NASCAR racing champion Ricky Bobby once said, “If you ain’t first, you’re last.” And while that may be true in racing, many an NFL champion has been formed by consistently hitting RBI doubles in the Draft.
Let’s take a look at who’s standing on second.
Chicago Bears
The haul: Kevin White (WR, West Virginia, round one), Eddie Goldman (DT, Florida State, round two), Hroniss Grasu (C, Michigan State, round three), Jeremy Langford (RB, Michigan State, round four), Adrian Amos (FS, Penn State, round five) and Tayo Fabuluje (OT, TCU, round six)
The Bears needed a wide receiver to replace Brandon Marshall and they got a guy plenty of scouts thought might be the best wideout in the draft. What really seals this group for the Bears is grabbing Goldman in the second round, a guy with first-round talent that was not only the bet player on the board at that point, but fits a pretty desperate need in Vic Fangio’s defense. Grasu will be a starter in the next two years at center and Langford should be a good short-yardage, power back to mix things up with Matt Forte in Chicago’s backfield.
Grade: B
Cincinnati Bengals
The haul: Cedric Ogbuehi (OT, Texas A&M, round one), Jake Fisher (OT, Oregon, round two), Tyler Kroft (TE, Rutgers, round three), Paul Dawson (ILB, round three), Josh Shaw (CB, USC, round four), Marcus Hardison (DE, Arizona State, round four), C.J. Uzomah (TE, Auburn, round five), Derron Smith (FS, Fresno State, round six) and Mario Alford (WR, West Virginia, round seven)
For whatever reason the Bengals are staying all-in with Andy Dalton at quarterback, in spite of having multiple opportunities in this draft to pick a guy to push him (like Bryce Petty or Brett Hundley) before eventually running him out of town. One thing is for sure, Dalton is going to have plenty of protection with the Bengals adding tow starting-caliber tackles in the first two rounds. The best pick of this draft is Paul Dawson in the third round, who I think can send Rey Maualuga to the bench before the season ends.
Grade: B-
Philadelphia Eagles
The haul: Nelson Agholor (WR, USC, round one), Eric Rowe (CB, Utah, round two), Jordan Hicks (OLB, Texas, round three), JaCorey Shepherd (CB, Kansas, round six), Randall Evans (CB, Kansas State, round six) and Brian Mihalik (DE, Boston College, round seven)
Chip Kelly tried to trade half his team to the Titans for the No. 2 pick, but never could sweeten the deal enough. So he made his picks and added two starters in Agholor and Rowe and a possible starter in Hicks, if he can stay healthy. I like Kelly’s mid-round corner picks too, with Sheperd and Evans both tall enough to at least match up with NFL receivers.
Grade: B-
Tennessee Titans
The haul: Marcus Mariota (QB, Oregon, round one), Dorial Green-Beckham (WR, Missouri, round two), Jeremiah Poutasi (OG, Utah, round three), Angelo Blackson (DT, Auburn, round four), Jalston Fowler (FB, Alabama, round four), David Cob (RB, Minnesota, round five), Delontrez Mount (OLB, Louisville, round six), Andy Galik (C, Boston College, round six) and Tre McBride (WR, William & Mary, round seven)
Mariota was easily my favorite quarterback in this draft and if I were the Titans, I wouldn’t have even considered offers for the No. 2 pick unless the Buccaneers passed on Jameis Winston. They didn’t, of course, and Tennessee won the lottery and grabbed college football’s most dynamic playmaker in this draft. The Titans already had a couple of good wideouts on the team, but adding Green-Beckham in the second round was a brilliant move. The best picks in the rest of their draft were Poutasi and Galik, who at worst provide offensive line depth.
Grade: B
New England Patriots
The haul: Malcolm Brown (DT, Texas, round one), Jordan Richards (SS, Stanford, round two), Geneo Grissom (DE, Oklahoma, round three), Trey Flowers (DE, Arkansas, round four), Tre’ Jackson (OG, Florida State, round four), Shaq Mason (C, Georgia Tech, round four), Joe Cardona (LS, Navy, round five), Matthew Wells (LB, Mississippi State, round six), A.J. Derby (TE, Arkansas, round six), Darryl Roberts, CB, Marshall) and Xavier Dickson (OLB, Alabama, round seven)
It’s been a rough week for the Patriots, but I have to hand it to them when it comes to the draft. They know what they’re doing. Instead of trading out of round one like everyone expected, the Patriots had Malcolm Brown fall right into their laps. He’ll be a day one starter and the only thing keeping Jordan Richards from starting at safety is the guys in front of him on the depth chart are too good to beat out. The truth is, looking at the Patriots list, they didn’t waste a single pick here, and Roberts out of Marshall might be one of the steals of the draft.
Grade: B with a little extra credit
