The first round of the draft is one of my NFL days of the year and a nerdy pleasure for me. A lot of intrigue at the top of the round but the top seven players off the board weren't too much of a surprise but the order and the teams drafting certainly were. As always grades are stupid and I do them because they help me sleep or something, or I like them.
1) Houston Texans - Jadeveon Clowney, DE, South Carolina: No-brainer for me, Clowney was the best player in the draft and has talent to spare. Clowney is special and a talent. Grade: A
2) St. Louis Rams - Greg Robinson, OT, Auburn: Elite athleticism, great run blocker needs to work on his pass protection because of a lack of reps but has the upside to be an elite left tackle for a long time. I would have taken Matthews to protect Bradford out of the gate but I don't hate the pick. Grade: B
3) Jacksonville Jaguars - Blake Bortles, QB, UCF: Yeah, sure, why not. I mean it reminds me too much of Blaine Gabbert a QB that needs work but I like what you have to work with. I saw him make stick throws at UCF in big situations but I don't think I would have taken him in the first. He needs accuracy work but he needs to be more consistent in the pocket and with his mechanics but I like the pick. Grade: B-
Trade: Bills get 4 Browns get 9 and 2015 1st & 4th Browns: A Bills: B-
4) Buffalo Bills - Sammy Watkins, WR, Clemson: Well the Bills wanted/needed to get more weapons for E.J. Manuel and Watkins fit the mold. Didn't have to give up much in this deep draft and only a 1st and a 4th next season. Watkins is for my money the best wide out in this draft and a very good playmaker. Watkins should be the best receiver on the Bills in a year or two at most. Grade: A-
5) Oakland Raiders - Kahlil Mack, OLB, Buffalo: You add the second best defensive player play him at OLB or with his hand in the ground. Great athlete comparable combine numbers to Clowney. Needs some polish but has a pretty impressive repertoire of pass rush moves. Mack should be the best player on this defense sooner than later and a beat for years to come. Grade: B+
6) Atlanta Falcons - Jake Matthews, OT, Texas A&M: Jake is the most NFL ready tackle, has great bloodlines, and should be a great addition to a struggling Atlanta offensive line. Grade: A
7) Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Mike Evans, WR, Texas A&M: Evans should be a deep and jump ball threat early on even if he needs to work on route running. At six four with his ability this is a he brings impressive size and athleticism to an offense that definitely needs more playmakers. Grade: A-
Trade: Browns get 8 and Minnesota gets 9 and 145 (5th) Browns: A Vikings: A
8) Cleveland Browns - Justin Gilbert, CB, Oklahoma State: A lot of people didn't like the pick or the movement to make it but that requires the understanding that Minnesota definitely had a CB need and Gilbert was the biggest and most physically gifted of the bunch. Gilbert has flaws and needs to improve his tackling and consistancy and the loss of a fifth round shouldn't hurt their draft too much. Grade: B-
9) Minnesota Vikings - Anthony Barr, OLB, UCLA: Barr is high upside but if the Vikings plan to put his hand in the ground they are going to need to be patient. Barr has one move when pass rushing and needs to do a better job of making a play when he sets the edge. Barr has room to grow but I don't like the fit when it comes to the Vikings. Grade: C
10) Detroit Lions - Back to back NFC North picks that leave me wanting. With Beckhma Jr, Aaron Donald, both top safeties and all but Gilbert available at CB there were a myriad of options for the Lions to make major improvements to a squad that has holes to fill. Ebron is a beast of an athlete and a tight end but I don't think he has the impact that a defensive back could have had on this Lions team. Eric Ebron, TE, UNC: Grade: C-
11) Tennessee Titans - Taylor Lewan, OT, Michigan: I initially liked this pick for the Titans because it represented good value but with Roos and Oher anchoring the ends of the line and my skepticism about Lewan's ability to move inside leave me wanting with this Titans pick. Grade: C-
12) New York Giants - Odell Beckham Jr., WR, LSU: I like this pick, I would've been just as alright with Donald or Martin but the Giants don't have much depth left in the wide reciever corps. Beckham caught everything thrown in his direction in Baton Rouge and should add an intersting and fun threat alongside Victor Cruz but the Giants absolutely need to provide some protection for Eli Manning. Grade: B+
13) St. Louis Rams - Aaron Donald, DT, Pittsburgh: One of my favorite picks in the middle of the first round the Rams got the best interior presence in the draft and a match up problem for guards. Donald is undersized but with the pressure applied from Long and Robert Quinn, Donald should at least provide disruptions from time to time year one. Grade: A
14) Chicago Bears - Kyle Fuller, CB, Virginia Tech: With Donald off the board one pick before the Bears pick instead of addressing the Safety position Chicago went younger at CB with Fuller. Fuller was the most consistant CB of the bunch last season but not necessarily the flashiest. His rough and tumble style and tackling ability make him a great fit for an aging defense and secondary. Grade: B+
15) Pittsburgh Steelers - Ryan Shazier, LB, Ohio State: I think this is a bit early for Shazier but I love his fit and versatility for Pittsburgh. Shazier for his part should fill in at ILB for Pitt and brings athleticism and an ability to play downhill and find the ball. I think it's a good match of player and team I'm not sure about where he was picked. Grade: C+
16) Dallas Cowboys - Zack Martin, OT, Notre Dame: With Manziel still on the board there was plenty of drama around this pick but Dallas went more sensible and took the best O-lineman on the board. Martin can fill in at either tackle or guard this coming season and should provide great things in the run game and solid performance in pass protection. I really like this pick and the Cowboys have made significant moves to improve the offensive line. Grade: B-
17) Baltimore Ravens - C.J. Mosley, ILB, Alabama: Mosley slipped below Shazier in the draft most likely due to injury issues but I think this fits much better. Mosley is a smart, athletic linebacker that should pair well on the inside with Arthur Brown, last years 2nd rounder, very well as they both grow into the Ravens system. Grade: B+
18) New York Jets - Calvin Pryor, S, Louisville: With both top safeties on the board the Jets went with the heavy hitting safety out of Louisville. Rex Ryan is salivating as he thinks about all the ways that they can use Pryor to disrupt receivers and QBs to break up offensive rhythm with a player who likes to lay the wood. Grade: B-
19) Miami Dolphins - Juwan James, OT, Tennessee: A reach but even though I gave it a C I understand and like what the Dolphins did. Jmaes will plug in at RT across from Brandon Alberts and the two of them should upgrade the dismal protection that was provided Tannehill last season. Grade C
Trade: Saints get 20 and Arizona gets 27 & 91 (3rd) Saints: B+ Arizona: A-
20) New Orleans Saints - Branin Cooks, WR, Oregon State: The Saints jumped up from 27 and I thought for Clinton-Dix but instead they took the best WR off the board. Cooks is a speedster with 4.33 speed and he plays to that. Cooks should fill in well on a depleted Saints roster and I like the aggressiveness to come up for what many thought was a WR that compared well to Beckham after the top two guys at the position. Grade: B
21) Green Bay Packers - Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, S, Alabama: As a Packers fan, I am estatic about this pick and as a draft reviewer it meets just about all the criteria. Ha Ha should be able to slot in at FS right away and play umbrella coverage over the top. He is certainly an upgrade over the mess that was the 2013 secondary and should be able to stabilize an inconsistent group on the Packers defense. Grade: A-
Trade: Browns get 22 and Eagles get 26 & 83 (3rd) Browns: B+ Eagles: A
22) Cleveland Browns - Johnny Manziel, QB, Texas A&M: The Browns moved up to get Manziel from 26. I personally and as a fan love this pick because I want Manziel in the league in a prominent role but from an analytic standpoint I wouldn't have taken him in the first and I'm not completely sure I trust him to be consistent in his ability to improvise under control. Grade: C+
23) Kansas City Chiefs - Dee Ford, DE, Auburn: I don't understand the fit here, I like the player, I like the slot of the pick but I don't know if Ford is used efficiently as a stand up OLB in a 3-4. Maybe he shifts to 3-4 DE like a J.J. Watt and the Chiefs use him to take pressure off of aging OLB who have health issues. Personally I like the sound of the latter but I think the lean here is to add depth to the OLB corps. Grade: C+
24) Cincinnati Bengals - Darqueze Dennard, CB, Michigan State: I'm not sure what I think about this pick on one hand I loved watching Dennard at Michigan State and think he's should be very good. On the other hand most of value in college came from bump and run and the lack of illegal contact at that level of football. C+/B- is the range I think it's good value and I want him to succeed but I worry about his ability to turn and run (turn mostly and whether he can become much more disciplined with his hands at the next level. Grade: B-
25) San Diego Chargers - Jason Verrett, CB, TCU: Undersized cornerback at 5-9/5-10 but Verrett is a straight gamer. Jason became one of the best corners in college and was arguably better than Gilbert. I think Verrett will be a difference-maker for the Chargers just needs to stay healthy. Grade: B
26) Philadelphia Eagles - Marcus Smith, LB, Louisville: Should play outside lienbacker for the Eagles but I wonder if this was a bit too much of reach with Roby at CB on the board and a big time athlete in Demarcus Lawrence who I would have like much more here. I do understand the pick because Kelly loves big athletic players and Smith definitely fits that mold.Grade: C-
27) Arizona Cardinals - Deone Buchannon, SS, Washington State: Many thought he'd be here late in the second round but probably the best strong safety in a weak safety class Buchanon adds to an intriguing young defensive backfield. Deone may have some growing pains but he was a tackling machine at Wazzou and should bring a rough edge to the Cardinals defense over the top. Grade: B-
28) Carolina Panthers - Kelvin Benjamin, WR, Florida State: I don't like Benjamin more than Lee in this situation but I understand the appeal. The idea of Newton throwing the jump ball to Bejamin really is exciting but he needs to improve his consistency, his hands, and his route running. This adds to a list of upside WR picks for Carolina and that hasn't worked out greatly for them. Grade: C
29) New England Patriots - Dominic Easley, DE, Florida: Injury concerns, two ACL injuries but he is a beast and probably would have been a top ten pick if he didn't have those issues. Great scheme versatility and able to play both inside and outside. I want to be lower on this but when the pick came through I thought... Great pick Bill. We will see and if his knees hold up it will be a great pick. Grade: C+
30) San Francisco 49ers - Jimmie Ward, S, Northern Illinois: I really like this pick, no other safety on the board is going to match his production and I think he's a better player than Buchannon. Ward should be able to upgrade an aging defensive backfield, him and Reid should be stalwarts next to each other for the foreseeable future and with impact. Edit: The rumor mill has spit out that San Fran is looking to play Ward at cornerback more than safety. I'm good on that and it fills a bigger need for a 49ers team with age issues outside. Grade: A-
31) Denver Broncos - Bradley Roby, CB, Ohio State: Roby had some interesting off the field stuff post-combine but Roby is a very fine pick here. Athletic freak but was inconsistent all season and could have gone much higher. He could be a hell of a steal here but needs to sure up the consistency. Grade: B-
Trade: Vikings get 32 and Seahawks 40 & 108 (4th)
32) Minnesota Vikings - Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Louisville: I really like this move back up for a couple of different reasons. First, the move back into the first round give the Vikings the fifith year of financial control if/when Bridgewater pans out. Secondly, I like this move because I think he's the one QB in teh draft that I can see being a franchise QB for the next decade. Lastly, it removes the doubt and the distraction of not having brought in the Cassel/Ponder replacement. Grade: A-
Enjoyable first round a good amount of surprises, it was fun and I hope to get a sure to wrong second round mock out there tonight.
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