Wow! What a first round! While most of the picks in the top
10 were not much of a surprise, but this was probably the most exciting first
round I have ever witnessed. There were an unprecedented number of trades, with
only the Colts not moving in the Top 10, while picks were coming in at a rapid
fire pace. I loved not waiting the full 10 minutes for each pick, and I must
admit I was getting quite frustrated with the “worst commissioner in all of
sports”, Roger Goodell, as I was quickly spoiled and wanted the picks to be
made much faster, it seemed he was the bottleneck. I loved the fans continually
booing Goodell, it shows that we are not happy with his approach to
fundamentally changing the game of football (Editor’s Note: I will take
repeated blows to the head for millions of dollars, FYI), while also abusing
his power with his constant fines and suspensions of players.
With no further ado, here are my first impressions of the
first 10 picks. Editor’s Note: I am
typing this on a plane with broken WiFi (Thanks American Airlines), so these
are not in the correct order and I may get a name misspelled or a fact just
slightly off (I guess if it’s off, then it’s not a fact), but my opinion is the
important part, and you will understand the gist of what I am trying to say.
Colts & Redskins – We have known for months that Luck
and RG3 were the picks, they have been analyzed and discussed to death, I have
nothing new to add or anything to just make up so that I can be different and
pretend to have a new thought like the no less than 500 NFL talking heads at
ESPN….
Browns – Trent Richardson(RB) – I did not think they needed
to move up one spot because I do not believe there was any team trying to trade
up for Running Back Trent Richardson. Yes, he was far and above the best
prospect at his position, but this is a passing league, and in 6 months we will
be talking about some random late round pick that is leading all rookie running
backs in yards and touchdowns. But with 13 picks in this draft, there is no way
they could use them all, if they did there is little to no chance that they
would all make the team. Remember the Cowboys 2009 “Special Teams” draft, they
had 12 picks, like 6 of them were cut before the season ended and there were no
real contributors taken.
Vikings – Matt Kalil(OT) – I give them credit, they were
aggressive in moving back and getting what they could while still landing the
guy they would have most likely taken at number three. I think they will be
very pleased with Matt Kalil as they now have their franchise left tackle to
protect their franchise quarterback which will give him more time to throw
which will take pressure off of their franchise running back. Luckily for them
wide receivers like Stephen Hill and Rueben Randle are still there and if they
can grab one of them at the top of the 2nd round I believe they can
make a dramatic jump this year.
Jaguars – Justin Blackmon(WR) – In my opinion, Blackmon
wasn’t even the best receiver in this draft, but I understand what they were
trying to do. Their problem now is that they have nobody to get the ball to
him, Gabbert is a complete and total bust and hopefully they will realize that
sooner rather than later, otherwise Blackmon’s development could be greatly
stunted.
Dolphins – Ryan Tannehill(QB) – They haven’t had a franchise
quarterback since Dan Marino left, they have wasted probably seven 2nd
round picks trying to find one, I understand what they were doing and I can’t
really argue with it as I am a Tannehill fan. Joe Philbin is known for
developing quarterbacks just like Tannehill, and offensive coordinator Mike
Sherman is already very familiar with him from their time together at A&M,
if he can be successful anywhere it will be in Miami. Now the Dolphins just
have to get some receivers for him to throw to.
Cowboys - Morris Claiborne(CB) – Read my article here on my
Morris Claiborne thoughts. The only thing I will add is that I am a big fan of
2nd round picks and I don’t like giving them up. I also feel that
cornerback is the deepest position in the draft and that there are multiple
great ones that are still on the board and will be when they pick in the 2nd
& 3rd round (Janoris Jenkins, Brandon Boykin, Casey Heyward,
etc). The only thing that would have made me happier was taking Mississippi
State Defensive Lineman Fletcher Cox, I feel that he is this year’s JJ Watt, a
5-technique DE that is dynamic enough to rush the passer.
Buccaneers – Mark Barron(S) – They were desperate for Safety
help and they were desperate to stop the run, so having the best Safety in the
draft, who specializes in stopping the run is not a horrible choice. I am
probably the last holdout who still does not see Mark Barron as anything other
than average in pass coverage, and with my thoughts of Safety being a dying
breed, picking him before the 20’s was a reach. I think he will have a short
career and in 5 years they will wish they had gone a different direction. I
think he will help against the run heavy teams like Panthers and Falcons in his
division, but Drew Brees will exploit him.
Bills – Stephon Gilmore(CB) – The Bills have completely
revamped their defense in basically one calendar year, they have a solid front
seven with Mario Willams, Mark Anderson, Kyle Williams, Marcell Dareus and
Kelvin Sheppard and adding Gilmore to McKelvin and George Wilson will
definitely give them a better chance to slow down the Patriots aerial attack
and his size should help him against the run heavy teams like the Jets and
Dolphins. I am not a big fan of Gilmore’s cover skills, and he is one of those
guys who shot up draft boards AFTER the college season, which means that people
became enamored with his measurables. His film was average in my opinion and
the Bills should have gone either offensive line (DeCastro or Martin) or gone
with the best wide receiver in the draft in Michael Floyd. Both options would
have upgrade their offense and helped out quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, which
should have been their top priority.
Panthers – Luke Kuechly(ILB) – Another team that could have
gone in numerous directions, they might wish they had taken Floyd to give Cam
Newton a weapon to grow with as Steve Smith is near the end of his career. The
Panthers are weak in the middle of their defense, starting with Defensive
Tackle and continuing on through MLB and Safety. Obviously there was no safety
in this draft worthy of a Top 10 pick (even Barron) and I can’t argue with
taking Kuechly over Cox. Kuechly is going to be a tremendous linebacker in this league, I think we will
look at him as a slightly weaker hitter but far superior in coverage in 10
years. He can play in any scheme, and would be one of the top MLB’s in any one
(I think he would be excellent playing Urlacher’s position in a Cover-2
scheme). The Panthers have found the leader of their defense for years to come,
he will work hard, make everybody else work harder, call the plays and get the
defense lined up; all while making plays and earning All-Pro nods.
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