He are some quick thoughts and reactions to Friday’s NFL Draft festivities. This is mostly about Friday (not as much about Thursday) and I’m not covering every pick.
- The Cleveland Browns traded down twice in the first round to pick up multiple draft picks in an effort to add players to a thin roster but just because they went for quantity doesn’t mean they didn’t get quality. DEs Emmanuel Ogbah and Carl Nassib don’t seem like perfect fits in the 3-4 defense but new defensive coordinator Ray Horton will figure out how to use them both because he desperately needs to find a way to get pressure on the QB and these two are naturals at that. OT Shon Coleman is a fantastic story after beating cancer and he fill a huge need. They need to put him in at RT and give last year’s pick Cameron Erving the job at C, that would get the offensive line moving in the right direction. The choice of QB Cody Kessler looked strange considering higher rated QBs were still on the board but I actually like Kessler because he brings one trait a lot of guys don’t have and that is great accuracy. Will he challenge RGIII for the starting job? Maybe. Will he be a solid backup for a long time? Absolutely.
- The Titans went quantity too with DE Kevin Dodd, DT Austin Johnson and RB Derrick Henry in round 2 and then S Kevin Byard at the top of round 3. The got some good quality too. Dodd gives them a pass rusher they need and while it may take a little while for him to transition to their defense his pass rushing skills will translate quickly. Johnson is just what they need at NT and his presence should really help Jurrell Casey. The Derrick Henry pick may look like a luxury after they traded for DeMarco Murray but Murray is coming off a bad year and he’s only ever stayed healthy once so Henry is a nice hedge against that bet. Henry isn’t my favorite player but he’s well worth the 45th selection and could pay off huge. I don’t know much about Byard, he’s a safety out of Middle Tennessee St., but I do know they Titans need safety help badly.
- I have no earthly idea what the Cowboys are doing but they bought the biggest lottery pick in this draft LB Jaylon Smith. Smith’s knee injury may never heal and he may never be the player he was but before the injury he was one of the top 3 defensive players in this draft (Jalen Ramsey and Myles Jack were the other 2). If by some miracle Smith’s knee makes a full recovery he’s a future NFL Defensive Player of the Year guy. I’m happy for Smith and I do hope we someday get to see him at full strength because he’s fun to watch. I like their 3rd round pick DT Maliek Collins as a player but they needed a pass rusher and there were still a couple of good ones left.
- Nice pickup by the Chargers to get the best TE in a weak TE class. Hunter Henry will more than replace Ladarius Green’s production and he’ll really make Phillip Rivers happy. Their 3rd round pick is a sleeper too, if Max Tuerk fully recovers from his ACL injury he’ll be the starting center sooner rather than later and they really need help there.
- Speaking of Jalen Ramsey and Myles Jack the Jaguars stopped Jack’s free fall with the fifth pick of the second round and now they have both of these guys. If Jack is healthy the Jaguars just won the draft and they didn’t need to pick anyone else. The Jaguars defense has been completely overhauled this off season and these two could be the foundation of some long term success if Jack makes a full recovery. They didn’t stop either as they added a really nice pass rushing piece in Maryland’s Yannick Ngakoue. He might be a one-trick pony but he does one hell of a trick.
- The Buccaneers finally pulled the trigger on DE Noah Spence and he may be just the pass rushing jolt they need. Pairing him on the outside with inside stud DT Gerald McCoy should be dangerous, good value pick. Then they turn around and trade back up into the end of the second round to grab Florida St. K Roberto Aguayo, seriously? I know the league changed the extra point rules and I know Aguayo is a fantastic kicker but that team has way bigger issues to deal with than kicker and not only did they use a second round pick but they traded picks to get that pick. I love their first two picks of CB Vernon Hargreaves and DE Noah Spence and if they would have been trading back into round 2 to grab S Vonn Bell I’d be singing their praises but a kicker, terrible use of picks.
- Love WR Sterling Sheppard to the Giants, if I were Victor Cruz I’d be worried about my job security.
- The Bills got great value at #41 with LB Reggie Ragland, kid is a beast.
- The Ravens did it again and got a good player that is a great fit in OLB Kamalei Correa who gives them the future OLB they need for when Terrell Suggs and Elvis Dumervil call it quits.
- I like the Raiders 3rd round pick DE Shilique Calhoun better than their 2nd round pick DE Jihad Ward. Ward is still really raw and while Calhoun can play a little soft I think Jack Del Rio and Ken Norton Jr. can light a fire under him.
- The Lion’s are killing it in this draft. OT Taylor Decker was a steal in round 1 now they add a huge steal at a major need position with DT A’Shawn Robinson and then they grabbed C Graham Glasgow in the third. Two starting offensive linemen and a stud DT, that’s how you do it.
- The Saints loved themselves some Ohio St. Buckeyes in round 2 with WR Michael Thomas and S Vonn Bell. Thomas is a fantastic replacement for Marques Colston and Drew Brees is going to love him. Bell was excellent value and they need help in the secondary. Bell may make former free agent mistake Jairus Byrd expended sooner rather than later.
- The Packers couldn’t pass up OT Jason Spriggs because he was just too much value and again Ted Thompson gets a very good prospect, Spriggs is a future starting LT. Kyler Fackrell is an interesting 3rd rounder because he’s been a pass rushing OLB in college and we shall see what Dom Capers does with him because he has some interesting skills.
- The Seahawks lucked into DT Jarran Reed who is a perfect replacement for the departed Brandon Mebane. Then they grabbed talented RB CJ Prosise who should complement Thomas Rawls well. TE Nick Vannett is a good pickup if they decide to use more two TE sets and finally OL Rees Odhiambo is another piece along with 1st rounder Germain Ifedi for a rebuilding offensive line.
- I wasn’t in love with the Texans 1st round pick WR Will Fuller because he drops too many passes but 2nd rounder C Nick Martin is a great pickup. Martin starts day one and he will really help Brock Osweiler’s transition. 3rd rounder WR Braxton Miller is great pickup as an offensive weapon. He has a lot to learn about player WR but I actually like him better than Fuller. If they find a way to get the ball in both these guys’ hands that offense could be scary with Lamar Miller at RB and DeAndre Hopkins leading the way at WR.
- As a Patriots fan I give the Jets choice of QB Christian Hackenberg an A+. I just hope he doesn’t regain his freshman year at Penn St. abilities any time soon. The choice of OLB Jordan Jenkins from Georgia is a way better pick than people are talking about. Leonard Floyd got all the press clippings while Jenkins did all the dirty work. He could be damn good playing for Todd Bowles.
- The Falcons 2nd round pick LB Deion Jones is a way better pickup than their 1st round reach S Keanu Neal. 3rd round TE Austin Hooper is solid choice.
- I can’t argue with the Redskins picks at all. S/LB Su’a Cravens is a nice pickup in round 2 but 3rd CB Kendall Fuller is a frickin steal. Once Fuller is fully recovered from his ACL injury he’s a star CB. Pairing him and Josh Norman will be huge.
- Not a Mackensie Alexander fan but the Vikings got great value with him.
- The Bengals missed out on the first round WRs but they got Tyler Boyd in round 2 and that’s just as good in my book. He’s a sleeper next season.
- The Packers stole Jason Spriggs right out from under the Bears so the Bears bailed out and traded down and still got a very good offensive lineman in Cody Whitehair but he isn’t the LT prospect they needed. They did get a huge steal in the 3rd round with DL Jonathan Bullard. He’s a tweener but Vic Fangio will find ways to attack offenses with his new toys 1st rounder Leonard Floyd and now Bullard.
- I didn’t like the Steelers 1st round pick CB Artie Burns but I love their 2nd round choice of S/CB Sean Davis. I don’t think he’ll be a CB for them but he is going to be a fantastic S and they have needed one for a while. 3rd round DL Javon Hargrave is a nice fit and replaces Steve McClendon quite well.
- The Patriots took CB Cyrus Jones, he’s a good player I just hope he can overcome the Patriots CB drafting curse. Then they traded the pick they got for Chandler Jones. In the third round they took a versatile interior offensive lineman Joe Thuney (because they just don’t have enough of those) then they took QB Jacoby Brissett for some inexplicable reason. DT Vincent Valentine was a nice pickup and should be a nice backup to free agent signee Terrance Knighton. Don’t worry I’m used to being disappointed in the Patriots drafts.
- For some reason the Dolphins took Alabama backup RB Kenyon Drake in round 3, I know he’s fast but he’s rarely healthy and there were better players left.
- The Ohio St. Buckeyes dominated the first 3 rounds of the draft setting a record with 10 guys drafted in the first 3 rounds. That’s 10 out of the 98 picks, that’s more than 10% from one school.
- Here are the guys I can’t believe are still available; DT Andrew Billings, ILB Kentrell Brothers, RB Devontae Booker and to a certain extent QB Connor Cook. There has to be something in the background of Billings whether it’s an injury, a drug test issue or something else dropping him because he’s a very good player and should have gone already. Brothers is held back by his limitation as just an ILB but he’s going to start for someone next year. Booker is being held back by his injury. I can believe Cook doesn’t wow anyone but for Kessler and Brissett to go before him is strange. I’m not as shocked that Hackenberg was taken before Cook because he has superior physical traits but Kessler doesn’t and Brissett is not nearly ready to contribute like Cook will.
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