It was a night to remember in Nashville, TN. Apparently there was a bachelorette party that was ruined due to forgetting the draft was happening. The commish got booed like normal. Picks were made. Picks were not made. Celebrations were awesome. Suits were either on point or cringe worthy. Predictions were right. Heads were scratched. Fans were excited. Fans were shocked.
Here are my top observations from the first round:
#1 Arizona – Kyler Murray: This was almost a foregone conclusion as soon as Kliff Kingsbury was signed as the new head coach. Kliff has been chasing down Kyler since high school when he tried to recruit him to play for him in college. Kliff runs the Air Raid offense. He is with a new team. He wants his guy to run his offense. Josh Rosen is not a style match. This makes sense for Arizona.
#2 San Francisco – Nick Bosa: The Niners had some options here but considering the improvement of Buckner from last season and the addition of Dee Ford on the edge, Bosa really solidifies the line. The Niners struggled last year to get pressure on the quarterback which exacerbated their weak spots in the secondary. This makes sense for the Niners.
#3 New York Jets – Quinnen Williams: Quinnen is probably the surest hit in the draft. You know who he is and what you are getting. He is physical and quick for his size. He is an instant impact guy. The Jets went with best available talent with this pick.
#4 Oakland Raiders – Clelin Ferrell: Head scratcher. Ferrell has some upside but there were better available options if they needed an edge guy. This is defitently a reach as far as value is concerned.
#5 Tampa Bay Buccaneeres – Devin White: Great pick up. Solid inside linebacker that should make an immediate impact.
#6 The New York What The Hell Are You Thinking Giants – Daniel Jones: OK. Look here Giants. At this point you had 2 first round picks. You need a quarterback, that is obvious but this pick makes no sense.
First of all, this means you value Daniel Jones over Haskins. You have to know that this is not a common thought and that other teams don’t share this feeling. That means that if Daniel is really your guy, he will be available at your pick at #17.
Second of all, you have Josh Allen on the board who might end up being the best all around defensive player in the draft when all is said and done. You could have easily picked Josh Allen and STILL gotten your guy at #17.
Let’s say you pick up Josh Allen and then Jones gets drafted before #17. You still have Haskins available who is actually way better than Jones. Then you end up with the best all around defensive player in the draft AND a backfield of Saquan Barkley and Haskins. Your fans love you. Your division is worried. All is great.
What do you do instead? Invest the farm in Eli Jr. Nothing against Daniel Jones. He isn’t bad. He just isn’t great. He isn’t pass up on Josh Allen great. He isn’t pass up on Haskins great. He is average and played at Duke and the only reason he was on your radar is because the QB class this draft is weak and he is friends with Eli.
Do you really want another Eli? The most awkward quarterback I’ve ever seen play? Seriously, he reminds me of a nerd trying to ask out a pretty girl for prom half the time he plays.
What does this tell your fan base? Hang on there Giants fans because Daniel won’t be ready game 1. You get at least 1 more year of Eli. Then we turn it over to Eli Jr! I’m sorry Giants fans. At least you get to see Haskins in a Redskins jersey twice a year and wonder what could have been.
#7 Jacksonville Jaguars – Josh Allen: Jags fans everywhere should be thanking the Giants. This guy can fly and he is physical. He is all over the place.
#10 Pittsburgh Steelers – Devin Bush: Great pick for the Steelers. In the aftermath of all the chaos of the last 2 years, they went back to their roots and found a linebacker they can build around. The Steel City loves linebackers.
#12 Green Bay Packers – Rashan Gary: OK, I like Rashan as a person. He seems like a sweet kid. Then you look at his physical attributes and he is impressive. However, his production is not in line with those attributes. The Packers will need to work with him to get him to produce. It doesn’t matter if you are Goaliath if you can’t finish plays.
# 20 Denver Broncos – Noah Fant: This is secretly a great pick. If you have a backfield with Phillip Lindsey and Royce Freeman and then you add a solid TE in Noah, Joe Flacco has options to re-start his career. I’m just happy for Broncos fans that John Elway didn’t draft a quarterback this year.
#24 Oakland Raiders – Josh Jacobs: This is a much better pick for Gruden. Josh is an NFL style power running back, that will be a great replacement for Lynch. He will also give Carr some relief.
#29 Seattle Seahawks – LJ Collier: The Seahawks came into the draft with about 20 picks. They are notorious for trading out of the first round. That continued with 2 trades in the first round. They traded down from #21 and then picked Collier at #29 and traded away #30. Recently they traded away stud Frank Clark who was the key to that front last year. Having sold the farm on Russell Wilson, they are trying to find cheaper options elsewhere and it looks like Collier is that cheaper option. He is not a bad pick but it might take a couple of years for him to develop.
New England Patriots- K’Neal Harry: Damn you Patriots. Always making smart moves. Harry was by far the best receiver in the Pac 12 last year. He has size, speed, and big play capability. They need to find someone to stretch the field now that Gronk is gone. Harry will thrive in New England.
Overall this was an interesting first round. Let’s see what tonight brings!