Green Bay Packers (from Seattle Seahawks) - Jaire Alexander, CB, Louisville
Dallas Cowboys - Leighton Vander Esch, LB, Boise State
Detroit Lions - Frank Ragnow, C, Arkansas
Cincinnati Bengals (from Buffalo Bills) - Billy Price, C, Ohio State
Tennessee Titans (from Kansas City Chiefs via Buffalo via Baltimore)
New England Patriots (from Los Angeles Rams)
Carolina Panthers
Baltimore Ravens (from Tennessee Titans)
Atlanta Falcons
Seattle Seahawks (from New Orleans Saints via Green Bay)
Pittsburgh Steelers
Jacksonville Jaguars
Minnesota Vikings
New England Patriots
Philadelphia Eagles
Best pick of the top 5, Chubb.
Best pick of the next 5, Nelson.
Best pick of the next 5, Vea.
Best pick of the next 5, James.
Getting into Lamar Jackson range…what are the chances he falls until day 2? Maybe the Browns will take him at #33. Lots of boring but solid picks coming up in the next 12 picks.
Ragnow is a Steady pick. There wasn’t a home run there, and I was a little afraid our new “defensive Genius” would make a from-the-deep-weeds statement defensive pick, so on Pass/fail I’ll give a Pass.
Jackson sucks, but it makes soooo much sense for the Pats to take a QB who needs seasoning right now. If any of the rumors about the rift over the Garappolo deal are true, Belichick spending a 1st on Jackson would fit as a nice little fuck you.
That was the guy the Bengals wanted, so they ended up taking the second best center in the draft with Price…a position that they really needed to upgrade. When’s the last time two centers have been picked back to back in the first round?
Somewhere around 28-32 Ridley is going to look like a steal. Wouldn’t hate seeing the Bears sneak back into the first for him if he gets that far down.
Seattle Seahawks (from New Orleans Saints via Green Bay) - Rashaad Penny, RB, SDSU
Pittsburgh Steelers
Jacksonville Jaguars
Minnesota Vikings
New England Patriots
Philadelphia Eagles
Best pick of the top 5, Chubb.
Best pick of the next 5, Nelson.
Best pick of the next 5, Vea.
Best pick of the next 5, James.
Best pick of the next 5, Moore.
Is it time to start mocking the Seahawks for reaching on picks every. single. time?
Two brothers drafted in the first round of the same draft…that’s a new one. Would have been a little cooler if the Ravens had stayed put and taken him for the rivalry twist.
Damn, Taven Bryan was a guy I hoped would sneak into the second round. Would have been a great compliment on the Bears, Vic would have had him cooking.
Baltimore Ravens (from Philadelphia Eagles) - Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville
Best pick of the top 5, Chubb.
Best pick of the next 5, Nelson.
Best pick of the next 5, Vea.
Best pick of the next 5, James.
Best pick of the next 5, Moore.
Best pick of the final 7, Bryan.
And there we have it folks. Surprisingly few trades in the back half of the draft, I only count 2 that traded out of their spot in the last 16. I wouldn’t be surprised if the bottom half of the first round outperforms the top half after 3 years.
Interesting guys still left for the top of the 2nd round a.k.a. targets for the Bears.
Harold Landry - speed off the edge and most mocks had him in the 15-25 range. A little leery of another undersized speed guy opposite Floyd, he has been productive, but we’d be too small with both of them on the field.
Will Hernandez - missed out on Nelson which will sting for a long, long time. But we still have a need at OG and Hernandez can absolutely play.
Josh Jackson - ball hawk with nice size and physicality. Big questions about his overall athleticism and speed which is a warning sign, but he was productive and I could see him seasoning behind Amukamara.
DJ Chark - big and long speed merchant. Modest production but we could use another option opposite AR15 since Kevin White is Mr Glass.
Orlando Brown - I mean, I’d hold my nose, but this OT class is freaking pathetic. Maybe we can pray that the AWFUL AWFUL Combine and general laziness and lack of athleticism is a sign of immaturity that our coaches and culture can beat out of him. I don’t know, maybe he’ll be there in the 3rd or 4th, or maybe all these guys are the same trash and we should just roll the dice with a couple UDFAs.
Alright, some initial opinions. Keep in mind that these are not very informed, at least not as much as I normally would be, because I’m just distilling down opinions I’ve read from various sources rather than having evaluated anything myself.
I didn’t really want Chubb. This year has no top tier elite prospect, and I think that artificially inflated Chubb’s draft stock. If there was a Clowney/Bosa/Garrett type talent in the draft this year, we’d be looking at Chub as a mid round pick. A weak top of the DE class combined traditionally with DEs being drafted high lead to Chubb being overdrafted. I read the other day that Chubb will have the worst measurables of any DE drafted in the top 15 picks since whatever site it was kept track of it since 2001. Measurables aren’t everything, but he’s an outlier in terms of not being a top tier athlete for a top 15 DE. I think he’ll be a solid player and have a solid career, but not a guy you’d think must’ve gone top 5.
DE is also one of the strongest positions on the Browns. Sure, there’s nothing you can’t improve, but they’ve got enough glaring weaknesses that I would only consider adding to the strengths if it was a clear cut step above anyone else we’d get.
I would’ve been fine with Barkley, but it didn’t work out. I think the Giants are foolish for passing up a QB here. What’s their long term plan? Eli hasn’t even been very good in a few years, do they expect him to be great for 2 or 3 years to come? Are they counting on their third round quarterback from last year to be a good starter going forward? Are they planning to draft a QB next year? All of those are pretty flawed plans. They’ll be good enough to be drafting 10th or 15th next year but not good enough to get to the playoffs, meaning their chance to get a top QB prospect is this year, not next year. This seems very short sighted and I would be unhappy if I was a giants fan.
Baker. I’m not informed enough to be able to have a good assessment between Baker/Darnold/Rosen. Allen is an archetypical coach/GM killer so I’m glad he was avoided. Even if he turns out to be good, I’m not going to regret it - given the Browns situation it was just too big a risk. A lot of the criticisms of Baker that scare people off aren’t that big a deal for me. Would it be nice if he was 6’4? Sure. But I’m not convinced it’s such a huge red flag as everyone else. Sometimes I wonder if coaches are so caught up on the archetypical quarterback build (Blake Bortles went top 10 simply because he’s 6’4 240) that the guys who don’t fit the mold don’t get as much of a chance to develop and prove themselves, becoming to a small degree a self-fulfilling prophecy. Don’t get me wrong - it is a limitation - but I don’t think it’s a fatal one.
People think he’s a douche or immature or too cocky. Some of you may be shocked to learn that I don’t view being cocky as a personality flaw as long as it’s backed up by your abilities. What everyone seems to agree on, whether he’s a douchebag or not, is that his teammates love him. And that’s certainly more important than whether interviewers like him. Be ready for a whole lot of Hee Hee. I’m going to have to dig around more on this one.
Ward - I really have no idea. CB is a significant need on the team, but I haven’t heard of anyone talking about him as a possibility in the top 5 so by consensus he’s a reach. No opinion.
Not sure how much the Browns are invested in Carlos Hyde. Hyde/Duke could be fine, but Guice sounds like a pretty decent pick here. Or if there’s a good tackle prospect maybe.
I thought this was interesting so I did some digging. Turns out there’s quite a few articles trying and answer this question. Couple samples.
While Chubb lagged behind a few of those guys in some categories, he was ahead in others (e.g. Bosa for 40 time). The main argument in favor of Chubb is technical, he’s in same athletic ballpark as most of these guys (Garrett is the freak of the group) but Chubb is just more polished as a pass rusher.
It is a really weak class, but if Chubb is being overrated it’s probably due to hype more than being the tallest midget. There’s obviously been lost and lots of overdrafted DEs who weren’t in weak classes, it’s usually drafting for need that bites you.
Unless Barkley is worth 5-6 wins, I don’t know why they will be drafting in the 10-15 range next year. They haven’t done much meaningful in free agency. It will certainly be interesting to watch this play out, both of the QBs they could have taken at 2 will be in the same state so they’ll get an up close and personal look at their development.
You guys really need to catch up on Rosen…if there’s a coach killer in this draft it’s him. If you thought Cutler was a dick, wait until you get a load of Rosen. And he doesn’t have the arm and the skills to back it up.
Allen probably will fail due to his accuracy problems, but it won’t be due to personality or work ethic.
Anything the Browns do here is a risk, they have unprecedented draft assets, there will be no excuses. For my money a mouthy guy like Rosen or Mayfield presents a far greater risk of embarrassment than a athletic specimen who looks and acts the part like Allen or Darnold. If Allen or Darnold fail it will be for typical reasons, turnovers, durability, inability to adapt to the NFL, etc. If Rosen or Mayfield fail it will be in hilariously spectacular fashion and we’ll be meme-ing their press conferences for a decade. They may also take the locker room and culture down with them.
Mayfield acted like the BMOC at OU. In college you can get away with acting like the big swinging dick, and athleticism and the support system of a major program will carry you through. And NFL locker room is a different animal, he can be a cocky asshole when he’s a Pro Bowler…if he tries that shit as a #1 overall pick who hasn’t played a snap, they’ll shove it up his ass. Being cocky work AFTER you accomplish something, he won’t have that luxury in the NFL. Though maybe a Heisman counts for something in Cleveland.
Short, fast and good ball skills. Also, a horrible tackler, can’t press and very handsy which could make him a PI machine. May end up as a Nickel. Dug in on him a little for the Bears and was not impressed. But speed kills and if the scheme minimizes his weaknesses he could be a asset, but this high you shouldn’t need to think about that. One of the analysts pointed out that he might be viewed as a counter to Antonio Brown, which is one angle that makes some sense. Ward is the perfect weapon for AB or OBJ, but will probably struggle against Julio or AJ.
Random thought. Have you seen the video of Dorsey calling Mayfield to tell him he’s drafting him? That tape alone would totally undermine my confidence in my team’s leadership.
Saquon is great. He’ll do an excellent job. I still disagree with the pick, but NOT because Saquon isn’t an awesome running back.
There are two ways to look at the Giants:
They’re still a very good team who just had a down year, Eli is still a Top Ten quarterback, and the team only needs a few extra pieces to be championship contenders in 2018.
The offensive line stinks, Eli is over the hill, the defense is mediocre, and the team needs a serious overhaul.
If you think they’re still very good, Saquon Barkley is a fantastic pick.
But I lean toward the “The team stinks and Eli’s over the hill and the team needs rebuilding.”
I will be thrilled if I’m wrong. Maybe Saquon will be Super Bowl MVP next year.
But if I’m right, the Giants may regret missing out on a chance to take a new quarterback.
Don’t care for the pro game as much as the college game, so I’m glad to see three of my UGA Dawgs go to quality organizations and our local UTSA star get drafted by da Bears.
Baker should just not go. Challenge the pick. Take up lacrosse. Something.
All I want for Christmas is Maurice Hurst in the second round.
I’m a big proponent of trading down for more picks, but I’m not sure I like what the Eagles did there. They moved down 20 spots, and picked up a second rounder for next year, and swapped 4th rounders this year. Seemingly OK compensation.
But I think the talent that is left is all at the top of the second round, with a dropoff to much more risky/unknown picks in the mid 40’s. I fear the Eagles gave up a chance of getting an impact player who can start right away and only got a second rounder next year for it.
Although I hate him, Josh Jackson was there for the taking and the Eagles could use help in the secondary. Although not a need, Willie Hernandez would be great value there. Hell, Connor Williams could be a great pick if healthy and Jamarco Jones is great in pass pro, and the Eagles are desperate for a young tackle. Heck, they could even have the 3rd best WR in the draft or either a complementary running back like Jones or a workhorse like Guice.
Maybe one of those guys falls the 20 spots until the Eagles get their next pick, but I think it was a mistake to move that far down at this point in the draft.