Rick Gosselin's team-by-team draft review

RB Tim Hightower was a pleasant surprise in the fifth round. He took the starting job from Edgerrin James and rushed for 10 touchdowns. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was no surprise in the first round, giving the Cardinals a potential shutdown cornerback.

QB Matt Ryan won NFL Rookie of the Year honors after passing for 3,440 yards for the NFC South runners-up. Second-rounder Curtis Lofton was a season-long starter at middle linebacker, and first-round LT Sam Baker would have been, too, had he not missed seven games with a hip injury.

The Ravens traded up in the first round for QB Joe Flacco, and he was worth the three-draft pick investment. He was a 16-game starter who steered Baltimore to 11 wins. RB Ray Rice started four games, and S Tom Zbikowski became a beast on special teams.

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Five of Buffalo's draft picks started games, and first-round CB Leodis McKelvin scored touchdowns on both defense and special teams. Fourth-rounder Derek Fine finished the season as the starting tight end, and James Hardy and Steve Johnson worked into the mix at wideout.

The Panthers started rookies on offense and defense – Jeff Otah at right tackle on offense and Charles Godfrey at safety on defense. First-round RB Jonathan Stewart didn't start any games but had the biggest impact with his 836 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns.

The Bears' Matt Forte, Houston's Steve Slaton and Tennessee's Chris Johnson all could have been the halfback on the all-rookie team. All rushed for 1,200 yards. Slaton rushed for the most yards (1,282), Forte caught the most passes (63), and Johnson was MVP of the AFC's best team.

First-round LB Keith Rivers was having a splendid rookie season before suffering a broken jaw in the seventh game. He still finished 15th among all NFL rookies in tackles despite missing the final nine games. OT Anthony Collins and DT Pat Sims finished the season as starters.

The Browns didn't have a draft pick until the fourth round, and he wound up on injured reserve: LB Beau Bell. Seventh-round LB Alex Hall started two games and fourth-round TE Martin Rucker one. This rookie class couldn't save the job of coach Romeo Crennel.

The Cowboys found a keeper in fourth-round RB Tashard Choice – but they found him too late. He had little impact until December, when he started three games. CBs Mike Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick also started games, as did second-round TE Martellus Bennett.

Broncos coach Mike Shanahan has always preferred experience to potential. Ironically, Denver had its most productive draft in years with six draft picks plus two college free agents starting games – and Shanahan wound up getting fired.

Operating under the philosophy that if you're going to be bad, be young, the 0-16 Lions flooded the field with youngsters. Five rookies started and Detroit found its backfield of the future in third-round RB Kevin Smith and fifth-round FB Jerome Felton.

The Packers used two of their nine draft picks on quarterbacks, so that was 32 games right there in which Green Bay would get nothing from rookies. Fourth-round DE Jeremy Thompson led this draft class with three starts, and second-round WR Jordy Nelson showed some flashes.

The Texans hit a pair of home runs in first-round LT Duane Brown and third-round RB Steve Slaton. Brown started 16 games and Slaton 15. Slaton strung together three consecutive 100-yard rushing games in December. Fourth-round LB Xavier Adibi also started some games.

The Colts always rely on rookie offensive linemen to start, and 2008 was no exception. Second-round G Mike Pollak started 13 games, seventh-round C Jamey Richard seven games and sixth-round G Steve Justice one. Undrafted DT Eric Foster was a bonus with 11 starts.

The Jaguars selected two of the four best pass rushers in the 2008 draft in Derrick Harvey in the first round and Quentin Groves in the second, but they combined to start only nine games and collect only six sacks. Undrafted Brian Witherspoon emerged as the return specialist.

Chiefs coach Herman Edwards said last August his team would be young. But the Chiefs were probably younger than even he expected. Nine different rookies started for Kansas City – seven draft picks and two free agents – and another (Connor Barth) handled the kicking.

Bill Parcells set out to make the finesse Dolphins bigger and more physical up front. He succeeded. OT Jake Long and G Donald Thomas and DEs Kendall Langford and Phillip Merling were all on the field starting in September. Free agent Dan Carpenter handled the kicking.

The Vikings didn't have a first-round pick and wound up with just one selection in the first four rounds. That player, S Tyrell Johnson, started seven games for the NFC North champions. The other three draft picks combined for 29 inactives.

Bill Belichick knows defense – and he found the best defensive player in the draft with the 10th overall pick in LB Jerod Mayo. He led all rookies with 128 tackles in a top-10 defense. Undrafted rookies RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis and LB Gary Guyton also started games.

The Saints traded up in the first round to select DT Sedrick Ellis, and he played as billed. Second-rounder Tracy Porter opened the season as a starting cornerback and fifth-rounder Carl Nicks finished it as a starting guard. Three of the draft picks wound up on injured reserve.

The defending Super Bowl champions didn't need much help and didn't get it in the draft, although first-round SS Kenny Phillips, second-round CB Terrell Thomas and fourth-round LB Bryan Kehl combined to start six games. Third-round WR Mario Manningham was coming on late.

First-round DE Vernon Gholston was a big disappointment, failing to start a game or collect a sack. The other two draft picks who stuck both started games – second-round TE Dustin Keller and fourth-round CB Dwight Lowery. Keller caught 48 passes.

Though Darren McFadden was the first running back selected in the draft, his season paled in comparison with those of Chris Johnson, Matt Forte and Steve Slaton. But WR Chaz Schilens could wind up a steal in the seventh round. He started five games and caught two TD passes.

Second-rounder DeSean Jackson was an impact player both as a wideout and kick returner with 100 yards receiving in each of his first two NFL games plus a punt return for a score against Washington. Fourth-rounder Quintin Demps averaged 25.3 yards on kickoff returns.

The Steelers managed a league-low one start from their rookie class. First-round RB Rashard Mendenhall stepped in for injured Willie Parker in the fourth game against Baltimore and suffered a fractured shoulder that day. The other four draft picks combined for 21 inactives.

First-rounder Chris Long was one of the few bright spots in a 2-14 season. Second-rounder Donnie Avery was another. Long started all 16 games and picked up four sacks. Avery caught 53 passes with four receptions of 40 yards or more.

Only three of San Diego's five draft picks made the team. But the biggest rookie contribution came from undrafted Mike Tolbert, who started seven games at fullback. The three draft picks – CB Antoine Cason, FB Jacob Hester and OT Corey Clark – combined for six starts.

First-round DT Kentwan Balmer didn't start a single game, nor did third-round S Reggie Smith. Second-round G Chilo Rachel started the final six games of the season, and sixth-round WR Josh Morgan started one game. That was it on a team desperate for rookie help.

Second-rounder John Carlson was a bit of a surprise, leading all rookie tight ends with 55 catches. First-round DE Lawrence Jackson also started all season but managed only two sacks. The Seahawks are high on undrafted LB David Hawthorne of TCU.

The best rookie didn't even cost the Buccaneers a draft pick. Free agent Clifton Smith of Fresno State was selected to the Pro Bowl as the NFC's kick returner. First-rounder Aqib Talib started two games at cornerback and third-rounder Jeremy Zuttah five games at guard.

RB Chris Johnson was not only a rookie of the year candidate but an MVP candidate for the Titans. He brought a big-play capability that carried Tennessee to the top seed in the AFC. The Titans also found some keepers on the defensive line in Jason Jones and William Hayes.

In August, the Redskins were excited about their future receiving corps of WRs Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly and TE Fred Davis, all second-rounders. By December, all the buzz was about seventh-round safety Chris Horton, who started 10 games and made 76 tackles.

01:56 AM CST on Sunday, January 11, 2009