Atlanta Falcons
8. Vic Beasley OLB Clemson
42. Jalen Collins CB LSU
73. Tevin Coleman RB Indiana
107. Justin Hardy WR East Carolina
137. Grady Jarrett DT Clemson
225. Jake Rodgers OT Eastern Washington
248. Akeem King S San Jose St.
Immediate Impact: OLB Vic Beasley, RB Tevin Coleman
The Falcons signed some players they hoped could generate a pass rush during free agency but that wasn’t enough for new head coach Dan Quinn so he grabbed my favorite pass rusher in this draft Vic Beasley. Beasley will fill the similar DE/OLB hybrid role that Bruce Irvin fills in Seattle but I’m betting Beasley does it better. Teams wonder if he can hold up against the run but I say he can and he will. Coleman isn’t the power back I thought Quinn would go for but he’s better than Devonta Freeman or Antone Smith and he never had a problem carrying the load at Indiana. I think Coleman wins the starting job in training camp.
Best Value: DT Grady Jarrett
Jarrett is an undersized, penetrating DT but on the Falcons defensive line that has giants like Ra’Shede Hageman and Paul Soliai his size shouldn’t be an issue. He’s an excellent 1-gap player and he’ll be a monster on passing downs. Jarrett will be reunited with his college teammate Vic Beasley and if they can cause the same type of havoc in Atlanta that they did at Clemson Dan Quinn’s defense will be off to a good start. Getting a disruptive force like Jarrett in the fifth round is highway robbery.
Sleeper: WR Justin Hardy
The Falcons lost Harry Douglas to free agency in the off season and Hardy can step into his 3rd WR role without missing a beat. I’m sure the team was planning on that but Hardy is more than just a 3rd receiver that’s good in the slot. Long time WR Roddy White is going to be 34 years old this season and he’s had some injury issues lately so he isn’t going to last forever. Hardy is a legitimate option to take over White’s spot opposite Julio Jones in 2016.
Overall Analysis:
This is arguably my favorite draft this year. Beasley, Coleman, Hardy and Jarrett are all fantastic players that weren’t taken too early and some were even taken later than they should have been. Second round CB Jalen Collins was considered a first round prospect for much of the draft process until some character issues and inexperience pushed him down the board. He is a very physically gifted player and Dan Quinn worked with some excellent secondary players in Seattle so he may be able to mold the very raw talent of Collins into something special. Jake Rodgers and Akeem King may never contribute to the active roster but given the potential of the first five players on the board that won’t matter. I do have one issue with the Falcons draft and that is the complete lack of attention paid to the offensive line. Matt Ryan can’t run an offense if he’s running for his life and it doesn’t matter if it’s Tevin Coleman or someone else at RB if the Falcons don’t block better the running game isn’t going anywhere.
Carolina Panthers
25. Shaq Thompson LB Washington
41, Devin Funchess WR Michigan
102. Daryl Williams OT Oklahoma
169. David Mayo ILB Texas St.
174. Cameron Artis-Payne RB Auburn
Immediate Impact: WR Devin Funchess????
I almost left this space blank because I’m not seeing a lot of help coming from this group this year unless someone surprises. It’s possible the Panthers will get production from Devin Funchess this year like they did Kelvin Benjamin last year but the truth is that because they are so similar it could hurt Funchess’ production. Neither of these guys is a deep threat that can take the top off the defense and while their size creates mismatches their lack of deep speed means teams can crowd them and make it harder for them to get open.
Best Value: ??????
Sleeper: RB Cameron Artis-Payne
Say hello to the new DeAngelo Williams. Everyone knows Jonathan Stewart isn’t staying healthy for 16 games and with Williams cut for salary purposes Stewart needs a new running mate. Artis-Payne is built quite similar to Williams with a matching running style and he could fair quite well.
Overall Analysis:
As much as I love Atlanta’s draft is the same amount I hate Carolina’s. I am a fan of Shaq Thompson and in time I think he’ll be a very good linebacker. However, watching NFL Man of the Year Thomas Davis announce Thompson’s selection was awkward. Davis is 32 years old and coming to the end of his career sooner rather than later and he had to walk on stage and announce the selection of the man that will most likely replace him. Thompson will be a good player this year in certain defensive alignments but he won’t make a huge difference unless Davis gets hurt. Drafting Funchess when there were players like Jaelen Strong and Sammie Coates still on the board also surprised me because those two bring a complementary set of skills to Kelvin Benjamin instead of duplicating them. OL Daryl Williams has a chance to be a good player but he is basically a RT only and if he wins the RT job it means Michael Oher will be playing the left side and that’s not good for anyone. When fifth round pick Cameron Artis-Payne is your best choice I can’t feel good about a draft. I also wonder how the Panthers failed to address OT sooner and how they failed to address their secondary at all.
New Orleans Saints
13. Andrus Peat OT Stanford
31. Stephone Anthony ILB Clemson
44. Hau’oli Kikaha OLB Washington
75. Garrett Grayson QB Colorado St.
78. PJ Williams CB Florida St.
148. Davis Tull OLB Chattanooga
154. Tyeler Davison DT Fresno St.
167. Damian Swann CB Georgia
230. Marcus Murphy RB Missouri
Immediate Impact: ILB Stephone Anthony, OLB Hau’oli Kikaha
I sort of misspoke in my initial first round reaction when I said the Saints don’t need an ILB, I should have said they had bigger needs. If Dannell Ellerbe is as bad as he was for the Dolphins last year they really will need someone inside next to David Hawthorne. Anthony wasn’t my favorite ILB and while I would have preferred to see the Saints go in another direction I can see Anthony beating out Ellerbe to start inside. Kikaha is a player with his warts but he led the nation in sacks last year and he’s a better option at OLB than Parys Haralson. These two players could add some much need punch and playmaking to Rob Ryan’s LB corps.
Best Value: CB PJ Williams
Williams was a potential first rounder at one time and while his game has been picked apart and over analyzed it was more his drunken driving arrest that dropped him to this spot. Williams is a starting caliber CB and he went in the 3rd round. The Saints signed Brandon Browner this off season to go with Keenan Lewis whom they signed last year but the depth behind them is two former high draft picks that have failed to live up to their hype (Kyle Wilson from the Jets and Stanley Jean-Baptiste). Williams gives them a good cover corner with good size and he could also potentially play safety.
Sleeper: QB Garrett Grayson
I haven’t been Grayson’s biggest fan but I actually love this pick. Drew Brees is 36 years old, his backup last season was Luke McCown who is 33 years old and is best known as “the other McCown”, not exactly impressive. Ryan Griffin, a second year player out of Tulane no one has ever heard of, was expected to compete with McCown for the backup job. To say the Saints don’t have a long-term plan at QB is an understatement. Grayson needs time, to work on his throwing motion (it needs to be quicker), learn to make better decisions and to figure out the speed of the NFL game. Grayson has loads of potential and he’s a very accurate deep ball thrower just like Brees. The Saints have never had a plan at QB after Brees and regardless of what Brees or anyone else thinks playing QB until your 40 is not the norm. Brady and Manning are trying their best but they are the exception not the rule.
Overall Analysis:
Sean Payton has said he doesn’t expect OT Andrus Peat to compete with veterans Terron Armstead or Zach Strief for a starting spot and just because that’s what he expects doesn’t mean it won’t happen. Peat is an upgrade over Strief at RT and in two years he’s likely the starting LT. It’s nice that they aren’t putting pressure on him but the talent will win out. I like that they got better at LB with Anthony and Kikaha, Williams was a steal for the secondary and Grayson gives them at least some chance at having a QB beyond Brees. I’m not sure what to expect out of the last four picks and they may not amount to much more than camp bodies but RB Marcus Murphy could be interesting. He’s a small RB that’s good in the passing game and Payton has had good luck with those types of players. He had Reggie Bush and Darren Sproles and last season he had Travaris Cadet who was a bigger back but had that sort of skillset. The Saints signed CJ Spiller in the off season to serve as the complement to Mark Ingram but Murphy could be valuable when Spiller inevitably gets hurt.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
1. Jameis Winston QB Florida St.
34. Donovan Smith OT Penn St.
61. Ali Marpet OG Hobart
124. Kwon Alexander OLB LSU
162. Kenny Bell WR Nebraska
184. Kaelin Clay WR Utah
231. Joey Iosefa FB Hawaii
Immediate Impact: QB Jameis Winston, OT Donovan Smith
Obviously when a team drafts a QB #1 overall they expect an immediate impact and the Buccaneers will get just that. Winston gets an advantage most #1 overall QB picks don’t get and that is two top-notch WRs in Vincent Jackson and Mike Evans. Jackson is veteran presence and Evans is the exciting young guy. Winston also has some nice talent at TE with second year man Austin Seferian-Jenkins and veteran Brandon Myers. Donovan Smith may actually be the key to all of this working out because the one thing on offense the Bucs need to improve besides QB is the offensive line. Smith played LT at Penn St. and he may be asked to do that in Tampa but his best position would be as a road grading RT. He’s an upgrade at either spot but his long-term future is at RT.
Best Value: OT Donovan Smith
I’m not the biggest Smith fan but good OTs were flying off the board so Tampa grabbed Smith early in the second round. He’s a starting OT on either the right or the left side which means he’s worth the pick.
Sleeper: OG Ali Marpet
Can a third round guard from a Division III school be overhyped? Obviously I pay closer attention to the draft than most (I realize that’s the understatement of the year) but there was a lot of talk about Marpet before the draft. He was a LT at Division III school Hobart and he was beyond dominant (he was co-offensive player of the year in his conference) and then he was invited to the Senior Bowl. He wowed everyone there because he more than held his own while playing guard. I’m calling him a sleeper because I think he earns a starting job at OG for the Buccaneers and since most people have no idea who he is he’s a sleeper. Many scouts and coaches won’t be surprised but the media will be because it’s a major step up in competition from Division III football to the NFL (runner-up for understatement of the year).
Overall Analysis:
This draft will certainly be judged by how Winston turns out and that’s just life with the #1 pick. Smith and Marpet have a chance to seriously upgrade two spots on the Buccaneers offensive line and that will go a long way towards deciding if Winston succeeds or not. Kwon Alexander is a nice addition late and he’ll add depth at LB and be a core special team’s player. I’m not sure if the Bucs know what to do with WRs that are under 6’5 but Kenny Bell and Kaelin Clay have a chance to crack a depth chart that is underwhelming beyond Jackson and Evans. The last guy, Iosefa, was a RB in college but he’s pushing 250 lbs. so he either plays FB and special teams or he’s not making the team.
The Hott Read 