NFL Draft Reaction Day 1

Patriots:

You know we have to start with the Pats draft reaction.

Round 1 (Pick 4): Will Campbell, OT, LSU

ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT. He has consistently been predicted to go to the Pats for weeks and I also had him going to the Pats in my mock draft. Sometimes the best pick is the most simple one. The Pats need to protect Drake Maye’s blindside and they take the best offensive lineman and OT in the draft in Will Campbell.

His arm length isn’t ideal, but the guy was a stud and a three year starter while playing in the SEC. He was going against top tier rushers and delivered week after week, giving up 2 sacks in 989 career pass blocking opportunities. Film is more important than measurables and I think he’ll thrive with the Pats.

People say worst case scenario he has to kick inside to LG where he would be a Pro Bowl caliber player. That would still be a huge get and building block for the Pats moving forward. He also seems like a great person and his family seems like they’re great too.

Jaguars – Browns Trade

This was a shocker of a trade that no one saw coming. The Jags gave up the No. 5 pick, the 36th pick (2nd round), the 126th pick (4th round) in this draft along with a 1st round pick next year in exchange for the No. 2 pick, the No. 104 pick (4th round), and the No. 200 (6th round).

They did all this to move up and draft WR/CB Travis Hunter. At WR, they already have a bonafide number 1 WR in Brian Thomas and while they could use a 2nd WR or use Hunter at CB, the difference between having him or having DL Mason Graham is not worth giving up this much capital for.

For the Browns, this is absolutely fantastic. They can now continue to build their team or trade up for a QB next year given their stockpile of draft picks. They also have a chance to draft Sheduer Sanders with the 33rd pick when some people were speculating it might take the 2nd pick in the draft to get him. They already have a WR1 and CB1, so Hunter was not a necessity. Mason Graham will help give the Browns a great front four along with Myles Garrett.

Raiders vs Chargers RB Strategy

The Raiders and Chargers each selected running backs in the draft, but I have very different feelings about both picks.

I think spending the 6th pick on Ashton Jeanty was just terrible. I am not saying Jeanty is not a good player. However, to spend the 6th pick in the draft on a guy who mainly played against Group of 5 competition is questionable. He only played 4 games against Power 4 competition in his career and had mixed results. There was not a big enough sample size to see how he does vs better competition.

Furthermore, a running back’s success is so reliant on the offensive line. Look at Saquon Barkely. He was always a talented player on the Giants who was limited by a bad offensive line and continually dealt with injuries. When he played, he was always asked to carry the team. Then he gets dealt to the Eagles and has one of the greatest seasons ever by a running back. When he was just relying on his talent with the Giants, he had up and down results. When you combined his talent with the best offensive line in football, magic happened.

The Raiders offensive line is not good. They could have drafted a high ranking player to play RT for them and build up the offensive line. Then they could have taken a guy who might 80-85% of Jeanty in the 3rd/4th round, who would benefit from a much improved offensive line. Geno Smith would also benefit from an improved offensive line. Instead, Jeanty will get force fed the ball behind a bad offensive line, and I am hesitant how that will work out.

On the other hand, their divisional rival Chargers, handled the situation much better. They have a better offensive line, led by two high end tackles. If they want to improve their interior offensive line, they can do that much easier in later rounds than the Raiders can improve their RT situation in later rounds. Hampton also has a much better QB in Justin Herbert and will have a guy in Najee Harris to share the load with. Everything will not be thrown on his plate and he can stay fresh.

Teams that Reached

Cam Ward/Titans:

Cam Ward has a lot of talent, but I don’t think he can overcome how bad the Titans are. He may have been the highest ranked QB this draft, but he is not a generational talent that can find success on any team. The Titans have one of the worst offensive lines in football, they have one pretty good RB and WR and then a bunch of average to below average skill position players, an unproven HC/OC, a bad defense, and a poor overall organization. That just seems like too much to overcome.

Panthers

I have been talking about how I think Tetairoa McMillan is overrated. For the Panthers to draft him with the 8th pick when there were so many other needs and two TEs available who are much better is bonkers.

As I have mentioned, big bodied Pac 12/Big 12 WRs who aren’t very fast are instantly red flags for me. I feel they benefit from playing against weaker defenses in offensive conferences and mainly rely on their size to be successful in college. When you combine that with him saying he doesn’t like to watch film, that is enough for me to not draft him. And worst of all, Bryce Young is in a make or break year. He needed them to get a stud offensively, not a guy with so many question marks.

Cowboys/Dolphins/Seahawks/Lions

I understand the Cowboys wanted to build up their offensive line, but this was a major reach. They over drafted when they had many other needs they could have filled for the right price, while taking IOL in later rounds.

Kenneth Grant is another guy the Dolphins took a little too high. The Seahawks over drafted Grey Zabel. Finally, Tyleik Williams is a reach for Lions. I am not saying these players won’t turn out, simply that the value given up for them was too high.

Questionable Picks

I really like WR Emeka Egbuka as a player and think that he will be amazing with the Bucs. However, why are the Bucs taking a WR? Their offensive is amazing with Baker Mayfield at QB, a solid RB duo, two stud WRs, a 3rd WR who was drafted last year and showed potential, and a good TE. To add in another mouth to feed seems to be overkill that will cause problems. The Bucs also lost the opportunity to improve their defense, which was more problematic than their offense last year.

I feel similar about the Packers drafting WR Matthew Golden. I think he is great and will thrive on the Packers, but did they really need him? They have 4 other promising, young WRs and one TE who are on rookie contracts. This just feels like they are going to crowd the WR room and create animosity.

For the Steelers to have a chance to draft Shedeur Sanders at pick 21 and instead take a DT is the most Steelers move ever. They currently have no starting QB and had the chance to nab their franchise QB, but instead chose defense. They are too obsessed with defense and don’t value offense enough in an offensive league. I think Derrick Harmon will be a good player for the Steelers, but they needed a QB much more than a DT.

Good Picks

I think OT Kelvin Banks to the Saints was a great pick. They need to rebuild their team and stud from Texas is a great way to do it. Banks can protect Derek Carr right now and then ideally a future franchise QB.

TE Tyler Warren is an absolute weapon that will be a huge get for the Colts. He can line up all over the field and produce. Anthony Richardson needs to prove himself this year and Warren should help.

LB/EDGE Jalon Walker surprisingly fell to the Falcons and they capitalized by bringing him to Atlanta. He should immediately be able to help boost their defense and help the Falcons compete to win the NFC South.

The Eagles usually do well when drafting SEC defenders and LB Jihad Campbell shouldn’t be an exception. He fell in the draft and the Eagles end up benefitting.

OT Josh Simmons to the Chiefs should work too. Talent wise, he was much better than the 32nd pick, but is coming off an injury, so he fell. The Chiefs having a great team and organization should help him get settled in and fill a big need for the team.

Guys I Can’t Believe Weren’t Drafted:

QB Sheduer Sanders falling from the first round is the story of the draft so far. I honestly do not understand it. Yes, Sanders is not the most athletic guy, however, I very much think he can thrive on a team that has a good coach and some offensive talent around him. For teams like the Steelers at pick 21 or Giants at pick 25 to pass on him is shocking.

Sanders is an extremely accurate quarterback who had to deal with a rebuilding college team and a bad offensive line during his two years at Colorado. That is a lot of football adversity to overcome and similar to what some young QBs have to overcome in the NFL.

I think the most surprising thing with Sanders is that his stock is falling AFTER the CFB season is ending. All throughout the season, he seemed to be a lock top 5 pick. As the offseason has gone on, there seems to be more and more negative reports coming out about him and his stock slowly kept falling and falling.

Is there anything real and meaningful in these reports? Or is this just a psychological thing at this point. Similar to how traders will keep selling off a stock with no rhyme or reason other than other people are doing it too, are people passing on Sanders just because others are too? Whatever is going on, it is very odd.

Finally, I feel for CB Will Johnson. He was being mocked as a potential top 5 pick at the start of the CFB season. However, three different injuries from the season until now have caused him to fall out of the first round. I think he is a great value pick for anyone at this point who has the guts to take him.