The
following is my report card on the first round (well, up to the Jets' 18th pick) of the 2014 NFL draft. I’m gonna
preface this blog with two points:
1)
This is a stupidly talented draft class, and I
think it will be hard for teams to actually make a bad decision this year. Even
the Buffalo Bills’ dumping of draft picks to take Sammy Watkins I thought was a
solid move.
2)
As the draft goes longer, I’ll admit my
knowledge of teams’ needs begins to fall off. Much of the focus and
prognostication this year has focused on the first 10 pickers, and because I
don’t feel like paying to view the analysis on later teams (yet), my knowledge
drops off after that point. That said, you should still read my opinion,
because I like my opinions, so why shouldn’t you?
Houston Texans – Jadevon Clowney, DE – A
It’s hard to
argue against the Clowney pick. Yes, you could at least argue for Manziel, but
let’s be honest: Clowney is far and away the best athlete in this draft, and
Romeo Crennel is just the kind of likable coach that can draw maximum effort
out of a questionable work ethic. I still would’ve preferred to see Houston
trade down, but this is still the best pick.
St. Louis Rams – Greg Robinson, OT – A-
I’m still
not sold on the Rams’ dire need to draft an OT so high. The last mock draft I
saw had St. Louis taking two O-linemen in the first round, which is a stunning
turnabout from Jeff Fisher, who’s never even taken a single O-lineman in the
first round. The Rams had glaring issues on their line last season, so I won’t
say this is a bad pick, but I think there was far more value in trying to play
up the trade bait (assuming there were suitors).
Jacksonville Jaguars – Blake Bortles, QB
– A+
I love, love,
love this pick. Not only is Bortles a much better option than Jacksonville’s
previous gaffe (Blaine Gabbert), but it effectively dismantles every
established mock draft out there right now, which, as a Lions fan who wants to
see some value fall, I love to see. But for Jacksonville, the Jaguars need to
sell tickets, and QB is the best way to do it. The pressure of taking Manziel
had potential to cause issues, and Bortles is a local hero who seems to have a
good head on his shoulders. Additionally, he doesn’t seem like one to break
down if he’s forced to make plays on the run, which is very likely on an
offense without a serious rushing threat.
Buffalo Bills – Sammy Watkins, WR – A-
Cleveland
hasn’t made a move yet, and this draft is 12.5-percent old, but I already think
the Browns made off like bandits. That said, Buffalo made the right move. Sammy
Watkins is the clear-cut best WR in this draft, and as much as the Bills would’ve
liked another decent tight end or a cheaper wide receiver, Watkins makes an immediate
impact with little need to develop before he takes over the No. 1 slot. Given a
defense that was held together with spit and glue last year but still managed
to be one of the best turnover-forcing units in the game, Buffalo absolutely
made the right choice here. The only knock is the payment to get him.
Oakland Raiders – Khalil Mack, LB – A
I’ll be
honest, I’m not well-versed on all the Raiders’ needs (frankly, because there
are a ton of them), but I am so glad they went with the greatest talent, rather
than the greatest flash. Khalil Mack is a leader on the field, which is
something the Raiders direly need, but he’s also the biggest talent left on the
board, that honestly should’ve gone top 3. He’s not going to solve their
offensive woes, which are numerous, but it seems they’re willing to take a
chance on an aging Schaub-MJD tandem for now. Either way, well done by Oakland.
Atlanta Falcons – Jake Matthews, OT – A
Sometimes
the smartest move is the easiest move. I would’ve liked to see Atlanta trade up
for Clowney, but I think they made the right choice here. Atlanta has a whole
host of issues, but the majority of them come down to depth, which is just not
possible to address in the first round (unless you’re the Kevin Costner-led
Cleveland Browns; see above). Atlanta desperately needs to plug up its holes on
the line so Matt Ryan doesn’t have to survive another 2013-style campaign, so
Matthews was the only option at this point.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Mike Evans, WR –
A
Exact same
situation as Atlanta: They made the easy, smart pick. Mike Evans is a
tremendous talent and a huge receiver that will give defenses nightmares when
he lines up opposite VJax next season. Just like that, Tampa Bay has erased its
QB uncertainty by putting so many weapons around Mike Glennon/Josh McCown, that
they no longer need to risk another pick on a QB. It’s for this reason, not
necessarily Evans’ pure talent, that I give the Bucs an A here. The defense
will come, especially with Lovie Smith back on the sidelines. Now, the offense
should be consistently there.
Cleveland Browns – Justin Gilbert, CB –
A+
I love this
new Cleveland front office. I absolutely love this move. Leading up to the
draft, the consensus was that Minnesota would settle for defense in the first
round, and take a QB in the second round, while Cleveland would use its high
pick to take a tremendous defensive talent, and focus on QB later on. My guess
here is that Minnesota faked like they were going to take Manziel/Bridgewater
in order to bait Cleveland into moving up a spot. Cleveland called the bluff,
believing Minnesota wanted Gilbert, not a quarterback early on, so gave up a
fifth-round pick for that jump and simultaneously stealing Minnesota’s pick
away from the Vikings. Beautifully done, Ray Farmer.
Minnesota Vikings – Anthony Barr, LB – B
Barr is a
very good linebacker, but as Mel Kiper pointed out, he’s more of a work in
progress. He’s not polished, and I honestly don’t think he would’ve been taken
in the top 12. If Minnesota were willing to settle with Barr as their means of
bulking up the defense in the first round, they should’ve gotten a couple more
picks out of it.
Detroit Lions – Eric Ebron, TE – C
From what I’ve
seen so far, I’m in the minority here, but I hate this pick by the Lions. For the third straight year, Detroit
ignores glaring needs in its secondary to try to shore up on offense. Ebron, by
all accounts, is a phenomenal talent at tight end, but he’ll either share time
with Joseph Fauria (a fantastic red-zone target) or Brandon Pettigrew (a solid,
but not great TE), or he’ll line up as WR opposite Megatron, which isn’t really
a necessity coming out of the first round. (For the record, I hated the idea of
trading up for Watkins or Evans as well). This is one of the deepest first
rounds I’ve seen in terms of secondary talent, but there is no way another CB
the likes of Darqueze Dannard falls to the second round. The Lions made a
colossal error here.
Tennessee Titans – Taylor Lewan, OT – B+
Here’s the
thing: I don’t hate this move, but I don’t love it, either. I’m giving it a B+
instead of a B or a B-, because the Titans desperately need OT help. Lewan’s ability
to run block will be critical to the Titans’ success next year, and I
completely understand Tennessee’s decision to pick up Lewan instead of
potentially one of the falling quarterbacks or another of their glaring needs.
Manziel is far more talented from a positional standpoint than Lewan, but if
the Titans are comfortable riding with Locker for at least one more year, this
was not a bad move.
New York Giants, Odell Beckham, Jr., WR –
A
I think the
Giants made the right decision here. Obviously New York, like so many teams
before them, has more than a couple issues to overcome, but Beckham is exactly
what that Giants’ offense needs (running back aside) to help get them back on
track next year. Beckham has speed and quickness, a la Desean Jackson, which
means that Eli Manning can rely on him to make some of his own plays when all
else fails, and he’ll be an ample replacement for the struggling Hakeem Nicks.
The only more glaring need the Giants had was running back, but given this
draft class, it’s hard to justify any RB going this early.
St. Louis Rams, Aaron Donald, DT – A-
I don’t
agree with Gruden’s assessment that this just became the best nickel pass-rush
in football (Suh, Fairley and Ansah have a ways to fall first), but this
absolutely makes the Rams’ defense a terror upfront. While I don’t think it was
necessarily the biggest need, given Long and Quin’s established presences, but in
a division where the Rams will have to stop Carson Palmer, Russell Wilson and
Colin Kaepernick twice each for the foreseeable future, it was an absolute
necessity. How it helps the Rams against the rest of the league remains to be
seen, but in terms of challenging for their division, St. Louis made the best possible
choice.
Chicago Bears, Kyle Fuller, CB – B
The Bears
get docked here because they didn’t do enough to secure the Aaron Donald pick
and they lost him. Fuller is a very, very good cornerback (only 22 passes
attempted, only six completed against him last year). Assuming Charles Tillman
can get healthy, this gives Chicago an absolutely lockdown secondary, but the
loss of Donald and Julius Peppers in free agency means the Bears are going to
have to invest in witchcraft to put enough pressure on quarterbacks to make
those cornerbacks effective. Fuller’s talent gives Chicago a huge bump, but it’s
not enough to call this a very good pick.
Pittsburgh Steelers, Ryan Shazier, OLB –
A-
I like the
Shazier pick. The Steelers’ defense has been teetering on the edge of old age
for years, and last year it finally hit home. Pittsburgh made the right move by
taking the best core defender left on the board, and as a speedy linebacker under
Dick Lebeau, who’s noted for his ability to turn linebackers into All-Stars,
Shazier is the best Pitt can do with one first-round pick to shore up this
defense.
Dallas Cowboys, Zach Martin, OT – C+
Good on
Jerry Jones for resisting the addiction (also, it’s hard to not mention the
look on Manziel’s face when it happened), but I don’t think this pick was much
better. Dallas has made few moves in the offseason to shore up one of the worst
defenses the NFL has ever seen, and while a solid OT pick will help Tony Romo
survive a few more seasons on a failing back, it does nothing to actually help
Dallas win games this year, because they’ll be getting outscored by three a
game instead of 10.
Baltimore Ravens, C.J. Mosley, ILB – B+
This is a
solid pick by the Ravens, but I don’t necessarily think it’s their best pick –
I believe Baltimore should’ve worked on shoring up its run game. That said,
Mosley is a very good linebacker, and
Baltimore could certainly use some help to fill the massive gap that Ray Lewis
left on that defense. Additionally, as a defensive captain for the Crimson
Tide, it’s hard to think that Mosley doesn’t have a good head on his shoulders,
which the Ravens will want for their future mike.
New York Jets, Calvin Pryor, S – B-
Prior is a
strong, good safety that will fit well into Rex Ryan’s defensive schemes, but
again I have to ask: Does he proportionally improve the Jets’ defense as much
as even a halfway decent wide receiver would improve the offense? I don’t think
so. As ESPN’s draft team pointed out, there are going to be games on the Jets’
schedule where it will simply be impossible to stop the teams from scoring, and
New York is no better off on that regard than it was 10 minutes ago.
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