It is difficult to really reflect on a draft until at least three years out, but we are going to try to look at my draft grades from last year in this post. All of my draft grades can be found before the section that I discuss so they are there for your reference.
AFC East
I gave the Bills a B for their draft class and I think that is a solid grade still today. They gave up way too much to move up to get Sammy Watkins in a deep receiver class. He was outperformed by Kelvin Benjamin, Mike Evans, and Odell Beckham Jr. yet the Bills moved up to nab him and don't have a 1st rounder this year as a result. However, their pick of Seantrel Henderson was magnificient as I stated at the time.Henderson was picked in the 7th round and started all 16 games. Great value for Buffalo with that pick.
I said the Dolphins reached on Juwan James and James had a decent rookie season. He started all 16 games and turned out to be a solid round 1 selection or at least it appears that way right now. However, Billy Turner who I said was the Dolphins best pick, has yet to make a start. The draft class is still pretty weak, but James has been better than I thought. I would put their best pick as Jarvis Landry if I were filling this out today.
The Patriots won the Super Bowl and had a decent draft class. I gave them a D+ which was probably a bit harsh. However, I said their best pick was Bryan Stork which is not really arguable. Stork was a starter for the Pats at Center and a key piece of the Super Bowl run. The real value in this class will be decided though when Brady hangs up his cleats and it becomes Garoppolo's team.
Finally, I raved about the Jets class and especially Calvin Pryor. He was good, but not great and was not the defensive rookie of the year as I imagined. However, he still has a lot of potential and I am excited about that pick still. Not much else came out of this draft class though and I think I may have been a little too bullish about it.
AFC North
The Baltimore Ravens had one of the best drafts around. I firmly stand by the fact that their draft was quite good. Timmy Jernigan who was their best pick according to me had a fine rookie season.Terrance Brooks was playing well prior to his injury. Brooks and Jernigan were not full time starters as expected, but great picks. CJ Mosely was a starter as expected and performed even better than I thought he would. Mosely had 133 tackles and was the runner-up for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and was named to the Pro Bowl. My most accurate prediction about the draft for the Ravens though was that undrafted free agent James Hurst was an absolute steal. If they re-did the draft he would go in the first 15 picks. Hurst was the starting left tackle for the Ravens and on one of the best lines in the entire NFL. Hurst was a superstar all year for Baltimore.
Hurst's college teammate Russell Bodine was the best pick for the Bengals as I stated last year. Bodine was a 16 game starter for Cincinnati and helped lead them to the playoffs. Eventhough their 1st round pick provided very little last year, Cincinnati had immediate returns from this class that rivals any team. Jeremy Hill was great for the Bengals and I'd rate this draft even higher if I did it today. However, I still hate the AJ McCarron pick.
The Browns draft was worse than I thought. I had it at a C+, but I'd change it to a D- today. It didn't swing the right way and Johnny Manziel was an absolute disaster as predicted. They also did not keep either of the Noles that they signed. The good news for Cleveland is that they got great value out of signing the undrafted Connor Shaw.
As always, the Steelers had a very solid draft. Their best pick was Martavis Bryant not Stephon Tuitt as I predicted. Well that is for last year at least, Tuitt could develop into quite the player. During the 2014 season though, Bryant caught 8 touchdowns. He wasn't selected until the 4th round either. Their season went as I expected out of their draft picks, just very solid all around. Nothing spectacular, but quite solid.
AFC South
I had the Houston Texans draft listed as being spectacular and Louis Nix was a big reason why. However, Nix ended up having his 3rd knee surgery and did not play a game. It appears that NFL teams did their homework with Nix and his knee and that is why he fell. Jadeavon Clowney's injury also impacted this draft class a great deal, but it was a solid class. The book is still open on what Tom Savage can do, Sua Filo looks like he can be a decent guard, CJ Fiedorowicz caught a TD, Alfred Blue had a 100 yard game and 3 touchdowns, and Jay Prosch had 5 starts.
Donte Moncrief does seem to be the best player in what was a weak draft for the Colts. Jonathan Newsome and Jack Mewhort were also solid as rookies. However, there is nothing spectacular in this class by any means.
Telvin Smith was not only the best pick by the Jaguars, but the best pick of the entire draft. What incredible value Smith provided and I would bump up their entire draft because of it. Telvin Smith had 104 tackles in what was a spectacular rookie season. Blake Bortles still has plenty of time to develop and has 3000 yards passing, but didn't do anything special as a rookie. The second best pick the Jaguars had was another ACC guy in Luke Bowanko. The Virginia product started 14 games for the Jags and did a good job at center. That was an impressive class the Jags had.
Taylor Lewan disappointed for the Titans and only started 6 games. He leaves a lot to be desired on the line and it looks like I may have overrated the youngster. If not for finding a solid QB in the 6th round this draft would have been a disaster. The emergence of Zach Mettenberger as the starter could save this class. Mettenberger had a QB rating of 83.4 last season and will likely be the Titans starter in 2015.
AFC West
I think the Broncos had a quite weak draft and stand by my below average grade. Roby was solid, but the rest was disappointing. Wasting a 2nd rounder on Cody Latimer with all the depth at WR in the last draft was a huge miscalculation. He was not and is not a top 15 receiver in that draft for me. How did he go in Round 2?
De'Anthony Thomas only got 14 rushing attempts in 2014, but turned those attempts into 113 yards and just may have been the Chiefs top pick in 2014. The biggest reason I believe that has nothing to do with Thomas and more to do with the junk around him.
Khalil Mack had a really solid rookie season for Oakland, but not a top 5 season. He was not their best pick as I stated. It appears that they may have found their QB though which skyrockets this class. Derek Carr threw for 3200 yards and 21 touchdowns and appears to be a solid guy for Oakland. If Carr turns into a franchise QB, than this class was fantastic. Either way, he appears to be the 2nd best QB of this class (some say the best) and was great value in the 2nd round. Carr was easily their best pick. The Raiders also found a starting guard in Gabe Jackson. Solid draft from Oakland especially if Carr and Mack pan out.
I raved last year about the Chargers selection of Jeremiah Attaochu. He had a great debut as well, but then virtually disappeared the remainder of the season. Quite disappointing. Jason Verrett likewise did nothing as a rookie. It is hard to give a team an above average grade when their first two picks do virtually nothing over the season. This draft class as far as production was probably the worst as rookies. I gave them a B, but they were awful. Hopefully, they produce more this season for the sake of their fans.
NFC East
Zach Martin being picked by the Cowboys allowed them to have the best offensive line in the entire NFL and helped them win the division. It was a fantastic selection as I pointed out at the time. As a whole I was unfair to the rest of this draft because the trade to get Demarcus Lawrence was so bad. It was just that bad. Each of the picks they traded to get up to take Lawrence are and will continue to be better pros than him. However, this was a solid draft in some spots. I vastly underrated Anthony Hitchens who had a decent rookie season for one.
When the Giants selected Odell Beckham Jr., I stated that he would be one of 4 fantastic rookie receivers along with Kelvin Benjamin, Mike Evans, and Sammy Watkins. It seemed to me that picking between them was like splitting hairs and I was right about that. Each was quite productive, but it was Beckham that was Rookie of the Year. He was also the guy that ended up with one of the best catches in NFL history. You won't remember much else about that Giants class, but you can't complain about the Beckham pick.
Marcus Smith compiled 0 stats for the Eagles in 2014 so based on last year it is difficult to justify him as being the best pick by the team. It seems though that it was just a weak team draft overall. The bright spot had to be Jordan Matthews and his 872 yards and 8 touchdowns. Matthews will likely be the Eagles #1 WR in 2015.
Although I would say it was a poor roster decision Morgan Moses only started 1 game in 2014. Based on that season, it is difficult to justify him as their best pick. I would have to say that Bashaud Breeland was the top Redskins rookie. Breeland played a pretty darn good corner for Washington and was a great pick in the 4th round. I talked about how I liked that pick at the time, but I thought the Moses pick was slightly better. I may have slightly overrated this class, but I still have high hopes for Moses and stand by the fact that Breeland and Seastrunk were fantastic selections.
NFC North
The Chicago Bears had a solid draft last year and I predicted that it would be that way. Their top pick according to me was Brock Vereen and he had a solid rookie season. Vereen ended up starting 4 games and made some plays for the Bears as their 4th round pick. Their first round pick Kyle Fuller was also quite good and he was able to make 14 starts. Fuller played a solid corner for the Bears last season. Charles Leno also got a start for the Bears despite being a 7th round selection.
I thought Travis Swanson would start from Day 1 and was a fantastic selection for Detroit. He was a solid selection in round 3, but he made 5 starts and not 16 as I anticipated. Ebron was a bit of a reach and did not produce much. It will be interesting to see what he does in the future. I had Detroit's draft at a C- and that seems about right. With Swanson's struggles I think my assessment is even more accurate that this draft was below average.
I raved about the Packers selection of Jared Abbrederis in Round 5, but he played 0 snaps in 2014. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix was a solid pickup and made an immediate impact as expected. Richard Rodgers proved to be good value as I said and his 2 touchdown grabs as a rookie to go with 5 starts show signs of promise. Linsley was even better value as a 16 game starter out of Round 5. The C proved to be the strongest pick of the draft to date. I also stated Bradford was good value and he accumulated no stats
The Vikings draft depends on the success of Tedy Bridgewater, but the early returns are good and they got him at a great spot. David Yankey was not their best pick based on early returns as he didn't see the field. McKinnon got lots of PT early because of the Adrian Peterson disaster last year. Anthony Barr had a very solid rookie season just as expected.
NFC South
I gave the Falcons a top 10 draft grade because overall they picked quite well. Jake Matthews was the safest pick in the draft as I said at the time and started 15 games. He will be a great tackle for them for years to come and was clearly their top selection. Their second pick Ra'Shede Hageman was a huge disappointment in year 1 though and had virtually 0 production. Former FSU RB Devonta Freeman played in all 16 games and caught a TD, as well as rushing for a TD. Freeman has a bright future in Atlanta. Prince Shembo started 3 games at LB and recorded 59 tackles as a high value 4th rounder.
At pick 28 Kelvin Benjamin was the best value in Round 1. Well unless Tedy Bridgewater develops that is. Benjamin had 78 catches for 1,008 yards and 9 touchdowns despite erratic quarterback play. He proved what I was saying about the top receivers having very little seperating them and was tremendous value for Carolina. Kony Ealy had 4 sacks and an INT and looks to gain even more playing time in 2015. Trading down to get him was a fantastic idea. 3rd round pick Trai Turner had 9 starts. 4th round safety Tre Boston had 5 starts. 5th round corner Bene Benwikere had 6 starts. The majority of their selections ended up starting which is why this draft was rated in the top 3. I'd go so far as to say because this team easily had the best draft in the division they were able to repeat as NFC South Champs. The rookies made the difference in the division race.
Before injury himself for the season, Brandin Cooks may have been on pace for a Rookie of the Year campaign. The future is bright for Cooks. I said though that New Orleans' best pick was Ronald Powell the former Gator linebacker. Powell only recorded 2 tackles and showed why you should never trust a UF football player. Other than Cooks this draft had zero production and through year 1 would have to be graded lower than the C+ grade I gave it.
Finally, Jameis Winston's future home in Tampa. Mike Evans did not disappoint at all in his rookie season. He was as good as I said he was and caught 12 TD passes. Evans also had 68 catches for 1,051 yards. Not only was he the Bucs top choice, but he may have been the best receiver in a loaded class. Sefarian Jenkins caught 2 TDs and shows promise. I was also intrigued by Charles Sims who provided very little help. In 2014 the Bucs did nothing to address their weaknesses along the offensive line or at QB and it showed. However, that lack of addressing QB will work to their advantage when they select Mr. Winston at the end of the month.
NFC West
Not taking Bridgewater in Round 1 was a colossal mistake for the Arizona Cardinals. Had Tedy been the QB and not Ryan Lindley, they would have won the Super Bowl IMO. Pittsburgh State receiver John Brown did have a solid rookie year to save a weak draft for the Cardinals. He had 48 catches for 696 yards and 5 touchdowns.Bucannon had a decent rookie season in being selected over Bridgewater as he had 9 starts. However, he wasn't the impact in Round 1 that several other players could have been. This draft goes down as a major missed opportunity for Arizona.
I said that I thought the 49ers reached in each of the 1st two rounds. Their first pick Jimmie Ward spent the majority of the year injured and confirmed my suspicions that he was a reach. Carlos Hyde will be the top back in San Francisco and I like that he is in fold, but I still think it was a reach. The reason I say it was a reach is I hate when backs are selected before round 3 unless it is an absolute game changer like Adrian Peterson. Carlos Hyde is not that level in my opinion. I thought that Marcus Martin was their best pick and moving forward that appears to be true. Martin started 8 games and the best competition he had for their top pick was Chris Borland who just retired.
The Seattle Seahawks had one of the worst drafts last year according to my grades, but they performed better than I thought in year 1. Seattle of course was still able to make the Super Bowl for 1. While I was right that Richardson was an awful selection, this class had several contributors. Justin Britt was a 16 game starter on the offensive line and he was selected in Round 3. However, their top pick according to me in Cassius Marsh only recorded 5 tackles in his rookie season.
Finally, comes the St. Louis Rams who I said had a top 3 draft. This draft looks like the very best after a year. The Rams got 12 starts out of Greg Robinson. Aaron Donald was Defensive Rookie of the Year. LaMarcus Joyner had 40 tackles and a start in the defensive backfield. Tre Mason had 765 yards and 4 touchdowns and looks like the back of the future. EJ Gaines had 15 starts despite only being a 6th round selection. Gaines looks like one of the best values of the entire draft following a tremendous rookie season and is St. Louis's best pick from last year's draft. None of the 7th round selections worked out, but the Rams picked up 5 starters for 2015 in this draft. The team did a great job.
Now, I will give some input on this draft and especially its top player as this year's draft approaches in the coming weeks.
-Noland
Showing posts with label Russell Bodine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Russell Bodine. Show all posts
4.15.2015
5.21.2014
AFC North Draft Grades
Here is the second installment of my draft grades. Today we look at the AFC North...
Baltimore
Ravens
1(17) CJ
Mosley (LB, Alabama)
2(48) Timmy
Jernigan (DT, Florida State)
3(79)
Terrance Brooks (FS, Florida State)
3(99)
Crockett Gilmore (TE, Colorado State)
4(134) Brent
Urban (DE, Virginia)
4(138)
Lorenzo Taliaferro (RB, Coastal Carolina)
5(175) John
Urschel (OG, Penn State)
6(194) Keith
Wenning (QB, Ball State)
7(218)
Michael Campanaro (WR, Wake
Forest)
Best Pick:
Timmy Jernigan
Timmy
Jernigan was a top 10 pick in just about every mock draft prior to the National
Championship. So what happened? Jernigan came off the field dehydrated at the end of the game in crucial moments.
Now, Jernigan was outstanding all game long, but the time when he missed had to
play a factor. He was #6 on Scouts.Inc’s board until the National Championship
and then dropped drastically. He tested ok, but Aaron Donald blew him away in
testing off the field as well and passed him on all those draft boards. Add a
failed drug test in at the combine and Jernigan fell to round 2. Now, the
failed drug test was a diluted sample and not the typical failure (a dilution
Jernigan’s agent said was from overhydrating). This is possible, but it’s
always hard to believe guys nowadays so I will let you be the judge. Even with
all of that, I had Jernigan rated as the 5th best player in this
draft. On the field, Jernigan is as good as anyone and a drug test combined
with one series don’t change that for me. The Ravens got amazing value here.
Summary: The
Ravens had one of the three best drafts. For me, three are head and shoulders
above the rest. Baltimore is the first of these revealed so far. I’d lean
towards this draft being the best of all. The Ravens picked up three starters
on defense to add to an already solid unit. Three guys that will have a major
impact for this team were added here. Safety was a huge need for them and they
got a great fit in Terrance Brooks. Add in one of the best 7th round
picks in Michael Campanaro along with several other strong picks and they had a
fantastic draft.
Grade: A
Undrafted
Free Agents
Cincinnati
Bengals
1(24)
Darqueze Dennard (CB, Michigan State)
2(55) Jeremy
Hill (RB, LSU)
3(88) Will
Clarke (DE, West Virginia)
4(111)
Russell Bodine (OG, North Carolina)
5(164) AJ
McCarron (QB, Alabama)
6(212)
Marquis Flowers (LB, Arizona)
7(239) James
Wright (WR, LSU)
7(252)
Lavelle Westbrooks (DB, Georgia Southern)
Best Pick:
Russell Bodine
Bodine is a
really solid blocker who is very strong. I was pretty shocked that he was
available in round 4. This is a guy that will be starting for the Bengals by
the end of this season at either center or guard. It was a huge coup to get
this guy in round 4. He was quite good for the Tar Heels last season.
Summary: I
am not a fan of AJ McCarron and personally wouldn’t have picked him, but if you
are going to pick him, Round 5 is not a bad spot for that. James Wright is
probably the only LSU fan in the draft I wasn’t a huge fan of either. However,
other than those two, this team did quite nice. Solid draft picks at every
position. Good value throughout the draft especially with Russell Bodine and 7th
round pick Lavelle Westbrooks. Unfortunately, for Jeremy Hill this probably is
not the best locker room for him with his off the field issues. The Bengals
have had success with players with checkered past, but not the locker room I’d
want to go into if I was him.
Grade: B
Undrafted
Free Agents
Cleveland
Browns
1(8) Justin
Gilbert (CB, Oklahoma State)
1(22) Johnny
Manziel (QB, Texas A & M)
2(35) Joel
Bitonio (OT, Nevada)
3(71)
Christian Kirksey (LB, Iowa)
3(94)
Terrance West (RB, Towson)
4(127)
Pierre Desir (CB, Lindenwood)
Best Pick: Justin
Gilbert
Several
people did not like this pick. I love this pick. You trade down and pick up a 1st
rounder for next year on a team that needs a push if they want to contend. In
addition to this you get the top player on your board who happens to be the
best corner in the draft. Drafting Gilbert gives the Browns the best corner
tandem in the league. Even as a Gator Hater, I recognize that Joe Haden is the
best there is and he just shuts everyone down. Now, teams will have a harder
time staying away from Haden because Gilbert is fantastic in coverage. It just
got a lot harder to pass against the Browns and it wasn’t exactly easy before.
This will be a lesson to teams, pick the best player available!
Summary: The
Browns did very well in my opinion other than the Manziel pick. I have never
been a Johnny Football fan and his money sign walking across the stage surely
did not change that pick. I would have continued to build my team outside of
the QB and give Hoyer a shot at this thing. Johnny needs an O-line and some WR
to succeed and Cleveland doesn’t have the best guys there. Few guys go from
college to pros and have less weapons in addition to worse protection, but
that’s what just happened to Johnny Manziel with the impending Gordon
suspension. Getting a weapon and putting the a QB next year in a better
position would have been my move, but I see why the Browns did this. Kelvin
Benjamin would have been my choice followed by a trade up for Hundley from UCLA
next year. Who knows though maybe it will work out. The rest of the picks were
quite good though and every pick could end up starting which stopped the
Manziel pick from derailing the draft. I would have liked to see more picks
though since it was the deepest draft of my lifetime.
Grade: C+
Undrafted
Free Agents
Kenny Shaw was my favorite Seminole since he went over the middle against Oklahoma a few years back and put his body on the line for the Noles. He was a fearless receiver and a strong punt returner. The guy had really good hands and you could always count on #81 to deliver. With the lack of quality receivers in Cleveland this was a must to sign Shaw.
The other Shaw, Connor, was a great signing as well. Shaw was the one QB who beat Missouri in the regular season. You know those Missouri defenders Kony Ealy and Michael Sam everyone has been obsessing over? Connor Shaw came in injured against their team and led a 14 point comeback, but nobody talked about whether he would be drafted. No disrespect to Missouri, or to the other QBs in this draft, but I'd rather have Shaw than a few guys picked before him.
Pittsburgh
Steelers
1(15) Ryan
Shazier (LB, Ohio State)
2(46)
Stephon Tuitt (DT, Notre Dame)
3(97) Dri
Archer (RB, Kent State)
4(118) Martavis
Bryant (WR, Clemson)
5(157)
Shaquille Richardson (DB, Arizona)
5(173)
Wesley Johnson (C, Vanderbilt)
6(192)
Jordan Zumwalt (LB, UCLA)
6(215) Dan
McCullers (DT, Tennessee)
7(230) Rob
Blanchflower (TE, Massachusetts)
Best Pick:
Stephon Tuitt
The Steelers
struck gold with their second round selection of Stephon Tuitt. For me, Tuitt
was a 1st round talent and most analysts agreed. To get him In the
middle of the second round had to be exciting for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Expect Tuitt to be a fixture on the Steelers defense for years to come. Other
teams will not be happy that they passed on such a talent.
Summary: The
Steelers didn’t reach for anything and did quite well in the draft. I
absolutely love what the Steelers did in round 2-5 and was impressed with the
quality they picked up throughout. If I was a fan of the Steelers I would have
loved their draft. To me, these guys were just off the top 3 teams. They had
the 4th or 5th best draft and picked up several quality
players.
Grade: A-
Undrafted Free Agents
Devon Carrington (S, Stanford)
Chris Elkins (OG, Youngstown State)
Ethan Hemer (DE, Wisconsin)
Kaycee Ike (OT, UAB)
Howard Jones (LB, Shephard)
Brendon Kay (QB, Cincinnati)
Josh Mauro (DE, Stanford)
Roy Philon (DT, Louisville)
Will Simmons (OG, Eastern Carolina)
Eric Waters (TE, Missouri)
Eric Waters is one of those super athletic tight ends. He could not only make the team, but contribute a great deal if he gets better with his hands. The guy has the tools, but his hands are not reliable. The Missouri tight end is certainly one to watch. Roy Philon is another one to watch. I could see Philon making the team as he certainly has the talent to do so. Brendon Kay is very unlikely to stick. Some of the other guys like Devon Carrington have a lot better chance. Solid group the Steelers signed.
-Noland
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