Another draft in the books, and a pretty uneventful one at that. Despite months of rumors, there were no crazy trades inside the top ten, letting down us fans of chaos. The wheeling and dealing commenced from there on, but nothing ground shaking-- outside of the Eagles setting a single draft record with eight trades. I'd bet Howie's been ready to put the phone down.
As always though, we have some perceived winners and losers of the weekend. I'm sure many of these will end up being wrong takes, but that's the risk of playing the game.
Winners
-Chicago Bears: By all accounts, Caleb Williams was as can't miss a prospect as you were going to find and should be under center for the organization for the next decade and a half. Rome Odunze is a physical freak who started to bond with his new QB over the last few months, well before actually becoming teammates. Kiran Amegadije is a nice project/depth piece at OT and Iowa punter Tory Taylor is as tested and true as one could ask for at the position. Chicago is expecting this to be a franchise altering draft.
-Washington Commanders: The Jayden Daniels addition in Washington has a similar feel, with the dual threat quarterback poised to enter an offense that already has some solid pieces in place. Jer'Zhan Newton was a top ten talent in my eyes, so nabbing him in the early second was a steal. He'll fit in brilliantly next to Jonathan Allen. Cornerback Mike Sainristil could get some early play time with a strong camp in this atrocious pass D. Tight end Ben Sinnott felt like a little bit of a reach in the late second, but he could be a useful piece in the offense. Adding receiver, offensive and defensive line depth late could prove useful too.
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| Photo: Kirby Lee/ USA Today |
-New York Giants: Malik Nabers was the right pick at 6. Absolute game changing talent, adding a dynamic element to this offense for years to come. Tyler Nubin was my top safety in this class, providing some outstanding value at 47. Corner Andru Phillips should see the field with some regularity, while Penn State tight end Theo Johnson in the 4th was a coup-- especially compared to the aforementioned Sinnott. Who's in the drivers seat though?
-Daniel Jones: Oh yeah, this guy. Jones gets an elite receiver, a solid passing catching tight end and no competition behind him on the depth chart. Things couldn't have gone better for the Giants' quarterback, who's looking to salvage his career in the second year of his extension. If it works out, he may get to at least see the contract through. If not, the G-Men will be taking their future signal caller early in 2025's draft.
-Los Angeles Chargers: Felt like Nabers was going to be the pick here, with the Chargers completely emptying their receiver room this offseason, but Joe Alt provides them with a tandem of offensive tackles that's hard to top league-wide. That's a recipe to get a Jim Harbaugh offense cooking. Ladd McConkey isn't quite who I want as my WR1, but he'll be very well acquainted with Justin Herbert before long. They also took receivers Brendon Rice and Cornelius Johnson to round out the draft, giving themselves few more dart throws at the position. Linebacker Junior Colson and DT Justin Eboigbe should help the run D from day one.
-Pittsburgh Steelers: It pains my Baltimore-loving stomach to say, but Pittsburgh did exactly what they needed to by loading up the trenches. G/T Troy Fautanu and C Zach Frazier should start immediately, with 4th rounder Mason McCormick having an outside chance at a job. Wideout Roman Wilson is a solid receiver, although it doesn't feel like he fills the void Diontae Johnson left. Linebacker Payton Wilson was one of my favorite players in the draft, but he lacks an ACL on top of a plethora of other medical flags. If he stays healthy in the Steel City though, he'll be a monster.
Losers
-Atlanta Falcons: Michael Penix is a fine talent at 8, not arguing that. Why do it if you just signed Kirk Cousins to a 4-year, $180 million dollar deal? It was made worse by Thomas Dimitroff's sentiments after the fact that, "it'd be a good problem to have Michael Penix Jr. sitting for 4-5 years." Or something along those lines, paraphrasing. But what...? Dude completely botched a perfect opportunity to improve the team and contend now. Ruke Orhororo and Brandon Dorlus are interesting interior pieces, and I like JD Bertrand's upside, but that debacle of the 8th pick makes the Dirty Birds losers
-San Francisco 49ers: Felt a little early for Ricky Pearsall, same goes for Renardo Green. Dominick Puni out of Kansas is a versatile piece for their offensive line, a worthwhile project. But that's pretty much the extent of the 9ers' haul here-- projects. For a team as talented as they are, I guess it's a luxury to some extent or another, but it doesn't feel like San Fran's picks moved any needles
-Troy Franklin: Some pundits had the speedy Oregon receiver going well inside of the first round, but that was quickly pushed to the wayside as Franklin tumbled and tumbled down the draft boards. His fall ultimately stopped at the 102nd pick, when Denver traded up to reunite the wideout with his quarterback Bo Nix. Time will tell on how Troy will develop in this Sean Payton offense, but kind of getting some KD Cannon vibes here
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| Photo: Darren Yamashita/ USA Today |
-Spencer Rattler...or any Sleeper Quarterback: 6 quarterbacks taken in the first 12 picks, a record for the draft. Then, not a single other QB heard their name called until the 15th pick of round five. This doesn't mean there's no diamonds in the rough to be found, but clearly these NFL teams showed their belief in the second tier of this quarterback group. Or lack thereof.
-Defenders: Not a single defensive player taken until the 15th pick! Unheard of, but not unexpected given some of the quality talent at quarterback, receiver and offensive tackle in this class. Nonetheless, not one pick in the top 14? Wild. Probably won't ever see that again.
-David Tepper: What a meek, meek man. If you haven't seen the video yet, do yourself a favor. Truly as pitiful as it is laughable. Just goes to show you that money ain't everything in this world. Seems like Tepper can buy everything from an NFL team to former bosses' houses, but he just can't seem to find thick skin anywhere on the market.
Overall Grades
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@Choppinglines
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