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Goldfish's Way Too Early Draft Rankings 2019 - Cardinals at 1


goldfishwars

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8. Minnesota Vikings 

Vikings_Introduce_Top_Draft_Pick_Garrett_Bradbury-syndImport-043435.jpg


Selections
18. Minnesota Vikings - Garrett Bradbury  [ C ] NC State
50. Minnesota Vikings - Irv Smith Jr.  [ TE ] Alabama
102. Minnesota Vikings - Alexander Mattison  [ RB ] Boise State
114. Minnesota Vikings - Dru Samia  [ G ] Oklahoma
162. Minnesota Vikings - Cameron Smith  [ LB ] USC
190. Minnesota Vikings - Armon Watts  [ DT ] Arkansas
191. Minnesota Vikings - Marcus Epps  [ S ] Wyoming
193. Minnesota Vikings - Oli Udoh  [ OT ] Elon
217. Minnesota Vikings - Kris Boyd  [ CB ] Texas
239. Minnesota Vikings - Dillon Mitchell  [ WR ] Oregon
247. Minnesota Vikings - Olabisi Johnson  [ WR ] Colorado State
250. Minnesota Vikings - Austin Cutting  [ LS ] Air Force

Picks Heading In
18.
50.  
81. 
120. 
190.
209. 
247.
250. 

Favorite Pick 
Garrett Bradbury – Probably my favorite player in the entire draft who has landed in a dream spot on a Gary Kubiak flavored offense. There’s probably a bit of debate around the selection in Vikings circles with Andre Dillard available and certainly this is a big call, but Minnesota weren’t going to find a center elsewhere in this draft who can make the blocks Bradbury can. He cn give the interior incredible quickness and range as blocker and someone who can consistently nail those reach blocks which can really ignite a running game which has to fire to give Kirk Cousins a chance. 

There’s a great write-up about what the Vikings are getting in Bradbury by Stephen White here:-
https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2019/4/3/18288079/garrett-bradbury-nfl-draft-2019-minnesota-vikings-center-first-round-scouting-report

Overview
This was a real rollercoaster of a draft, with 8 picks heading into Thursday and long-term GM Rick Spielman making 12 selections in total before the end of day three. There were some home-run selections, some leftfield picks that look better after the event and some really intriguing late round pick-ups who might be able to punch above their drafted position weight. It’ll be interesting to see how this draft pan outs, because there’s a lot to like and a lot of players to work in at key roster spots. The success of the draft may well be defined by how well the offensive line picks can be integrated into a unit that anchored the whole team down last year.   

Irv Smith was a versatile player who was frequently mocked to the Vikings in round 2 and it seemed destiny that he would land there. At just under 6’3 and a shade under 250, he’s a little smaller than your typical Y tight end, but he plays much bigger than his listed size and can run routes run block effectively. He might be utilised frequently as an H-back or as a run blocker from full back which Kubiak has liked to do in the past and the Vikings have done with other players in the same mold in recent years. He could also be flexed as a 2nd tight end, someone who can bust up the seam in a way Kyle Rudolph no longer can. 

Alex Mattison at 102 after a trade back yielded three additional picks from Baltimore, was one of the bigger day two surprises. The running backs didn’t exactly fly off the board entirely as expected and Mattison was pegged as more of late day three selection. He does have stuff to like though, he’s thickly built and a very good receiver and a good scheme fit for this offense. He’s obviously a good fit for what they want to do as a rotational back, albeit one without an outstanding physical trait. I liked the Dru Samia pick in the 4th, he’s physical interior lineman who tested slightly below expectations but flourished in a zone heavy offense at Oklahoma where he excelled at the second level. He’s a decent pass-blocker, allowing just 5 sacks in four seasons as a starter in college. There’s definitely space for him to start early on the Vikings interior, which was below par last season and he comes into the league with a lot of experience which isn’t always the case with the offensive line picks Minnesota have made. 

After that, the Vikings seemed pretty happy to take some shots. Cameron Smith was taken pretty much where he was expected to land. Lance Zerlein described him as the epitome of ‘steady’ at linebacker and there’s probably a place for that in most NFL locker rooms. I loved the pick-up of Armon Watts at 190, the Pats have selected a few Arkansas defensive linemen in recent seasons and he fits that mold as a hard-nosed overachiever with some refined hand-technique. They get some good coaching there. Marcus Epps wasn’t the Wyoming safety I expected to get drafted and I don’t know much about him other than he was a team captain there and had a big pro-day which probably caught some attention. 

Oli Udoh is man-mountain and I like the value of him in the 6th far more than some of the tackles who went off the board earlier. He played in both all-star games, is more of a mauler who can outreach defenders than someone who flourishes in space so there’s a bit of a scheme fit question. Kris Boyd was very up and down at corner in Texas, got roasted notably a few times there – but is a nice fit from a scheme and size perspective. I really like both late shots at wide receiver and I’m surprised more of the bigger names who ended up going undrafted weren’t targeted by other teams in the same way. They’re quite similar players, smooth route runners who are good with the ball in their hands and both are capable of playing their way into contention as a third wide receiving option behind Thielen and Diggs. Austin Cutting is a long-snapper and by God If I've ever seen a snap as long...I don't know anything about him. 
 

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13 minutes ago, goldfishwars said:

8. Minnesota Vikings 

Vikings_Introduce_Top_Draft_Pick_Garrett_Bradbury-syndImport-043435.jpg


Selections
18. Minnesota Vikings - Garrett Bradbury  [ C ] NC State
50. Minnesota Vikings - Irv Smith Jr.  [ TE ] Alabama
102. Minnesota Vikings - Alexander Mattison  [ RB ] Boise State
114. Minnesota Vikings - Dru Samia  [ G ] Oklahoma
162. Minnesota Vikings - Cameron Smith  [ LB ] USC
190. Minnesota Vikings - Armon Watts  [ DT ] Arkansas
191. Minnesota Vikings - Marcus Epps  [ S ] Wyoming
193. Minnesota Vikings - Oli Udoh  [ OT ] Elon
217. Minnesota Vikings - Kris Boyd  [ CB ] Texas
239. Minnesota Vikings - Dillon Mitchell  [ WR ] Oregon
247. Minnesota Vikings - Olabisi Johnson  [ WR ] Colorado State
250. Minnesota Vikings - Austin Cutting  [ LS ] Air Force

Picks Heading In
18.
50.  
81. 
120. 
190.
209. 
247.
250. 

Favorite Pick 
Garrett Bradbury – Probably my favorite player in the entire draft who has landed in a dream spot on a Gary Kubiak flavored offense. There’s probably a bit of debate around the selection in Vikings circles with Andre Dillard available and certainly this is a big call, but Minnesota weren’t going to find a center elsewhere in this draft who can make the blocks Bradbury can. He cn give the interior incredible quickness and range as blocker and someone who can consistently nail those reach blocks which can really ignite a running game which has to fire to give Kirk Cousins a chance. 

There’s a great write-up about what the Vikings are getting in Bradbury by Stephen White here:-
https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2019/4/3/18288079/garrett-bradbury-nfl-draft-2019-minnesota-vikings-center-first-round-scouting-report

Overview
This was a real rollercoaster of a draft, with 8 picks heading into Thursday and long-term GM Rick Spielman making 12 selections in total before the end of day three. There were some home-run selections, some leftfield picks that look better after the event and some really intriguing late round pick-ups who might be able to punch above their drafted position weight. It’ll be interesting to see how this draft pan outs, because there’s a lot to like and a lot of players to work in at key roster spots. The success of the draft may well be defined by how well the offensive line picks can be integrated into a unit that anchored the whole team down last year.   

Irv Smith was a versatile player who was frequently mocked to the Vikings in round 2 and it seemed destiny that he would land there. At just under 6’3 and a shade under 250, he’s a little smaller than your typical Y tight end, but he plays much bigger than his listed size and can run routes run block effectively. He might be utilised frequently as an H-back or as a run blocker from full back which Kubiak has liked to do in the past and the Vikings have done with other players in the same mold in recent years. He could also be flexed as a 2nd tight end, someone who can bust up the seam in a way Kyle Rudolph no longer can. 

Alex Mattison at 102 after a trade back yielded three additional picks from Baltimore, was one of the bigger day two surprises. The running backs didn’t exactly fly off the board entirely as expected and Mattison was pegged as more of late day three selection. He does have stuff to like though, he’s thickly built and a very good receiver and a good scheme fit for this offense. He’s obviously a good fit for what they want to do as a rotational back, albeit one without an outstanding physical trait. I liked the Dru Samia pick in the 4th, he’s physical interior lineman who tested slightly below expectations but flourished in a zone heavy offense at Oklahoma where he excelled at the second level. He’s a decent pass-blocker, allowing just 5 sacks in four seasons as a starter in college. There’s definitely space for him to start early on the Vikings interior, which was below par last season and he comes into the league with a lot of experience which isn’t always the case with the offensive line picks Minnesota have made. 

After that, the Vikings seemed pretty happy to take some shots. Cameron Smith was taken pretty much where he was expected to land. Lance Zerlein described him as the epitome of ‘steady’ at linebacker and there’s probably a place for that in most NFL locker rooms. I loved the pick-up of Armon Watts at 190, the Pats have selected a few Arkansas defensive linemen in recent seasons and he fits that mold as a hard-nosed overachiever with some refined hand-technique. They get some good coaching there. Marcus Epps wasn’t the Wyoming safety I expected to get drafted and I don’t know much about him other than he was a team captain there and had a big pro-day which probably caught some attention. 

Oli Udoh is man-mountain and I like the value of him in the 6th far more than some of the tackles who went off the board earlier. He played in both all-star games, is more of a mauler who can outreach defenders than someone who flourishes in space so there’s a bit of a scheme fit question. Kris Boyd was very up and down at corner in Texas, got roasted notably a few times there – but is a nice fit from a scheme and size perspective. I really like both late shots at wide receiver and I’m surprised more of the bigger names who ended up going undrafted weren’t targeted by other teams in the same way. They’re quite similar players, smooth route runners who are good with the ball in their hands and both are capable of playing their way into contention as a third wide receiving option behind Thielen and Diggs. Austin Cutting is a long-snapper and by God If I've ever seen a snap as long...I don't know anything about him. 
 

Already brought it up a little on here, but I could argue the Vikings could have drafted Erik McCoy in the 2nd round and he could do a lot of things Bradbury can do and arguably has more upside, would of had to trade a pick maybe to go up a few spots in the 2nd to get him but no big deal. And then they could have address the DL or another position with that 1st round pick.   Smith is ok at TE but like you said he is pretty small, I would rather have Kahale Warring in the 3rd or better yet CJ Conrad late in the 7th that kid can ball.  But they wanted some more speed at the position, still not sure Smith will ever be as good as Kyle Rudolph has been if they do let him go next year.

 

I do not like Watts as much as you do, sure the Patriots got Wise and Flowers from Arkansas, that does not mean all Arkansas DL are great players.  Flowers was a stud in college and should have been a 2nd round pick and Wise was a long lean player who gets good bend off the edge and has developed nicely.  Watts to me was just a one year guy and played on an awful defensive team that was down a lot of the time in blow out games.  

 

Hopefully he can play well but to me they should have address the DL earlier, could have got Zach Allen in the 2nd round or Khalen Saunders in the 3rd round.  Mattison they could have arguably got in the 4th or 5th round I think the 3rd for him as a little high but he is a good solid back.  At OL I would have not minded Froholdt in the 4th but Samia I like as well.  Kelvin Harmon I would have liked at WR in the 6th over the guys they got in the 7th which are big time reaches.  

 

In the 7th round they passed a number of very good players, could have got the speedy linebacker Gary Johnson out of Texas, or Andrew Wingard the better of the two Wyoming safeties.  Epps like you said tested well.  He is good in coverage deep but I think Wingard is the more versatile and well rounded player.  Udoh I like that pick because of his potential at OT and is more of a mauler out there which is nice to see, still is raw but talented.  And I do not mind the Cameron Smith pick because it kicks Gedeon out hopefully and Kris Boyd I like as a corner, sure he got beat but he fights and goes after it.  I think they could have got Jalen Jelks also at DE late 7th round as well and passed up on him.

 

Here is the list of WRs I would rather have than Olabisi Johnson or Dillon Mitchell.  I am ok with Mitchell but Johnson not as much, even Mitchell really only produced this past season at a high level.

 

Anthony Johnson
Greg Dortch
David Sills
Antoine Wesley
Jazz Ferguson
Tyron Johnson
Tyre Brady
Jamal Custis
Emmanuel Hall
Stanley Morgan Jr.
Felton Davis III
Ryan Davis
Johnnie Dixon
Xavier Ubosi

 

 

The Vikings did well but I would not call their draft a top 8 draft in the NFL.  Maybe if Bradbury is a Pro Bowler and so is Irv Smith and Samia starts it would be great but not sure that will happen.  I think they placed value in certain guys a little higher than it should be and never address the DL like they should have.  Not to mention the UDFA group they got in was pretty weak.

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17 hours ago, goldfishwars said:

Interesting, I thought it was a really good haul. 

I just don't trust the guy's talent evaluation. Over the years his 2nd round picks include Jimmy Clausen, Dwayne Jarrett, Eric Shelton, Everette Brown, Keary Colbert, etc. His best 2nd rounder is Richard Marshall or Donte Jackson with over 10 drafts under his belt. Trying to trade up for Greg Little reeks of desperation. He probably wanted Dillard and then got sniped by Philly. Then made a desperate trade-up for Little (who even Houston passed on, in addition to various other teams in need of a decent tackle). Don't trust it. Christian Miller is a "name player" who fell, being the leader in sacks for Alabama, similar to Duke Robinson or Dan Connor or one of the aforementioned second rounders. No real reason to draft him besides that. 3rd round pick spent on a dude who hopefully never plays even though our depth across the board is crippled since Gettleman left.

Just hard to root for the team after getting this guy back in the front office and have no reason to expect him to get better. Guy was unemployed for four years without even getting an interview. We're doomed and wasting the final years of prime Luke/Cam.

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7. Miami Dolphins

Image result for christian wilkins dolphins

Favorite Pick 
Josh Rosen (Trade) – Literally the smartest move any team made during draft weekend was Chris Grier squeezing Steve Keim, who had tanked the stock of Rosen for no good reason, by trading back and picking up a 2nd rounder for next year and then pulling the trigger for his man. Say what you like about Rosen, but the Dolphins get to pay him 6m for the rest of his deal which is so far under market value it’s insane. If you’re rebuilding a roster from the ground-up, which Grier wants to do, that’s a dream scenario. The 2nd round price tag also isn’t a heavy commitment should things go south, or opportunities to upgrade arise. The fact that the latter might now not be on the table in year one of the rebuild is incredible for them. 

As for Rosen himself, landed in an awful spot last year playing behind an offensive line which was shot and for a coordinator who had baffled everyone with an insanely thick playbook. He probably needs a good line to function well and might not get that again here in Miami, but he was a top ten pick only last year for a reason and has had way too much criticism thrown his way for that to be fair. I’d love to see it work out for him in a way that still ensures the Pats winning the division for the foreseeable. 

Overview
It’s year one of the big Miami re-build and whilst they’ve committed to not contending for a while, it looks like they’ve also managed to install some important building blocks for the future. There’s going a focus on attaining draft capital and there’s going to be a big focus on the culture of the team, which started with the new head coach appointment and you can see that influence on their draft. The fact they've come out of this draft with a potential franchise quarterback who is going to cost them 6m per is going to be absolutely huge to their rebuild if he can prove he's worth keeping around. How you feel about Rosen probably dictates how you feel about this draft, he was my number one quarterback in last year's class and the idea the book is written on him after year one in a bad spot is bizarre. 

Christian Wilkins has a wall of accolades from his time at Clemson where he was a five-star recruit, team captain, 2 x All American and 2x All AAC and was a winner of the Campbell Trophy for academic achievement. He was incredibly active in the community too, so whilst the Dolphins might have looked at trading out – there was the ultimate culture fit starting at them at 13 which they felt they could not overlook. As a player, he’s at least a double coming into the league with a high floor with his advanced hand technique and high energy levels. He’s got a bit of flexibility between the alignments inside, but Miami probably will want to fit him in at three-tech and let him develop there. His biggest impact may well come off the field and that's not to say he can't achieve big things on the field for Miami. 

I really like the Michael Deiter pick in the 3rd round, I think he could have easily landed higher. The Dolphins are desperate for bodies on the offensive line once more and he can fill in at center or guard given his experience at both spots. Deiter flourished in a pro-style system at Wisconsin is capable of producing in both facets. His teammate Andrew Van Ginkel was next off the board down at 151. In the Patriots defensive system, he fits what they like at SAM linebacker – someone who is bigger than the league average with a pass-rushing background. Given the head coach's background, it would be no surprise to me if he were to feature quite a bit in year one. 

The Dolphins took a shot at name recognition at their three final picks. Isaiah Prince is enormous and looks the part of an NFL blocker, but needs a lot of work. I would be surprised to see him starting early, even if they need him to. Chandler Cox was another team captain at Auburn, kind of an H-back or full-back who can block and take the occasional hand-off. The Dolphins rounded off their class with a selection of Myles Gaskin, who has been highly productive against lower expectations for years. He’s yet another team captain selection and there’s a lot of tread on the tyres, but it would absolutely not shock to see him perform above low expectations without an obvious starting running back in Miami. 

Edited by goldfishwars
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4 hours ago, goldfishwars said:

7. Miami Dolphins

How you feel about Rosen probably dictates how you feel about this draft, he was my number one quarterback in last year's class and the idea the book is written on him after year one in a bad spot is bizarre. 

 

Bizarro, tis true. Ceiling on Rosen is so high. 

Looking forward to a proper Pats-style Fullback offense in Miami, and a proper Pats-style hybrid defense too. This was a trenches draft for the rebuilding Fins with 3 of their first 4 picks being d-line/o-line, just what a blowed-up team needs when starting over. I would say the Rosen trade was 'icing on the cake' but I'm afraid Fitzmagic will overhear...

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1 hour ago, SBLIII said:

I thought the Vikings draft was subpar.

Seems to be a range of opinions on the Vikings class, I think they had a really nice haul of players that are going to fit what they like to do. 

They had a clear plan to upgrade the running game and gave Kubiak exactly what he needed. A center with the movement to execute blocks most interior offensive linemen cannot, a flexible tight end who can line-up in a number of positions and give push in the run game and an experienced guard who is coming out of a very similar offensive system. Those are potentially transformative moves for this offense and could have a huge knock-on impact on what Kirk Cousins is able to do. You’ve got to take the offense off his shoulders for him to thrive. The Mattison looks like a value/cost overdrafting, but after Harris was off the board, it was very much pick-your-poison at the running back position and he’s someone who could thrive in that system. 

It definitely helps that I liked a lot of the players they swung late on. I think Armon Watts could be a stud and I think they’ll hit on at least one of those receivers, because they are both talented. 
 

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IMO the Dolphins do not belong in the top 10 and should get zero credit for the Josh Rosen deal in this ranking. This si simply a matter of fairness to the evaluation of other teams that traded picks for players, eg Dallas and Cleveland WRs. Simply take the pick out of the list of picks available prior to the draft and add a footnote explaining why Josh rosen was not part of their 2019 draft, because he isn't. Taken just on their draft picks, this is a solid middle of the league performance. 

J

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6. Seattle Seahawks

Image result for dk metcalf pete carroll shirtless

Selections
29. Seattle Seahawks – LJ Collier [ DE ] TCU
47. Seattle Seahawks - Marquise Blair  [ S ] Utah
64. Seattle Seahawks - D. K. Metcalf  [ WR ] Ole Miss
88. Seattle Seahawks - Cody Barton  [ LB ] Utah
120. Seattle Seahawks - Gary Jennings Jr.  [ WR ] West Virginia
124. Seattle Seahawks - Phil Haynes  [ G ] Wake Forest
132. Seattle Seahawks - Ugochukwu Amadi  [ S ] Oregon
142. Seattle Seahawks - Ben Burr-Kirven  [ LB ] Washington
204. Seattle Seahawks - Travis Homer  [ RB ] Miami
209. Seattle Seahawks - Demarcus Christmas  [ DT ] Florida State
236. Seattle Seahawks - John Ursua  [ WR ] Hawaii

Picks Heading In
21. 
29. 
84. 
124.
159. 

Favorite Pick 
D. K. Metcalf – It wasn’t surprising to see Seattle looking to trade up as soon as the rumors about DK juicing were circling, Pete must have been excited about the culture fit. Jokes aside, whatever caused Metcalf’s slide to the bottom of round two it sure was a surprise. Yes, the resume did not match the hype and yes some of the athletic testing hinted at some limitations in his short area movement. But, how often do you see a guy that big run that fast and look that explosive doing it? I mean seriously as Plan A’s go, it’s a tough ask to stop even before we get onto Plan B. The guy loves football, gets off the line with ease and has incredibly strong hands. Plus good luck tackling the dude when he gets up a head of steam. 

Overview
John Schneider made wine of water by turning 5 draft picks into 10 selections with a heavy trade down approach a week after squeezing an unlikely 1st round pick out of the Chiefs for Frank Clark. This draft is exactly is why GMs who reach on first round prospects are completely misunderstanding the cost/value capital they have at their disposal. Seattle have tried this a few times in recent seasons, but this is the first year in a while where I’ve looked at their class and it’s made a lot of sense right out of the gate. Like New England, Seattle often has their own value system which can make some of the selections feel a bit left-field, but this is a nice haul with several players capable of contributing early on and one real potential home-run selection. 

The first two picks were a little questionable with the value they got, but you can see why Seattle would like both. Collier is built like he’s made from granite and can lock down the edge all day long. He might never be a big sack totals guy, especially if he continues to be frustratingly late off the snap, but NFL teams seemed to really like his potential. He’s got a little bit of Michael Bennett about him and there's more to come from as a rusher from inside. 

Marquise Blair went ahead of more celebrated names in the safety class, but he did a bit of everything at Utah and relishes the physical aspect of the game and some insane moments on film. In fact he probably relished the physical side a little too much with the history of ejections, but I can see why they like him so much. Cody Barton’s tape wasn’t what I expected to see, he’s a physical hitter that generates a lot of pop at the point of contact. He had a great workout at the combine and there’s real upside as a special teams ace if he doesn’t develop into a starting caliber linebacker. Getting quality depth behind Wagner and KJ Wright was obviously a big part of the draft plan in Seattle. 

I really like what Seattle did with their next four picks. Gary Jennings emerged as the more talented West Virginia receiver at the Senior Bowl where he was excellent. He’s got size and prides himself as a deep threat. That Seattle receiving corps has got by with smaller guys, but could be super explosive next year. Phil Haynes was one of my favorite guards in the draft, overlooked coming out of Wake Forrest – but just does everything to a good standard. I would be very surprised if he’s not pushing for a starting gig soon. Ugochukwu Amadi is a super smooth cover guy, who could give the team some versatility at the back end and Ben Burr-Kirven  gives the team another run and chase linebacker with some high-end athleticism. 

Of the three remaining picks, Travis Homer’s tape doesn’t always match the crazy combine workout he put up and there’s a lot of bodies to work through in that backfield. He does have that running at full speed with urgency combination Seattle likes. Demarcus Christmas is kind of solid as a rotational interior defensive lineman and John Urusa I knew next to nothing about other than he’s a small slot guy who was crazy productive at Hawaii without anyone noticing. Seriously, check this guy's stats out. 

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