NFL Draft Recap Part 2
Contributor: Joey Tow
Continued from my Part 1.....
17. New
York Giants – Grade D-
My Pick:
Daniel Jones – QB Duke
Actual:
Dexter Lawrence – DT Clemson
Oh boy….here
we go again with the Giants. Regardless
with how talented you think Dexter Lawrence is, he is a 355+ lb. run stuffing
DT. Bucs made a mistake like this last
year when they selected Vita Vea. These
run stuffing DTs should not be selected this high. One, they are going to play a smaller
percentage of snaps (Vita Vea played 47% of snaps last year) and two, this is a
passing league and you need to invest in pass defenders. This pick really bothered me. It makes no sense to me to invest in a player
in the first round who will play less than half of the defensive snaps.
18. Minnesota
Vikings – Grade A-
My Pick:
Garrett Bradbury – C NC. St.
Actual:
Garret Bradbury – NC. St.
This pick
was simply to pick the best available offensive lineman. Vikings have a complete team and possibly one
of the best in the league. Sadly, the
Vikings management completely forgot about their offensive line until this
pick. Giving Kurt (jab at Bruce Allen)
Cousins more time should have been the #1 priority heading into the offseason
and I am glad they followed through. Bradbury
will start week one.
19. Tennessee
Titans – Grade C-
My Pick:
Drew Lock – QB Missouri
Actual:
Jeffrey Simmons – DT Miss. St.
This was
probably a hot take having Drew Lock here, but it was more of having Lock in
the first round for mock draft scoring purposes. Although, I am not a Mariota believer and I
hope the Titans do not resign him to a major deal. He has either been hurt or bad. Rip the band aid off and move on. Jeffrey Simmons seemed like an odd pick
though. He is probably going to sit out
the entire season and this is a team that is competing for the playoffs this
year. Simmons is essentially a luxury
pick who was picked by a team who shouldn’t have the luxury of wasting a pick
this year.
20. Denver
Broncs – Grade B-
My Pick: DK
Metcalf – Ole Miss
Actual: TRADE
W/ PIT - Noah Fant – TE Iowa
I am
assuming the Broncos traded down with the intention to grab Noah Fant after TJ
Hockenson was drafted. It definitely
fits a need and I do think Noah Fant can be a good TE but unfortunately the
Broncos have been trying to fix their QB situation since Peyton Manning
retired. I believe John Elway is always
in the win now mode and sacrifices the rebuild to stay competitive. This is a difficult pick for me to grade for
that reason. I liked the process of
trading down here but at the same time they passed on Dwayne Haskins. Eventually the Broncos are going to have to
bottom out or else they are going to be stuck in this weird 5-7 win team. I tactually think this may be the year. And no Joe Flacco is not the answer.
21. Green
Bay Packers – Grade B-
My Pick:
Clelin Ferrel – DE Clemson
Actual:
TRADE W/ SEA – Darnell Savage Jr. – FS Maryland
Another
surprise pick by the Packers. Trading up
to get Darnell Savage Jr. I am very
excited to see this defense this year.
Top defense dominance is usually pretty difficult to predict but this
team should easily be a top 10 defense this year. Packers were my team to win the Super Bowl
last year and they will definitely be one of my favorites this year again. Only wish was investing in the line. Hopefully the line can stay healthy because I
would like to see Aaron make a run again.
22. Philadelphia
Eagles – Grade A
My Pick:
Marquise Brown – WR Oklahoma
Actual: TRADE
W/ BAL – Andre Dillard – LT Wash. St.
I usually
don’t give value to trading up unless its for your franchise QB, but Howie
Roseman finessed the heck out of this.
Eagles moved up directly in front of the Texans who needed a LT and
grabbed the best LT in the draft. This
is being smart and using the draft board to tell you where to move. GMs are too lazy and just stay put. If you like a player who is 20 slots lower
that’s totally fine but for the love of Roger Goodell please trade down. The smarter GMs are masters at moving up and
down the board. Belichick has been doing
this for years. It’s is an art and a
science, and some GMs aren’t even close (I’m looking at you Gettleman &
Gruden). Dillard will be moved right
into Jason Peters spot when he retires and probably sooner than that. Great work Howie.
23. Houston
Texans: - Grade B-
My Pick:
TRADE W/ MIA – Rashaan Gary – DE Michigan
Actual:
Tytus Howard – OT – Alabama St.
The Texans
are a good team. They have a legitime
shot at a Super Bowl appearance. The
only thing that stands in their way is going to be their offensive line. Houston’s line is definitely top 5 worst
lines and not a single starter returning from last year graded above a 60
according to PFF. In my mock draft, I
predicted the Texans trading up to draft Andre Dillard. Dillard was the top LT in the draft and the
Texans should have done everything in their power to get him. Instead they let the Eagles jump in front of
them and had to settle for Tytus Howard.
To be fair, it was a good move to get the next guy available at the position,
but Andre Dillard was the best tackle and they let him get away. At least they addressed the position.
24. Oakland
Raiders – Grade D+
My Pick:
Josh Jacobs – RB Alabama
Actual: Josh
Jacobs – RB Alabama
I am
definitely team don’t take RBs in the first round. RBs are pretty easy to come by and it is more
important to use that high draft capital on more important positions. The Raiders have already shown to not care
about their draft capital though with their first pick so why should they care
now. Jacobs will easily be the most
productive rookie RB this year because of the massive opportunity, but so would
have any other RB chosen by the Raiders.
They only get a “+” because of the massive need they have.
25. Baltimore
Ravens – Grade B+
My Pick:
Christian Wilkins – DT Clemson
Actual:
TRADE W/ PHI – Marquise Brown – WR Oklahoma
Willie Snead
was their WR1 before the draft. That is
all.
26. Washington
Redskins – Grade B
My Pick:
Jeffrey Simmons – DT Miss. St.
Actual:
TRADE W/ IND – Montez Sweat – EDGE Miss. St.
Since the
Colts traded out of the first round, I will use this time to talk about Chris
Ballard. He has held a clinic on how to
manage a team since he started with the Colts.
Completely turned around a bottom five roster to a top 10 roster in two
years. Ballard understand draft capital
and maximizing their probability by trading down. He has done this two-years in a row now and
continues to add value to the Colts.
Washington trades up to capitalize on Sweat’s free fall. Montez Sweat joins, Jonathan Allen, Daron
Payne, and Ryan Kerrigan for what might be the best defensive front in the
league. Washington has plenty of holes
but for once I think they are headed in the right direction.
27. Oakland
Raiders – Grade C
My Pick:
Greedy Williams – CB LSU
Actual:
Jonathan Abram – S Miss. St.
Again, sorry
to sound like a broken record but to be honest I am not that sorry. All three of these players could be really
good players but chances are they won’t be.
Raiders had three picks in the first round. It is very rare for a team to have three
first round picks entering the draft.
They could have easily traded down one or two picks and added multiple
picks and set themselves up for continued success for years to come. Instead they will continue to be mediocre and
I will continue to watch in sadness.
28. Los
Angeles Chargers – Grade B-
My Pick:
Kaleb McGary – OT Washington
Actual:
Jerry Tillery – DL Notre Dame
Chargers
roster is elite. The Chargers, Texans,
and Vikings are all very similar to me.
Very good rosters with very poor offensive lines. I think any of these teams could make a run
for the Super Bowl. Chargers are the best,
but they are all similar. Tillery will
add to that dominant defense. I think he
is a safe pick and will add value right away.
I would have liked to of seen the Chargers go offensive line here but apparently,
they avoid drafting offensive lineman like Matt Ryan avoids Julio in the
endzone.
29. Seattle
Seahawks – Grade B
My Pick:
Chris Lindstrom – OG Boston College
Actual: L.J.
Collier – DE TCU
Seattle was
all over the place on draft night.
Trading in and out of picks was fun to watch. I thought offensive line was a big need but
after trading away Frank Clark outside pass rusher definitely was a void. LJ Collier will have to contribute right away
because they don’t have anyone else that can rush the passer effectively.
30: New York
Giants – Grade C+
My Pick: AJ
Brown – WR Ole Miss.
Actual:
TRADE W/ NO - Deandre Baker – CB Georgia
Giants
traded back into the first round for their third pick of the night. Their secondary is very week so drafting a
corner makes sense. I read a stat
somewhere that Dave Gettleman has traded up in every single draft he has been
GM which is an astounding stat if true.
Although the Giants and Raiders had 3 first round picks each….a fun
thought experiment is to think would you rather have 3 first round picks or
Amari Cooper & Khalil Mack or Odell Beckham. It seems what has happened over the years is
the overvaluation of 1st round picks. I can actually make the argument that I would
rather have Odell Beckham than three first round picks. That is an extreme case but certainly
arguable. Odell is the best WR to be
drafted in the last six years. Khalil
Mack is the best pass rusher in the NFL and Amari Cooper is a young talent who
is probably the top WR drafted in the last five years. I hope these teams really like the players
they got for those elite talents they gave up.
31: Atlanta
Falcons – Grade B
My Picks:
Elgton Jenkins – OL Miss. St.
Actual:
TRADE W/ LAR - Kaleb McGary – OT Washington
Another one
(DJ Khaled voice). Falcons trade up and
draft a second offensive lineman.
Falcons weren’t messing around this time. Obviously, they also know that Matty Ice
melts when he has no protection so they made sure that wouldn’t happen
again. I actually like the picks. This will only propel that offense even
further.
32. New
England Patriots – Grade B
My Pick:
Chauncey Gardner Johnson – S Florida
Actual:
N’keal Harry – WR Arizona St.
Finally, we
get to the reigning Super Bowl Champs.
The New England Patriots. As
incredible as the Patriots organization is they do have some faults. They seem to be about on par with the rest of
the league in terms of their draft picks but their scheme and Belichickian ways
overcome that. They do trade down quite
a bit which is great. This year they
drafted N’Keal Harry which makes sense after losing Gronk and Chris Hogan. Patriots quietly have the weakest offensive
weapons they have had in years. Harry
should get a lot of action quickly.
No comments:
Post a Comment