The NFL Draft, Now The Dust Has Settled

The NFL Draft, Now The Dust Has Settled
So that was a draft. Safe to say there will be a lot of discussion over the next few weeks
about certain picks (and yes we’ll get onto the obvious one later) but all in all it’s safe to say
that it was one of the more interesting of recent times. Now we won’t know for a couple of
years who will be a success and who will be a JaMarcus Russell but no one does talking
when nothing is happening like the NFL.

Lets look at the top five picks:

 

Cam Ward to the Titans

Yeah it was one of the more predictable number one picks, you’d give the Titans a pass as
well with the end of the Derrick Henry/Vrabel era as well. Think it’s also fair to say and a lot
have that this is the lowest key number one pick for a very, very long time. A lot of that was
down to how obvious the pick was and also down to the circus around Shedeur Sanders in
stark contrast to Cam Ward.

A lot of ex-pros see Cam Ward having a lot of what is needed in the NFL as well. Titans fans
will be hoping as well that it helps speed up their rebuild, also safe to say it’s not the worst
division to be in to quickly get back into contention.

Speaking of which

 

Travis Hunter to the Jags

Another player many saw going very early, not many predicted the Jags to trade up for him.
When looking at this pick it’s best to look at it from
 The players point of view, a lot will be watching training camp and whether Hunter will
play both ways or choose a position to specialise on. For all the talk about Hunters
talent as mentioned in James Gladstone’s press conference speech (good grief)
does he have to talent to play the two positions at the elite level. A lot of previews
highlighted the raw talent but that he needs to refine his game which might not be
possible playing both ways. We shall see.

 The organisation, that was a lot the Jags gave away to move up that draft board for
someone who isn’t a quarterback. While it did create a huge buzz and there will be a
lot of media coverage around the Jags for the start of the season it does overlook
one big problem the Jags have. The Superbowl illustrated that having a talented
defensive line can see you utterly beat up a team the calibre of the Chiefs. Do you
know what area the Jags have next to nothing and ignored the opportunity to
strengthen in the first round? Yeah that line.

While a lot of sides identified and filled gaps in their rosters the Jags have gone for the
unicorn. This is also a huge year for Trevor Lawrence as he is now getting the tools he
needs to throw to. If it ends up anything like last year the Jags could be in a hole for a long
time.

Abdul Carter to the Giants

Overall this was a good pick and from talking to Giants fans they are very happy with how
this draft has gone overall. They had areas that needed to be fixed and their picks do give
their fans hope (well as much as you can given the Division that they’re in). Not only was this
pick seen in a good light (aside from wanting number 56 from the GOAT) but also the Jaxson
Dart pick was very well received. Are the Giants back on track? Well, I think their hopes next
season will last a bit longer than one week as was the case against the Vikings last year.

 

Will Campbell to the Patriots

The Pats watched the Superbowl and took those lessons on. You win or lose in the trenches
and Will Campbell has definitely made a good early impression with his I’ll die for my
quarterback quote. The Pats look to have the key piece in place, now it’s a case of building
around him and in Mike Vrabel they have a coach who is one of those rare things, a coach
from the Bill Belichick coaching tree with a winning record. Overall as well Pats fans are
happy with their draft picks and will want to build and improve this season (granted every
other franchise hopes they struggle for lets say the next 20 years).

 

Mason Graham to the Browns

Up until round 5 many were looking at the Browns and thinking “yeah this has been a good
draft for them”. They got a nice haul from the Jags and it’s a good starting point for them to
try and recover the picks that have basically rebuilt the Texans. You could also see the
relaxed atmosphere in their war room when they called Quinshon Judkins and he wasn’t in
the room so his mom answered the call.

But boy did that change with the Sanders pick. Where there was laughing with Judkins what
stood out from the Sanders pick and has since gone viral was the nearly total lack of
emotion from the entire room. They had been doing such a job, had drafted a quarterback
that could be a project to work on and then totally upend things with Sanders. Outside of the
Jets this would have been the worst destination for any promising quarterback and the fact
they now have five it makes me wish Hard Knocks was happening this year and that they
were with the Cleveland Browns, because my god that could entertaining. Chances are very
high one of those quarterbacks will be cut (Superbowl winner Kenny Pickett will be high on
that list) by week one. But the biggest concern will be the media circus that will surround the
Browns as training camp goes along.

Speaking of which

 

The Shedeur Sanders Saga

Where do you start, a player many projected to be picked by the Steelers in the first round
surprisingly wasn’t picked at all in that round (a few Steelers fans did breath a sigh of relief
too). OK bit of a surprise lets see who takes him in round two, then three came around and
at this stage a lot of seasoned pros (and well nearly everyone) was kind of stunned and it
took over all the coverage of the draft (and will this week). For him to fall down to round five
was stunning to many. A lot of people saw it as franchises around the league not wanting
that kind of circus on their doorstep and lets face it what coach wants that pressure as well.
For many the lesson from this is even if you’re a highly talented quarterback and son of a
hall of famer, you need to pay your dues. You need to show up and put your best foot
forward on the field never mind in interviews. As to how he will go now, it could go anyway
of:
 He gets cut by the Browns even before the season starts
 Is a backup for the first few weeks then gets chosen out of pure media pressure

 His dad becomes coach (I would not be surprised)

The combination of his entourage and the fact that well, it’s the Browns means anything
could happen. To think they were this close to a draft that made sense.

Finally, I asked a few fans of franchises around the league about their teams draft overall.

Cowboys: Overall Im happy enough. First few rounds they used to replace key losses.
Booker to replace Zac Martin. Donovan Ezeiruaku to replace Lawrence and a corner to help
the secondary which always gets injured. Then a few running backs and linemen but after
the first few rounds its like a lottery and hope a few stick. Lot of people were pissed they
didnt get a receiver but the receiver they wanted was already gone in round 1 so they went
with the guard. But in the division they play you need the counter to the interior linemen from
the Eagles and Giants.

Vikings: Depth and balance are what come to mind after the Vikings draft. Both General
Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Head Coach Kevin O’Connell will be hoping they’ve
equipped themselves to deal with any type of matchup across the season. While the regular
season is the immediate goal, it’s playoffs at the heart of this. Detroits 31-9 demolition of the
Vikings to clinch the NFC North & No.1 seed at the end of the regular season, and they’re
27-9 loss to the Rams in the subsequent playoff game, has O'Connell looking for some steel
in the team too. Ultimately they feel they need more options to turn to in games. These picks
feel like they want big, tough players that can give the team a better physical punch up front
and a hardness that cant be pushed around quite so easily as those last two games of their
season.

Jets: Nothing flashy but filled a lot of holes. Round 1 could have gone for the TE, a need
dealt with in Round 2, but took Armand Membou a Tackle from Missouri. Jets O Line rebuild
is now pretty much complete. If everyone stays healthy the Jets have a Top 5 O Line of
young linemen. Round 2 Mason Taylor a TE from LSU. Jets links, father is Hall of Famer
Jason Taylor. Round Corner Thomas from FSU a big need as DJ Reed leaves to Free
Agency. Other than that I’m a bit disappointed they didn’t draft a QB and possibly indicates
they like Fields or have an eye to next years apparently deep QB draft class. I think they
should have picked up a run stuffer as well but we’ll hope a vet can be picked up.

Steelers: I think they got the best players available at positions of need. I’m delighted that
they didn’t draft Shedeur based on all the articles about his interviews. Realistically we got
ran all over the middle of our D and we plugged that hole with the 1st pick. We needed a
WR2 and our 2nd pick went to the Seahawks for a WR1a with Pickens being WR1b (or
change that around whatever way you’d like). Getting an RB with the 3rd was always going
to happen with Najee gone. 4th for a linebacker I’m not sure about as I would’ve thought we
could use some help on the O line but I guess it was best player available. Everything after
those 4 picks is a lottery, lads might be cut in training camp.

So, there you have it, a draft that will live long in the memory, I look forward to five years
time when we look back at this draft and can truly tell have did the Jags and Browns screw
themselves over (again) with their picks and trades.

P.S. I saw the news that the L.A Chargers signed undrafted free agent DJ Uiagalelei. There
was a big buzz around him when he transferred to FSU, then they went 2-10……….huh.