Well, it’s that time of the year again. The NFL Draft is over, and suddenly there are hundreds of experts with enough college football knowledge and adequate predicting ability to be considered qualified to judge the winners and losers of everyone’s favorite annual drinking holiday. The best part is no one even has to wait for any of these draft picks to play a snap in the NFL before being told which teams drafted the superstars and which teams blew it.  That’s right, all of these “experts” are able to hand out these final grades no later than two hours after Mr. Irrelevant is invited to the worst parade in history.

Impressive.

That said, count me in. However, unlike my counterparts, I will actually remember to account for every draft pick in this year’s draft. What do I mean? Well, every year, the teams with the most draft picks are praised for their prowess, while the teams without any first round draft picks are chastised for their incompetence.

Problem is, there is a reason a team like the Chiefs had six picks in the first three rounds, just like there are reasons the Browns didn’t have a draft pick until round four.  Those reasons have names, and names like Jared Allen, Brady Quinn, Corey Williams and Shaun Rogers often times hold more weight than the names of student-athletes that suddenly turn household every April.

So, without further ado, the real winners and losers of the NFL Draft, including the current NFL veterans (and even superstars in some cases) which were traded for the right to announce a name at the podium.

THE LOSERS (in order of 5th worst to the very worst, in favor of suspense).

5. San Francisco 49ers

For me, to really be on the loser list, a team needs to go out of its way to screw up, rather than just being a team that doesn’t make the general consensus picks. For San Francisco, the big blunder happened last year. When the 49ers gave up this year’s first round pick in 2007 to New England in order to draft Joe Staley, it thought it was one offensive lineman away from a deep playoff push. Turns out that in reality, the 49ers were so far away from this that they ended up handing out a top ten draft pick to the best team in football for little to nothing. The result was missing out on a player like offensive guard Branden Albert, and instead having to fill that hole in the second round with the much inferior Chilo Rachal. Mix that with the selection of defensive end Kentwan Balmer over the 49ers choice of any wide receiver (San Fran’s biggest need) in the draft to develop, and you have yourself one stubborn loser who still has misconceptions of being much closer to a championship than reality would dictate.

4. Washington Redskins

Daniel Snyder loves selling tickets. As a result, when his team has a chance to add another player at a skill position, Daniel Snyder salivates. Unfortunately for residents of the nation’s capitol, Daniel Snyder is also an idiot. With specific needs in basically every defensive facet (on the line, amongst the linebacking corps, and in the secondary), the need for a balanced Redskins draft was obvious. Except to Snyder & co., of course. No defensive selections in the first three rounds, along with pass catchers comprising of the first three selections, adds up to Washington keeping its jersey sales up, but also its amount of losses. The only winner here is Colt Brennan, who is lucky to have a job, and has a whole lot of toys to play with during his third-string practice reps.

3. Carolina Panthers

Similar to the 49ers last year, the Panthers gave up its first round draft pick for the upcoming year to secure an offensive tackle. For Carolina, it was trading up to Philadelphia to get Jeff Otah at the price of its second and fourth round picks in addition to the 2009 first round pick. It may seem nice for the Panthers now, but after Carolina finishes another dismal season, having the fatty and the allure of potentially unlocking a second round sleeper probably won’t seem so fun anymore. I don’t mind the selection of running back Jonathan Stewart to complement DeAngelo Williams, but any excitement of this is eliminated by the memory of the loss of Kris Jenkins to the Jets for a 3rd and 5th round pick. Carolina better hope cornerback Charles Godfrey and tight end Gary Barnidge pan out, or trading Jenkins will go down as one of the worst trades in the history of a young Panthers franchise.

2. Dallas Cowboys

First of all, Dallas is not my second biggest loser because it didn’t draft a wide receiver. Like San Francisco, Dallas has a need for a wide receiver, but unlike the 49ers, the Cowboys have a legitimate shot of making the Super Bowl this year. Because of this, the draft was probably not the best way for Dallas to fill a hole at this position. Fact is, wide receivers very rarely make an impact right away, and the Cowboys want to win now. Onto the negatives. From a trading aspect, Dallas made some headlines by trading a fourth round pick for problem child Pacman Jones. It also traded linebacker Akin Ayodele and tight end Anthony Fasano to Miami for a fourth round pick. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that this basically works out to be a tradeoff of Ayodele and Fasano for Mr. Jones. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t give up either of these players for a former TNA Wrestling Tag Team Champion. The good news for Dallas was the fun of having two first round picks, but the Cowboys managed to turn this into a negative as well. First up, the ‘Boys drafted backup college running back Felix Jones, who’s best positive in my mind is that he already has experience in doing what he’ll be doing on MB3’s team, which is sitting behind a stud running back. The other first round pick: a cornerback named Mike Jenkins, who could help make up for the mistake of acquiring Adam; if Dallas is lucky. Nice endorsement of Pacman, by the way.

1. Jacksonville Jaguars

The biggest loser of the 2008 NFL Draft in the eyes of yours truly is the Jacksonville Jaguars. Like many of the other teams on my list of losers, the Jaguars got off to a bad start on the draft before the weekend even began. The Bills traded a third and a fifth round pick to the Jags for Marcus Stroud, and the odds of coming up with value equivalent to Stroud with a couple of second day stabs is unlikely at best. Jacksonville’s trading didn’t end there, however. A blockbuster deal, sending Jacksonville’s first round pick, both of its third round picks, and a fourth round pick netted the Jaguars the Raven’s eighth overall slot, and in turn defensive end Derrick Harvey. Now, if some of these numbers sound familiar, it’s because they are. Just days ago, the Minnesota Vikings sent a very similar package the Chiefs way for sack-champion Jared Allen. The Vikings gave up a first round draft pick nine slots ahead of the Jacksonville spot, but didn’t have to give up a fourth round pick, making it arguable that the Jaguars actually gave up more for Harvey than the Vikings gave up for Allen. Unless you’re Phil Ivey, the gamble of trading all of this for a projected sack master instead of an established stud is a little more than unsettling. The Jaguars were rumored to have been in the Allen sweepstakes, but if they were willing to give up all of this for a defensive end, and they chose to make that defensive end a kid that hasn’t played a snap in the NFL in favor of the reigning sack leader… well then, Daniel Snyder may have company.

THE WINNERS

5. Minnesota Vikings

In my book, the draft is all about using your picks to acquire the most talent. Apparently, this goal is lost in the eyes of some of the people who write these lists of draft winners and losers. To me, though, trades that teams make for veteran players using draft picks can be just as important, if not more important, than using that pick to select a college football player. This opinion of mine was reflected in my choices for the draft losers, just as it will be in my draft winners. With the 17th selection in the NFL Draft, combined with two third round picks, the Minnesota Vikings selected Jared Allen. On my draft board, no player was higher than the NFL sack leader. With that definition, the Vikings came away with the best player of any team via the draft. Minnesota was aggressive in pursuing Allen, just as they were aggressive in landing its top two draft choices. In both the second and the fifth rounds, the purple headed warriors traded up to get the guy they wanted. If nothing else, this proves that the Vikings got its targets, and that’s really all a team can shoot for after it ranks every prospect. Time will tell if safety Tyrell Johnson and USC signal-caller John David Booty prove to be difference-makers, but the fact of the matter is that as of today, the Vikings added exactly who it wanted to with its draft picks.

4. Buffalo Bills

As mentioned earlier, the Bills added Marcus Stroud before the draft even started. The beauty of this trade for Buffalo was that it gave up a third and a fifth round pick, both of which it had previously compiled from other trades. This left the Bills with all of its original picks, giving it one pick per each of the first six rounds, in addition to one compensatory pick in the fourth. Picking up the first cornerback of the draft, Leodis McKelvin, at pick eleven filled a need and gave Buffalo the top corner on its board. After not picking a wide receiver at eleven, which many prognosticators pegged the Bills to do, the Buffaloes had its gamble pay off after no wide receivers were taken in the entire first round. The patient Bills snagged James Hardy 41st overall, giving them an extremely productive 6-foot-6 receiver to pair alongside speedster Lee Evans. That match made in Heaven further benefits from the addition of tight end Derek Fine in the fourth round, and suddenly Buffalo’s passing offense is looking much better. Toss in a running back, a defensive end with upside, a corner named Corner and another wide receiver to boot, and the Billys accomplished everything it was hoping to with the 2008 draft.

3. Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers didn’t make much of a splash on the transactions list over the weekend, but it did add a lot of talent to its roster. At pick 23, the Steelers made it two running backs in a row with the selection of Rashard Mendenhall. In the mind of this “expert,” or rather just another writer and NFL fan with an opinion and an outlet, Mendenhall actually fits the Pittsburgh offense better than Felix Jones, and is simply a better running back in general. The Steelers second round choice, Limas Sweed, fills the team’s biggest need, while at the same time offering an excellent value for where he was selected. Sweed and his 6-foot-4 frame should give Big Ben a taller option to look towards when Ward and Holmes are covered up. The great part for the Steelers is it can afford to take the time to develop Sweed, without having to lean on him too much out of the gates. As a bonus, third round defensive end Bruce Davis has been rumored to have already owned a lunch box, blue-collared shirts and a hard hat even before being drafted by Steely McBeam’s squad. Additionally, fifth round quarterback Dennis Dixon has been compared to many Steelers in the past with his ability to run, catch, and pass; making him an ideal candidate to be involved in one of those patented Pittsburgh trick plays in the very near future. Neat.

2. Green Bay Packers

The Packers made great use of all of its draft picks, and the art of the trade was no stranger to Ted Thompson in this year’s draft both before the weekend and during. Dating back to 2007, the Green Bay Packers used this year’s sixth round pick to acquire a relatively unknown running back from the New York Giants. I may be going out on a limb, but I’m already declaring Ryan Grant as the best player to have anything to do with a 2008 sixth round pick. Also in classic Ted Thompson fashion, the Packers selected a player viewed as a reach with its first pick. Say what you will about wide receiver Jordy Nelson, but Green Bay got the guy it targeted, and was even able to amass an extra fourth round pick by trading down while still drafting the 6-foot-3 pass catcher. The next Packers pick also had ties to a trade, with the slot originally belonging to the Cleveland Browns. In trading defensive lineman Corey Williams, the Packers were able to pick up the 56th pick in the draft, and used that pick to draft quarterback Brian Brohm. The Louisville quarterback’s closest comparison to Aaron Rodgers is probably the manner in which he fell during the draft, and his presence makes for an interesting quarterback battle to be decided over the next few years. Either way, Green Bay will end up with the winner of a competition between two pretty good quarterbacks, and this makes the idea of replacing Brett Favre a little more palatable for Packer backers. Green Bay also filled needs at cornerback, tight end, and on the offensive line; and as a result of another draft day trade, added a third quarterback to the melee: LSU’s Matt Flynn.

1. Cleveland Browns

I know what you’re saying. The Browns? Yes, the Browns. Were they even in the draft? Key words: “were they.” Flip them. The Browns were in the draft until it traded its top three draft picks for three separate impact players.

Cleveland didn’t make its first selection of the draft until the fourth round, yet in my book, should be listed as the biggest winners of the 2008 NFL Draft. The reason why is, the Browns used its draft picks to add more talent to its team than any other NFL squad. It all started last year. In trading up to draft Brady Quinn, the Browns gave up this year’s first round pick. As much as you might hate his EAS commercial, the fact is that Quinn may ultimately prove to be the most important player on what could be a very good ball club. But I’m not finished talking about Quinn quite yet. Like the Green Bay situation, having two good, young quarterbacks battle it out ultimately leads to both players raising their games. In many cases, the competition can also show you which of the two is the most competitive and best under pressure. “Now I’m done.” For its second trick, the Browns traded its second round pick to the Packers for defensive lineman Corey Williams. This trade ended up benefiting both teams, with the Packers getting Brohm. Cleveland also benefited from this trade, because the best values on the board at that time proved to be at quarterback and wide receiver: both positions the Browns do not need to improve via the draft. You can bet the Browns would have rather had Williams than anyone left on the board at that time. Last, but not least (actually best), the Browns traded its third round pick along with defensive back Leigh Bodden to Detroit for dominant defensive tackle Shaun Rogers. If Rogers had been in this draft, knowing what we know about him now, you can double-or-nothing that last bet that he would have been a top ten draft pick for any team serious about winning right now. You may debate that, but you can’t debate this: Shaun Rogers is a heck of a lot better than fellow defensive tackle Andre Fluellen, who was taken with that third round pick by the Lions. So who did the Browns actually end up drafting? To be honest, I don’t really even care. The Brownies basically had a stranglehold on the title of “Best 2008 NFL Draft” for me before the fans even started filling Radio City Music Hall on Saturday, and anything Cleveland ends up getting from anyone it drafted on Sunday is delicious, beef-based gravy.

Before I go, here are a few other trades and draft picks of note:

- The second round draft pick San Diego traded Miami for Chris Chambers ended up being used to take Chad Henne. Unfortunately for Henne, if he became the starter at some point this season, his targets will be marginal at best now that Chambers is gone.

- The second round draft pick Oakland traded Atlanta for DeAngelo Hall ended up being used by Washington to draft Devin Thomas. Who would win that matchup?

-Inexplicably, the Jaguars gave up a sixth round draft pick to Minnesota for wide receiver mess Troy Williamson. The Vikings used this pick on Sunday to draft another wide receiver with questionable tools outside of speed: Jaymar Johnson. If A equals B and B equals C means that A equals C, then the Vikings traded Randy Moss for Jaymar Johnson and Napoleon ice cream.

- Under my philosophy of using draft picks to acquire the best possible talent, it’s hard to argue that the Saints acquiring Jonathan Vilma from the Jets for a 4th round pick wasn’t the best value pick in the entire draft.

- Irrelevant? Outside of the seventh round compensatory picks, the last pick of the NFL Draft was the Chiefs selection of tight end Mike Merritt. The reason Kansas City had this pick instead of the Giants was because it traded this pick to Kansas City in 2007 for Lawrence Tynes, who as you know is now a kicking hero in New York for propelling the Giants over Green Bay and into the Super Bowl.