Pre-draft questions:
1. Is Joe Burrow going to be the real deal, cause I think Chase Young is?
2. Where does Tua go?
3. Where do Herbert and Love go?
4. What trades are coming because they are coming? (I expect 4 or 5 tonight)
5. Who do Green Bay, Las Vegas, LAC, Miami, and New England take?
6. Who is the first WR off the board in a stacked class?
7. Who are the WRs left after Round 1?
8. Are any RBs taken in Round 1?
9. Who is the surprise reach?
10. Who improves week 1 by whom they picked?
Pick Reactions:
1. Joe Burrow - CIN - Burrow is going to be a marginal starter in the NFL. I like the kid, but there's no way that that season holds up over time. Athleticism is the name of the game anymore, and he's ok. He does fit more of the modern NFL than Drew Brees would if he were drafted today, but the pure pocket passer is going by the way-side.
2. Chase Young - WAS - is the best rusher coming out since Von Miller including Joey Bosa last year. He will be an all pro for many years.
3. Jeff Okudah - DET - Late movement was Henderson over Okudah, but Patricia needed to replace Darius Slay. I thought for sure there was going to be a trade here after all the buzz, but they must not have gotten a good enough offer to move.
4. Andrew Thomas - NYG - was the third or fourth tackle on most experts boards. Tackles are usually more bust-proof, and I understand the need with Daniel Jones possibly being your franchise. Yet, only time will tell if he ends up being as good as thought projected ahead of him.
5. Tua Tagovailoa - MIA - This is where we will start to get interesting. Aaaaaand Miami still gets their man. Tua is in Miami. I certainly hope he turns a historic franchise around, and he stays healthy. The most exciting quarterback in this draft. Is he going to be the same when he isn't throwing to future first round picks?
6. Justin Herbert - LAC - This draft is going to script so far. The volatility I expected has not come. Herbert might be an ok quarterback, but I don't think he will ever be a star. ESPN comparing him to notable first round quarterback fallers is ominous though.
7. Derrick Brown - CAR - Carolina needed to start rebuilding their defense after they spent most of FA building their offense back up. Derrick Brown is seen by some as being a potentially dominant interior game changer, and that becomes more important with more mobile quarterbacks who step up more. Possibly great pick here that gets better with age.
8. Isaiah Simmons - AZ - Arizona may have just stolen the backside of the top ten here. A shame that he dropped here, but Arizona may sneak up on a few people this year because the Rams are still well coached, Seattle is still Seattle, and San Fran is coming off the Super Bowl. Yet, Kyler Murray is the fourth most exciting quarterback in the league going into next year IMO, and, if this team keeps getting this lucky, man is the NFC getting scary.
9. CJ Henderson - JAX - Henderson is solid here. Florida cornerbacks have an marginal history, but that defense was legit last year. Jacksonville needed help everywhere. They're my mostly like to pick in the top 10 to draft higher next season.
10. Jerdrick Wills Jr. - CLE - I'm surprised that Wills fell this far, but Cleveland has really solidified their line for Baker Mayfield if you add in the addition of Conklin in FA. Most people are understandably low on Cleveland after getting burned last year, but give me all the Cleveland stock given how low the AFC is in depth. There's simply too much talent not to produce at least on offense. This team should get to nine wins after all their problems last season, their uptick in talent (especially on offense), and their easier schedule.
11. Meckhi Becton - NYJ - The tackles I am all high on here including Wirfs still to go. I am surprised there has yet to be a single trade, but maybe the draft not being in person has a lot to do with the lack of movement.
12. Henry Ruggs II - LVR - This might be the next Tyreke Hill in the same division. Unfortunately, it's a bigger question of who will be throwing him the ball by the end of the season: Carr or Mariota? And neither of those guys have enough arm to take advantage of what Ruggs does in the same way Hill does with Mahomes. You will not be able to outthrow this guy. I think he's more likely to hit quickly than Marquise "Hollywood" Brown or John Ross who are the recent comparables.
13. Tristan Wirfs - TB - Tampa moves up one slot in our first trade (frankly, I don't like moving one slot for this), but we get some protection for the most overhyped off-season story: a beyond his years Tom Brady with the recently emasculated Gronk being traded there a few days ago looking to stick it to Belichick. I'll be shocked if Tampa gets to the Super Bowl let alone wins it. I don't care if you call me a hater.
14. Javon Kinlaw - SF - I can't believe that SF had a golden opportunity to take a great WR, and passed to pick yet another DL. I love this guy here for value, but I think SF needed to be more talented on offense due to their defense losing some pieces. You simply can't hold an elite defense together very long in the NFL. Offenses have a longer staying power, and, while Shanahan is the best offensive mind in the league, you can't always turn shit into diamonds.
15. Jerry Jeudy - DEN - I love him here, but this will be most dependent on what Drew Lock turns into yet. He had a good end of the year, last year, but we obviously need to see his sophomore time to know for sure. Elway has been bad at QBs. Jeudy will be the slot guy to Sutton's outside presence and Fant coming off the line. Dangerous weapons surrounding Lock, and he needs to go get it.
16. AJ Terrell - ATL - I definitely had Atlanta going WR here, but I can see why they needed defense. I have to stop buying the pre-draft discussion two weeks beforehand because its all smoke-screens. That being said, Atlanta wasn't losing because of their offense last season.
17. CeeDee Lamb - DAL - Dallas' offense is going to be scary for a couple years. McCarthy loves 11 personnel with 3 WRs, and he has three great ones now. I don't like any particular WR in Dallas til I see it yet, but the upside is extremely high.
18. Austin Jackson - MIA - Miami goes after its centerpiece tackle to pair with Tua, and I love what Miami's front office is doing here. They are resetting their franchise, and putting the pieces in place to possibly really compete since Marino retired. Getting two of their high value centerpieces in the first round is a great turnaround.
19. David Arnette - LVR - A bit of a reach, but the Raiders are never afraid to take who they want. Not surprising they go defense here, but curious how everything plays out for them yet.
20. K'Lavon Chaisson - JAX - Sacksonville is long gone from a few years ago, and they needed to improve. Pairing Chaisson with Josh Allen from last season is a good move. They have a lot of front seven versatility moving forward.
21. Jalen Raegor - PHI - I love Philly taking a WR, and I am definitely high on this kid being paired with Wentz and Pederson. I'm very high on what he can potentially do next season as the Eagles rebuild their receiving corps.
22. Justin Jefferson - MN - Goddamnit. I don't want to see this guy in the division for the next how many years. I still like Theilen, but I'll be looking for Jefferson as a franchise focus point in my fantasy dynasty draft.
23. Kenneth Murray - LAC - A great pick for LAC. This team is extremely talented, and simply underperformed due to their offensive line and QB last year. I'm looking for them to take a step forward if they can get decent QB play (meaning 9 wins, don't get carried away).
24. Cesar Ruiz - NO - New Orleans has put together several good drafts recently, but I don't think you needed to reach here. There were several good centers going to be available in the second round. I think New Orleans had other bigger needs like DL to pair with Cameron Jordan to consider here.
25. Brandon Aiyuk - SF - I loved Aiyuk on my college fantasy team last year, and I love him going to SF here. He's very versatile, and he fits the same type of skill set that Samuels had a year ago for them. After losing Sanders in the off-season, this is a great use of draft capital to go get this guy. John Lynch is proving to be a formidable GM that I definitely didn't see coming originally.
26. Jordan Love - GB - I'm loving it. I know people want the win now player for the Packers, but the second most important player on any team is its backup QB (just ask Joe Gibbs). I think there is depth here, and GB didn't give up much in a 4th rd pick to move up. This is an extremely gifted athlete QB who needs some work to be able to make himself into a pro. He is going into the exact right situation for him, and I love GB thinking long term here.
27. Jordyn Brooks - SEA - No idea who this guy is. Seattle apparently loves him, and I don't doubt Schneider. However, I literally haven't heard of this guy in the pre-draft discussion. Seattle did need help on the defense because their offense was holding them up last season at times.
28. Patrick Queen - BAL - No surprise seeing Baltimore taking a LB in the first round. Perfect fit for how that team does its business. This is likely to pan out for this franchise as it usually does at this position (Ray Lewis, CJ Mosley).
29. Isaiah Wilson - TEN - Makes sense for Tennessee to replace Conklin here. They are going to build their team on the ground and pound, and resigning Tannehill and Henry makes this a very sensical pick.
30. Noah Igbinoghene - MIA - Why does Miami need another cornerback when they had two great safeties and two great running backs on the board? I thought Miami was doing great, and then they do this. They already overpaid Byron Jones, and now you spend valuable capital on a corner here. Thankfully, they have a very early pick on day 2 that they can use on a RB or S that will be of more use.
31. Jeff Gladney - MIN - Why are we reaching for corners at the end of the first here? I simply don't understand why these teams are passing on better impact players at other positions for a position that I think teams overvalue anyway. I know I'm contrarian here, but corner is overvalued by comparison to safety, inside linebacker, and speed rusher.
32. Clyde Edwards-Helaire - KC - I love this pick almost more than any other. He is a terrific receiving back for an Andy Reid offense. He was an amazingly unheralded player at LSU last year, and he is going to be a top 10 fantasy value next year. Book it.
Winners: LAC, DAL, WAS, PHI, GB, SF
Losers: After thinking about it, LVR took my third best WR in a stacked class, and reached for a corner. I already gave my opinion on overvaluing corners. After them, ATL reached for a guy who's last impression was getting torched by LSU in the title game. MIN and MIA reached for corners at the end, but made better picks before that. NO took a guy they definitely could have waited on especially because he's going to move to guard anyway.
Questions answered:
- Green Bay moved up to take Jordan Love (woo), and the quarterbacks otherwise went to the places that we all predicted months ago: Burrow to CIN, Tua to MIA, and Herbert to LAC.
- New England traded out, and Miami has two 2nd rd picks to work with yet.
- I'm very curious where several teams go, but more on that tomorrow. Ruggs was the first WR off the board over other guys I definitely loved more. He's a burner, but he will need to make the transition that Tyreke Hill did to a more prolific target. I also said that neither Carr nor Mariota has the arm to fully take advantage of this guy. Who knows.
- There were not a lot of trades: GB moved up to draft Love, TB moved one spot to get their OT, and SF moved up to take Aiyuk. There were more trades of first rounders before the draft (PIT, HOU, IND, CHI)
- Clyde Edwards-Helaire was the only RB taken in the first round, and this was one of the places that people show it coming. I loved Edwards pre-draft, and to see him going here makes me excited. He has the potential to be the next Brian Westbrook for this team, and Andy Reid is great for RBs. Still waiting to see where all the backs go starting in round 2.
See everyone tomorrow!
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