Denver Broncos
23. Shane Ray OLB Missouri
59. Ty Sambrailo OT Colorado St.
92. Jeff Heuerman TE Ohio St.
133. Max Garcia C Florida
164. Lorenzo Doss CB Tulane
203. Darius Kilgo DT Maryland
250. Trevor Siemian QB Northwestern
251. Taurean Nixon CB Tulane
252. Josh Furman DB Oklahoma St.
Immediate Impact: OT Ty Sambrailo, C Max Garcia
The Broncos offensive line wasn’t great last season and the biggest issues were at RT and C. The team had moved Manny Ramirez to C and Louis Vasquez to RT to plug the holes but Ramirez was traded during the draft and Vasquez isn’t a long term solution at RT and is better at OG. Add in the fact that new head coach Gary Kubiak wants to bring back the zone blocking scheme he’s used to and new blood was a must. Ty Sambrailo is an exceptional athlete especially for his size and while Max Garcia doesn’t fit Kubiak’s usual mold he’s a better option at C than Gino Gradkowski.
Best Value: OT Ty Sambrailo
Sambrailo is exactly what Kubiak likes and he will immediately plug in as a starter at RT and be a huge upgrade over Chris Clark. Getting a starting RT in the second round with the 59th overall pick is pretty good value. It is also possible that if the Broncos have to make a choice about keeping Ryan Clady down the line Sambrailo could move over to LT.
Sleeper: DT Darius Kilgo
Kilgo needs to work on his functional strength and he needs technique work but the Broncos need bodies at DT. They simply don’t have many interior defensive line players and while they could still sign some free agents off the scrap heap Kilgo gives them a young guy who can play. He isn’t going to rush the passer much but he can occupy some blockers to allow Von Miller, DeMarcus Ware and possibly Shane Ray to get to the QB.
Overall Analysis:
Shane Ray was the talk of draft week after his arrest for marijuana possession early in the week and couple that with the toe injury teams were talking about already and it looked like he was in for a free fall. The Broncos actually traded up to grab him at 23 and while he didn’t fall as far as many thought he did slip a little. Ray won’t be asked to take on a lot this season with the presence of Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware at OLB he will simply be a pass rushing specialist. However, he better get ready for year two because Ware is 33 years old and isn’t likely to see 2016 in Broncos uniform. They addressed their offensive line issues with two solid choices in Sambrailo and Garcia. I had every intention of making TE Jeff Heuerman my sleeper choice here but he went and tore his ACL during minicamp last weekend so he’s out for the year. He had a chance to make some waves and make some veterans nervous but he’ll have to wait a year. The Broncos must have liked Tulane’s pass defense this season as they took both CBs Lorenzo Doss and Taurean Nixon along with Oklahoma DB Josh Furman, all three will provide training camp competition but not all three will make the team. QB Trevor Siemian was just a shot in the dark at the position.
Kansas City Chiefs
18. Marcus Peters CB Washington
49. Mitch Morse OL Missouri
76. Chris Conley WR Georgia
98. Steven Nelson CB Oregon St.
118. Ramik Wilson LB Georgia
172. DJ Alexander LB Oregon St.
173. James O’Shaughnessy TE Illinois St.
217. Rakeem Nunez-Roches DT Southern Miss
233. Da’Ron Brown WR Northern Illinois
Immediate Impact: CB Marcus Peters, OL Mitch Morse
If Marcus Peters keeps his nose clean he will be the best CB from this draft. The Chiefs will likely be missing Sean Smith for the first two games of the season due to a suspension and Peters will fill in as the top CB. He’s better than Phillip Gaines or Marcus Cooper and when Smith returns it won’t be Peters going to the bench. The Chiefs traded for OG Ben Grubbs from New Orleans and they seem to want to give Eric Kush a try at center but Morse could push for the other OG spot. He could also push for the RT spot potentially because Jeff Allen and Donald Stephenson don’t really inspire confidence. Morse has versatility and the Chiefs’ line isn’t exactly stable so he is going to get a chance to play somewhere.
Best Value: ILB Ramik Wilson
I like Wilson more than most and I actually love him here for the Chiefs. Derrick Johnson has had a long and distinguished career in Kansas City but he’s almost 33 years old and coming off an Achilles injury, he can’t play too much longer. The sad thing is his ILB position is in better shape than the other side. The Chiefs need new blood and Wilson can be a starter and with his starting experience at Georgia he won’t be overwhelmed. A fourth round pick that can step in as a starter is great value.
Sleeper: CB Steven Nelson
Nelson is too short, too slow and he doesn’t have the fluidity of a great CB but the kid fights like hell and never gives up. Sean Smith is entering the last year of his contract and Marcus Peters was drafted as his eventual replacement but the Chiefs don’t have great depth at the position and Nelson gives them that now and a guy that could become a starter opposite Peters down the line. Phillip Gaines and Marcus Cooper are solid young corners who could develop but Nelson has just as good of a chance as they do.
Overall Analysis:
Peters, Morse, Nelson and Wilson are four pretty solid players that will help now as well as down the line. WR Chris Conley was the star of the combine showing off elite athleticism but for some reason I just didn’t see it on the field. He’s got deep speed but I’m not sure that’s a useful thing with Jeremy Maclin around, one deep threat receiver for Alex Smith might be too many. There were WRs on the board that would have complemented Maclin better and given Smith a more effective duo (Sammie Coates and Justin Hardy come to mind). The last four picks aren’t going to make a huge difference and are most likely headed for the practice squad because they need plenty of development.
Oakland Raiders
4. Amari Cooper WR Alabama
35. Mario Edwards Jr. DE Florida St.
68. Clive Walford TE Miami
128. Jon Feliciano OG Miami
140. Ben Heeney ILB Kansas
161. Neiron Ball OLB Florida
179. Max Valles ILB Virginia
218. Anthony Morris OT Tennessee St.
221. Andre Debose WR Florida
242. Dexter McDonald CB Kansas
Immediate Impact: WR Amari Cooper
Leonard Williams was the best player in the draft Amari Cooper was a close second. The only person that likes this pick more than I do is Derek Carr because his life just got a lot better. Just before the draft the Raiders signed free agent WR Michael Crabtree and then they drafted Cooper which means Carr just went from driving a Pinto to driving a Porsche. Cooper is a star and with a legitimate QB throwing to him he’ll be fantastic. He also makes Crabtree better because Crabtree is better as a #2 WR than as a #1.
Best Value: TE Clive Walford
Walford was arguably the second best TE behind Maxx Williams and they got him in the third round. The Raiders TE depth chart isn’t exactly teeming with Hall of Famers so Walford can move up quickly. He’s not a great blocker but he’s a good athlete and he’ll give Carr the safety net a good TE provides. With Cooper, Crabtree and Walford the Raiders are actually surrounding their franchise QB with legitimate NFL caliber talent.
Sleeper: LB Ben Heeney
Heeney is one of those linebackers that is too short and too slow but plays like his hair is on fire and coaches love him. The Raiders signed Curtis Lofton in free agency to take over as their MLB but Lofton gets hurt a lot. They also signed Malcolm Smith from Seattle and many people thing that is hedging their bet on Lofton but starting OLB Sio Moore is coming off yet another injury and they may need Smith to cover for him. The Raiders don’t have a lot of depth in the LB corps so when Lofton goes down and Smith is covering for Moore Heeney might get plugged in at MLB. He won’t be pretty to watch but he’ll play his heart out.
Overall Analysis:
Cooper is a homerun pick and Walford fills a huge need. I’m not a huge fan of Mario Edwards Jr. especially for this team because I think he’s a better fit as a DE in a 3-4 defense because he lacks the pass rush skills to be a DE in a 4-3. He can bulk up like he did last season and line up at DT but he’s far less effective at a higher weight. Grabbing an OG late in the fourth round is fine and Feliciano might actually work out but I’m not sure he’s an upgrade over what they already have. The LBs they took in the fifth and sixth rounds, Neiron Ball and Max Vellas, just are not the type of guys the Raiders need because they are too injury prone (Ball) and too raw (Vellas) to help any time soon. Anthony Morris and Dexter McDonald might develop but it’s doubtful. The Raiders definitely need to help out their return game but even a seventh round pick was a waste on Andre Debose. The soon-to-be 25 year old sixth year senior out of Florida would have been available as an undrafted free agent. The Raiders are not a strong enough team to carry a player that is solely a return man and there is virtually no chance Debose makes the roster as WR. GM Reggie McKenzie had a great draft last year; I don’t think he followed it up with another one.
San Diego Chargers
15. Melvin Gordon RB Wisconsin
48. Denzel Perryman ILB Miami
83. Craig Mager CB Texas St.
153. Kyle Emanuel OLB North Dakota St.
192. Darius Philon DT Arkansas
Immediate Impact: RB Melvin Gordon
Branden Oliver, Danny Woodhead and Donald Brown are not going to be able to fend off Gordon for the starting nod so they should all just focus on what ancillary role they can play in the offense. Gordon is a homerun hitter that is actually a very good between-the-tackles runner and he can play all three downs. The Chargers didn’t trade up two spots for a backup and Phillip Rivers will appreciate having a RB with Gordon’s skills lining up behind him.
Best Value: RB Melvin Gordon
Both Todd Gurley and Melvin Gordon crashed the 1st round party that RBs hadn’t been invited to for a couple of years and both were well worth it. If you like players that have high ceilings and high floors Gordon is your man he was one of the safest prospects to take because he has very little bust potential. He was certainly better than the fifteenth best prospect in this draft.
Sleeper: OLB Kyle Emanuel
Emanuel is coming out of North Dakota St. which means everyone thinks he’s just some small school kid but North Dakota St. has been the best FCS program for quite a while. Emanuel put up some big numbers and he certainly wasn’t playing against NFL level offensive lines but he has really good edge pass rushing skills. The Chargers have Jeremiah Attaochu at one OLB spot and the oft-injured Melvin Ingram at the other one so Emanuel will have a shot at playing time. It’s a major step up in competition but the North Dakota St. players seemed to always rise to the occasion against their biggest opponents.
Overall Analysis:
Love the Gordon pick, he’s a star waiting to happen. ILB Denzel Perryman was too short and too slow for a lot of people’s tastes but he’s a gamer. When he steals Manti Te’o starting job just remember I told you he would because I’m telling you he will. Perryman is a tackling machine and his body may not hold up to playing ten years in the NFL but he’s going to tackle everything in sight for the next five. CB Craig Mager was the first player off the board I didn’t know, it eventually happens every draft but it’s usually not at #83 overall. The Chargers are taking a shot on another small school player with some raw skills but I wouldn’t bet on him making much noise any time soon. The last choice of Darius Philon is a bit strange because he doesn’t look like a 3-4 defensive lineman. He doesn’t have length of a five-technique DE and he is too small to be a NT so I wouldn’t count on him too much. The Chargers only had 5 picks so they couldn’t hit a lot of needs but I think the 3rd round pick they spent on Mager would have been more wisely spent on an offensive lineman like TJ Clemmings or Daryl Williams. If they felt the need to get a CB there someone like Steven Nelson or Josh Shaw would have offered a quicker return. Ignoring the offensive line all together seems strange given the holes they have left to fill.
The Hott Read 