impact players they got.  Rams will be better but they have a long way to go.  49ers are going to live off of their defense and power running.  I am not sure they got that much better through the draft.   Some, but not a lot.  The Seahawks will be much better on defense but didn't get the impact player through the draft.   Give me Williams, Washington, and Schofield to build a defense around, with a solid returner and a potential starting QB... that ain't a bad draft.