Atlanta Falcons
17. Keanu Neal SS Florida
52. Deion Jones OLB LSU
81. Austin Hooper TE Stanford
115. De’Vondre Campbell OLB Minnesota
195. Wes Schweitzer OG San Jose St.
238. Devin Fuller WR UCLA
Immediate Impact: SS Keanu Neal, LB Deion Jones
I’m going on record that I hate the Keanu Neal pick at #17. Just because I don’t like him doesn’t mean he isn’t going to play a lot given how bad the Falcons are at safety. Neal will start from day one at SS but that is an indictment of the position on the team not a reflection of him. Jones on the other hand I like a lot. He brings speed and athleticism the team needs and he should grab a starting OLB job pretty quickly.
Best Value: No great value picks in this group
They over drafted Neal, Jones was right about where he was expected to go and Hooper was slightly over valued because of how bad the TE position was in this draft.
Sleeper: OG Wes Schweitzer
I’m going with the guard because the guards on the Falcons aren’t great. Andy Levitre could resurrect his career but they still need another guard.
Overall Analysis
Neal was a reach supposedly because Dan Quinn sees him as his version of Kam Chancellor, his SS when he was defensive coordinator of the Seahawks. This is point where I point out that Chancellor was a fifth round pick back in the day and Neal isn’t Chancellor. Love the Jones pick and Austin Hooper might not be better than the TEs they already have but he’s worth a shot. De’Vondre Campbell could make the team but only because their LB corps is pretty sad. Devin Fuller is a speed demon that really hasn’t produced much. My biggest issue with this draft is the fact that Schweitzer was the only pick on the offensive line. They got a SS even if it was too early and they addressed LB with Jones and even Campbell but one late pick for a line that really could use some help at both guard spots and one tackle spot.
Carolina Panthers
30. Vernon Butler DT Louisiana Tech
62. James Bradberry CB Samford
77. Daryl Worley CB West Virginia
141. Zach Sanchez CB Oklahoma
252. Beau Sandland TE Montana St.
Immediate Impact: Umm…yep none.
Best Value: Yeah, I still got nothing.
Sleeper: CB Zach Sanchez
He was the third CB they took but I like his upside. Bradberry has good upside too but they got Sanchez with the 141st pick and Bradberry at 62.
Overall Analysis
DT Vernon Butler is a really underrated player and I was happy to see him go late in the first round but Carolina has two fantastic DTs already so his impact may be minimal this year. However, Star Lotulelei and Kawann Short were drafted the same year so the Panthers might have to make a decision to keep only one and Butler would replace the other. The other thing I didn’t like about the Panthers choice of Butler is they need outside pass rush help and Emmanuel Ogbah, Kevin Dodd and Noah Spence were all still available when they took Butler and they had to have similar grades. After the loss of Josh Norman to the Redskins once they rescinded his franchise tender GM Dave Gettleman didn’t panic and draft a CB high he just used three of his five draft picks at the position. I suppose he hopes he’ll strike gold like he did with former fifth round pick Norman. Beau Sandland is a TE that will struggle to make the roster. Finally, I really question how a team that got destroyed in the Super Bowl by the Denver pass rush didn’t address the line at all. Gemain Ifedi and Jason Spriggs were both available for the taking.
New Orleans Saints
12. Sheldon Rankins DT Louisville
47. Michael Thomas WR Ohio St.
61. Vonn Bell SS Ohio St.
120. David Onyemata DT Manitoba
237. Daniel Lasco RB California
Immediate Impact: DT Sheldon Rankins, WR Michael Thomas
The Saints need help upfront on the defensive side of the ball and they got it in spades with Sheldon Rankins. He’s a disruptor and he’ll take some pressure off of Cameron Jordan with an inside pass rush the team currently lacks. Michael Thomas is a great replacement for Marques Colston because he’s big and physical but lacks ideal speed just like Colston did. He will be an important target for Drew Brees and Brees will know exactly how to take advantage of his skills.
Best Value: SS Vonn Bell
Getting Bell towards the end of round 2 is a steal because he was in the round 1 discussion. The Saints have Jairus Byrd and Kenny Vaccaro at safety but Byrd makes too much money and Vaccaro hasn’t been as good as they had hoped.
Sleeper: RB Daniel Lasco
Lasco is coming off an injury but he’s a great athlete and the Saints RB corps isn’t exactly stellar. Mark Ingram is solid but unspectacular and CJ Spiller never stays healthy. Lasco could make the team and be a playmaker.
Overall Analysis
Rankins, Thomas and Bell are all great picks and should give the Saints exactly what they need at those positions. The Canadian player is a bit of a flyer but that has worked for them before. Lasco was a chance worth taking late.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
11. Vernon Hargreaves III CB Florida
39. Noah Spence DE Eastern Kentucky
59. Roberto Aguayo K Florida St.
108. Ryan Smith CB North Carolina Central
148. Caleb Benenoch OT UCLA
183. Devante Bond OLB Oklahoma
197. Dan Vitale FB Northwestern
Immediate Impact: CB Vernon Hargreaves III, DE Noah Spence
Hargreaves should start opposite free agent pickup Brent Grimes and while that will give them two smaller CBs these two will be quite feisty. One way to make things easier on those two will be to get more pressure and that’s where Noah Spence comes in. The Bucs have needed an edge rusher for quite some time and if they can keep Spence out of trouble he should cause some trouble on the field for their opponents.
Best Value: Spence
Getting arguably the best pure pass rusher in the draft at #39 is quite a nice pickup. Obviously his character concerns and a less than impressive combine contributed to that fall but he has great pass rush instincts.
Sleeper: OT Caleb Benenoch
Benenoch isn’t pretty out there but Demar Dotson and Gosder Cheilus leave a lot to be desired at RT so anything is possible.
Overall Analysis
They started their draft off right by getting arguably the best CB and arguably the best pure pass rusher and then they went off the rails and traded two pick to move back into the second round to take Roberto Aguayo, he’s a kicker. You don’t trade valuable draft assets when you need help all over your roster so you can get a kicker. Don’t get me wrong Aguayo is the best kicker to enter the league in quite some time but that’s really good capital to give up for a kicker. CB Ryan Smith might compete for a spot on the roster as might Devante Bond but I wouldn’t count on him. FB Dan Vitale is a fantastic football player and I wouldn’t bet against him making the roster because he’s a jack-of-all-trades. He can play FB, RB, slot WR, H-back and he will play on all special teams’ coverage units. That’s not a bad guy to have around.
The Hott Read 