2013 NFL Draft Analysis
I’m going to go over each team’s draft and I’ll break it down by division. I’m not giving out grades because that’s just foolish the week after the draft so I tell you what I think about certain players and an overview of what each team did or didn’t do.
NFC East
Dallas Cowboys
31. Travis Frederick C
47. Gavin Escobar TE
74. Terrence Williams WR
80. JJ Wilcox SS
114. B.W. Webb CB
151. Joseph Randle RB
185. DeVonte Holloman OLB
Immediate Impact: C Travis Frederick
I had the same reaction as most people when Travis Frederick was drafted in the first round. What? Don’t get me wrong Travis Frederick is going to start at center from day one so his impact will be immediate but this is not a value pick. The fact that Frederick will start right away says more about the Cowboys lack of talent on the offensive line than it does about him.
Best Value: WR Terrence Williams
Williams is a fantastic talent and he has caught a lot of balls over the past few years at Baylor. He’s got good size and a lot of experience so he should transition quickly to the NFL and he had the potential to be a first round pick so getting him in the third round was great value. If Miles Austin’s injury setbacks continue Williams offers the Cowboys someone who can line up opposite of Dez Bryant and give them a real threat.
Sleeper: RB Joseph Randle
He isn’t the biggest or the fastest guy but he gets the job done. I really like Randle and as a fifth round pick I absolutely love Randle. DeMarco Murray is the starter but as we all know the likelihood of him completing a season healthy is not good. Randle is the type of back that doesn’t wow you in a workout but when you watch him play he is always getting yards and keeping the chains moving.
Overall Analysis:
Frederick wasn’t rated as a first rounder and was barely a second round guy. The next center to go off the board was Brian Schwenke in the fourth round and he would start right away for the Cowboys too. The defenders of this pick say that if you get starter in the first round that’s a good thing but here’s why it isn’t. The Cowboys could have gotten Frederick with their second round pick which means they could have used their first rounder on someone like SS Matt Elam or OT Menelik Watson. If they had drafted either of those two plus Frederick that would be two new starters instead of one and if Frederick had somehow gone off the board before their second round pick they could have taken Brian Schwenke later and still ended up with a starting center. The reason you don’t reach for a player is that if you can get that player or an equivalent player later than you hurt your overall team depth by not taking the best player. I do like the Gavin Escobar pick because he’s good and Jason Witten can’t play forever. Terrence Williams, B.W. Webb and Joseph Randle were all good picks and good value. My major concern overall with this draft is that the Cowboys needed help on the offensive and defensive line and they only got Travis Frederick. One offensive lineman and no defensive linemen is a curious move for this team.
New York Giants:
19. Justin Pugh OT
49. Jonathan Hankins DT
81. Damontre Moore DE
110. Ryan Nassib QB
152. Cooper Taylor SS
225. Eric Herman OG
253. Michael Cox RB
Immediate Impact: OT Justin Pugh
The early run on offensive linemen at the top of the draft pushed the value of a few players up namely Pugh and Kyle Long who were drafted back-to-back. I’m not a huge fan of Pugh as I didn’t see him standing out as a first round talent. However, the Giants need help on the offensive line and even if Pugh can’t win a job at OT he could win a spot at OG. The Giants envision him at OT and while he may be better suited for OG this team did start David Diehl at LT for many years so Pugh has a shot with this team.
Best Value: DE Damontre Moore
I can’t believe the rest of the NFL allowed the Giants to draft a guy with this much natural pass rush ability. If there is one place Moore can shine it is with the Giants. They will teach him and use him in exactly the right manner as to get the absolute best performance out of him. Jason Pierre-Paul, Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora and even Mathias Kiwanuka are proof that the Giants know what they are doing when it comes to pass rushers.
Sleeper: DT Jonathan Hankins
The only sure thing for the Giants at DT is Linval Joseph as the rest of the depth chart is old, unproven or in flux. Hankins is a beast of a human being and if they can motivate him to play every down his natural talent will win out over just about anyone. It is tough to call a second rounder a sleeper but if the Giants can wake him up, so to speak, they will have one more dominate defensive lineman on their hands.
Overall Analysis:
Justin Pugh was drafted too high in my opinion but he meets a serious need and he wouldn’t have been around in the second round for the Giants. Hankins and Moore were both drafted a round lower than they could have gone so again the Giants do well drafting defensive lineman. QB Ryan Nassib is nowhere near a need but in the fourth round he was just too much value for them to pass on and even if he never plays a down he is at worst trade bait down the line so the Giants basically drafted a pick in a future draft and they will probably get better than a fourth rounder for him. My concerns with this draft are that the Giants LB corps isn’t exactly stacked and they didn’t draft a single one and they have had major injury concerns over the past several years at CB and they didn’t get any depth there either.
Philadelphia Eagles
4. Lane Johnson OT
35. Zach Ertz TE
67. Bennie Logan DT
98. Matt Barkley QB
136. Earl Wolff SS
212. Joe Kruger DE
218. Jordan Poyer CB
239. David King DE
Immediate Impact: OT Lane Johnson, TE Zach Ertz
Lane Johnson steps in at OT and that should move Todd Herremans back inside to OG, one pick upgrades two spots on the line that is having an immediate impact. Zach Ertz can be paired with Brent Celek to give Chip Kelly’s offense a nice two TE set.
Best Value: QB Matt Barkley
I said throughout the draft process that there were no quarterbacks worth a first round pick and people assumed that meant I didn’t like any of the quarterbacks but that simply isn’t true. I think Barkley has the best chance of being an eventual starter in the NFL but he isn’t going to be ready right away. However, getting him in the fourth round might be the steal of decade especially for Chip Kelly. Everyone assumes Kelly needs a mobile QB (even I thought EJ Manuel was his guy) but that isn’t necessarily true. More importantly for Kelly’s offense is the pace of the offense, getting as many plays in as possible. Barkley started for four years in a pro-style offense at USC so there isn’t going to be much Kelly can ask that Barkley can’t process.
Sleeper: CB Jordan Poyer
I easily could have picked Bennie Logan but somehow the Eagles got Poyer in the seventh round of this draft. I don’t know what happened to drop his value but he was a second or third round talent leading up to the draft. Kelly knows Poyer from their college days at Oregon and Oregon St. respectively so he knows exactly the type of talent he’s getting.
Overall Analysis:
No one knew exactly what the Eagles were going to do with Chip Kelly as their coach and a new front office structure in place but this draft looks pretty good on paper. Johnson, Ertz and Bennie Logan will either start or see significant action early and Poyer has a shot to get playing time at CB given the depth chart. Matt Barkley is in a position to sit and learn if necessary but don’t be surprised if he sees action. Kelly knows Barkley far better than he knows Michael Vick and Kelly actually knows Nick Foles and Dennis Dixon better too so anything is possible at QB. The Eagles could use help at SS so Earl Wolff should stick and even Kruger and King can make this team if they prove to be good fits in the new 3-4 defense the Eagles are installing. This could turn out to be an excellent draft.
Washington Redskins:
51. David Amerson CB
85. Jordan Reed TE
119. Phillip Thomas FS
154. Chris Thompson RB
162. Brandon Jenkins DE/OLB
191. Baccari Rambo FS
228. Jawan Jamison RB
Immediate Impact: CB David Amerson, FS Phillip Thomas
The Redskins had 21 interceptions as a team last year but more than half of those came from their LB corps. Amerson and Thomas were ball hawks in college and they should help the secondary become better at takeaways. Amerson adds some much needed size to the CB depth chart and Thomas brings ball skills to the safety spot. These two add youth and athleticism to a defensive secondary that is lacking in both.
Best Value: OLB Brandon Jenkins
This one comes with a caveat; Jenkins’ foot has to be healed up so he can be himself. Going into last year Brandon Jenkins was the big name DE at Florida St. not Bjoern Werner or Tank Carradine but a foot injury ended his season before it could begin and he became a forgotten man. His size, athletic ability and skill set make him a great fit at OLB in the Redskins 3-4 defense and he should become a nice situational rusher to complement Brian Orakpo and Ryan Kerrigan.
Sleeper: RB Chris Thompson
Thompson had some durability issues at Florida St. that never allowed him to be the full-time go-to back for the Seminoles but he brings a skillset the Redskins don’t currently have in the back field. The Redskins found their every down back last year in Alfred Morris but Thompson brings a smaller shiftier back type of presence. His foot speed and acceleration make a contrast to Morris and make a different type of weapon for RGIII to utilize in the run game and the passing game.
Overall Analysis:
Considering the Redskins didn’t have a 1st round pick in this draft, after trading it away to get RGIII last year, they did a pretty good job of getting guys that could impact their team. Amerson, Thomas and Jenkins should all contribute on defense and Thompson has a chance to be an offensive weapon. TE Jordan Reed is a good pick up and depending on the health of Fred Davis Reed could be a big pick up. Reed is athletic and talented but not the most experienced TE in the draft. The Redskins may have found themselves a future gem in Reed and he may become RGIII’s favorite safety valve. Rambo and Jamison seem like redundant picks considering the selection of both a FS and a RB in earlier rounds but the Redskins need youth and depth after years of bad drafts and free agent spending left their roster aging. My only concern with this draft is that while Reed and Thompson could be offensive weapons where is the help at WR for RGIII. Both Terrence Williams and Keenan Allen were available when the Redskins picked in the second round and even Stedman Bailey and Quinton Patton were available later and any of them would have helped the WR corps around RGIII. The Redskins still won’t have a 1st round pick next year (yep they gave that one up for RGIII too) so they better hope some good WR’s are available after that next year, Santana Moss can’t play for forever.
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