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ESPN Fantasy's Christopher Harris revealed his top 10 fantasy rookies for 2011 . There was one AFC East representative on the list -- the top choice.

1. Daniel Thomas, RB, Miami Dolphins: Frankly, at the moment it doesn't seem close. Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams are free agents, and Thomas can play three downs. He's a talented guy, but at the moment this rating is about opportunity.

For six weeks leading into the draft, I compiled your votes for an AFC East reader mock that would be measured against ESPN experts Mel Kiper and Todd McShay.

We got crushed.

Mightily.

AFC East readers correctly predicted only three selections: Auburn quarterback Cam Newton first to the Carolina Panthers, Louisiana State cornerback Patrick Peterson fifth to the Arizona Cardinals and USC tackle Tyron Smith ninth to the Dallas Cowboys.

That's right. Shut out in the division.

Kiper delivered nine picks in the correct slots, although three of them went to wrong teams because of trades. McShay got eight slots right with two going to the wrong team.

Therefore, Kiper and McShay each had six bull's-eyes.

Procedural circumstances hurt the AFC East reader mock draft a little. We started back in March, choosing a player every weekday until we were done. Once a selection was made, it was locked in.

Kiper and McShay, meanwhile, had the ability to constantly tweak. At one point, each predicted Alabama running back Mark Ingram to the Miami Dolphins at No. 15 -- just like readers of the AFC East blog. But Kiper and McShay eventually switched to the winning pick, Florida center Mike Pouncey.

But the competition was so one-sided, I doubt tweaking would've helped much.

I came up with this scoring system to give credit for picks that were close and to account for trades:

• 5 points: bull's-eye (player and team)
• 4 points: player to right team/different slot or player in right slot/different team
• 3 points: player taken within one slot of projected pick
• 2 points: player taken within two slots of projected pick
• 1 point: player taken within three slots of projected pick

That gave the AFC East blog 26 points with three bull's-eyes, two players within a slot, two players within two slots and one player within three slots.

Of the 24 remaining guesses, six of them weren't taken in the first round at all. The good news is that Kiper and McShay also whiffed on four of the same ones: Clemson defensive end Da'Quan Bowers, Arizona defensive end Brooks Reed, UCLA outside linebacker Akeem Ayers and Texas cornerback Aaron Williams.

Kiper racked up 48 points, powered by having the first six picks slotted correctly.

McShay accumulated 50 points with my system. He couldn't match Kiper's hot start, but caught him in the second half. McShay nailed the Cameron Heyward to the Pittsburgh Steelers with the 31st pick.

When considering the worst miss, AFC East blog readers had Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder going to the Buffalo Bills at No. 34 (we allowed two bonus predictions because AFC East teams had the first two picks of the second round). Ponder went 12th to the Minnesota Vikings. The 22-spot differential was the largest of any player in the three mocks.

Readers also failed to include Washington quarterback Jake Locker in the first round, and he went eighth overall to the Tennessee Titans.

Mel Kiper compiled his team draft grades for ESPN Insider subscribers.

Let's take a look at his thought on AFC East clubs.

Buffalo Bills

Needs: C-plus

Value: B-plus

Overall: B

Mel's snippet: One guy who should feel good about this draft is Ryan Fitzpatrick, who is clearly the preferred starter at quarterback. Bills fans just have to hope the blocking can hold up.

New York Jets

Needs: B-minus

Value: B-plus

Overall: B

Mel's snippet: The Jets needed help at both defensive end spots up front in their 3-4, and did a great job adding talent with their first two picks.

Miami Dolphins

Needs: B-plus

Value: C

Overall: B-minus

Mel's snippet: Miami went after needs and got some immediate help in key spots, including guard and running back, getting pretty even value overall ... Solid, unspectacular week for Miami.

New England Patriots

Needs: C

Value: B-minus

Overall: C-plus

Mel's snippet: This was a mixed bag for me, a usual tour de force in terms of adding a mountain of roster spackle with the acquisition of draft picks -- the Patriots now have a pair of Round 1 and Round 2 picks to use (and trade) in 2012 -- but also with a few puzzlers mixed in with the usual smart picks.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Michael Jasper isn't nearly as difficult to find on a football field as he was online at about 7:15 p.m.

When the Buffalo Bills used their final draft choice on Jasper, a defensive tackle from tiny Bethel University in McKenzie, Tenn., reporters here in the media center went flipping through their draft materials and openly cried out, "Who is this guy?"

Jasper didn't have player profiles posted on NFL.com or Scouts Inc. Jasper wasn't listed among the 105 defensive tackles in Mel Kiper's annual draft guide.

Somebody eventually found his height and weight and said, "That has to be a typo."

So we had to keep digging, and with some help from the Bills' media relations department we learned Jasper's more than a man.

He's about the size of three people and can play multiple positions.

Jasper is 6-foot-4 and played last season at 430 pounds. He weighed 448 pounds in January. To get an idea of his enormity, you can check out photos of Jasper on his personal website.

Jasper started out as a defensive tackle at Tennessee-Martin and switched to offensive tackle. Then he transferred to Middle Tennessee State before landing at Bethel, where he started at both guard and defensive tackle.

We finally found him listed at guard in Kiper's guide.

Bills scouts asked Jasper to get below 400 pounds, and he trimmed down to 375.

"He's drying up to nothing," Bills general manager Buddy Nix cracked.

Nix said Bills regional scout Matt Hand "has been stalking this guy for a year or longer."

The Bills planned on signing Jasper as a rookie free agent but took him in the seventh round.

"This is an amazing kid," Nix said. "He vertical jumps 32 inches, and he longed jumped like 9-5 and dunks a basketball with both hands. ... He's an exceptional athlete.

"We're going to see if he can play. Coach [Chan Gailey] can tell you what we're going to do with him.

"Besides feed him, I guess."

The New York Jets are committed to adding Mark Sanchez's former teammates to the roster.

They drafted USC running back Joe McKnight last year and, when the Miami Dolphins waived receiver Patrick Turner, the Jets claimed Sanchez's top USC target.

Saturday afternoon, the Jets drafted Sanchez's high school buddy.

They used their seventh-round choice on Sanchez's best friend, Colorado receiver Scotty McKnight (no relation to Joe McKnight). Sanchez was with him when the Jets called.

"Are you kidding me?" McKnight said on a conference call with reporters. "I'm teaming up with a great organization, a great team and being together with my childhood buddy who I grew up with. We have never played on the same team together. We've just always been chained together.

"It's a dream come true. It's cool. I'm just ready to make the most out of the opportunity."

Sanchez and Scotty McKnight grew up in the same neighborhood, played Pop Warner football together and were ball boys for Santa Margarita High in California, but they ended up attending different high schools.

Scotty McKnight was a 5-foot-10 walk-on at Colorado but left as the school's all-time leading receiver with 215 catches and 22 touchdowns. He's a possession receiver who projects to the slot.

Sanchez attended a couple Colorado games last year and was the quarterback at its pro day in March.

» NFC draft analysis: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

The 2011 draft was short on sensationalism for the AFC East.

Even the sexiest pick was easy to rationalize. The New England Patriots took Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett, but the decision didn't seem out of whack in the third round.

Clubs went by the book. They bolstered need positions, concentrating on the trenches early. Very few red flags were raised.

But that doesn't mean the draft was dull.

Here are some draft highlights from the AFC East:

BEST MOVE

The AFC East's best decision of the draft was for the worst team to not get cute.

The Buffalo Bills didn't have to think when they filled out their draft card and sent it up to the commissioner. After the Denver Broncos selected Texas A&M outside linebacker Von Miller, the Bills rejected any thoughts about targeting a quarterback and pounced on Alabama defensive lineman Marcell Dareus, perhaps the safest pick in the entire draft.

Dareus immediately improves Buffalo's pitiful run defense and will help their anemic pass rush, too.

In fact, all four AFC East teams made prudent first-round decisions by reinforcing the lines.

The Miami Dolphins also eschewed quarterbacks, tabbing Florida center Mike Pouncey. The Patriots went with Colorado tackle Nate Solder. The New York Jets added Temple defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson.

RISKIEST MOVE

Had Mallett been taken in the first round or by a team that needed him to play right away, he would've gone down as the riskiest decision. But in the middle of the third round, no expectations to play and a solid infrastructure mitigate the hazards.

The Jets waited a long time between their first and next picks. When they were back on the clock at No. 94, they took Hampton defensive lineman Kenrick Ellis, a player the Jets rated as one of the top two nose tackles in this year's class.

But Ellis was suspended at South Carolina and kicked off the team, reportedly for drug use. Ellis also is facing felony assault charges -- he allegedly broke a man's jaw and nose last April on Hampton's campus. He's scheduled to stand trial in July and could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison if found guilty.

MOST SURPRISING MOVE

Again, some people would say Mallett was a surprise. I didn't think so in the third round. That's the kind of value selection the Patriots are prone to make -- similar to Texas Christian offensive lineman Marcus Cannon, who tumbled into the fifth round after a recent cancer diagnosis.

The biggest surprise to me was New England's decision not to address its need for pass rush help with the 33rd overall pick. With Pittsburgh's Jabaal Sheard and Arizona's Brooks Reed on the board, Bill Belichick took Virginia cornerback Ras-I Dowling instead.

The Patriots then drafted running backs with back-to-back picks. They went into the draft with backfield needs. They were old last year and had only two backs -- BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Danny Woodhead -- under contract.

They drafted California's Shane Vereen in the second round and then Louisiana State's Stevan Ridley 17 picks later in the third round.

It's hard to imagine either Green-Ellis (the AFC East's only 1,000-yard rusher last year) or Woodhead (electrifying fan favorite) being on the outs. So how do the Patriots figure they'll use all these guys?

FILE IT AWAY

The two AFC East teams unsettled at quarterback didn't draft one. The Bills and Dolphins avoided that position.

Each of the two AFC East teams with clear-cut quarterback situations drafted another. The Patriots added Mallett, and the Jets took Alabama's Greg McElroy in the seventh round.

The Jets aren't starting a quarterback controversy. Mark Sanchez is the unquestioned starter, and veteran backup Mark Brunell has another year left on his contract.

But here's an interesting fact: McElroy wore No. 17 his first two college seasons. He switched to No. 12 because it was worn at Alabama by his father's hero, Joe Namath.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Imagine how good the University of North Carolina could've been last season.

The Tar Heels won eight games, including their first bowl victory since 2001. But they were peppered with substantial problems throughout the season.

They endured a pair of scandals, one for improper agent contact and another for academic misconduct. Fourteen players were suspended for one game, seven for the entire season. Injuries presented additional troubles.

Illustrative of the Tar Heels' remarkable collection of talent was how much they populated the NFL draft.

Eight North Carolina players were selected within the first 171 slots and four players inside the first two rounds. The only positional group not represented was tight end.

The Buffalo Bills snagged Tar Heels with consecutive picks, taking strong safety Da'Norris Searcy in the fourth round and running back Johnny White in the fifth.

"We were stacked with talent," White said on a conference call with reporters. "I'm just happy for all those guys and feel blessed to be a part of that."

North Carolina's pro day was like a scouting festival. Droves of personnel evaluators converged on Chapel Hill because so many players hadn't produced in-season game film.

"It was unbelievable evaluating those guys," Bills regional scout Tom Roth said. "I mean, there were 15, 16, 17 [scouting reports] I wrote. Then with all the drama going on there and the injuries, there were about 150 people there. ... Some teams had their whole coaching staffs there."

The Bills sent four evaluators: general manager Buddy Nix, vice president of college scouting Tom Modrak, regional scout Darrell Moody and Roth.

"We felt like if we had all our guys and were healthy and eligible that we could go as far as we could take ourselves," White said.

Searcy was prevented from playing three games while the university investigated a class paper that had been called into question. He was cleared.

"Of all the kids at North Carolina that were involved in the academic stuff," Moody said, "he was a kid -- to put it bluntly -- he got screwed. ... There was something there they wanted to check and had questions about.

"He shouldn't have missed any games at all."

That Joe McKnight draft pick keeps looking worse and worse for the New York Jets.

Last year, the Jets drafted McKnight out of USC in the fourth round. McKnight was throwing up from the moment he got on an NFL practice field and had trouble finding his way for much of the season.

McKnight's presence on the roster eventually led the Jets to waive Danny Woodhead, and New England Patriots fans couldn't be more thankful for that.

The Jets on Saturday afternoon felt compelled to draft another running back, taking Louisville's Bilal Powell in the fourth round.

The move doesn't seem to be good news for Shonn Greene. Although it won't put Greene's job in jeopardy, you can't help but feel the Jets are uneasy in the backfield.

Since the Jets moved up to draft Greene in the third round two years ago, they've shown reluctance to let him shoulder the load. They signed LaDainian Tomlinson last year, drafted McKnight and now have drafted another runner.

Powell rushed for 1,405 yards and 11 touchdowns. He added 18 receptions for 158 yards and three touchdowns.

The Miami Dolphins' offensive renovations continued on the third day of the draft.

They chose Florida center Mike Pouncey with their top pick Thursday night, traded up to draft Kansas State running back Daniel Thomas in the second round Friday night and then added Abilene Christian speed receiver Edmond Gates in the fourth round Saturday afternoon.

Those are three helpful pieces to surround quarterback Chad Henne with.

Gates is a raw prospect and shouldn't be counted on as an every-down threat right away. He has limited route-running skills. But he does have the straight-ahead speed to keep defenses honest and give Brandon Marshall and Davone Bess more room to work on intermediate patterns.

Gates can blow the lid off a secondary and has enough play-making ability to turn a bubble screen into a big gain.

Scouts Inc. had this to say about Gates: "Is at his best with the ball in his hands in space. Can take a quick-hitter the distance. Shows very good initial burst, can accelerate out of his breaks and he displays a big-time second-gear. Needs more work as a vertical route runner and with tracking the ball, but he has the burst and top-end speed to stretch the field."

ESPN reporter Michael Smith evaluates the New England Patriots' first three rounds and calls the selection of Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett in the third round Friday night "good business."

We'll find out what Ryan Mallett is all about.

No setting would have provided a truer test than New England, where the coach runs a tight operation and the quarterback provides the perfect template for a youngster to follow.

Team after team saw Mallett's name on the draft board and ignored it. Seventy-three picks were made, including four by the New England Patriots, before they finally added the quarterback many analysts called the most NFL-ready quarterback in this year's class.

"When I got that call," Mallett said, "it was a great feeling just to know that somebody wanted me."

Mallett's humiliation couldn't have cut as deeply as what Tom Brady felt 11 years ago, when the future Hall of Famer squirmed through five-plus rounds of rejection.

Memories of that day recently made Brady cry. The anger and bitterness and appreciation for his parents' support bubbled over during an interview for "The Brady 6," an ESPN documentary about the quarterbacks taken before him.

Perhaps "The Mallett 6" already is playing on a loop inside the rookie's head.

If not, you can imagine Brady whispering constant reminders in Mallett's ear about being driven to prove all the doubters wrong and to show the world he's better than Cam Newton and Jake Locker and Blaine Gabbert and Christian Ponder and Andy Dalton and Colin Kaepernick.

Mallett can do that in New England.

If he wants it badly enough.

"It's an opportunity for me to learn from him and further my knowledge under that coaching staff," Mallett said of Brady late Friday night. "It was something I'm really excited about when I got the call. I can't wait to get started."

When the Patriots make a selection such as this one, it's perceived as brilliant. Bill Belichick earned that presumption with three Super Bowl rings and a steady stream of AFC East championships.

Had the Oakland Raiders, Cincinnati Bengals or San Francisco 49ers drafted Mallett, we would be ridiculing them right now.

Mallett, in the eyes of most, would be dooooooomed to failure.

After all, Mallett clearly was more toxic than asbestos and ready to contaminate all he came into contact with. The passing skills he demonstrated in Arkansas' pro-style offense were undeniable. And although his mobility resembles that of a drowsy turtle, the damning issues were away from the field. Vague drug accusations hovered, and while still not detailed in public, teams apparently were convinced he wasn't worth the risk.

"Obviously, we're comfortable with him," Belichick said. "We took him."

Now AFC East opponents dread the prospect of Mallett emerging as a well-tutored prodigy with a cannon arm and a Dante Scarnecchia-coached offensive line to keep harassing defenders away.

But Mallett's real advantage in this scenario is Brady.

Mallett won't need to play right away -- not this year or next and probably not the year after that. He can learn from one of the supreme overachievers of NFL history.

That's the type of competitor Mallett will be exposed to in Foxborough. Every day, he'll get to observe, extract, probe and scrutinize the actions of a genuine winner.

"He's definitely a football guy," Belichick said of Mallett. "He is a great kid to talk to. He's very into football. You can't wear him out. If you want to talk about it, he'll be there. However many hours it is, he's ready to go watch the next film. He'll talk about a new technique or a route or a read, whatever.

"His father is a football coach. He's grown up in a football family, which I can definitely relate to that. Either you get sick of it or you marry into it and love it. It's one of the two. I think he's very much of a football person.

"He's a kid that's eager to learn and has a great thirst for knowledge for his position, which there's a lot going on there. He'll certainly get an opportunity to receive a lot of knowledge at that position around here."

On the surface, the payoff for New England seems minimal. Brady should have five more good years in him. He will turn 34 in September but is at the top of his game. He's the reigning MVP and a unanimous All-Pro selection, guiding the Patriots to a 14-2 record last season and posting phenomenal efficiency numbers.

Brady is signed through 2014. Mallett might flame out before then, but even if he doesn't, he could become a free agent before Brady is ready to yield the job.

What then?

If the Patriots' highly favorable atmospheric conditions allow Mallett to grow into a young star, the Patriots will have the ability to convert him into more future assets -- a groom-and-trade exercise similar to what they pulled off with Matt Cassel.

In the meantime, Mallett would provide backup services. Brady has gotten banged up over the past few years. An insurance policy is wise.

There's always a chance disaster will strike. Another season-ending injury could befall Brady. In between serenity and panic, a broken bone could sideline Brady for a couple of games.

Then Mallett would get his chance to show everybody what he's all about.

He might very well fall flat on his facemask. But it's much easier to picture him pulling it off in a Patriots jersey, isn't it?

The New York Jets didn't have a second-round draft choice, giving them a looooong wait between their first-round announcement Thursday night and their next selection Friday night. With the 94th pick in the draft, they took Hampton defensive tackle Kenrick Ellis.

Why the Jets took him: Jets head coach Rex Ryan sees a potential gem in Ellis, a 6-foot-5, 346-pound lineman with a checkered history. Ellis ended up at Hampton after South Carolina suspended him three games and then kicked him off the team for reported drug usage. The Jets need depth up front, especially if they don't re-sign nose tackle Kris Jenkins.

How it affects the roster: Last year's starters at defensive tackle, Sione Pouha and Mike DeVito, will be back. Ellis will push them for snaps.

Scouts Inc. says: Plays a little too high but rarely gives ground in one-on-one situations and can clog up the middle by occupying multiple blockers when plays with sound technique. Also shows ability to hold ground working against double team if maintaining proper pad level. Thick, powerful arms. Can reach out and latch onto ball carrier with one hand when teams run at him. Plays with too narrow of a base and lacks adequate balance redirecting. Does not possess elite instincts and can be a quarter-count finding and reacting to the ball. Also can bite on misdirection.

One spot before they made the sexiest second-day pick with Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett, the New England Patriots took Louisiana State running back Stevan Ridley in the third round.

Why the Patriots took him: The Patriots clearly felt their backfield was a strong area of need, following up second-round pick Shane Vereen with another running back. Ridley rushed for 1,147 yards and 15 touchdowns last season, but he's not a prolific receiver. He had 11 receptions for 61 yards.

How it affects the roster: As mentioned with Vereen, a good portion of the Patriots' backfield is old and unsigned. The backfield depth chart would appear to be full with BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Danny Woodhead, Ridley and Vereen.

Scouts Inc. says: Good initial burst to and through the hole. Shows some burst when turning the corner. Has a better second-gear than expected for a back his size. Shows quick feet and does a great job of navigating through small creases. But he does have some tightness in his hips. A bit of an upright runner. Struggles to make sudden moves in the hole. Does not make many defenders miss in confined area.

Pardon me for going out of order, but I have a feeling readers would like to digest this New England Patriots selection before their previous one. They drafted Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett with the 74th selection.

Why the Patriots took him: After his long slide, the Patriots ended Mallett's misery. He has tremendous physical skills but enough off-field question marks that every other team passed on him. The Patriots finally felt compelled to add an intriguing prospect so late in the draft. Risk is mitigated by the presence of Tom Brady, an ultimate leader and a chip-on-the-shoulder competitor who should provide the perfect example for Mallett to emulate.

How it affects the roster: Not much. The Patriots kept only two other quarterbacks last season. Backup Brian Hoyer should stick around. The other quarterback on the roster, Jonathan Crompton, probably doesn't have any hope.

Scouts Inc. says: Smooth over-the-top release. Follows through very well. Ball jumps off hand, and he possesses arguably the strongest arm of any quarterback we have evaluated in the 2011 class. Displays ability to make throw downfield off of back foot. ... Overall accuracy is good but still has room for improvement. Displays good mechanics and throws with great balance. Short accuracy is above average, but he can force receivers to open up on crossing routes on occasion. Needs to learn to take some heat off fastball at times.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- The Buffalo Bills drafted a third straight defender, adding Louisiana State inside linebacker Kelvin Sheppard with the 68th pick Friday night.

Why the Bills took him: The Bills already have addressed each level of their defense with a lineman (Marcell Dareus), a defensive back (Aaron Williams) and now a linebacker, a position that was thin last year. Sheppard is considered a smart and emotional leader, and he might need that kind of passion to overcome limitations as a sideline-to-sideline tackler.

How it affects the roster: Veteran linebackers Paul Posluszny and Akin Ayodele are free agents. Sheppard could contribute immediately.

Scouts Inc. says: Good communication skills. Quickly reads keys and reacts. Do not see many false steps from him. Has improved his discipline and rarely got fooled by misdirection or play-action in 2010. Flashes ability to sniff out draws and screens. Shows awareness to go for the strip when wrapping up ball carriers. ... Is technically sound with his hands and will almost always take on blocks properly. He is tough and fearless, but he does not have explosive upper body power. He rarely shocks the blocker with initial pop and he has some trouble disengaging from bigger blockers.