Home run draft.
Never expected to land Gonzalez, so that's an A+
In the 2nd round reset thread, I said we need to trade up for Keion White, my #1 guy, because of both a huge need at DE and because he is a force that should've gone in the 1st round. Taking White was A+ for me, especially because Bergeron was gone, and I don't even know if they like Bergeron.
I'm giving them C for the drafting of Mapu and Andrews. Both players were taken a round too early. I did hear on NFL channel that several teams told the analyst they'd be taking Andrews in the 5th round, and since we didn't have a 5th rounder, an argument could be made you should take your desired center (and he was desired, since Wypler and others were still on the board) in the 4th when you have the chance. My main concern with Andrews is that inside info from Cole Popovich lead the Patriots to elevate Andrews more than he should have been. A 4th rounder for a modern day starting center in the NFL is about what I would expect. Did they get the right one?
Mapu is more of a mystery. 3rd round was way too high. He's got kind of a daffy duck running style. Weird. But they know more than me. All I know is that my favorite LB in the draft, Dayan Henley, a guy who can really cover, was still available. Is Mapu going to be a toy that sees the field 10% of the game while Henley goes on to become a perennial Pro Bowler? I think so.
I give them a B+ for the rest of the picks. I really like the idea of beefing up the interior line for flexibility and with the possibility of moving Strange or Onwenu to the tackles.
The 6th round picks are just fliers, no one knows what will become of them, though Demario Douglas might be a steal for us if he can show he's rugged in the middle of the field. He may displace Bowden and Tre Nixon. I don't expect much from Boutte. I think he might not make it out of training camp. The two big fast CBs may be thought of as Slater replacements. We'll see.
Home run draft since it accomplished 4 big things: 2 blue chippers at key defensive positions that limit opposing passing games, it shored up the offensive interior and gave us plenty of options (no more Ferentz and Murray), hopefully it locked down our kicking game for the next decade with a new punter and kicker (both of whom looked like the best in the the draft), and it increased team speed.
This draft was about team building and filling areas of need. The fact that the first 2 picks were also BPA in areas of need was a huge bonus.
I can't evaluate the tackles but I think it's telling that teams passed on Dawand Jones over and over and over again. That says something. Same for the tackles at the end of the draft like Jaelynn Duncan. Passed over repeatedly. And finally, I hope that people noticed that the Oregon LT went before some of the tackles we're talking about. And it made me wonder: if Adrian Klemm isn't even recommending the very tackles he just coached, what does that say about the tackle talent in this draft?
At WR, all the good ones were gone in the first. We had chances for Downs and Dell and the like. The one thing that caught my eye is the emphasis announcers placed on all the drops from the mid round WRs. It was comical. AT Perry a lot of drops. Boutte drops. This was a refrain.
