Winners and Losers of the NFL Draft

Well the NFL Draft has come and gone and it seems as if the only thing anybody will talk about from now until the start of training camps in July is which teams ‘won’ the Draft and which teams ‘lost’ the Draft. Well throw our hat into the ring as we attempt to break down some of the better moves, and some of the head scratching ones in our NFL Draft Winners and Losers.

*WARNING: A very long section on the New England Patriots is ahead*

Winners

NY Giants – The New York Football Giants are big winners coming out of this draft because simply put, they got the best player in this year’s draft class. Giants General Manager Dave Gettleman made it very clear that everyone in the building was sold on Saquon Barkely. So when the Browns continued to make major mistakes (we’ll get to that later) the Giants jumped at the chance to take Barkley at number two. Barkley will quickly prove to be one of, if not the best back in the league and will prove to be a huge asset for an offense that already boasts Odell Beckham Jr. On top of that the Giants were not peer-pressured into taking a QB at two. Instead they stayed patient and came away with one of the most underrated prospects in this year’s class, Kyle Lauletta from Richmond. Lauletta will now have the chance to sit and learn behind a two-time Super Bowl champion, and when he does eventually step into the starting role he will lead an offense that consists of both OBJ and Saquon Barkley.

Denver Broncos – the Broncos got off to a hot start in 2017 before unraveling at the end and finishing the season 5-11. Rumors swirled that the Broncos may have looked to take a QB with the fifth overall pick but those rumors dispelled after the team signed Case Keenum during the off season. Denver was then linked to several other teams in regards to potential trades and even had a trade lined up with the Buffalo Bills which would have given the Bills the fifth overall pick. But that was before the Browns made another colossal mistake and the Broncos suddenly found Bradley Chubb sitting in their laps. Chubb was arguably the most NFL ready prospect and rivaled Barkley as the most talented prospect in the Draft. Denver now has Bradley Chubb to add to a defense that was already the best in football. Opposing QBs will ow have to look forward to going against Von Miller and Bradley Chubb, a duo that should be good for at least 7 wins next season. The addition of Courtland Sutton with their second round pick should add some prodection to a receiving core that has been disappointing the past couple seasons and make Case Keenum’s transition to Mile-High Stadium go a little smoother.

Baltimore Ravens – In GM Ozzie Newsome’s final draft at the helm of the Ravens, Baltimore walked away looking set up for the foreseeable future. It’s no secret that the Ravens value the tight end position so to see them select Hayden Hurst, a TE from South Carolina, with the 25th overall pick should come as no surprise. What was a surprise was to see the Ravens trade with Philadelphia to jump back into round one and with pick 32 selected the QB of the future in Lamar Jackson. Jackson should fit perfectly in the Ravens system. The project QB from Louisville will have time to sit behind Joe Flacco while he learns an NFL system before taking over the starting role in a couple years. Jackson has all the talent in the world, it will be Coach Harbaugh’s job to make sure that talent is showcased in Baltimore. The Ravens then double downed on their TE love by selecting Mark Andrews from Oklahoma, the John Mackey Award winner in 2017.

Losers

Cleveland Browns – The Browns came into the draft with picks numbers one and four. How could they mess this up? While some have applauded the Browns selections of Baker Mayfield and Denzel Ward, I remain skeptical. For those who have followed SportsTake’s NFL Draft previews, you are aware of our thoughts as to what Cleveland should have done with their two top picks: select Saquon Barkley number one, and then one of the 4 quality QBs at number four. Instead they selected Baker Mayfield with the first overall pick – despite the common belief that he would have been available at number four – and then selected Denzel Ward with the fourth pick. When a team has two top four picks they have the ability to select A) a player they really need, someone who can help turn the franchise around, and B) one of the best players available. Unfortunately for Cleveland I believe they got neither of these. The only way you select Mayfield number one is if you absolutely, hands down, believe that he is head and shoulders better than the other 4 guys and couldn’t live with yourself if you allowed him to slip past you. None of that is the case with Baker. If anything, the opposite is true. QBs Sam Darnold, Josh Allen and Josh Rosen were also believed to be in contention for pick number one and were as good IF NOT BETTER than Baker Mayfield. So to reach for Mayfield at one is a head scratcher. Then to select Denzel Ward, a player which I love, ahead of Bradley Chubb who was the second, or tied for first, most talented player in the draft further leads fans to question what Cleveland was thinking. As frustrating as it is to say, Cleveland may have just subjected its fans to another decade of terrible Browns teams.

New Orleans Saints – The New Orleans Saints shocked everybody when they traded up to get the 14th overall pick and used it to select Marcus Davenport from Texas-San Antonio. The move won’t do anything to affect the 2018 New Orleans Saints but the price they paid to move up seemed steep, to say the least. New Orleans gave up a fifth-round pick and their 2019 first-round pick in order to move up and select an unproven defensive end from a small school. If Davenport shocks the world and becomes the next JJ Watt or Von Miller then the decision will be applauded. But if Davenport peaks at just a suitable edge rusher (the much more realistic outcome) then the decision to trade away a first round pick will be talked about for a while.

New England Patriots – Oh New England. The Patriots actually made moves that could help the 2018 version of New England. But if the Patriots struggle in 2020 then this is the draft that could be looked at as the cause of New England’s drop off in production. Isaiah Wynn should be a suitable guard for the Pats, after-all it was no secret that tom Brady needed some protection. I also loved the Braxton Berrios pick. The gritty slot receiver from Miami is a trademarked Bill Belichick pick and should fit right in alongside Julian Edelman, replacing some of the production lost in Danny Amendola. The Sony Michele pick in round one is still head scratching to me. Belichick has made a habit out of turning late round running backs into starters in the NFL. Stevan Ridley, Danny Woodhead, James White and Dion Lewis are all guys who were late round picks who produced in Belichick’s system. So to reach for a running back with the 31st pick is out of character for Bill, especially when the Patriots already have a running back crew of James White, Rex Burkhead, Mike Gillislee and Jeremy Hill. If Michele can put up Todd Gurley type numbers than of course the pick will make sense but the RB from Georgia is coming off of a knee injury that could hider his development. Now is when things get really interesting so buckle in. Thomas Brady is currently 40 years old, and will be 41 by the time the season kicks off. As much as Brady believes otherwise, the greatest QB of all time can’t play forever, there will come a time when he is forced to retire and when that time comes the Patriots, as of now, have no replacement. After trading away Jacoby Brissett and Jimmy Garoppolo this past season, this year’s draft was supposed to be the year New England found Brady’s long term replacement. Draft him this year and allow him to sit and learn for the next few years under Brady. But as the draft went along Patriot fans saw nearly every QB come off the board. First it was Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, Josh Allen and Josh Rosen. Oh well, Patriot fans were expecting any of those guys. But then after New England used its two first round picks on players not named Lamar Jackson, only to see the former Heisman trophy winner get selected one pick later, fans (including myself) began to worry. Next it was Mason Rudolph, and then Kyle Lauletta, all while Belichick continued to trade down round after round, selecting a defensive guy every so often. Then Mike White went to Dallas and finally Luke Falk was picked by Tennessee. The Patriots did finally get a QB but it was far from anyone expected; Danny Etling from LSU in the seventh round. Just for reference, ESPN analyst Mel Kiper had Etling as his 32nd(!!!) ranked QB in this year’s class. Additionally, Etling failed to eclipse 3,000 passing yards in either of his seasons at LSU despite quarterbacking an offense that boasted an array of NFL talent including wide receivers DJ Chark, Malachi Dupre, Travin Dural and Russell Gage in addition to running backs Leonard Fournette and Darius Guice. Etling’s failure to lead an offense that featured so much NFL talent is worrisome. Hopefully Brady and Belichick can work their magic and turn Etling into an NFL caliber QB because if not this draft could be the downfall of the Patriot’s dynasty.

Wait and See

Buffalo Bills – The Bills traded up to select Josh Allen out of Wyoming. Buffalo got the potential number one overall pick at pick number 12. If Allen can fix the issues concerning his accuracy and hone in on his incredible arm strength and toughness then Buffalo may have gotten the steal of the draft. But if Allen continues to struggle with accuracy at his days in cold Wyoming weather doesn’t translate to the cold weather in Buffalo the Bills might be looking for yet another QB in a couple years.

Arizona Cardinals – Much like the Bills, Arizona traded up to the tenth pick to take a flyer on a quarterback with huge potential and multiple questions. Unlike the Bills however, the QB Arizona has all the physical tools to succeed: good arm, high IQ and is accurate. Josh Rosen’s concerns are centered on his off the field attitude. Scouts and coaches questioned his dedication to football and his work ethic when he wasn’t in the training facility. Rosen has vowed however to prove his doubters wrong. If he backs up his talk then Arizona may have gotten a steal with Rosen at 10, but if he finds a passion other than football that takes his attention from the game then the Cardinals better hope that Sam Bradford can stay healthy, something no one wants to count on.