Miami Dolphins – Ju’Wuan James, OT – B
The linemen
woes of the Dolphins has been well-documented over the past nine months, and as
OT after OT began to fall off the board, you know Miami had to be a little
worried. As a Vols’ alum, I can’t say I’m upset to see James go in the first
round, but as an NFL fan, I have to say I’m a little confused. James wasn’t the
best-graded OT left on the board, or even from the Vols’ squad (that would be
Tiny Richardson). Obviously, the Dolphins graded him out differently and
decided his raw talent outweighed the advantages of a more NFL-ready player
like Richardson. And Miami didn’t really have a choice; it needed some offensive-line help, and there was clearly no guarantee
that a decent lineman would’ve fallen to them had they traded back, given the
mild surprises of Dallas and Tennessee going OL. However, I don’t think anyone
had James going in the first round, and Miami jumped the gun just a bit here.
New Orleans Saints – Brandin Cooks, WR –
A-
This was one
of my favorite moves of the draft. The Saints gave up a lot to get Cooks, but I
think Cooks was one of the more underrated receivers to go in the draft last
night. You don’t catch more than 120 passes for more than 1,700 yards as a team’s
only offensive threat if you aren’t an extremely talented route runner, which
is exactly what the Saints need going for. The Darren Sproles era is over, and
New Orleans’ featured backs are going to be much less pass savvy, while an
aging Marques Colston could use a consistent slot guy to take some pressure off
him. And obviously, the idea is to give opposing defenses nightmares when
trying to game-plan for Cooks and Jimmy Graham next year. The one drawback to
this pick was cost. The Saints gave up a third-round pick this year, which
essentially means that Cooks has to start producing right away to be worth his
value. I believe he will, but it’s nonetheless a serious gamble to take for a
team that’s also reeling on the defensive side of the ball.
Green Bay Packers – Ha Ha Clindon-Dix, S
– A
I don’t
think things could have worked out more perfectly for the Packers in this year’s
draft. One of the draft’s best safeties fell into their laps, while fellow NFC
North contenders Detroit and Chicago both largely whiffed on their selections.
Green Bay’s secondary needed this addition badly, and with the offseason
signing of Julius Peppers, a unit that showed signs of progress before injuries
set in could quickly become the NFC North’s nastiest.
Cleveland Browns – Johnny Manziel, QB –
B+
K, I’m still
not sold on Cleveland taking a QB in this round. I understand the appeal of
first-round talent when your starting quarterback heading into training camp is
coming off a nasty ACL tear, but given Brian Hoyer’s performance pre-injury
last year, I personally would’ve taken a developmental project here instead of
a guy who expects to start Day 1. That said, Manziel is a tremendous talent, potential
off-field issues aside. He’s intelligent, hard-working and he absolutely does
not quit on the field, which is something Cleveland fans need to see at this
point. And Cleveland’s move to trade back up instead of sitting at 26 was,
again, brilliant, considering that Minnesota leapfrogged the complacent Texans
later in the round. Assuming Manziel can win the starting job, he’ll start Week
1 with arguably the best receiver in football, a top-five tight end and a
potential top-10 running back surrounding him. A decent offensive line and a
lockdown defense should help take the pressure off him and allow Cleveland to
ease Manziel into success.
Kansas City Chiefs, Dee Ford, DE – A-
Kansas City
got its fair share of flak for this pick, but I can see the benefits to it. They
have, currently, the best running back in the game, and while they’re thin at
wide receiver, Alex Smith showed he’s not just a flash in the pan, and you have
to think Andy Reid and Co. were comfortable enough trusting him to focus on
shoring up the defense. The concern for the Chiefs isn’t so much that they need
starters; it’s that they need depth. When Brandon Flowers and Tamba Hali went
down last year, opposing offenses had a field with KC. Ford gives Kansas City
another threat to bookend a solid defensive line, so that even if the aging
Hali goes down again this year, opponents won’t just breathe a sigh of relief.
Cincinnati Bengals, Darqueze Dennard, CB
– A-
I have no
idea how Dennard fell this far, but Cincinnati’s defense next year will be an
absolute monster because of it. Dennard is an immediate starter who will line
up with Terrance Newman, allowing Cinci’s other, still serviceable CBs to
rotate in on nickel and dime packages. Add a scary front seven to the mix,
along with an offense featuring AJ Green and Gio Bernard, and it’s hard to
point out any glaring weaknesses that the Bengals will have next season.
San Diego Chargers – Jason Verrett, CB –
A-
The Chargers
had to upgrade their secondary, so this was a logical pick. Verrett’s size is a
huge issue, especially in a division that features Dwayne Bowe and Demaryius
Thomas potentially lining up across from him, but when you’re picking 25th,
it’s hard to get choosy about how big the best remaining talent is. San Diego
still has some kinks to work out in its secondary, but Verrett is a good step
forward for them.
Philadelphia Eagles – Marcus Smith, LB –
B
From what I’ve
seen, it’s Smith’s versatility that Philly valued most with this pick, and his
size (around 250 pounds) means he should be able to keep up with any assignment
on the field. That said, Philly needs instant relief on a unit that struggled
to shut down elite passers last year, and Smith is not exactly going to
bulldoze through those sturdy offensive lines just yet.
Arizona Cardinals, Deone Bucannon, S – B-
So let me
get this straight, Arizona. Tyronne Mathieu’s knee injury last season made you
realize you needed depth in the secondary, so you settle for a round 2 talent
that likes to hit people and put himself in harm’s way? I appreciate the need
to ensure your secondary has no weaknesses, but Bucannon just doesn’t seem to
have the talent the Cardinals wanted, especially given that Clinton-Dix was
still on the board when Arizona traded back. Additionally, the Cardinals are
the one team I would actually like to have seen take a running back in the
first round. Granted, Carlos Hyde was the only real choice and few people saw
him as a first-round pick, Bucannon wasn’t exactly high on the board either.
With Rashard Mendenhall’s retirement and Bruce Arians’ hesitancy to utilize
Andre Ellington full-time, the Cardinals need a heavy bruise to keep pressure
off Carson Palmer.
Carolina Panthers, Kelvin Benjamin, WR –
B-
It’s hard
for me to give Carolina a good grade on this draft simply because of their body
of work leading up to yesterday. The Panthers let every receiver on their team
walk this year, including the venerable leader Steve Smith, and drafting Kelvin
Benjamin, who I believe greatly benefited from sheer size and Jameis Winston,
is supposed to assuage their fans’ doubts? Carolina had the tools to make a
move up in the draft to grab a better receiver, or to make an effort to sign
another one in free agency to take some pressure off this pick, but they did
neither. And I can’t see how that bodes well for the Panthers moving forward.
That said, Benjamin showed his capacity to make great plays last year, and if
Carolina can work some pieces around
him, this could be a very lucrative pick.
New England Patriots, Dominique Easley,
DT – B
I have to
say I’m somewhat surprised by this pick. The Patriots have a solid defensive
core, but age and injury have started to cut into it, so drafting a defensive
player was a necessity. However, drafting Easley, who’s had two major ACL
surgeries, doesn’t exactly address their injury woes. The Patriots are renowned
for their ability to make the most out of what they get, and if Easley had
questionable character or unpolished skill, I would love this pick. But not
even the great Bill Belichick can will away injury risks. Just ask Gronk.
San Francisco 49ers, Jimmie Ward, S – B+
The news
that San Francisco has traded for Stevie Johnson has tempered my disappointment
in this pick somewhat, but I still think Marqise Lee falling to them was a far
better value. He would’ve been a tremendous threat almost immediately, and
thanks to location, probably would’ve brought some more popularity to the team.
That said, Ward brings serious range, versatility and depth to a defense that’s
completely remade from its Super Bowl run, and with the departures and, um, “issues”
with Aldon Smith, it makes sense that San Fran should shore up its defense. Adding Johnson to the fold means the Niners
have no legitimate weakness on offense either, so all in all, the Niners’ moves
worked out about as well as possible.
Denver Broncos, Bradley Roby, CB – B+
If you
watched the draft last night, even on mute, you could see the difference in
opinion on Roby. One set of highlights showed off his coverage, range and
big-hit abilities, while the next set showed blooper after blooper, with him
getting hurdled, run over and simply whiffing on open-field tackles. But it’s
undeniable that the talent is there. Roby was a fixture on a very good Ohio
State defense for years, and the Broncos have had to find replacements for
seemingly every position on defense, so it’s a sound gamble to make. Roby has
some serious personality questions to answer for as well, and sending a known for
his drug habits to Colorado seems like a huge risk, but with the locker room
the Broncos have, it seems clear Denver believes it can mold him into a future
face for their defense.
Minnesota Vikings, Teddy Bridgewater, QB
– A+
As much as I
liked New Orleans’ pick, this is far and away the best pick of the second-half
of the Round 1. Much like Chicago earlier in the day, Houston sat back at the
33 spot, watching and hoping that nobody would jump in between Cleveland at 22
and them and steal Bridgewater. Minnesota, meanwhile, made every attempt
possible to do just that. And now, instead of settling for a Derek Carr or
Jimmy Garropolo that nobody can seem to come to a clear consensus on, they get Bridgewater
at an absolute steal. Matt Cassel should be a serviceable veteran that can help
show Bridgewater the ropes, but this pick should ensure that a Minnesota
offense with two dynamic playmakers already will be able to contend with the
rest of the NFC North’s electric offenses.
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