Teams That Cleaned Up
St. Louis Rams – Jeff Fisher continues to build this Rams teams in the image of his early 2000’s Tennessee Titans squads. OT Greg Robinson was the best lineman in the draft by far, and the addition of DL Aaron Donald gives St. Louis four starting defensive linemen with top 15 overall pedigrees. RB Tre Mason was the most pro-ready back on the board. CB Lamarcus Joyner, SS Mo Alexander, and CB E.J. Gaines will all vie for playing time in 2014. The Rams took a chance on DE Michael Sam in the seventh round, and once the dust settles, he simply adds another potential pass rusher to a young, hungry defense. There are simply no wasted picks here – St. Louis added 11 quality players.
San Francisco 49ers – The rich get richer. San Francisco was in the perfect position entering the draft, with few glaring spots of need and the ability to simply pick away at the best players on the board. While SS Jimmie Ward was a stretch in round one, he still has a chance to start and with some added bulk, he could become a fantastic NFL free safety. RB Carlos Hyde becomes the heir apparent to Frank Gore, and in the meantime he will combine with the veteran to bludgeon teams into submission. Third-round pick ILB Chris Borland has a non-stop motor and contagious work ethic. WR Bruce Ellington (106th overall) was considered by many to be a second-round grade. DE Aaron Lynch was a pro day favorite of many teams for South Florida.
Minnesota Vikings – The Vikings were thought to be eyeing QB Teddy Bridgewater in the first round all the way back to the start of the 2013 season. They ended up trading back into the final pick of round one to get him, a substantial value pick. Picking OLB Anthony Barr with the ninth-overall pick adds a dynamic pass rusher. Third-round pick DE Scott Crichton could have easily been chosen early in round two and nobody would have questioned the pick. OL David Yankey is a massive future starting right guard chosen in round five. Virginia Tech CB Antone Exum was in the shadow of CB Kyle Fuller heading into the draft, but the lanky corner has starter talent – many teams (including Pittsburgh) will regret not pulling the trigger on him earlier. RB Jerick McKinnon was a small-school dynamo who could probably play cornerback or safety in the NFL, but Minnesota seems set on keeping him as a running back.
Jacksonville Jaguars – QB Blake Bortles was the best pocket passer available, and he gets to sit for a year behind the capable Chad Henne. WR Marqise Lee had no business falling out of round one, and he immediately becomes the top target in the offense. WR Allen Robinson will eventually combine with Lee to form the starting duo, raking in passes from Bortles. Fourth-round CB Aaron Colvin (Oklahoma) was considered a day two pick prior to a knee injury at the Senior Bowl. Massive OG Brandon Linder can start from day one. Seventh-round RB Storm Johnson was one of the most highly-recruited players in the Nation and originally committed to LSU before transferring to Miami and then finally to Central Florida, where he became a favorite target of his QB – Blake Bortles.
Teams That Got Taken to the Cleaners
Detroit Lions – Having a Fantasy Football-style offense is great, so long as you are able to stop the other team occasionally. Detroit had glaring defensive holes heading into the 2014 Draft, and they found no immediate help at any of those slots. TE Eric Ebron is probably the boom-or-bust selection of the first round, but with Brandon Pettigrew and Joseph Fauria already on the roster, the Lions used a #10 overall draft pick on perhaps their deepest position. Second-round OLB Kyle Van Noy is an intriguing talent, but he has no natural position and could get lost on the depth chart. The Lions used fourth and fifth round picks on small-school defensive linemen (DE Larry Webster and DT Caraun Reid) who both need a ton of grooming and in the meantime offer zero help to the roster. Finally, using a draft pick on a placekicker – even a seventh-round compensatory pick – is a waste for a franchise that sees its competitive window with QB Matthew Stafford and WR Calvin Johnson closing quickly.
Indianapolis Colts – To be fair, you almost need to include RB Trent Richardson to the Colts 2014 draft class to get the entire picture. Indianapolis traded away their first-round pick to Cleveland to acquire the former Browns “future franchise running back”. The Colts ended up coming away from the 2014 draft with just five players, and top pick (59th overall) OT Jack Mewhort probably doesn’t have the ability to play tackle in the NFL. He will eventually end up as a center, and there were several better natural centers on the board when he was picked. Third-round pick WR Donte Moncrief is going to be a nice target for QB Andrew Luck, but the Colts needed more than one impact player out of this draft. Indianapolis has a nice, playoff-caliber team – but in order to truly compete with the big boys of the AFC, they needed to get bigger and tougher. They did not achieve either with this lackluster draft class.
Best Draft-Value Players
WR Marqise Lee, Jacksonville Jaguars 2nd Round (39th Overall) – In a draft where 33 wide receivers were drafted – an NFL draft record – Lee was easily one of the top three well-rounded and pro-ready players on the board at the position. Playing at USC, Lee developed his craft in a pro-style offense where he was able to hone the specific skills needed to succeed early in the NFL. He was at time double and triple-teamed in 2013 and still managed to snag 57 receptions for 791 yards and four touchdowns. His overall college career was excellent, and he is coming into an offense in Jacksonville where he will have a chance to be the #1 receiver immediately as a rookie. Lee is a polished receiver who has great hands, runs crisp routes, and looks like a young and innocent Santonio Holmes.
OT Morgan Moses, Washington Redskins 3rd Round (66th Overall) – For the Redskins to be competitive, they need to keep QB Robert Griffin III upright. Morgan Moses is a dynamic pass and run blocker who needs only to improve his conditioning to become a Pro Bowl-caliber right offensive tackle. The 6-foot, 6-inch 314-pound Moses will need to only beat out incumbent RT Tyler Polumbus in order to start as a rookie. Washington already boasts one of the top left tackles in football in Trent Williams, and once Moses slots in this season, the Redskins will have perhaps the most dominant pairs of bookend tackles in the league. Moses would have been a steal for Washington at 47th overall, to get him in round three was ridiculous.
ILB Chris Borland, San Francisco 49ers 3rd Round (77th Overall) – A promise to my loyal readers – this will be the final time I mention Chris Borland. As mentioned earlier in this article, the 49ers were in a position to draft for talent instead of dire need, and Borland is a perfect example. San Francisco has an excellent inside tandem of Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman, but adding Borland gives them a perfect complement to those players, as well as a guy who will instantly become a special teams phenom. I implore every football fan to go out online and watch film of the 5-foot, 11-inch 248-pounder from 2013. One of the most impressive defensive plays of this past season was Borland standing up Ohio State RB (and new 49ers teammate) Carlos Hyde at the goal line. He is a sideline-to-sideline player who piled up 50 career tackles for loss and 14 career forced fumbles. He has an uphill battle for playing time on this roster, but ultimately Chris Borland will be a Pro Bowler.
WR Jared Abbrederis, Green Bay Packers 5th Round (176th Overall) – The Packers have not drafted a University of Wisconsin Badger since 2001 (OG Bill Ferrario), so Abbrederis will immediately become a Cheese head fan favorite. Green Bay lost WR James Jones in free agency, and they drafted WR Davante Adams in round two to replace him, but the 6-foot, 1-inch Abbrederis is exactly the type of blue-collar receiver that QB Aaron Rodgers covets. He is going to have to cut his teeth on special teams for a season or two, but eventually we will see Abbrederis penciled into the Packers four-receiver rotation.
The Ugly
Cleveland Browns WR Failure – Long-suffering Brownies fans nearly hit the roof when the team drafted QB Johnny Manziel with the 22nd overall pick. Unfortunately, Cleveland almost simultaneously lost the best player on their roster when it was announced that Pro Bowl WR Josh Gordon failed another in a long line of drug tests for marijuana. Cleveland did not draft so much as a project wide receiver in the draft, and now head into the 2014 season with Greg Little and free agent pickup Andrew Hawkins as their starting duo. Cleveland improved their defense with CB Justin Gilbert, but their failure to find a body to replace Gordon may end up as the biggest mistake of this draft.
Kansas City Chiefs Questionable Draft Strategy – The Chiefs were a surprise success story of 2013 season, finishing 11-5 and looking to be on the right path for the future. In an AFC West Division where the Denver Broncos are once again loaded, and San Diego and Oakland look to be much improved, Kansas City and head coach Andy Reid failed to draft any significant upgrades on their depleted offensive line or their Dwayne Bowe-or bust receiving corps. DE Dee Ford may eventually be the replacement for Tamba Hali or Justin Houston – both set to receive huge pay raises when they reach free agency – but the Chiefs have a limited window of success with their current roster and needed to make waves. Third-round pick CB Phillip Gaines is a promising player, but the Chiefs secondary is already strong. The selection of RB De’Anthony Thomas in round four replaces the departed Dexter McCluster and QB Aaron Murray may well be the future starter after the Alex Smith era comes to an end, but once again neither of them are going to be huge contributors in 2014. Fans in Kansas City have to be wondering just what GM John Dorsey is trying to accomplish.
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