Note: This was written two days after the 2016 NFL Draft, not on October 26th.
I am not one that likes to give draft grades. I think that is unfair given that it takes three to four years to really evaluate a player’s success or failure in the NFL. However, I feel it is appropriate to provide opinion on players’ abilities and thoughtful feedback on the perceived value of each selection. Prior to the NFL draft I evaluated more than 200 NFL prospects by watching tape, probing statistical college performance, and reviewing combine and pro-day performances and measurables. Now I am using that information to provide a summary of what I thought of each team’s moves and selections related to the 2016 NFL Draft. So, without further adieu, here are my thoughts — broken down team by team.
Bills: Value, Value, Value sums up their draft. I like getting Shaq Lawson in the first where they did. Good value and will immediately help that pass rush. Good combination of size, quickness, and athleticism. Reggie Ragland in the second was another good pick that was great value. A first round player on most draft boards (31st overall player on mine). Adolphus Washington was good value in the fourth and Jonathan Williams in the fifth is a steal. Seymour in the sixth is a guy that needs to develop, but has potential. Listenbee is just a straight line speed guy, I don’t like him but he can run a nine route. Dallas would have picked him if Buffalo didn’t first, so thank you for that. Cardale is a long-term project at quarterback. Don’t expect anything from him in the first two years, probably three. Has the traits but really needs to develop above the neck (football smarts). Overall one of the best classes in this draft.
Dolphins: Really feel bad for Tunsil with the whole hacked twitter pic thing, but what a steal the fins got. Getting arguably the best player in the draft at pick 13. Completely polished guy that you can plug and play at left tackle to protect Tannehill for years to come. Xavien Howard is a nice player that I ranked right about here where they selected him. Needs to refine his technique but could end up as the second best defensive back in this draft, behind Ramsey. I like Drake as a nice third down option and change of pace from Jay Ajayi. Leonte Carroo in the late third is a nice pick; the kid has a high ceiling and could be very nice opposite Devante Parker. I don’t understand the quarterback selection in the seventh; I don’t see anything there. The other late round guys are nice lottery tickets. All in all a nice draft.
Patriots: Tough to have a great draft without a first round pick. They could have made some nice selections where they did have picks, but I was unimpressed with most of their draft. All of their picks are projects from my viewpoint, but Belichick is certainly more qualified than I. Interesting the drafted Brissett, maybe a sign that they will be looking to trade away Garoppollo for a windfall of value if he has a decent four games during Brady’s suspension. Typical B.B. move.
Jets: Not a complete failure, like most of the drafts in Jets history. Darron Lee was a nice player to get in the first and Hackenberg, with the right coaching and guidance (questionable if the Jets actually have this), has the ceiling to be a decent starting quarterback in the league. Jordan Jenkins is a nice player in the third and Charone Peake is tremendous value in the seventh; I had a late fourth round grade on him. Decent job here, a home run draft if they can properly develop Hackenberg.
Ravens: They might regret taking Stanley over Tunsil. I saw Mike Mayock compared Stanley to Tyron Smith, no fucking way I am doing that. Then again, I also think Mike Mayock is a terrible draft analyst. Maybe I should apply to NFL.com? Neither here nor there. Stanley, although probably not a perennial all-pro like Smith, will be a nice plug and play left tackle. Correa and Kaufusi are decent selections in the second and third, respectively. Kenneth Dixon in the late fourth is a steal; I had him rated as my second best RB in this class. Great pick there. The other four picks they had in the fourth round are nice depth guys. Great pick up in the fifth of Matt Judon. I see a future NFL starter there. Not a great draft but not bad by any means.
Bengals: One of the top five drafts this year. William Jackson is a really good player at corner to get in the late first. Tyler Boyd is one of the best route runners and one of the most accomplished college receivers in this draft class. He has an NFL ready game but lacks some of the elite physical traits and athleticism that you want in an NFL receiver. I really like him though. Nick Vigil is a great instinctual middle linebacker; a better football player than athlete, which I don’t mind. Andrew Billings in the fourth is just absolutely ridiculous value, no idea how or why he slipped this far. Westerman is nice depth right now at guard and might develop into a future NFL starter. Really great draft for the Bengals, an already good team.
Browns: This is a tricky one. Love that they added 14 players to a roster that needs an infusion of young talent. Love that they traded out of the number two pick for a windfall of value, and that they traded back again for even more. Then when it came to making a selection in the first round, I hated it. Corey Coleman as the first receiver off the board is a travesty. Treadwell and Doctson are FAR BETTER talents in my opinion. Coleman is a guy who fools you with his stats. Played in a wide open offense where they are barely even asked to run anything that resembles an NFL route tree. I hate this pick. But then circle back to their selection in the second and I like that they pick up Ogbah here. Getting Nassib in the third I like even more. I think Shon Coleman can be a starter at offensive tackle in the league. Then my feelings flip again with the Cody Kessler pick. I don’t get this at all, especially with the other quarterbacks that were there. A waste of Top 100 pick to me on a guy I don’t ever see starting in the NFL. I do like the Kindred pickup in the fourth and I love Rashard Higgins in the late fifth and Scooby Wright in the seventh. Still not sure how I feel about this one, a lot of up and down.
Steelers: From a team that normally drafts really well, I do not see it this year. One of the least impressive drafts, in my opinion. Artie Burns in the first has me completely perplexed. I had him as the 83rd best player in this draft. Do not like this pick at all. Sean Davis is equally as questionable to me. I think their were better players at their position during both of these picks. I don’t get it. Things get better with Hargrave and Hawkins in the third and fourth, decent picks at each of those spots. My favorite pick of Steeler’s didn’t come until the seventh when they picked up Matakevich at a great value. A very lack-luster class to me though — disappointed in you, Pittsburgh.
Texans: I vehemently detest selecting Will Fuller ahead of Treadwell and Doctson. I don’t know why but this pick actually makes me angry. All he can do is fly down the field, which isn’t all that helpful when the guy across from you knows that it is all you have to your game. Drops balls like crazy, not a good route runner. Doesn’t win contested catches. Hate the pick. I am just going to chalk this up to the fact that they have Hopkins as their stud and just want a speedster opposite him to draw some safety attention away. After this first pick though, I love the rest of their draft. Nick Martin could be a nice starting center in the league. I love getting Braxton Miller at that point in the third; I think he could be a really dangerous weapon out of the slot. Ervin is another great weapon for their new franchise quarterback; he is a Sproles type running back/gadget player. Dillion and Reader in the fifth provide you nice immediate depth and I see them both as future NFL starters. If they took Doctson or Treadwell with their first pick this would be a top five draft class this year, but they didn’t so…meh.
Colts: Really did a nice job of adding young offensive line talent to one of the league’s worst offensive line units last year. Trying to protect their franchise quarterback. Ryan Kelly is the best center in the draft and has the football intelligence to command that offensive line unit to protect Luck for years to come. Clark and Haeg are both players that can develop into nice NFL starters. Defensively, Hassan Ridgeway was a great value pickup in the fourth. Definitely drafted based on need over best player available, but they know they can win if they just keep Luck healthy.
Jaguars: Unbelievable additions to their team from this draft. Absolutely love it. No need to waste capital to move up as their number one player on their board falls to them at five. Ramsey is a stud. Myles Jack, although coming with questions about the longevity of his NFL career, is the fourth best player on my board and is the best coverage linebacker to come through the draft that I have ever seen — and they got him at pick 36. They could have stopped drafting at these two players and this class would have been impressive. I don’t love Ngakoue in the third, but Sheldon Day (33rd best player on my board) in the fourth round is ridiculous value and Tyrone Holmes (a fourth round player on my board) in the sixth is nice. Picking up Brandon Allen as a developmental project to backup Bortles is also a nice move in the sixth. I had him as my sixth best quarterback in this class. An absolute haul of young talent for the Jags, and they have their third overall pick from last year in Dante Fowler coming off a redshirt injury year. This team is a really good, young team that is going to be dangerous in the AFC for years and years to come. Good for them.
Titans: Really great move trading out of the number one spot as they don’t need a quarterback, but I think they should have sat instead of moving up to eight to draft Conklin. He may have actually fallen right to them at 15. Still, a nice player to add on the offensive line opposite Taylor Lewan. Kevin Dodd is a solid pick in the second, I was actually hoping he would fall to Dallas at the next pick. Austin Johnson was another great pick in the second. I don’t necessarily love Henry there in the middle of the second, but I can see how they plan to use him as a compliment to Murray. He will get the short yardage and goal line work, and can potentially succeed Murray in a couple years. Tajae Sharpe is a nice draft pick in the fifth that could develop into a nice complimentary receiver and Tretola in the sixth provides them some immediate depth along a work-in-progress offensive line and could develop into a starter along that line, potentially sooner rather than later.
Broncos: Reports are that multiple teams tried to move into that first round spot to draft Lynch, including Dallas. Broncos put together the perfect package that allowed them to move up instead of another team, but didn’t give away too much as to compromise their draft capital. Great move up to draft what they hope to be their future franchise quarterback. I like this move a lot more than the ones that the Rams and Eagles made. He certainly has a lot to learn and needs development, but Lynch has a team around him where he doesn’t need to do too much to win, and he will get to learn from one of the best in Elway. Time will tell. Aside from McGovern in the fifth, I don’t like the rest of their draft.
Chiefs: Chiefs had a very unimpressive draft in my opinion. Trading out of the first round and netting themselves some extra picks only turned into a few “lottery tickets”. Chris Jones is a nice player and I really like Eric Murray in the fourth, but aside from that a lot of just roster depth and questionable selections. I think they could have done a lot better.
Raiders: Karl Joseph is a good player, box safety, but definitely comes with some questions. I think pick 14 is a little early for him and that they passed on some better players that were available. I also felt like Ward was more of a fourth round player that they selected in the second. Shilique Calhoun, however, was a great pick in the third as I had him ranked 53rd overall. Good value there. Also surprised they got Connor Cook in the fourth, a quarterback with starter potential that they can take the time to develop. Would be an above average backup quarterback for Derek Carr. Vadal Alexander in the seventh is a fantastic value as well; I see a future NFL starter there. Middle of the road draft class I think for the Raiders.
Chargers: Going with Bosa at three was a big surprise to me, did not see that coming at all. Nevertheless, he is a great player — top five in this class to me. Hunter Henry was my top rated tight end, so can’t fault them for going with him in the top of the second to replace Gates and Ladarius Green (Although I really don’t think they should have let Green go). I don’t know that Tuerk, their third round pick, is ready to jump in and start on their offensive line, but he provides depth and can maybe develop into a starting center for them at some point over the next year or so. Joshua Perry and Jatavious Brown in the fourth and fifth rounds, respectively, are really good football players. Perry is solid all-around and one of the better coverage linebackers and can provide immediate help to that defense and Brown is a great athlete at linebacker with strong instincts and good coverage skills. These are two good versatile players in the late rounds, very nice picks.
Cowboys: As a Cowboys fan I would have preferred Ramsey over Elliott, but I wouldn’t say they messed up this pick by any means. Elliott is arguably the best player in the draft and is almost certainly the safest. He provides immediate help to an offense that was incapable of scoring points without Romo. Jaylon Smith in the second round was a big surprise to most, especially for the Cowboys who need defensive help right away. On my board he was the seventh best player in this class before getting injured in his last collegiate game (very unfortunate for him). If he comes back from this injury to be the player he was before it, this is a fantastic pick and is worth waiting a year to reap the benefits. Although, I have heard some say he has as low as a 25% chance to play football again, so an early second round pick is a lot of draft capital there. Time will tell with this player. I had Collins and Tapper both in the middle of the third round, and Dallas got them in the early third and early fourth, respectively, so I would call that a wash on value. Thought better players were available at each spot though. Tapper could provide some needed pass rush though for that defense that has their top two pass rushers suspended for the first four games. Drafting Prescott in the fourth provides Dallas a developmental quarterback to try to groom to replace Romo, but he has significant strides to make to reach NFL starter level. Love the Anthony Brown pick in the sixth, had a fourth round grade on him. The rest are nice lottery tickets. This draft class will be made or broke by what comes of Jaylon Smith.
Giants: Although they had the player they wanted (Leonard Floyd) sniped from them, I think they are better off for it. Their second choice though, Eli Apple, was questionable as well. His ceiling is one of an elite NFL corner, but he is very raw. Lucky for them he is also very young. He will get experience right away as that secondary needs immediate help and can hopefully develop his skills over time. I think they had a lot of other better options here though. Picking up Sterling Shepard in the second will also provide immediate help. I think they found themselves a very nice slot receiver in Shepard. Paul Perkins in the fifth is a steal, but he joins an already very crowded backfield. He will likely begin his career as one of a four-player running back committee in NY. Thompson and Goodson provide depth on defense. Just an okay draft class for the Giants in 2016.
Eagles: With only two selections in the top 150 picks, this draft hinges on what Carson Wentz pans out to be. I feel as if they gave up too much to move up for him, but if he turns out to be a solid NFL starting quarterback for a long time, then it was all worth it. He was my top rated passer in this class, just barely eking out Jared Goff. I think he definitely needs to sit and learn the game first; the jump from the FCS to the NFL is a massive one. The speed of the game is going to be a tough adjustment for him and the windows he has to throw into are going to be microscopic compared to what he saw at NDSU. Seumalo might be able to come in and start right away, which the Eagles need on the offensive line. He also has a high ceiling for a third round lineman. A nice pick there. With the exception of Jalen Mills, the Eagles acquired a bunch of “lottery tickets” that they hope develop into something. Mills, however, has the potential to see playing time right away and can be a starting defensive back in the league, so long as he keeps his head straight. There are major off-field concerns with him. Let’s not be mistaken though, this draft was all about Wentz for the Eagles, so now it is just time to wait and see what they paid for.
Redskins: I love Josh Doctson, he is my favorite receiver in this class. Although, with that said, I think they passed on the best receiver in the class in Laquon Treadwell. Nevertheless, I had Doctson as my 15th best player, and the Redskins got him at 22. Great value to get in the first round, so I’ll call it a push for passing on Treadwell. Su’a Cravens was another good pickup for them in the second, a versatile player that could play strong safety or linebacker. He is good in coverage but lacks the strength and physicality to play up at the line of scrimmage as a linebacker, so I will be interested to see how they use him. Love the pickup of Kendall Fuller in the third; good value and a really good player. He is also very young so he will have some time to develop and hone his game. Ioannidis is another good player they added at a good value spot and may get playing time as early as this year. If not, a potential NFL starter down the road. I like the pick for them. Adding Keith Marshall in the seventh round was also a fantastic move. He is a real speedster that they can use to create mismatches in the passing game and he was actually a bigger recruit for Georgia than Todd Gurley. He was well hidden playing behind Nick Chubb and Gurley in his time at Georgia, but has the potential to be a better NFL player than college player. Overall a pretty nice draft for the Redskins, certainly the best in the NFC East.
Bears: I am sickened by what they did in the first round, trading up to get a player I graded out in the early fourth. Maybe I am dead wrong on Leonard Floyd, but I don’t see what the Bears and Giants were fighting over this player for. I have major concerns about his coverage ability, although I do not think they will ask him to do too much of that. I also have concerns about his strength. I do not think he has the power to beat NFL offensive tackles. He does have great burst off the snap and can bend nicely around the corner, but that is where it ends for me. He needs to learn to use his hands better, learn how to use moves to get around tackles, and needs to develop strength to hold up against the run at the point of attack. I think that Bears fans will be disappointed in three to four years as they see what he becomes. Aside from him, I do like the rest of their draft. Whitehair is a plug and play guard that will help protect Cutler. Bullard is a steal in the third round and will likely help that wretched defense immediately. Jordan Howard in the fifth is nice value and will provide a nice change of pace to Langford. Houston-Carson is a steal in the sixth and may push for the starting job before the season is over. Braverman was another good pickup in the seventh and can carve out a nice role as a slot receiver; reminds me of Cole Beasley. Had the Bears went elsewhere with their first round pick, I would love this class, but as it stands I find it middling.
Lions: The Lions addressed their biggest need in a big way, adding three offensive linemen that all have the possibility of becoming starters before the season is over. Decker will probably be plugged into left tackle immediately and I think he can handle that. He is a potential franchise left tackle. Glasgow in the late third is a good player that has the potential to fill in at center right away for the departed Raiola. Adding Dahl in the fifth is good value and hits their biggest need yet again. He also has potential to come in and start right away, and if not will provide nice immediate depth to a shallow unit. Adding Robinson and Killebrew to that defense in the second and fourth rounds, respectively, were good value and nice selections of good players. Robinson is versatile and can move anywhere from the zero to the five technique and should be a solid defensive lineman for a long time. Killebrew has a lot about his game to clean up, but he is a superb athlete and is a missile from the safety position when he comes up to make a hit on a runner or receiver. Zettel is also a nice player that adds depth to that defensive line. All together, a really good draft class for the lions.
Packers: Picking up Kenny Clark in the late first is a nice selection, but I think they could have done better with a player like Jarran Reed if they wanted to go with that position. Still a nice player to add. Jason Spriggs in the second and Kyler Fackrell in the third are both nice picks taken about where I thought their value was. Blake Martinez will be a heck of a special teams player off the bat and will provide depth. Kyle Murphy in the sixth was a steal for the Packers. He was a top 100 player on my board and I think can compete for a starting job in as little as two years. A middling draft overall in my opinion but helped their team get better.
Vikings: Really like the Vikings’ draft class this year. The best player on my board at arguably the position of most need for Vikings falls right to them at pick 23. They add Laquon Treadwell, the sixth best overall player on my board, who’s game coincides very well with Bridgewater’s passing style. In the second round they get another steal of value by selecting MacKensie Alexander, the eighth overall player on my board. They were the only team this year to get two players, with no injury questions, in my top ten. Furthermore, they didn’t have their first pick until the 23rd pick and didn’t have to trade up to select either player. Oh, and did I mention it addressed two of their three biggest needs? Fantastic drafting by them. I didn’t love the Willie Beavers selection in the fourth, but I did think they got a good player in the fifth in Kentrell Brothers. He can come in and compete for a starting job right away. They also added some nice lottery tickets in rounds six and seven. A top five draft class this year to help them continue to get better.
Falcons: I respect Dan Quinn as a defensive mind, but I am not sure why he selected Keanu Neal with his first round pick. I had Neal rated as my 100th best player in this draft. He is much better down in the box than he is in coverage, which is a concern for me for a safety in a pass heavy league. I really like Deion Jones as a player, but I think that the Falcons probably could have gotten him in the third round. I also like Austin Hooper, a player that knows how to find holes in the defense and use his body to block off nearby defenders to make catches in traffic. His game compares to that of Jason Witten. In general, I was not very impressed with what the Falcons did during this draft.
Panthers: The Panthers added depth to their interior defensive line unit with Vernon Butler. He will be part of that great defensive line rotation this year, and may likely take over for Lotulelei or Short as a starter after 2016. Bradberry and Worley were drafted by the Panthers much higher than I expected they would be drafted. I do like Sanchez in the fifth, and I actually think he is a better player than the two players that the panthers selected ahead of him at his position. Overall, I did not like that Panthers draft class for 2016. They will need to do better in future years if they plan to adequately fill in holes that will inevitably be left by players leaving in free agency.
Saints: With three selections in the top 61 picks, the Saints did well to add three starting caliber players to their roster. Sheldon Rankins was a nice choice at pick 12, a player who is very quick for a three technique and offers a lot of pass rush upside up the middle of the pocket. The Saints picked up Michael Thomas right about where I had him rated on my board, a nice outside receiver to replace Colston in New Orleans. There is some development that needs to happen for him to become a true number one receiver for a team, but working with Brees and Sean Payton should really help. Adding Vonn Bell at the end of the second round was good value as well. He was the top rated safety on my board, and is arguably the best coverage safety in the draft. Another great addition to a defense that needed to improve. Sean Payton may have also found a nice special team contributor and gadget player in the seventh round in Daniel Lasco, an athletic standout from the combine with traits that might be able to translate into a productive player. I liked what the Saints were able to do with limited draft picks.
Buccaneers: I had Vernon Hargreaves rated as the 12th best player, and Tampa Bay was able to trade back two spots, adding draft capital, and still get their guy. Very nicely done by that front office. Noah Spence, maybe the best pure pass rusher in this draft class, fell to the Bucs in the second round at pick 39. I had been hoping that my favorite team would select him at 34, so my opinion on picking him up at 39 should be evident. Trading up to select a kicker in the second round is questionable, especially when he doesn’t possess a power leg like you would expect of a kicker selected that highly. He is accurate, however, inside 40 years, hitting 49 of 49 field goals in that range during his collegiate career. Smith and Benenoch were nice picks in the fourth and fifth round, respectively, drafted about where I had them valued. Had the Bucs added a couple nice positional players instead of trading up for a kicker, I would have liked this draft more, but even as it stands I still think it was a decent weekend for them.
Cardinals: From a talent perspective, Robert Nkemdiche is a stud. He is one of the best defensive linemen in this draft and was the 13th best player on my board. Cardinals picked him up at pick 29, a great value. I have some questions about his consistency and effort; he seems to take a lot of plays off. A cut up of his best tape though would have you convinced he is a top five pick. I think Bruce Arians can get the most out of him, so I like this selections a lot. After this though Arizona’s draft goes way down hill for me. All I see from the rest of the class is some depth and special team contributors. I was also surprised to see that they did not pick up a quarterback in the later rounds to try to develop behind Carson Palmer. After Nkemdiche, they left a lot to be desired.
Rams: Although they gave up a lot to move up and draft Jared Goff, the Rams did a nice job continuing to add good players on day three. Obviously the success of this class for the new team to LA will hinge on Goff, similar to Wentz and the Eagles. If Goff develops into their franchise quarterback for years to come, it was all worth it. Goff will likely be pressed into action immediately as they were a 7–9 team last year without any production out of the quarterback position. This is a playoff caliber defense with a young stud running back in Todd Gurley on the other side of the ball. They are a moderate, yet efficient passing attack away from being a playoff team, and Goff has the ability to provide them that. But the Rams are not going to force him to do it alone. They added Tyler Higbee and Pharoh Cooper in the fourth, nice weapons for Goff to get the ball to. Higbee lacks the blocking prowess ideal for a tight end, but I doubt he will be asked to do much of that. He is a big target that will give Goff a place to go with the ball down the seam. He has nice athleticism and will be able to create mismatches against linebackers. Cooper is a good route runner that will be able to win both on the outside and out of the slot. He has good hands, quickness, and acceleration out of cuts to win against corners in the NFL. He will be a big part of the short to intermediate passing game for LA. Mike Thomas out of Southern Miss was also a nice value pickup in the sixth for the Rams, giving Goff yet another potential weapon if he can develop into the outside receiving threat that I believe he can. This was a nice draft for the newly relocated Rams and I think there will be some exciting times to come for new LA football fans.
49ers: The Niners added 11 players in this draft, half of which I think could be starters on this team by the end of the season. Buckner will be an immediate contributor on that defensive line. He has the ideal size and length to be a disruptive force in the backfield. I did not understand the trade up to get Garnett; I think they could have gotten him by just sitting tight in the second round. I had him ranked as the 74th best player on my board, so I don’t particularly like the value there. They had a lot of better options in my opinion. Nevertheless, he is a good player and should be able to help that offensive line from day one. I like Redmond and Robinson both as player that can contribute immediately on special teams and can be nice nickel and dime options this season, both also with potential to develop in starting corners in the league. I also thought the spots that they picked each of them up was appropriate. Arguably my favorite pick of the draft was San Fran adding Ronald Blair in the fifth round, a player I had as the 30th best player in this draft. Fantastic value there. I would have liked to see him go to a 4–3 defense to play defensive end; I think that would be his best fit, but I am excited to see how Chip Kelly plans to use him. In any case, he is a great player that has nice strength and instincts. I had Theus and Cooper both rated as fourth round offensive tackles, both potential future starters in the league, that the 49ers were able to pick up in the fifth. I wouldn’t be surprised if one gets moved to guard since Joe Staley is anchoring the left side. Jeff Driskel is a developmental quarterback that is a nice addition in the sixth, although I am not sure he will ever be a starter in the NFL. I like the potential Kelvin Taylor has to offer as a backup to Hyde, however they have similar running styles so he is not exactly a change of pace from Hyde in-game. Still a good player taken at a spot of good value. Burbridge was yet another good addition for this team, a potential future replacement for Boldin. Burbridge is going to impress anyone with him athleticism, but he knows how to catch contested balls in traffic. He still needs development before he will be able to consistently beat NFL corners, but certainly a nice selection in the sixth round. This team, who many thought was in a complete rebuild, did a fantastic job of adding a lot of young talent that can impact this team sooner rather than later.
Seahawks: Seattle continues to nicely add to that roster through the draft, as they have each year since Carroll’s arrival. Ifedi is a nice player, although I did not think a first round talent. I do like that they traded back before selecting their guy, knowing he would almost certainly be there. With that, I can live with this pick. Jarran Reed in the second is wonderful value for the Seahawks. He was the 17th overall player on my draft board. Reed is arguably the best run-stuffer in this draft and will clog up the middle on first and second down. He doesn’t offer a ton as far as pass rush, but with the way Seattle rotates defensive linemen he is a great pickup. CJ Prosise is one of my favorite skill position players in this draft, and Seattle was able to add him at the tail end of the third round, another great value pick. He is not afraid to run up in between the tackles, but he is not the physical back that Lynch was. Nevertheless, Carroll doesn’t plan to skip a beat with the running game after the departure of Lynch, adding Prosise and Collins (another nice selection they made in the fifth) to the running back room with Thomas Rawls. Each will offer a nice piece to their ground attack. Adding Kenny Lawler in the seventh was even more great value for the Seahawks, as I had a fourth round grade on him. Lawler is a player that, although he doesn’t have the same type of game, I can see having surprising early career success like that of Stefon Diggs. All in all, a very nice draft for a perennial playoff team.
I hope you found this both informational and insightful, and I look forward to providing a lot more articles like this!
-Rob Geist
