This was a pretty interesting night of picks. Outside of the first two picks it was anyone's guess which team was going to take with each selection. More draft day trades this year than I can remember in past years. I think what this draft demonstrates or solidifies is that these front office people know way more than we and the media know about these players.
Laremy Tunsil's weird ride continues. For being one of the most talented guys in the draft he seems not have his life in order. This former step-dad is seriously costing this kid some serious change. If Tunsil can keep his nose clean in South Beach the Dolphins will have gotten the steal of the draft.
The Cowboys have a talented roster and I think they were hamstrung when the Chargers took Bosa. The Tunsil slide effected the Cowboys because the Chargers needed a linemen, instead they went with Bosa which is a great pick, but the Cowboys really wanted him. Elliot is a good player, but to take a running back with the 3rd pick? That's a pretty big reach, but there were a lot of reaches in the first 15 picks. Jack Conklin is a good player but I don't know if he was worth the 8th pick in the draft. The Titans could have trade back and still selected him or hedged their bets with Tunsil. I would have rather seen the Ravens move back or take Conklin, Stanley is a very soft player that plays to upright. So both teams had needs and they reached in the first round. It really doesn't matter if the players show up and play solid football, but if they bust or under perform their fans won't be happy.
The Bears moved up and took a raw player in Floyd. Floyd needs to get bigger and coaches are going to have their hands full with him. Just very unaware at times.
The Giants didn't really fill a need with Apple. He is a solid pick that will help any defense but this is the point where you can tell teams are not satisfied with the medical reports on Mack. He would have been a perfect fit.
I will skip a head to the Packers, out of the defensive tackles in this draft I think Clark has some of the most upside. I liked him better than either of the two Alabama d-linemen and I liked him better than Rankin. I liked Vernon Butler a bit better, and I loved the risk vs reward odds with Nkemdiche and I would think he has the most athleticism and talent out of any of these defensive linemen, I would have felt the 27th selection for this guy would have been worth the risk. Nkemdiche is a 3-4 defensive end, he would not have held up as a nose tackle in the base defense, but I just think this kid is dynamic enough to play with hand down or up in a 3-4. He was just very intriguing.
Myles Jack's knee just had to many red flags for Thompson to pull the trigger. Maybe things would have been different if Raji would have returned.
Thompson is not a risk taker. I think he would rather take an solid to under performing player than trying to hit a home run with a guy like Jack, Smith, or even Ragland. Remember that 31 other teams also decided to pass on these guys for the first round. I wonder if Thompson has Jack and Ragland completely crossed of his list of available players? Thompson hasn't hit any home runs of late with his first round picks especially in the front 7, in fact for the most part they have been disappointing, but I guess he isn't going to be changing any time soon.
I just thought that position depth at defensive tackle would have made it better option to go a different direction in the first round and I didn't think the medicals on Ragland would prevent him from playing at a high level, but I guess teams shy away from players that could have the slightest risk of having a heart attack on the field. Also maybe Thompson didn't see enough out of Ragland to spend the 27th pick. This is just a weird draft in terms of last minute injury news and medicals effecting really talented players. NFL teams just don't want to start swimming against the current with guys with medical issues regardless how talented they are. In fact the Bills were a bit foolish for going after Lawson. I don't know if ESPN was making a big deal about his shoulder issues but if he has a joint that is going to require surgery I would have been very suspicious of it.
Kenny Clarke- Like I said he has some upside, he has the frame and size that you want. He is a bit more athletic than some of the other defensive tackles. He does get high trying to locate the ball and that will get him demolished in the NFL. He offers some diversification as he can play a the 5 tech in the base defense. His pass rushing skills are better than Rankins on film but they are still raw. Even though he is bigger guy he is a better fit for the Packers one gap system. He is not a guy that wants to get blocked by two or three guys, he kind of just disappears when this happens. The bottom line is he was the safest pick for Thompson and it filled a need. He will have to be in the rotation at the beginning of the season while Penel serves his suspension. So the Packers are going to ask a lot of this kid right away.
Edit: I forgot to add that he is a former state champ wrestler and I love that. The balance these bigger kids learn with wrestling serves them well in football.
Picks I liked:
Chargers: Joey Bosa
Dolphin: Laremy Tunsil
Raiders: Karl Joseph
Vikings: Laquon Treadwell
Bengals: William Jackson III
Broncos: Paxton Lynch
Cardinals: Robert Nkemdiche
Picks I questioned
Number 1 and Number 2: I think both teams gave up way to much to get QBs that are not elite talents. For this draft they were elite, but compared to other years I would not have wagered the future of the franchise on these two quarterbacks. I especially don't understand why Philly would give ups so much, and on top of that spend 20 million on Bradford. It's like Philly doesn't know if they want to rebuild or make a run for the playoffs.
Cowboys: Ezekiel Elliot
Ravens: Ronnie Stanley
Bears: Leonard Floyd
49ers: DeForest Buckner -I just don't see it on film, very raw and one demensional. I am not a professional scout.
Colts: Ryan Kelly - this is a need pick but really a center at 18? trade back get him later in the first round or second round and get a couple of more picks.
Browns: Corey Coleman -good player in strange college system, I guess these means that they are putting the franchise in the hands of RG3. Paxton Lynch was available, I don't know if he is the QB of the future, but the Browns haven't had a QB play with any success since the early 90s.
49ers: Joshua Garnett - Same issue I have the Colts, and interior offensive linemen is not worth the 1st round pick when you could move back or address the need later in the draft.
Looking at this draft some teams suck continually because of the moves they make repeatedly from one year to the next.
What I liked about ESPN's coverage this year is that they ran the pros and the cons of each player that was drafted. In years past they made every player drafted out to be a future hall of famer. I really enjoyed this aspect of the draft coverage.
