Corrected version

Most NFL executives tell you it takes three months years to make an accurate assessment of a draft class.

But 24 hours after Seattle concluded its 2011 draft, the immediate reaction was less than favorable from people who cover the league on a national level.

Mel Kiper of ESPN gave Seattle a D+, the lowest grade he hung on any of the league's 32 teams.

"I hope the Seahawks have better plans for quarterback than they appeared to in terms of adding value here. Carpenter fits a need, but was a reach with better tackle available. Moffitt can help this offensive line, but I didn't see guard as a top need."
    -- Mel Kiper, ESPN Draft analyst

Clifton Brown of The Sporting News wasn't any more impressed. He gave Seattle a D, which matched the lowest mark he handed out this year.

"
Their decision not to pick quarterback Andy Dalton could haunt them, especially if Matt Hasselbeck leaves. Could go from first to worst in NFC West."
    -- Clifton Brown, The Sporting News

Two picks in particular were criticized: first-round choice James Carpenter and fourth-rounder Kevin Kris Durham of Georgia, who was the first combine non-invitee to be drafted.

This was a draft where even the kudos came with a caveat. CNNSI.com's Don Banks took note of the selection of Durham, whom he had included on his annual Wes Walker Welker Watch List as a late-round afterthought who might hit big. But even in that case, Banks projected Durham as a sixth or seventh-round choice. Seattle took him in the fourth.

So what does all this mean? Well, it means the Seahawks did not take players at spots that coincided with the assessments and rankings of people who analyze the draft. In part, those assessments are based on input from teams around the league.

Does that mean Seattle's draft was bad? Not necessarily. It depends entirely on the results.

New England's Bill Belichick is someone whose draft-day selections don't always jibe with the assessments of analysts. His track record buys him all the leeway he needs.

Indianapolis' Bill Polian is among the least active executives in terms of draft-day movements. He generally stays put, makes his seven or so picks a year and -- until this year -- showed a general reluctance to draft offensive linemen in the first round. The Colts' status as perennial playoff contender and his success picking players like Edgerrin James earns him a wide berth.

I'm not saying the Seahawks deserve that kind of latitude. They don't. Not yet. But just because a draft doesn't follow conventional assessments doesn't mean it's bad. It means that Seattle didn't follow the script many expected. Was it a mistake? We'll see with the results.

The reporter of this post -- one, Daniel T. O'Neil -- must have been operating in some sort of mental fog prompted by the past week of door-to-door draft coverage. Because he inadvertently posted the unproofed version, which included the following errors: there was a word missing in the second paragraph, Georgia receiver Kris Durham was called Kevin and Wes Welker was referred to as Wes Walker.

Oh, and almost forgot. It takes three years to assess a draft class, not months. That was only the first sentence of the post.

Oops. One more. Kris Durham was the first combine non-invitee to be drafted this year, not the first non-combine draftee to be invited.

The author of this post -- the aforementioned Daniel T. O'Neil -- would like to thank all the commenters for refraining by pointing out his obvious and apparent mistakes and for questioning whether his IQ exceeds his shoe size, a suspicion that wouldn't have been unwarranted given the mistakes.

Special thanks to Jon Smith, who was the first to alert the aforementioned Daniel T. O'Neil to the errors.