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RaidersAreOne

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I would give the Ravens a B- on the draft. I'm excited about Lamar Jackson and Deshon Elliott but that's about it. I'm not excited about either TE we drafted, Orlando Brown Jr. seems to have some weight and motivation issues, and no other picks really seem to be worthwhile for us.

 

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4 hours ago, stl4life07 said:

Yeah because who wants to be harsh on guys who hasn’t played a down in the NFL. Last year @goldfishwars rated the Rams 19th best draft class. When the season ended most would agree the Rams had the best if not one of the best draft classes last year. Kupp and Johnson III both were on the first team all-rookie. Reynolds came in a filled in nicely when Woods was hurt. Ebukam made an impact on a defense that ranked 4th in sacks and Everett had his moments on the highest scoring offense in the league. He was also critical about the Rams not drafting an OL prospect. The Rams OL played well last season so obviously it wasn’t a high priority as most thought. Coach Kromer did a heck of a job with the group he had and didn’t feel the need for the Rams to draft anyone on the OL last year. This year the Rams drafted three on the OL which I predicted the Rams would do this year which is why I wasn’t concerned last year when they didn’t draft one.

So again why would anyone be too harsh about their team draft when these rookies haven’t played a snap in the NFL yet. 

You can look forward to more of those hot takes. 

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49ers

(1) Mike McGlinchey, OT Notre Dame - Dear god, where to start with this mess. There is a complexity at work here that makes it a little more difficult than just assigning a grade right off without digging into it. Most people know, this was probably my worst case scenario leading up to the draft. I hated the idea that we were going to draft him. For a couple of reasons. One, simply value. He wasn't a top 10 prospect in the draft. I know some people had him higher than me, and I thought he was a bottom of the first type, probably right around that 20-25 mark in big board ranking. Also, he just wasn't a need. Staley is still playing at a very high level, and Trent Brown is a solid right tackle, particularly in pass protection. Of course, I didn't know that we were working on sending Brown out the door. So he was a need, without being a need. It's all very muddy. Basically, a decision was made by the staff. Is it one I agree with? Probably not, though I suppose I understand it. I probably would have held on to Brown and let him play out the string, drafted someone like Christian and developed him for a year before letting him take over for Brown when he left in free agency next year. They opted not to do that. I get that. They made the choice to unload Brown now for something (given our activity in free agency, a comp pick was never going to be likely for Brown) of value, get the rookie in now and go through his bumps and bruises of a rookie year in a season that probably wasn't going to have us as a contender. This makes sense. Again, maybe not what I would have done, but I get it. The problem for the immediate future is that we are not any better with our first round pick this year. Yes, McGlinchey is going to be a big improvement in the run game, but there's no way he's coming in and pass protecting as well as Brown (and it's possible that he never will). So basically, our first round pick ends up being a lateral move in year one, which isn't always ideal. 

Then there's the second part, which is the value of the selection against the other people available. People are all entitled to their opinions, and everyone has their own view of prospects. I know some people liked McGlinchey (Mayock had him 8th overall), while some people may not have even had him as a first rounder. I can only look at it from where I have prospects ranked for myself. For me, that's 20-25. So that's easy, definite reach. Exceeeeeeeeeeeeeept,...I'm like 97% sure that if we pass or trade down, the Raiders take him at 10. And that creates a problem for me. If you are trading Brown because you don't like him, you definitely have a hole there. If you like McGlinchey the most out of the tackle prospects (and I did, by a considerable margin as I didn't even view Miller as a first rounder, though I know several do like Miller), then what do you do? The only time you can take him is right there at 9, which justifies the selection to a certain degree. Sure, you can make the ballsy play to simply say, "yeah, still too rich for me, I'll find someone else later", but that can get ugly in a hurry. This is the downside to basically saying, you know what, we want to make this change now. I can't fault them for that if they felt it was one of the top priorities for them. 

So in the end, as much as I hated the pick at 9 when it was announced, I can't fail the team for making it. Even though we made a pick in the top 10 that probably didn't improve the team in the immediate future, I can't hammer them super hard in that situation. The talk about Brown being on the way out has been there for a while, and they tried to maximize on his value while still fixing the problem in a manner they thought was best. I can't crush them for a reach when I'm nearly 100% certain he was going to get snatched up with the next pick if we had traded down. So in the end, I'll go with a C. There's some pros and there's some cons. The cons do have some logical reasons, however, so I'll give them that. 

(2) Dante Pettis, WR Washington-   First negative grade of the draft, it's a D. So, the reasoning is pretty simple here. One, I find the value is off. Pettis is a nice player, but to me he's largely a top 75 type nice player, not a top 45. If we had made this pick at 70 or 74, it's a B+ or A- easy. But this is a reach. I don't think he was the best receiver available, and while his return skills do add points to his favor, it's not enough when you're topping it off by making a sizable trade up to get him, costing a pretty early third rounder along with our second. Just not worth it. I'm not largely a fan of trading up big in drafts. I don't find a lot of value in it personally. There are times when that is acceptable, but its' certainly situation dependent. Had we made this type of move to go get Harold "They Call me Arnold or Honor" Landry, I actually would have understood that. Team has a huge need at the LEO spot, no pass rush to speak of, and there was a considerable difference between Landry and anyone else that you were going to get in this draft at this point (though I am a Turay fan). I would have understood that move. I am never trading up for a wide receiver in this draft, at least not this many spots and giving up that much capital. This receiver draft was too deep in these middle rounds to justify that and again, you can question if there weren't better receivers available. Secondarily, this seems like a longer term play as Pettis seems to me to be more of a rotational piece on offense to start off. I suspect he'll back up Garcon, learn from him the next year or two, and get in on the action in some packages, though I wouldn't suspect a high snap percentage without injury help. He'll contribute on special teams, of course, but that's a steep price to pay for a second rounder. Again, no problem with the longer term play, but it's something to note. At this point, the first round pick seems to be a lateral move at best over what we had coming into the draft, and I would suspect our round 2 pick to offer a nominal amount of value in the first year. 

(3A)  Fred Warner, LB BYU - The first pick I really liked when it was announced, I'm giving it a B+.  I feel the value is right, and definitely helps provide depth at a position we needed it at, and a possible starter. Warner could theoretically push Malcolm Smith from the lineup from Day 1, fill in for Foster if he's suspended for 6 weeks, and I'm not so convinced that Warner couldn't handle a SAM role somewhat decently. While he would project as a WILL, he doesn't as much of a problem shedding blocks as you would typically see from a WILL in my opinion, and he would be able to cover out of that slot. He's not a proficient blitzer, so that would have to be worked on, but I don't see why that couldn't happen. So I like that potential, even if it may not play out that way. I wish he were faster, of course, but I love his nose for the football and seems to have really good instincts. 

(3B) Tarvarious Moore, CB/S Southern Miss - For the opening rounds, this is our best pick. I'll give it an A-. Moore has a crazy good ceiling based on measurables, and the tape is good...just not a whole lot of experience. We are moving him to corner, so he's likely going to mostly sit this year, but like I said before, it has become somewhat clear that this is a 2 years down the road type. I thought the value was very nice at the bottom of round 3; I wouldn't have been surprised or thought it was a bad pick had he gone at the bottom of 2 or the top of round 3. Very happy with this pick - like the versatility, like the upside. 

(4)  Kentavius Street, DE NC St  - The first pick I truly, truly dislike....gotta flunk my niners for this one. Easy F for me.  So first things first...Street suffered an ACL tear on his pro day, so he's definitely out this year. As a 49er fan, we know all too well the joys of drafting the acl guys...Tank Carradine, Brandon Thomas, Marcus Lattimore, Deandre Smelter, Trey Millard, Keith Reaser...all guys we drafted coming off ACL tears in the last 5 years. We've seen 0 return on these. But let's forget about the past, shall we? We will start off by saying  that once again, this seems to be more of a long term play. Obviously, he's not playing this year and he's going on IR. But other than that, for whatever reason, he's an outlier of our draft philosophy this year in that this guy isn't a super duper athlete. Quite linear and rigid. He's not the Leo rusher we need, he's another in a long line of big ends that we seem to just continue to add to the roster every year while ignoring the fact that we need an actual pass rusher across from him. We basically already have this guy in Ronald Blair, whom we never give any time to for some reason. He doesn't have any length, and he's never going to be a prominant pass rusher. Also, value in this is off. I thought he was at best a 4th rounder completely healthy. With the ACL, you take a flier on him in the 6th / 7th range in my opinion. So this is all sorts of off. 

(5) DJ Reed, CB Kansas St  - Not much to say, solid B.  Slot cornerback. Slower than I would like, but he's an angry and aggressive little dude who doesn't lack confidence. Bonus points for return capabilities. Wish he was faster,  but he's super fluid and quick to react in tight quarters, and I'll take the tenacity and tackling Reed provides. He's going to be miserable against Cooper Kupp though...we may want to put him somewhere else for that. I probably would have preferred Parry Nickerson here from a pure slot cover corner perspective, but I have no complaints. He'll immediately get a chance to help in the return game. He's only got K'Waun Williams in the slot ahead of him, and though he just signed an extension, he's a pretty eh player and can be easily be cut after this year. Jimmie Ward can drop down to the slot now that he's back at corner, but he's on his option year, and I can't see any reason why he'd be back next year, so likely Reed makes his way into the defensive lineup in 2019. 

(6) Marcell Harris, S Florida  - Is it wrong to be so hard on a 6th round pick when they are essentially lottery tickets anyway? There's nothing I like about this pick..it's an F for me.  Yeah, that's probably pretty harsh for a 6th round pick, but to me, this guy has absolutely no chance of ever playing for the 49ers in a regular season game. It's a complete waste of a pick to me, and 6th rounder or not, why waste it? Harris is the other outlier in this draft that I don't view him as a tremendous athlete, and there are no elite traits for a high ceiling. Let's put it this way, the number one pro on his NFL.com scouting report, is how well liked he is. That's not a joke...and not a good thing. Secondarily, he was a redshirt senior who started a total of 9 games. And lastly? He's recovering from the achilles tear, an injury which typically takes a full 2 years to recover from, even if he could be ready to "play" this season. So now you have a kid trying to make a roster playing at less than 100%. That's not going to work. So what's going to happen? He's going to get shuffled off to the IR, that's nearly a lock. So then he sits a year, comes back, and is basically a 25 year old rookie with a whopping 9 games started in college and we think that he's going to have any shot of making the team? A team that should harder to crack with each passing year? Seriously, this was the best we could do in round 6? Massive fail. 

(7a) Jullian Taylor, UT Temple - Nothing really wrong with this pick. Athletic upside with medical issues, kinda standard late round flier, give it a B-. I would project him at UT rather than end, but I suppose the latter isn't completely out of the question. Value here is good from player / round. He's got the athletic upside you'd want to take a shot on with good explosion and speed, some good tape in limited experience. 

(7b) Richie James, WR MTSU -  There's always a couple of middle tennessee guys I like every year it seems like. Kind of quirky. Anyway, same fine pick. I like it a little more than Taylor, I'll give it a B+, though obviously not weighted as heavily as the earlier picks.  He's a teeny tiny wide receiver who works out of the slot. Overlaps quite a bit with Trent Taylor, so I'm not sure how that's going to work as Taylor actually looked like he belonged last year. With Pettis already arriving and likely to kick Aldrick Robinson off the roster, that means that James will have to make his way through Taylor and Kendrick Bourne, with the latter appearing to be the more realistic option. I'd guess James is likely for the PS so he can work on his route running to help him create even quicker, better separation. There's a niche role for James somewhere. May be here, may not be, but him being on a roster won't shock me at all. 

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For the Raiders:

We reached in the first and second round.

We traded down in the first but didnt get a big haul in return.

We still have no LB

So i dont like that.

What i do like is that we took risks and ended up this draft with 4 players with 1st round talent, just 3 with issues.

  1. OT Kolton Miller - Not sexy but widely expected to be picked in the top 25
  2. DT Maurice Hurst - 1st rnd talent but medical issues
  3. Edge Arden Key - Again 1st round talent but off field stuff
  4. WR Bryant - Proven talent in NFL but off field stuff and only a 1 year contract

if we can get these guys to play and stay on the field we just added a bunch of talent.

As for the other draftees, its just wait and see who materializes.

All in all i'm happy.

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1. Rashaad Penny RB - Im not the biggest fan of drafting a RB in the first but oh well. I know Seattle got slacked for the pick, but it sounds like alot of teams had him as their 2nd or 3rd RB, he probably wouldnt have lasted past 40-45. Seattle had no shot at drafting him past 27, so they took the guy they wanted. Individual rankings have been proven to be pretty moot, so him being drafted 15-20 picks too soon shouldn't mean much. PCJS seem to like what he has to bring, and to be honest, he and Carson (if he can return from injury) complement each other really nice. Plus, the more I think about, RB was BY FAR the weakest unit of the entire team. YES that includes OL. Deal with it.

Value: C

Fit: B+

 

2. Sheldon Richardson DT - You could make the argument Sheldon was the at least the 2nd or 3rd most consistent defensive player throughout the entire year. Shame they couldn't resign him. Losing a 2nd for a 15 game rental. Blah

Value: B+ / D [Hindsight being 20/20]

Fit: A

 

3a. Duane Brown LT - OL didnt get massively better after the trade BUT he was a huge upgrade from they trotted out there. With a full off-season + Pre-Season plus stability to his rightside, Id imagine Duanes level of play will increase. 

Value: B-

Fit: A+

 

3b. Rasheem Green DL - A lot of potential, sounds like he needs a year to bulk up and grow into his body, but Seattle need a high upside edge, and he fits the bill nicely. Dion Jordan and Marcus Smith are both on 1 year contracts, and with Clark being the go-to edge, Green can be slowly integrated into the rotation. In fact, I see his progression being similar to Clarks his rookie year. After flubbing on McDowell, its really imperative Green sticks.

Value: B+

Fit: B+

 

4. Will Dissly TE - Again, another pick people see as a reach. But thats what you do in day 3, find player you like to fit specific roles OR high ceiling projects. Dissly is BOTH. After years of watching Jimmy Graham try to block, its makes sense they feel in love with Disslys skill. Between the drafting of Dissly AND the signing of Dickson, its obvious Seattle is trying to re-ignite the run game. Expect alot of run concepts from 2TE sets (with Vannett in the mix as a well)

Value: C-

Fit: B+

 

5a. Shaqeem Griffin LB? - It will be interesting to see how Seattle will use him. Cannot deny his production and talent. Legion of Griffin in full effect. 

Value: B

Fit: Wanna wait and see how he is utilized. 

 

5b. Tre Flowers DB - Tall, fast, instincts, production. Sounds like they are moving him to CB. I think his potential versatility is most intriguing. Seems like he could play all three DB positions. Good type of player to have on the depth chart.

Value: B

Fit: B

 

5c. Michael Dickson P - Well, he is really good. But with P/K its really a crapshoot. Things get broken too easily. Seattle got to experience first hand last year how much poor special teams can can hurt. 

Value: C

Fit: B+

 

5d: Jamarco Jones T - Seattle passed on him 4 times on day 3. That doesnt instill me with great confidence, and it didnt seem like the other 31 teams did either. Sounds like they will keep him on the left side. Hopefully he can be a solid back up. IDK.

Value: C

Fit: C+ 

 

6: Jacob Martin DE/LB - Dont know nuffin about him. 

Value ?

Fit: ?

 

7. Alex McGough QB - Only thing I have heard is he is really accurate throwing on the move. Which I guess is good?

Value: Who Cares

Fit: Doesnt matter

 

Overall: Idk... C?

Seattle filled just about every need they had. YES including the OL. Look I know they struggled last year, but injuries and revolving doors at the guard positions really enhanced the sitation. There is alot of capital invested in the line...

Brown [3rd + 2nd] Pocic [2nd] Britt [2nd + $] Fluker [$] Ifedi [1st] Odihambo [3rd]

Investing in all this has really inhibited Seattles abilities to invest in other positions. Why not focus on other, wider needs, and see if you invests can pay off with a new scheme. Give it at least another year to see if some stability and consistency settle things down [Which Seattle hasnt had on that unit since 2015]

Seattles draft like many recently focused on contributors, not necessarily starters. Thats why its seems pretty lukewarm. Gonna hold off on my pitchforks and torches until after the start of season.

 

 

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5 hours ago, Darth Pees said:

I would give the Ravens a B- on the draft. I'm excited about Lamar Jackson and Deshon Elliott but that's about it. I'm not excited about either TE we drafted, Orlando Brown Jr. seems to have some weight and motivation issues, and no other picks really seem to be worthwhile for us.

 

I think you should be excited about both tight ends.

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Scroll down for grades bolded. Every year I probably  over grade Denvers draft last year I said it was a B thi year I'm  gonna give it an A+. I'm  literally not being a homer. Elway got instant impact guys at,a lot of spots. Wish we went oline a little more but I cant fault who we picked. 

I kinda wanted Ronald Jones but Royce Freeman in round 3 is better value.  I wanted dallas Goedert but the Tight end from Wisconsin is pretty good for round 5 . 

1) Bradley Chubb - my 2nd ranked player behind Barkley. Got em at 5. Most complete end prospect since Bosa I think.  High character, motor, leader . Him and miller wow.

2) Cortland Sutton maybe I'm  a little biased because we didnt get dj chark didn't like him. I also like screwing dallas over they wanted  Sutton. The player  isn't  bad at all. He'll  help in the redzone day one.

..    ill finish later 10 picks is hard haha

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3 hours ago, EaglesPeteC said:

Eagles trolled the Cowboys by trading up in front of Dallas to take a guy named Dallas when the draft was in Dallas.

Having this guy:

screech_powers.jpg

try to duplicate Drew Pearson's original troll, while your team wasted resources trading up in front of the Cowboys for a hybrid TE they had no plan in taking....just because his name was "Dallas"?

Priceless.

Tell Akers to drink more ovaltine.

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I was pretty pleased with most of our picks but I'm still scratching my head at Gute taking a P and LS in the later rounds.  I can't believe these were the best options on their board.  Our current punter was fine and most of the time you can find a serviceable LS in UDFA.  

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I'm not going to grade each pick but the Lions draft as a whole. 

Bob Quinn went into this offseason with two goals. 

1. Improve the run game.

2. Bring in versatile defenders for a new defensive scheme.

He really addressed the latter in free agency. He signed a DT in Sylvester Williams, numerous linebackers in Jones, Kennard, Freeny, etc and CB DeShawn Shead. 

This made the run game Quinns priority in the draft.

1. FRANK RAGNOW C- Arguably the best C in the draft who not only allows us to move Glasgow back to G, but he's stellar in QB protection (Stafford was sacked 47 times last season), but he can open gaps in the run game.

2. KERRYON JOHNSON RB- SEC offensive player of the year. Big, strong runner who can finish. He wasn't my top choice at this position, but he and FA signing LeGarrette Blount make a formiddable duo in the backfield. 

5. TYRELL CROSBY OT- Top 5 OT in the draft, projected as a 2nd rd pick. Did not allow a sack in 2017. Can play both tackle positions. 

7. NICK BAWDEN FB- Blocked for back to back 2,000 yd rushing seasons at SDST. Can run and catch the ball himself but excels in blocking. Started at QB. 

This draft was a concerted effort to make the Lions non-existent rushing game bigger, faster, stronger. He could not have done a better job in that regard and therefore he receives a passing grade.

He also picked up DL Da'Shawn Hand and S Tracy Walker who fit that flexibility Patricia covets. 

I did not care for the value of the picks. Giving up a 4th to move up 8 slots in the 2nd. Giving up a 2019 3rd to move back into the 4th. For this reason, I cannot give this draft the highest grade possible. 

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17 minutes ago, Louis Friend said:

I'm not going to grade each pick but the Lions draft as a whole. 

Bob Quinn went into this offseason with two goals. 

1. Improve the run game.

2. Bring in versatile defenders for a new defensive scheme.

He really addressed the latter in free agency. He signed a DT in Sylvester Williams, numerous linebackers in Jones, Kennard, Freeny, etc and CB DeShawn Shead. 

This made the run game Quinns priority in the draft.

1. FRANK RAGNOW C- Arguably the best C in the draft who not only allows us to move Glasgow back to G, but he's stellar in QB protection (Stafford was sacked 47 times last season), but he can open gaps in the run game.

2. KERRYON JOHNSON RB- SEC offensive player of the year. Big, strong runner who can finish. He wasn't my top choice at this position, but he and FA signing LeGarrette Blount make a formiddable duo in the backfield. 

5. TYRELL CROSBY OT- Top 5 OT in the draft, projected as a 2nd rd pick. Did not allow a sack in 2017. Can play both tackle positions. 

7. NICK BAWDEN FB- Blocked for back to back 2,000 yd rushing seasons at SDST. Can run and catch the ball himself but excels in blocking. Started at QB. 

This draft was a concerted effort to make the Lions non-existent rushing game bigger, faster, stronger. He could not have done a better job in that regard and therefore he receives a passing grade.

He also picked up DL Da'Shawn Hand and S Tracy Walker who fit that flexibility Patricia covets. 

I did not care for the value of the picks. Giving up a 4th to move up 8 slots in the 2nd. Giving up a 2019 3rd to move back into the 4th. For this reason, I cannot give this draft the highest grade possible. 

I would give the Lions a C. One of my criticisms of Quinn lately has been how conservative he seems to be as a GM. He would much rather pick guys with high floors that are very likely to contribute to the team (even if it's a FB or a LS). He seems to have very strong opinions about the type of players that he wants, and this year he showed the willingness to trade up to acquire those players. As you mentioned he went into the draft trying to improve the run game, and I think that he succeeded. 

I just don't see any of these guys being stars. I'm fine with trading up if you think that someone will be a superstar, but I don't see it with these guys. Quinn has yet to really hit on that pick that turns into a Pro Bowler. Maybe one of these guys will (Ragnow might, even if it's not a flashy position), but Quinn needs to find a way to bring in some studs at some point. He has done a good job of building depth with the draft and FA for the Lions, but they're going to need a couple of guys to help them get over the hump. 

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1 hour ago, ///mcompact said:

Having this guy:

screech_powers.jpg

try to duplicate Drew Pearson's original troll, while your team wasted resources trading up in front of the Cowboys for a hybrid TE they had no plan in taking....just because his name was "Dallas"?

Priceless.

Tell Akers to drink more ovaltine.

The Cowboys' draft was so bad Jason Witten quit in the middle of it 

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1 hour ago, ///mcompact said:

Having this guy:

screech_powers.jpg

try to duplicate Drew Pearson's original troll, while your team wasted resources trading up in front of the Cowboys for a hybrid TE they had no plan in taking....just because his name was "Dallas"?

Priceless.

Tell Akers to drink more ovaltine.

Didn't they let a TE walk in FA?  They certainly had a hole to fill.  It simply made for good television the way that it worked out.

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