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

[xlfrosti]

@bucsfan333

#1 !!!!

[JBURGE]

18 minutes ago, xlfrosti said:

@bucsfan333

#1 !!!!

and well deserved

[TankWilliams]

1 hour ago, pigsooie5 said:

Whitehair was drafted to play OG but was pushed to OC when Hronis Grasus got hurt and ended up thriving. If I had to take a guess at the Bears starting interior, it would be Kyle Long(LG), James Daniels(C), Cody Whitehair(RG).

I think this is what it will turn into, but for what its worth, Ryan pace has said that they are going to try Daniels at guard in the offseason instead of at center.  

[bucsfan333]

1 hour ago, xlfrosti said:

@bucsfan333

#1 !!!!

[canadaluvsdallas]

any draft with vita vea gets #1 in my book

[thebestever6]

I'm a Broncos fan I do think they had a top 5 draft only the Bucs and Bears drafted better imho.

Bucs to get some trade assets and that,draft haul. Bears I love anthony miller ane Jackson and smith.

[goldfishwars]

1.  Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Pre-Draft Needs:

OL, RB, DT, CB

What They Had Heading into the Draft:

1. 7

2. 38

4. 102

5. 144

6. 180

6. 202

7. 255

 

What They Had Leaving The Draft:

1. 12. Vita Vea  [ DT ] Washington

2. 38. Ronald Jones II  [ RB ] USC

2. 53. M. J. Stewart  [ CB ] North Carolina

2. 63. Carlton Davis  [ CB ] Auburn

3. 94. Alex Cappa  [ OT ] Humboldt State

4. 117. Jordan Whitehead  [ S ] Pittsburgh

5. 144. Justin Watson  [ WR ] Penn

6. 202. Jack Cichy  [ LB ] Wisconsin

 

Best Thing About This Draft:

This is a great example of how a team picking high, who doesn’t have a need at QB, can create serious value to land more players at premium slots who can make significant contributions. In this instance, there was also an obvious and carefully executed plan around what they wanted out of the players they selected. Clearly they wanted hard-nosed tough guys and had already done an excellent job filling the roster with players that fit the new mold heading into the draft. I’m actually wondering if the back-to-back corner selections in the second round gives them the biggest impact early on. Both are aggressive press corners who won’t back down. MJ Stewart might be better placed to suit up in the slot, where he can be stout and sticky as likes to be. Carlton Davis is built to man up on the outside, disrupt routes and take on the bigger receivers in their division. It's not always pretty, but he'll compete on every down. 

Worst Thing About This Draft:

Other than the parrot who didn't even announce a pick like we were promised, there's not a lot to dislike about this draft. The Vita Vea selection over Derwin James is the big call as the Buccs effectively passed on James twice, with the decision to move down. Vea fits a run stuffing need inside, but picked at 10 he needs to become more than just a good run defender. A similar question needs to be asked of Ronald Jones at 38, is he built to sustain the run game? There will be points where they will need him to answer that question. 

Late Round Gem:

Jack Cichy – An often injured linebacker who made an impact on the field at Wisconsin whenever he was able to suit up. He’s got, dare I say it, a bit of Luke Kuechly cat like quickness around the ball. The Buccs would probably be well suited to stashing him away on PUP and bring him on slowly. It would be a great shame to see his talent never reach its destination. 

What Else?

Vea is a man mammoth with the ability to soak up offensive line resources, the Buccs can legitimately frighten teams with the front four they can field next year. More importantly, it'll help to free up the lighter, faster linebackers who can impact the game in the areas they excel. Ronald Jones brings a playmaking element to the running back position they haven’t had in a while. He was insanely productive at USC and a danger every time he hit the open field. Whilst he's a tougher runner than his frame suggests, the Buccs will need to work out how to get him out in space as much as they can. That's where he can do his most damage. 

A 3^rd round pick was spent on Alex Cappa out of tiny Humbolt State. Jason Licht hasn't been afraid to look at small school offensive linemen. His tape is pretty funny, given how physically dominant he looks against lower tier opposition. He had a decent week at the Senior Bowl and could play some guard or tackle depending on how they see him. Evan Smith at guard, or the under performing left tackle Donovan Smith could be two spots he could conceivably challenge for. Jordan Whitehead in the 4^th was very solid, he’s a smaller safety who played mostly in the box at Pittsburgh. He’s athletic and versatile enough to play a number of spots. That leaves 6’3 and 220 pound wide receiver Justin Watson out of the Ivy League. His pro day generated a bit of a ripple after a 4.4 forty and 40 inch leap. He was a dominant receiver at Penn and his athletic profile and production makes him an intriguing prospect, we'll see what that brings.

[goldfishwars]

That rounds it up guys, appreciate the back and forth and some surprising good words considering this is generally a very sensitive thing to do with so many ways to look at it. The good news is, if your team is ranked low, there's a very, very good chance I'm completely wrong here. Each person who enjoys the draft would probably have a completely different order, that's what makes it fun. 

[JaguarCrazy2832]

@goldfishwars bravo sir. As always, much appreciated

[Packer_ESP]

What do we do till summer now

[xlfrosti]

Thanks, @goldfishwars I read every single team on this waiting for the Buccaneers. 

Vita Vea,  DT, Washington - Again, you nailed it. I think most of us on the Bucs forums was a little bit confused or mad about the pick (I myself was) for them not picking James. Then I keep reading about Vea and it made it a little better. Can he be not just a 2 down DT? That's the big question mark that always comes to mind. Since Buckner came to coach he's been working with him a lot. Hopefully, he can command double teams so like you said to free up the LB and also McCoy. 

Ronald Jones III,  RB,  USC - We needed an RB badly after letting Martin go. I feel as Jones will split carries with Barber to start out then overtake mid-season. The nack on him going around is that he needs to get better at pass protection and hasn't caught too many passes. This is why I don't think he can be a 3rd down back just yet. Good Pick though.

M. J. Stewart, CB, North Carolina - I feel like you nailed it here. I think Stewart is going to push VHGIII to ball out because he really hasn't. I see Stewart at best in the slot like you said. 

Carlton Davis, CB, Auburn - I can see by the start of the preseason Davis being the #2 CB next to Grimes. We need the height and size which we lacked. Davis will be are tallest CB on the roster and could potentially take over GRimes if he doesn't come back next year. Again, that leaves Stewart and VHGIII at the slot. 

Alex Cappa, OT, Humboldt State - Man Licht really loves his lower division guys. I didn't know much about this kid until I saw those tapes you were talking about. I read somewhere that they want to try and have Cappa learn all 5 O-Line spots. He might start at G for the season because we all know that Sweezy hasn't lived to his contract. 

Jordan Whitehead, S, Pittsburgh -  Nailed it here. He might overtake Conte on the SS spot or just be put in packages. 

Justin Watson, WR, Penn - The funny thing about him. Everyone around the One Bucs Place knows. Is that this kid is committed to football. Missed graduation (Most do) but he turned down an intern job that would led to a  6 figure job on Wall Street. I feel he might become a WR #3 next year Jackson and Humphries might not be back. We will see. We needed height at the position as the only WR over 6'2 was Evans. 

Jack Cichy, LB, Wisconsin  - Again, like I keep saying you nailed it! This pick reminds me of the Beckwith pick like last year. Reports came out that he is about 95% ready. 

Amazing write ups on all teams! This thread deserves an A+++++. GOOD JOB!!!!!

Edited May 12, 2018 by xlfrosti

[onejayhawk]

One thing needs to be fixed. Teams like the Bucs get credit for trading away QB selections, but the reverse is not true. The Jets and Bills took hits for trading to get their QB. The Chiefs and Texans took massive hits in two straight years, because they spent what it takes to get a franchise QB, meaning a future 1st. Seriously, how can you not give the Texans top grades for their first round pick. Despite JJ Watt retiring, the Texans might make the playoffs, largely because of back to back dreadful drafts.

J

[wackywabbit]

On 5/10/2018 at 3:47 PM, goldfishwars said:

5.  New York Jets

What They Had Leaving The Draft:

1. 3. Sam Darnold  [ QB ] USC

3. 72. Nathan Shepherd  [ DT ] Fort Hays State

4. 107. Chris Herndon  [ TE ] Miami (FL)

6. 179. Parry Nickerson  [ CB ] Tulane

6. 180. Folorunso Fatukasi  [ DT ] Connecticut

6. 204. Trenton Cannon  [ RB ] Virginia State

 

Best Thing About This Draft:

The New York Jets have to give up a bunch of two's to get to 3 way before opening night and still ended up with the consensus best quarterback in the draft, when they were perfectly willing to take whatever was left over. Even a week before draft day, it was not a remotely realistic possibility that Sam Darnold would be available at 3. The Browns weren’t going to overlook him and neither were the Giants, and yet here we are. Outside of a few brief flickers of optimism, the Jets have never had a consistently good quarterback in my lifetime. That is both insane, but also great as a Patriots fan - although I now fear that run is at the end.

Darnold has the modern day NFL skill-set with underrated athleticism and rare sheen to his playing persona that tells you he’s built for the biggest stages. There are technique hiccups to iron out particularly with his sloppy footwork, but some of his throws at USC were magical. You can't teach that. Those highs were higher than any other quarterback prospect in this class, but there were lows too and they extended for stretches of games this past year. Let’s put that down to him being 20 years old for a second. He's landing in a good situation with Jeremy Bates preference for a West Coast passing attack being a nice fit for his skill-set and unlike Mason Rudolph, there's a veteran quarterback who has been bought back more or less specifically to help bring him along. 

I actually like the Jets big move a lot less seeing how it played out. I am not a huge Darnold fan. But, even if he is the best QB prospect in the draft, is he SO much better as a prospect than Josh Rosen or Josh Allen that you give up THREE 2nd round picks just for the difference between them? At least one and probably 2 of those will be high seconds. Presumably the Jets had 3 QBs they liked when they made the move, so one of them would have still been available at 6.

I mean, I'm in full agreement about franchise QB > all so if Darnold is that dude then it's all good. But, that's the ceiling of the draft given the investment, just "good". For the assets they put into him, he better a franchise QB. And he's like their entire draft (plus borrowing from next year) as you can see from how few other picks they had left.

[Teen Girl Squad]

Thats hindsight though. At the time of the trade, it was really a two horse race with Darnold/Rosen. They apparently really liked Mayfield too (who's stock rose) so going top three locked in a good QB prospect. Conventional wisdom thought the Giants would go QB/the Barkley talk was a smokescreen (it wasn't). Denver was in the market for a QB. Cleveland/Indy were prime trade candidates with teams like the Bills loading up. No idea that Rosen would fall (Many thought he'd go top 2). They liked Darnold more than Rosen clearly because they pulled the trigger. Maybe with a crystal ball they prefer Rosen + the picks but all things considered, they got what they wanted with their draft capital.

Edited May 12, 2018 by Teen Girl Squad
typo

[bucsfan333]

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