Takeaways From the NFL Draft
If you’ve been following this platform for a while, you know that I love talking about football and the NFL draft. This draft I decided to take a break from my normal predicting and breakdowns. One, it is a lot of work and I quickly become exhausted when doing it. But this time around the coverage of some of the prospects just became so overwhelming it caused real fatigue from hearing about it. With the draft now officially in the books, I would be remiss if I didn’t at least talk about something regarding it. Here are a few teams that did well, and some that maybe did not have the weekend they were hoping for. Let’s break it all down.
Getting the Party Started
The Tennessee Titans held the first pick in the draft. As expected they selected a quarterback yet again, this time hoping Cam Ward is their man. I was a fan of his up until the bowl game where he started the game for Miami, and then took himself out of the game in the second half. He broke the NCAA touchdown pass record and then said he didn’t play because he made a business decision. He added “that’s something you would never understand” when the reporter asked about it. At that moment I was officially out on Ward. I don’t think that is the right mentality to have and the Titans basically rewarded him for it.
But looking objectively, Ward has talent and the team knew they had to build around them. They did to their credit. Tennessee drafted receivers Chimere Dike from Florida and Elic Ayomanor from Stanford. Both of which can stretch the field and be deep threats in the offense. They also took Texas tight end Gunnar Helm who at the time was the best TE on the board at that time. It was a smart and safe pick but a great one regardless. Helm will be a reliable target and also help as a blocker in the run game which needs help. To further help the cause, Tennessee also drafted Sacramento State left guard Jackson Slater who was one of the best in the draft, and Michigan power back Kalel Mullings. Some defense rounded things out because lord knows they couldn’t stop a soul last year. The Titans had a great draft and added undrafted free agent Xavier Restrepo also from Miami. I was shocked he went undrafted as the best receiver stats wise in school history. But he is now reunited with Ward and they made a lot of magic together, and now Ward will have to help him make the team.
Ground Game
There are two teams I want to clump together here since they both drafted two running backs. The Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns. Dallas now has five backs on their roster after drafting speedster Jaydon Blue from Texas and Clemson power back Phil Mafah. They signed both Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders after already having Deuce Vaughn on the team. I don’t think this a good sign for Vaughn sadly who keeps getting buried on the depth chart. I also don’t think Sanders is going to make the team, but I could be wrong.
Cleveland also took two powerful backs in Ohio State’s Quinshon Judkins and University of Tennessee back Dylan Sampson. This pretty much confirms that if there was even a glimmer of hope for Nick Chubb to return that he will not be back with the group. They are both strong runners used to big workloads and massive production. This will be a tandem that will keep each other fresh moving forward.
I really don’t think either of these teams had a good draft if they were trying to get better at running the ball. The Cowboys didn’t add enough help in the draft to do so with only drafting Tyler Booker at guard in round one (likely to replace Zack Martin who retired) and then another lineman much too late in the deeper rounds. The Browns did not draft a offensive lineman at all. I’m feeling lost on this. You could make the argument that Blue for Dallas (and Vaughn if he ever sees the field) may need the line more as a receiver out of the backfield for screens and such. Both of them didn’t draft a receiver either which will also make it harder to open up run game possibilities. The Browns could have done that instead of drafting two QBs. They running backs are good players themselves and Dallas was lucky that those two were still on the board.
On Brand
The Las Vegas Raiders are being built in the image of new head coach Pete Carroll while the Baltimore Ravens stayed true themselves and did what they do best.
Let’s start with the Raiders. The best college running back since Barry Sanders fell on their lap, so they took Ashton Jeanty out of Boise State. The Raiders rushing attack lately has been horrible so the pick of Jeanty and the picks on the OL to add depth will help. Carroll loves to run the ball. He also added big guys on defense including JJ Pegues who may also get a little run of offense as a goal line ball carrier or wildcat option both because of his tight end background, and because of what he did at both Auburn and Ole Miss. I do think the Raiders could have done more to help the receiver group at that is nothing against Jack Bech from TCU, Dont’e Thornton Jr from Tennessee, and soon to be converted quarterback Tommy Mellott from Montana State in the FCS - all of which were selected in the draft. They’ll be fine, but tight end Brock Bowers could use an experienced explosive receiver to help take the pressure off him. Side note, the Raiders drafted FCS quarterback Cam Miller from North Dakota State who beat Mellott’s group for the championship game. That might be a little awkward in the first interaction, but a touchdown connection down the road will more than make up for it I’m sure.
The Ravens meanwhile have done it again. A strong draft full of defensive players and offensive linemen. Maybe I’m missing something but I was surprised to see them go safety in the first round, but Malaki Starks is a really good player. Still not sure why they are against upgrading the pass catching group with higher draft picks and continue to take flyers in the late rounds, but I’m knit picking. The biggest development here is that Justin Tucker is officially on notice after the team drafted kicker Tyler Loop amid Tucker’s struggles and legal allegations. This is the first time in team history that they drafted a kicker. Crazy stat.
Beef to the Chiefs
KC got manhandled in the Super Bowl on both sides of the ball and those first three picks were to ensure that never happens again. Left tackle/guard Josh Simmons is yet another national champion from the Buckeyes who made his way on a roster. The next two picks were big guys on the defensive line with the coveted defensive tackle Omar Norman-Lott and defensive end Ashton Gillote.
It looks like Gillote will have a really good chance to start right away after a down year by the KC defensive ends this past season. But of course, another year and at least one more speedy weapon for Patrick Mahomes. In this case, there was two. Receiver Jalen Royals and running back Brashard Smith add more speed to an already fast offensive roster. They also picked up undrafted tight end Jake Briningstool from Clemson who again, I do not see why he was not selected. He’s young, fast, and reliable and should be able to make the team fairly easily.
Ben Johnson Bears Blueprint
Chicago continued the trend of upgrading the offense to help out second year QB Caleb Williams. After upgrading the offensive line in free agency much like what Ben Johnson came from Detroit, they added two more with Ozzy Trapilo from Boston College and and Luke Newman from Michigan State by way of Holy Cross.
Williams also got two new weapons with Michigan tight end Colston Loveland and Missouri receiver Luther Burden III in the first two rounds of the draft. This offense should take the next step forward but the team still has a long way to go.
Did the Jags Fall Short?
I am not really feeling like the Jaguars did enough to help themselves. I love that they picked linebacker Jack Kiser from Notre Dame who played roughly 170 games, which is a school record by a lot. He is a fourth round steal tackling machine. By now you all know how much I love the service academy players and Navy safety Rayuan Lane III is everything you want in a secondary player. He is a sixth round gem.
And of course the splashy move to get from five to two to take Travis Hunter was well received, no pun intended. But I don’t think Jacksonville can be completive right now due to the clear and obvious lack of fire power on offense, and they didn’t do enough to help themselves.
The Perplexing Pats
New England was doing great until they lost their minds. The first four picks are exactly what they needed to do. Left tackle Will Campbell at 6’6” 319, hey now! That is what I call a lineman. Then it was running back TreVeyon Henderson, receiver Kyle Williams, and center Jared Wilson. They were on such a roll so you figured they would keep it going. Nope, they do a complete 360 the rest of the draft.
They go defense (although I kind of understand the safety), a kicker, and a long snapper….a LONG SNAPPER!!!! Who thought that was a good idea and signed off on it? They did not take another offensive player until the last round of the draft after going offense in the first three rounds, and then took a flyer with the very last pick in the draft that nobody was really high on. This was the first time since 2005 that the Patriots drafted Mr. Irrelevant. The first time? 1994. They needed help at tight end, left guard, and should have drafted one more running back and one more wide receiver. They left good offensive players on the board. I think this is a weak draft class again so buckle up everybody. A lot of folks seem to think this was a great draft but I really could not disagree more. Jury is still out.
Big Bang Big Apple
The Giants pulled a Texans from a couple years ago and got the best defender in the draft and the next franchise quarterback in one fell swoop. They drafted Penn State pass rusher Abdul Carter at three, and traded back into the first round to get Jaxon Dart from Ole Miss. A great job by the Giants front office. In another steal in round four, New York scooped up Cam Skattebo from Arizona State who was regarded as one of the next best backs in the class behind Jeanty.
The do it all RB who was also a Heisman finalist will be a welcome addition to help Tyrone Tracey in the backfield. I still think it will be a while until they are competitive again and I give New York little to no chance in the division this upcoming season.
Are the Steelers Back in the Game?
Pittsburgh had a lot of problems and it showed down the stretch last year. They got a little bit of everything in the draft going with defensive tackle in round one with Derrick Harmon. They didn’t have a second round pick due to the DK Metcalf trade so jumped back in during the third round finding a replacement for Najee Harris who left in free agency. Coming from Iowa, Kaleb Johnson will don the same color scheme as he is the newest running back for the Steelers. They also got some steals with adding two national champions. How on earth was Jack Sawyer still around in round four? That is a big play defensive end who was passed on by 31 teams and a lot of them needed help there. Make them pay bud.
Also from Ohio State, quarterback Will Howard was still on the board in round six. With only Mason Rudolph as his competition on the QB depth chart and still no word from Aaron Rodgers who will hopefully finally retire, the conductor of a high flying championship offense is in the drivers seat to win the starting job. You can’t convince me in this life or another that Mason Rudolph is better than him.
Plot Twist in Seattle
Really quick before wrapping up with the hometown team, I want to give some love to the Seahawks. They signed some help for the offense in the offseason in QB Sam Darnold and some help at receiver, and went offensive line in the first round of the draft. But they got an absolute steal in the third round with Jalen Milroe who I firmly believe was the best quarterback in the class. This is for the future and for some special packages during the year using his legs and toughness. How did he get so many rushing lanes at Alabama? That was a result of a lot of blocks from your favorite and mine, Robbie Ouzts.
When your scouting report describes you as being built like an iron worker with a gym in your garage. chances are your doing something right. He is a tight end who wasn’t like a lot of recent Alabama tight ends who got a lot of attention. He was a heavy blocker who is looking more and more like a fullback or old school H-back in the NFL. Any time Bama called a QB power run for Milroe, it was Ouzts leading the way. At the next level they get reunited. His fullback union membership card is being printed as we speak.
Pack on Track
First of all, shout out to the people Green Bay for showing up and showing out as they hosted the draft. Great energy all weekend long. The crowd erupted when in the first round, a drought everybody thought would never end finally came to it’s welcome conclusion like an answered prayer. The Packers did the damn thing. They drafted a receiver in the first round for the first time since 2002. Welcome to the passionate frozen tundra Matthew Golden. Look for him to start right away. The Green Bay receiver core is full of fast and young receivers who now have a clear alpha at the position. They added another versatile receiver in the draft also from the lone star state. Golden from the University of Texas, and Savion Williams from TCU. Golden endeared himself to the hometown crowd right away with a short but enthusiastic hello to the fanbase. Great video if you want to check it out.
Another great job by the fans by welcoming another draft pick. For those who don’t know, the draft has a green room for the players and families as they wait to hopefully have their names called. Normally those players have that happen in the first two of three rounds. Anyone left after that usually goes home. But not Texas pass rusher Barryn Sorrell. He waited, and waited, and waited. In the fourth round his patience paid off. He came out to a standing ovation from the Green Bay crowd welcoming him to the team. Two really special moments thanks to the fans.
Undrafted
Some of the best players in the draft went undrafted, among others. Nick Nash led the country in every receiving metric in the country from San Jose State. He was not selected. Make it make sense. Atlanta signed him as well as maybe the best corner in the draft in Cobee Bryant from Kansas. Shuan Dolac led the nation in tackles and signed undrafted with the LA Rams. Once high touted Michigan running back Donovan Edwards signed with the Jets. UNLV quarterback and linebacker Hajj-Malik Williams and Jackson Woodard signed with the Raiders and Seahawks respectively, Woodard going unpicked is a shock.
Running back “Rocket” Rahiem Sanders from South Carolina and Syracuse linebacker Marlow Wax signed with the Chargers as did college journeyman quarterback DJ Uiagalelei whose stock really fell as career went on. Air Force safety Camby Goff was also signed by the Raiders. Oddly, this means as of right now Army is the only service academy without representation and they had the best year out of all three. That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.
Minnesota quarterback Max Brosmer who started his career at New Hampshire, one of the less touted QBs in the draft despite his intangibles, was signed in state by the Vikings. UMASS receiver Jakobie Keeney-James signed with the Lions. Big man Florida defensive tackle Desmond Watson, all 6’6 and 464 pounds of him, is signing with the Buccaneers. Maybe the best punter in the country, Eddie Czaplicki out of USC signed with the Chiefs. The Patriots signed undrafted Merrimack tackle Cole Birdow and representing the fullback union, both Brock Lampe from Northern Illinois and Louisville’s Duane Martin will make their way to Foxborough as the return to the old offensive system with require one.
Finally, some notable NFL family legacies are being continued. Undrafted receiver Mushin Muhammad III formerly of Texas A&M was signed by the Panthers. His dad Mushin Muhammad played for both the Panthers and Bears as receiver on their super bowl teams of the early and mid 2000s. Notre Dame corner Jordan Clark, the son of Ryan Clark the former NFL safety and current ESPN analyst, signed with the Jets. I am also very happy to share that Rice safety Gabe Taylor, brother of the late great Washington safety Sean Taylor, has been signed by Washington. That is the best undrafted player news to this point.