That's it, the 2012 NFL Draft officially came to an end Saturday night. And we wonder: What will our draft guru Mike Mayock do with himself now?
Before we start thinking of ways for Mayock to spend his summer, let's first recap his review of these past three days. Good news: There's a lot of good to go around. Bad news: Teams looking to get a leg up in the AFC might have a difficult time.
That's because, in Mayock's estimation, the rich got richer, beginning with the New England Patriots and Bill Belichick's reverse-philosophy to trade up to draft Chandler Jones and Dont'a Hightower in the first round.
"I would start with the New England Patriots in the first round adding two of my favorite players in the entire draft to their front seven," Mayock said. "So you've got the Super Bowl losing team improving what they needed to improve, and in a dramatic fashion."
Another traditional AFC powerhouse, the Pittsburgh Steelers, did well. In fact, they did better than that. They were perfect in Mayock's eyes.
"I liked every player the Steelers drafted," Mayock said. "They got two players that were first-round picks with David DeCastro and (second-rounder) Mike Adams for their biggest position of need, offensive line. I love Sean Spence. (Alameda) Ta'amu is a big need at nose tackle. And Chris Rainey ... I mean, LaMichael James, Isaiah Pead ... Chris Rainey is in that conversation."
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The Houston Texans burst onto the scene last year in the AFC by winning their division behind a stout defense, despite losing quarterback Matt Schaub. Well, they strengthened that part of their team by selecting Whitney Mercilus in the first round.
Mayock, though, loves what they did offensively.
"I like what Houston did with the two wide receivers," Mayock said. "I like the fact that they got Devier Posey, who can line up on the other side, and I also like Keshawn Martin, slot receiver, return specialist. I look at Houston, and in my heart that's a good team that got better and is a legitimate Super Bowl contender."
They don't call Mayock the best in the biz for nothing. These are the kinds of things you want him saying about your team after the draft.
The rest of the AFC will have to deal with it.
