Goldfish's Way Too Early Draft Rankings 2018 (Tampa Bay at 1)

[reamer]

Y'all sleeping on Davontae Harris. I'll post a couple gifs I made earlier this year to show why I liked him so much:

I like his stickiness through the route, and the awareness to peel off to make the interception. Harris is at his best as a press man corner, where he can use his strength and physicality to make plays, but he shows excellent awareness handing off receivers and making plays in other zones.

 

 

 

Nice tackle in goal line defense. He stays square, doesn't overrun the play, and then explodes to the runner and makes a secure open field tackle. I love corners who can tackle.

 

 

Look at the awareness and the change of direction and closing  ability to come off the receiver he's guarding and make the hit. Even if the running back had caught the ball, this would have prevented the first down conversion. Big fan of the situational awareness and the physical play

 

 

[Johnny Nix]

Awesome write up on the Bengals! I’m excited to see this draft class paired with last years. As long as our offensive line is decent we should be back in the playoff hunt 

[43M]

Bengals always have good drafts and solid talent.

Unfortunately, until their moronic owner gets rid of Marvin Lewis, Im not sure how much it matters.

[goldfishwars]

6. Dallas Cowboys

Pre-Draft Needs:

WR, TE, LB, OL, DL

What They Had Heading into the Draft:

1. 19

2. 50

3. 81

4. 116

4. 137

5. 171

6. 192

6. 193

6. 208

7. 236

 

What They Had Leaving The Draft:

1. 19. Leighton Vander Esch  [ LB ] Boise State

2. 50. Connor Williams  [ G ] Texas

3. 81. Michael Gallup  [ WR ] Colorado State

4. 116. Dorance Armstrong  [ DE ] Kansas

4. 137. Dalton Schultz  [ TE ] Stanford

5. 171. Mike White  [ QB ] Western Kentucky

6. 193. Chris Covington  [ LB ] Indiana

6. 208. Cedrick Wilson Jr.  [ WR ] Boise State

7. 236. Bo Scarbrough  [ RB ] Alabama

Tavon Austin   

 

Best Thing About This Draft:

The first three picks were really good and there were players who can compete for spots picked later too. Assuming the neck situation turns into a nothing, which might be a big assumption we don’t really know, the Vander Esch pick is exactly what they needed in the first. With Anthony Hitchens out of town and the general health concerns around their other linebackers, he can come in and contribute right from the get-go. At 6’4 and 240, he’s got dream level size and room to develop as a pass-rusher to add an extra string to his bow. But it’s that high level athleticism which blends with an instinctive ability to be in the right spot at the right time which makes him very enticing.

Worst Thing About This Draft:

I know they traded for Jihad Ward, but defensive tackle looks like a fairly glaring omission. There’s just not a lot of beef on the interior there. Also, to a less extent, I know the timing of Jason Witten’s retirement appears to have caught them off-guard, but there doesn’t appear to be an obvious heir apparent on that roster right now. They might have had the rug pulled from under them when the Eagles came up for Goedart, but the selection of Dalton Schultz in the 4^th probably isn’t going to solve that shortfall alone. They might have to get by with a committee approach there with project Rico Gathers showing a little something last year, unless a trade emerges. That’s no slight on Schultz who can give them some push on the edges in the run game and that’s going to be welcome on a team where the ground game is king.

Late Round Gem:

Cedrick Wilson – The smarter teams dove into the receiver class late in the draft, because there were bargains to be had with a lot of depth there. Cedrick Wilson was a player who certainly could have been off the board earlier. He was very productive at Boise and has got great size and quick feet. The Dallas receiver corps is a little same-same, so he’ll have to be better at what he’s got to get playing time. He’ll keep Leighton Vander Esch company if nothing else. 

What Else?

Connor Williams was nice value in the second, either by accident or design. He had an excellent 2016, where he showed off his quick feet and movement. He could be a real asset in the run game as he's a nice fit for the the scheme they run in Dallas, be it at guard or tackle in Dallas - he probably upgrades both spots in one go. There’s talk about Cameron Fleming starting there, but trust me you don’t want that in your life Cowboys fans. Michael Gallup was a big PFF guy, I think they were still mocking him in the first round right up until the draft based on their own grading system. He’s an excellent route runner and wins contested catches, whilst he’s obviously not a direct replacement for Dez Bryant, he can get off press and was a volume receiver at Colorado State. 

Dorrance Armstrong had a weird career at Kansas where he looked great in 2016 as an edge rusher before they forced him inside to five tech this year. He’s kind of most famous for being the guy who drove Baker Mayfield to furious groin grabbing in a meaningless blowout. He’s not very refined as a rusher at this point, but kinda long and toolsy with plenty of room to grow. Mike White in the 5^th was as good as any QB selection outside of the 1^st round. He had a strong Senior Bowl week where he showed off his strong arm – I think he could have gone a little higher and pushed a fragile starting QB a little. He could be a decent backup option for them if he can beat out Cooper Rush. Chris Covington is okay, more of an athletic projection at this point. He gives Dallas some decent LB depth and is still learning the position after converting from QB. Bo Scarborough is one of the draft’s real wildcards, he just hasn’t been able to stay healthy to show off his size and athleticism for long enough. At pick 236, he's absolutely worth a shot to nothing.

[JaguarCrazy2832]

So i feel like the biggest issue with Dallas is simply they had so many places to go, they couldn't fill every need. They needed LB/pass rush and WR and took one 1st & 3rd and got a TE in the 4th. I suppose they didnt need to take Williams but it was good value. If they used that pick on a DT it would have been beneficial to need. I think with them its tough to be negative in terms of needs filled

[Calvert28]

15 minutes ago, JaguarCrazy2832 said:

So i feel like the biggest issue with Dallas is simply they had so many places to go, they couldn't fill every need. They needed LB/pass rush and WR and took one 1st & 3rd and got a TE in the 4th. I suppose they didnt need to take Williams but it was good value. If they used that pick on a DT it would have been beneficial to need. I think with them its tough to be negative in terms of needs filled

I wouldnt trade our draft success for anyone else this year. It's TRUE that we didnt get a TE. H/e it just didnt fall that way. In years past Jerry would have made a really dumb guy to get the he wanted. The only gripe I think someone can make about this draft is the 4th round. Where we passed on both Armani Watts and Tim Settle for Armstrong. A 1tech or a safety was a bigger need here and I don't even think Armstrong was BPA. H/e it is Rod we are working who is magic with pulling production out of any sort of talent. So who knows he may eventually start opposite DLaw and make our bookends complete.

I will say for those who don't know much about the Cowboys. Even with Witten retiring. Finding a quality OL for either OG or OT was paramount and I'm a firm believer that William's was also BPA. 

[goldfishwars]

1 hour ago, JaguarCrazy2832 said:

So i feel like the biggest issue with Dallas is simply they had so many places to go, they couldn't fill every need. They needed LB/pass rush and WR and took one 1st & 3rd and got a TE in the 4th. I suppose they didnt need to take Williams but it was good value. If they used that pick on a DT it would have been beneficial to need. I think with them its tough to be negative in terms of needs filled

True, but I gotta put something in that section. It’s still an excellent draft, that’s why they’re 6th.

[bucsfan333]

TOP FIVE, BABY!!

[Broncofan]

1 hour ago, goldfishwars said:

True, but I gotta put something in that section. It’s still an excellent draft, that’s why they’re 6th.

Remember that for the draft capital they had to start out with, #6 is a fantastic result.   I don't know that ppl appreciate this enough.   If teams had drafted equally, CLE is clearly #1, and DAL is in the late teens range (given that some teams had more / less draft capital acquired to use).

[Nick_gb]

I check this thread daily waiting to see where the Packers draft ends up at. This is quality stuff.

[JBURGE]

1 hour ago, bucsfan333 said:

TOP FIVE, BABY!!

Bucs had my favourite draft tbh

[MikeT14]

Was the Cowboys draft really this polarizing? I've seen a good amount of love, and probably more disappointment, in their draft grades/reviews.

[BleedTheClock]

I wouldn't have put Dallas ahead of #20 to be honest. Not nearly as high on their draft as @goldfishwars is. 

[Calvert28]

42 minutes ago, BleedTheClock said:

I wouldn't have put Dallas ahead of #20 to be honest. Not nearly as high on their draft as @goldfishwars is. 

Seems to be the case. I have seen more then a few call this class great then others say its underwhelming. Sticking with great though.

[Calvert28]

1 hour ago, MikeT14 said:

Was the Cowboys draft really this polarizing? I've seen a good amount of love, and probably more disappointment, in their draft grades/reviews.

I think most of the negative reviews are from people who listen to Mayock or some other fool that thought WR and TE should have been our biggest draft need. And knocked on us because of that. At least from the ones that were negative, those were the complaints.