2014 NFL Draft Grades: NFC West

It's hard to imagine that back in 2010 the NFC West was the butt of jokes throughout the league for having a team with a losing record win the division. Not any more. The Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers are the two best teams in the NFL, and Seattle capped off their 2013 season with a rout of Denver to win their first Super Bowl title. Arizona narrowly missed the playoffs and St. Louis has one of the most talented rosters in the league and all four teams only seem to get better. Arizona Cardinals: B- Best Pick: Deone Bucannon Late Round Sleeper: Logan Thomas The Cardinals added to a tough defense with the hard hitting Deone Bucannon in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft, and then picked up Kareem Martin to the defensive line rotation in Round 3. The offense got a boost with the selection of Troy Niklas, the big tight end in Round 2 and the small but speedy John Brown to play the slot receiver in Round 4. A late round sleeper pick could be Logan Thomas, who will have time to learn the pro game at quarterback and should eventually replace Carson Palmer at quarterback for Arizona. San Francisco 49ers: A Best Pick: Carlos Hyde Late Round Sleeper: Bruce Ellington The rich get richer, as San Francisco continues to make excellent picks in the NFL Draft. First Rounder Jimmie Ward will team with last years first pick Eric Reid to form one of the best safety tandems in the league. Carlos Hyde should eventually replace Frank Gore at running back, and will provide a great change of pace when sharing the ball carrying duties with Gore. Three third round picks add depth and are future plans for San Francisco, with Marcus Martin able to play guard or center, Chris Borland can spell NaVarro Bowman while the latte rehabs a knee injury, and Brandon Thomas is coming off his own ACL tear and and basically redshirt in 2014. A late round sleeper looks to be Bruce Ellington, who can add another target for Colin Kaepernick to develop the 49ers passing game. Seattle Seahawks: C Best Pick: Kevin Norwood Late Round Sleeper: Kevin Norwood The Seahawks roster is loaded with talent from top to bottom, and it looks like the current crop of draft picks will have a tough time finding playing time with the World Champions. Paul Richardson and Justin Britt flashed in spots last year, but both were seen as reaches as high as they were selected. Kevin Norwood might have the best chance to make an impact on the field in Seattle. St. Louis Rams: A Best Pick: Aaron Donald Late Round Sleeper: Maurice Alexander The Rams had two first round picks, courtesy of the trade with Washington in 2012. They had that pick at #2 and selected the powerful tackle Greg Robinson, and with their own pick in Round 1 the Rams added Aaron Donald at defensive tackle. Robinson will give Sam Bradford some much needed protection and the big tackle excels in the run game, where he will shine the most for St. Louis. Donald rounds out the best front 4 in the NFL, and will the youth up front the Rams will be a force on defense for years to come. The running game was upgraded with the selection of Tre Mason, and the secondary got help from LaMarcus Joyner, E.J. Gaines and late round sleeper Maurice Alexander. With a compensatory pick in Round 7, the Rams selected Michael Sam, the Co-Defensive Player of the Year in the SEC and the first openly gay player picked in the NFL Draft. Sam will have a tough time finding playing time with the Rams talented front 4 but he has a chance to shine on special teams and make his mark there for now.

TMG DraftZone 2013 NFL Draft Grades: NFC West

Two years ago, the NFC West was a joke. The Seattle Seahawks won the division with a 7-9 record, and it did not look like things would get any better any time soon. But the arrival of Jim Harbaugh in San Francisco sparked a rebirth by the bay, Jeff Fisher is turning the St. Louis Rams around, Pete Carroll has one of the toughest defenses in the league in Seattle, along with a quarterback playing with a chip on his shoulder as big as all outdoors, and the Arizona Cardinals have brought in Bruce Arians to see if he can work the same magic in the desert that he did as interim coach in Indianapolis last year. Looking at the draft this year, all four teams hit it out of the park. The grade Seattle gets may not look like a reflection of that, but their first round pick went to Minnesota to bring in Percy Harvin, the explosive playmaker that gives Russell Wilson another weapon and who can loosen up the defense and open holes for Marshawn Lynch. St. Louis is reaping the bounty of their picks from the Robert Griffin III trade, and used the first rounder they acquired in that trade to move down for more picks and then add Alec Ogletree to the defense. San Francisco may have the best and deepest roster in the NFL, and the 49ers went into the draft with the most picks. That depth shows in the fact that they drafted two players very high who are coming off of knee injuries in college, Cornelious Carradine and Marcus Lattimore, who can essentially redshirt, get healty and make an impact in 2014. But the draft pick who is going to get the most attention was a third rounder in Arizona. Tyrann Mattieu was suspended in 2012 at LSU for a number of team rules violations, and whether he gets it now and can act like a professional or if he doesn't and still thinks he is the Big Man on Campus who can do what he wants because he is a football player remains to be seen. So here are the TMG DraftZone 2013 NFL Draft Grades for the NFC West, with key selections and sleeper picks: Arizona: A- Jonathon Cooper (G) Stephan Taylor/Andre Ellington (RB) The selection of Matthieu raised some eyebrows, but the hope is that Patrick Peterson can be his mentor much in the way that Cris Carter was for Randy Moss. But the fact that Matthieu say out last year is going to affect him more than anything. Arizona is strong at cornerback, and Matthieu looks to move into a safety slot if he is going to have an impact. But the trade for Carson Palmer is what has the fans in Arizona excited. Larry Fitzgerald finally has a quarterback who can get him the ball, but having watched Palmer since his elbow injury in 2008 with Cincinnati, it reamins to be seen if he can regain his Pro Bowl form. Palmer was at his best in cincinnati when he had a powerful offensive line in front of him, and a strong running game behind him. The Cardinals wanted one of the top tackles, but they were gone after the first 4 picks. They then went after the most athletic guard in the draft in Cooper. He can pass and run block, and the running game got an infusion of talent late in the draft with Taylor and Ellington. The defense got a shot in the arm when Kevin Minter fell to the middle of the second round. Minter will have an immediate impact shoring up the defense for the Cardinals. St. Louis: A Tavon Austin (WR) Barrett Jones (C) Having two first round picks gives a team the flexibility to move up, and the Rams made the move up to #8 and gave Sam Bradford the playmaker he really needs. The Rams then recouped the picks they traded to Buffalo to move up when the moved down and got Alec Ogletree at the end of the first round. If Ogletree can put his checkered past behind, he will be a steal of the draft. But the Rams great draft did not stop there. T.J. McDonald is a strong, physical safety who will help to stop the run game, and Austin's running mate at West Virginia, Stedman Bailey, adds to the passing game. But the Rams got the biggest steal of the draft when they got Barrett Jones in Round 4. Jones can play anywhere on the line, is tough, physical and very nasty. He even got in a shouting match with his quarterback late in the BCS Championship Game last year. Basically, he don't take crap from no one. He will anchor the Rams line for years to come. San Francisco: A Eric Reid (S) Quinton Patton (WR) The 49ers had the ammunition to move up to #18 and trade with Dallas to get Reid. This move shows the difference in management of the two franchises. San Francisco really knows what they are doing. Reid will move into the starting spot vacated by Dashon Goldson when he moved to Tampa Bay. But the biggest problem with the 49ers draft is that most of the players they selected won't make the team. Patton has a chance to move into the spot once occupied by Randy Moss, an dsecond round pick Vance McDonald gives San Francisco versatility in setting up two tight end sets. But this draft will be made when Carradine and Lattimore are fully healthy and can get on the field. Carradine looks to be the eventual replacement for Justin Smith, and Lattimore will relieve Frank Gore and then take over the role in the future. Seattle: B- Christine Michael (RB) Jesse Williams (DT) Michael has the talent, but he needs to get his head screwed on straight if he is going to make an impact. As good as Lynch has been, he could use some relief before he gets completely worn down from the wear and tear of the NFL. And along with Barrett Jones, his teammate at Alabama, Jesse Williams will be another steal of the draft. I'm still trying to figure out how he fell to the 5th Round. The Seahawks defense as become one of the toughest and most physical in the league, and Williams will only add to that. Russell Wilson gets a couple of potential targets to pass to in Chris Harper and Luke Wilson.

Draft Grades: San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers finished the 2009 season at 8-8. It marked an improvement and the team looks to be buying into the way Mike Singletary coaches and they are starting to take the field in the image of their coach. The 2010 NFL Draft brought players who fit the mold Singletary of making the 49ers in to.

With two first round selections, the 49ers picked offensive lineman Anthony Davis and Mike Iupati. Both are big, physical blockers who will help plow the road for Frank Gore and the running game. With Joe Staley on the left side, Davis and Iupati will provide cornerstones for years to come.

The second round pick brought Taylor Mays, a safety from USC. Many see Mays as a liability in the pass game, but I believe that Singletary wants Mays to swing the hammer and be the hitter at safety that he played with in Chicago, namely Doug Plank and Gary Fencik. With his size and speed, Mays will almost be another linebacker in support of the run. The third round brought Navorro Bowman, a linebacker from Penn State who was graded with late first round/early second round talent who fell due to off the field issues.

A late round sleeper looks to be Anthony Dixon, a running back from Mississippi State. Dixon is the power back who can spell Gore and give the 49ers the punishing ground game that Coach Singletary is looking to establish.

Draft Grade: A