The Dolphins used one of two second-round picks on defensive end Phillip Merling. Rex Brown/Getty Images NFL Draft 2008 Tuesday, April 29 Andrew Perloff: Early look at 2009 draft Tony Pauline: Top prospects for 2009 Peter King: Monday Morning QB Mailbag Monday, April 28 Peter King: Monday Morning Quarterback Dr. Z: Non-grading every team's draft Richard Deitsch: How did the media do? Sunday, April 27 Don Banks: How the class of QBs stack up Michael Lombardi: Lessons from the draft Tony Pauline: Top 10 steals and reaches Draft Tracker: Review all 252 selections Saturday, April 26 Don Banks: Need, speed dominate first day Bucky Brooks: Pick-by-pick breakdowns SI.com At The Draft Blog: Fourteen writers in 11 cities bring you behind the scenes Photo Galleries SI's best pictures from the NFL draft Top six picks take in Big Apple sights Darren McFadden | Glenn Dorsey Matt Ryan | Rashard Mendenhall Vernon Gholston | Jake Long Derrick Harvey | Keith Rivers

Following is my evaluation of the 2008 NFL draft, based on personal preference of various teams. Usually I use letter grades, but that system is now in the garbage because of what Peter King wrote about how nonsensical it is. I hate nonsense.

My Numero Uno

Miami Dolphins: I like this because the character of the drafter was reflected in the picks. It was a Man's draft, make that He-Man. Big guys. Serious. Top guy on the board, Jake Long, stands 6-7 and weighs 315. The defensive end, Phillip Merling, is not what you'd call a nimble-footed pass rusher. He likes to stack 'em up at the point. A two-gapper. Oh yes, he's 6-4½, 275. The QB, drafted with Miami's second pick in the second round, Chad Henne, is 226. He's got a gun. I mean for an arm. I assume he'll challenge for the job, or something more sinister. The average of the nine chaps selected is 6-3, 274. My kind of draft, boy.

More drafts that I like

Detroit Lions: I saw their top pick, tackle Gosder Cherilus, in the Senior Bowl. He was blowing people off the line. Run blocking catches my eye. Pass blocking is like watching Dancing With the Stars with my wife. I know, I know, it's more important, the way the game is played today, but I'm old and my prejudices are meaningful to me.

Jordon Dizon, the LB picked in the second round, was an active run plugger with a lot of range. Kevin Smith, the third rounder, is a punishing 215 pounder. I guess I should say something about Matt Millen drafting Army's OLB-SS Caleb Campbell in the seventh round, mainly because his son was Campbell's teammate at West Point.

According to something said at one of the 5,000 appearances Campbell made on ESPN and NFL Network, the deal is that if he catches on in an NFL camp, he doesn't have to report for active service, which most likely includes Iraq. Tell me, please, the coach who would be evil enough to cut him?

Oakland Raiders: Mainly because I called this one right in my mock draft, and I needed wins real bad. Al Davis has a mob of runners, but none of them like McFadden. He runs a 4.33, and in the old days, the typical Raider running back, Mark Van Eeghen, Marv Hubbard, that bunch, couldn't cover 20 yards in that time. So everyone's keeping fingers crossed that the bright lights of Oakland don't ensnare the young man. Ghosts of Teddy Hendricks and John Matuszak are everywhere. I also like Oakland's third-round choice, fourth rounder Bryan Shields, the tall wideout who broke the bank at the combine workouts.

Tennessee Titans: If only on freak-show appeal alone. I don't know what a 4.24 running back looks like, but that's what Chris Johnson clocked at the combine. He's not a shrimpy little guy, either. He's 197 pounds. I mean, are there stretches when he leaves the ground entirely? I like Craig Stevens, the Cal TE (third round) as well.

Pittsburgh Steelers: I want to see Big Ben playing skyball with the second-round pick, 6-4, 217-pound Limas Sweed, the wideout. I'm interested to see what they do with Dennis Dixon, the very classy and athletic Oregon QB who was headed for first-round glory before he tore the ACL in his knee and ended up a fifth rounder. I bet they have some Kordell Stewart numbers cooked up for him. Rashard Mendenhall, to take some pressure off Fast Willie in the running game, was a good choice, too.

Philadelphia Eagles: I've kind of been following the career of Trevor Laws, their second-round DT from Notre Dame, right up through the Senior Bowl, when he put on a clinic on how to shed blockers trained on pass blocking, to stop the run. He'll be just fine in Philly's system. It'll also be interesting to see the expression on Donovan McNabb's face the first time second-round choice DeSean Jackson, who has 4.37 speed, goes out for a deep one.

Cincinnati Bengals: Once again they give us a draft without many holes in it. At No.1, Keith Rivers is a dedicated and technically correct LB. At No. 2, Jerome Simpson is a highly dedicated receiver, whose 4.42 clocking put his school, Coastal Carolina, on the map. What map? The map of the coast, of course. Patrick Sims (third round) brings 310 pounds of run stopping to address a glaring weakness.

Atlanta Falcons: Well, yeah, I guess I had to love this draft because I had Matt Ryan on my board, and the guys that had Glenn Dorsey went down in flames. When they traded up for another first-round pick to get tackle Sam Baker to block for him, I thought that was a reach, but far be it for me to criticize the team that gave me a W.

Minnesota Vikings: Are you counting DE Jared Allen, the big-league pass rusher who came from the Chiefs for draft choices? You are? Then I love their draft. But only if they help him beat the drinking problem. One DUI and it's a bad mistake. Two and it's a problem. QB John David Booty (fifth round) from USC is an interesting choice since the position is far from locked up.

Buffalo Bills: QB Trent Edwards wondered whether or not there was a big wideout with fine hands available, and mentioned how nice it would be to have one, and the conversation produced 6-5½, 216-pound James Hardy. He's not the only guy in the organization they made happy. Bobby April, the terrific special teams coach, cracked a bottle of champagne when they drafted Leodis McKelvin in the first round. Possibly the best corner available, but also a fine return man.

Dallas Cowboys: McFadden's running mate, Felix Jones, can fly; he averaged 8.7 yards a crack last season. Perfect counterpart for Marion Barber, but farther down the Cowboys got lucky when Tashard Choice, a slashing type of runner, fell to them. Mike Jenkins is a fine corner to team with Terence Newman.