Goldfish's Way Too Early Draft Rankings 2020 (All up)

[Hunter2_1]

1.Dallas

2. Baltimore

3. Denver

[goldfishwars]

5. Jacksonville Jaguars 

This Class In One Sentence:
The Dave Caldwell is back from the dead draft

Pre-Draft Needs 
CB, OL, EDGE, LB, WR

Selections
1. 9. C. J. Henderson  | CB | Florida
1. 20. K'Lavon Chaisson  | EDGE | LSU
2. 42. Laviska Shenault  | WR | Colorado
3. 73. DaVon Hamilton  | DT | Ohio State
4. 116. Ben Bartch  | OT | St. John's (MN)
4. 137. Josiah Scott  | CB | Michigan State
4. 140. Shaquille Quarterman  | LB | Miami (FL)
5. 157. Daniel Thomas  | S | Auburn
5. 165. Collin Johnson  | WR | Texas
6. 189. Jake Luton  | QB | Oregon State
6. 206. Tyler Davis  | TE | Georgia Tech
7. 223. Chris Claybrooks  | CB | Memphis

Picks Heading In
1. 9.
1. 20.
2. 42.
3. 73.
4. 116.
4. 118.
4. 137.
4. 140.
5. 165.
5. 170.
6. 189.
6. 206.
7. 223.

Favorite Pick
K'Lavon Chaisson  - I was surprised to see him there at 20 to be honest, this is a huge get for the Jaguars and real position of need too. He’s still only 20 years old and just beginning to scratch the surface of his potential. Chaisson is an explosive athlete who refined his pass-rushing techniques as the college football season progressed. He also looks natural dropping into coverage and moves well in space.

Most Questionable Pick
I don’t think there’s particularly much to question. I suppose some may have been hoping for an offensive tackle who can start now with doubts around Cam Robinson's ability to hold up, which might not be Ben Bartch. 

Overview
Wow, kudos to Caldwell who somehow emerged from the debacle of the last year with seemingly more power than he did previously. It's amazing he still has a job quite frankly, but he's a survivor who has the ear of that front office. It was impressive to see them building up draft capital prior to this draft and I really feel like the selections made could turn around the fortunes of a team that has lost key players. Probably the biggest winner is Gardner Minshew who emerges as the clear starter at QB and gets a real shot to make that his own. If he fails and the Jaguars are picking low again next year, then at least they have some good players and a new QB to look forward to. 

I like the Henderson pick at 9, that seemed to be the most likely pick as the process wore on. He’s got rare easy movements and silky smooth in his back pedal and effortless when match and mirroring. Has the requisite size to man-up on bigger receivers and he's a rare athlete too, who tested off the charts at the combine. Hopefully his tackling will pick-up. I also really like the Shenault pick at 42, I think that injury effected forty time did too much to hurt his stock. He was a one-man offense at times in Colorado where the quarterback play was so sub-par, his versatility was the only thing keeping it moving at times. His route-running needs work, but his underneath skill set should be a nice compliment to the vertical strengths of DJ Chark.

Davon Hamilton in the 3rd and Ben Bartch in the 4th give the team some depth in the trenches where it was needed. Hamilton offers a little as a pass-rusher, but is hugely powerful and collapsed pockets for fun at Ohio State which is something Jacksonville needed. Bartch comes out of a tiny school and is a little short-limbed, but should offer some flexibility at guard or tackle when he's ready. Josiah Scott is a talented slot corner the media seemed to catch up to as the process went on. He’s got good speed and instincts and looks ready to play some snaps early on. 

There were six more selections made on day three, making this a really large haul for Jacksonville. Shaquille Quarterman is a physical two down MIKE with some concerns in space. Daniel Thomas is a squatty safety who works well in and around the box and probably has some special teams upside. Collin Johnson was a frustrating watch because he’s so big and decently quick for his size, but he just doesn’t seem to know that he's bigger than the guy facing him at times. There is physical potential for him to grow is there. Jake Luton gives them some prototypical tools at back-up QB, he had a few admirers in the draft process. The last two picks were just off my radar, I suspect both will be competing for special teams spots. 

[Hunter2_1]

I think Henderson might be the best CB from this draft in 2 or 3 years

[SmittyBacall]

3 hours ago, Hunter2_1 said:

1.Dallas

2. Baltimore

3. Denver

1. Baltimore*

2. Dallas

[Johnny Nix]

Good Bengals write up. I’m excited, I think this class has the potential to change our fortunes as a franchise along with our free agency pick ups. It’s really hard to remain realistic about our record this year when there’s so much new excitement. 

[Daniel]

6 hours ago, Hunter2_1 said:

I think Henderson might be the best CB from this draft in 2 or 3 years

Agreed.  And even so, I think the Jags are ranked too high.  Vikes should've been top 5 IMO.

[JaguarCrazy2832]

Love the write up GFW, not gonna act like i know all these guys like i would in years prior. #9 was a crappy spot to be in with the way the board fell imo. Loads of acceptable options but that doesnt make for great value like last year with Allen

[Ray Reed]

1 hour ago, johndeere1707 said:

Good Bengals write up. I’m excited, I think this class has the potential to change our fortunes as a franchise along with our free agency pick ups. It’s really hard to remain realistic about our record this year when there’s so much new excitement. 

You guys are going 8-8+ this year IMO

[DoleINGout]

On 5/1/2020 at 4:58 AM, goldfishwars said:

For the second year in a row, the Patriots saw teams trading up ahead of them to select players that may have been targets of theirs in Kenneth Murray and Jordan Love. So, it was no surprise to see a trade back soon thereafter.

Murray was the pick with the Patriots selection by the Chargers, he was available to the Pats they just decided to pass on him.

[THE DUKE]

Pretty much spot on with the Bengals write up.  Only thing that caught my eye as off was saying the Bengals never move off picks.  The previous 3 drafts all included at least one trade, and last year had multiple.  A minor quibble though.  You're a little higher on Kareem than I am, so I hope you are right.  Getting Wilson and ADG to go along with Pratt (who really came on towards the end of last year) and Bynes as a stop gap while the rookie grow into their roles has seriously upgraded the LB spot for the Bengals.  When the Bengals go with a 4-3 look (which is only about 10% of the time) I expect we see Wilson as the 3rd LB, and that Pratt and Wilson will be the duo for the nickel packages.  The Bengals really needed an outside WR, which is why Higgins made a lot of sense as their pick as Boyd works almost exclusively from the slot and when healthy, AJ Green has been playing more and more slot as he gets older. 

Most every Bengals fan shares your apprehension about the lack of offensive line changes, although we do get Jonah Williams finally.  The Bengals are a lot higher on Bobby Hart than....well just about everyone, but the one thing I will say is that the last 6 games or so were the best we have seen from Hart.  Even then, that was only average, but the Bengals seems to like him.  Fred Johnson also played surprisingly well at LT the last two games of the year.  Didn't even give up a pressure, but you can't really count on an undrafted waiver pickup like that.  They also seem to really believe in Michael Jordan, who also played better down the stretch after being terribad the first 2/3 of the season.  Jordan came out as a true junior, so he's still just 22 years old for the entire 2020 season, so there could still be significant development and the end of 2019 might have hinted at that.  Trey Hopkins in a solid center, but he's likely never more than solid.  I don't expect much from Xavier Su'a-Filo, but he graded pretty similarly to John Miller who started at RG for the Bengals last year and Miller was at least ok.  Don't take my ramblings as I believe this best case scenario will happen, just shedding light on what the Bengals seem to think about their oline.  I imagine this is the top priority of the next offseason.

[FinSting]

As someone who watches almost zero college football, it amazes me how much ya'll have researched hundreds of players. 

[.Buzz]

Fantastic write up. Pretty spot on as far as my thoughts. 

Day 3 (outside of Bartch and Scott) I wasn't totally thrilled with but hard to get too nitpicky there.

Could very realistically see Henderson, Chaisson, Shenault, Hamilton and Scott (in the slot) with legit impact starter potential. Bartch has a ton of characteristics I like but I want to see how he transitions to the competition prior to getting too excited about him, but that could be 6.

Definitely a draft that sets up the team long term with good development.

[BroncosFan2010]

Who is the 4th team left after Dallas, Baltimore and Denver? IMO those three had classes a step above the rest, with Denver being closer to 3 than 1 (Look ma' no bias! lol)

[goldfishwars]

4. Carolina Panthers

This Class In One Sentence:
Going all in on defense, I don’t know why re-building teams don’t do this more often

Pre-Draft Needs 
CB, OL, DT, LB, S

Selections
1. 7. Derrick Brown  | DT | Auburn
2. 38. Yetur Gross-Matos  | DE | Penn State
2. 64. Jeremy Chinn  | S | Southern Illinois
4. 113. Troy Pride  | CB | Notre Dame
5. 152. Kenny Robinson  | S | West Virginia
6. 184. Bravvion Roy  | DT | Baylor
7. 221. Stantley Thomas-Oliver  | CB | Florida International

Picks Heading In
1. 7.
2. 38.
3. 69.
4. 113.
5. 152.
6. 184.
7. 221.

Favorite Pick
Kenny Robinson - A ball-hawking safety who took an unconventional route to the NFL, he’s a rangy center fielder who has great size for the position. He’s not been a good tackler and does need to improve that side of things, but guys will his skill-set are harder to find than you think. 

Most Questionable Pick
Very little to complain about, you can talk about offensive football if you want - but this step 1 of a ten-year plan

Overview
What a great start to the Matt Rhule era in Carolina. I absolutely love the strategy employed, get the best defensive prospect in each round who fits the bigger/faster/stronger profile Rhule wants his new Panthers team to embody. When you have a ten-year contract, it gives you a chance to think long-term and that means you can afford to focus on one side of the football at a time. And the strategy is one thing, but picking good players is another and they did that.

The Derrick Brown selection kicks things off and fills a big need on the roster at defensive tackle. The Panthers had a direct choice between him and Isaiah Simmons and i'd imagine they might have thought the drop-off from Brown to the next interior defensive lineman was greater than Simmons to Jeremy Chinn who they got in the 2nd round. Brown was good enough to be a first-round pick last season, but returned and absolutely dominated in 2019 and regularly overpowered and overwhelmed interior blockers in his final season. Whilst the athletic testing hints at a possible lower ceiling as a pass-rusher, this was a middle of the fairway pick nonetheless.

Yetur Gross-Matos was also very good value at 38, he hasn’t always played up to his physical potential and has looked both athletic and labored in his rush-plans. He needs a good defensive line coach to work with him in the NFL, but the ceiling is high and he gets to form a young edge duo with Brian Burns. Jeremy Chinn was more good value at the end of the 2nd round, especially with 1st round rumors circling pre-draft. He has extraordinary size and athletic potential and the tiny school makes him look like a man amongst boys on film. He had an excellent Senior Bowl week where he was one of the standout defensive players. I also like the Troy Pride pick in the 4th, another standout at the Senior Bowl but was notably detailed in his preparation for that event. He got out-muscled at times at Notre Dame, but excels in off-man coverage and tested very well at the combine.

A strong day three continued after the Kenny Robinson pick-up, with old friend Bravvion Roy’s selection. He’s a weird build with his short arms, but was effective with it at Baylor and can provide more beef to the defensive line which needed a re-stock. Stantley Thomas-Oliver was well-worth a dart in the 7th round. He’s got good size and speed for the position, which is probably why Carolina was attracted to him. He’s a former wide receiver, which explains his movement skills – but he’s very much still learning the role and will need some time. 
 

[onejayhawk]

Matt Rhule followed an air raid offense when he went to Baylor. The first year was pretty rough, but he did it the same way--defense, defense, defense. He landed a couple of monsters to start with. Brown is a force in the middle, demanding a double team. He recalls Jerome Brown from the great Eagles line on the 1990s. Rhule gets one of his own players from Baylor, Bravvian Roy to spell Brown. YGM was never a top 10 talent, but he's a steal in the second round. Chin, Pride and Robinson may not be 3/5 of a secondary yet, but all of them will find roles. I particularly like the thunder and lightening aspect of the two safeties. 

About the offense, the suddenly more physical defense will help the offense play more ball control, exactly Christian McCaffrey's strength. 

Nice draft.

J