Goldfish's Way Too Early Draft Rankings 2022 (All Up)

[Blackstar12]

There was a lot of these plays on tape. I bet Alec Pierce is happy going from Ridder to Matt Ryan. 

Edited May 8, 2022 by Blackstar12

[ET80]

2 hours ago, Matts4313 said:

I remember trying to tell you that was a possibility a year ago and you told me that dude was nothing but a puppet. 

Im glad for the Texans that its looking like he isnt a puppet. 

He’s also the same guy who nearly hired Josh McCown as a HC, so I’m not ready to completely let him off the hook. He also met with David Culley and decided to hire him last offseason, so there are blind spots.

I’ll openly admit, his arrow has been pointing up since that Deshaun Watson trade. Hearing him talk - he has a plan, he has an idea and he’s thinking of football in a different light. I’m eager to see what he can do with a war chest of picks and cap space…

I don’t think I’m putting money in Cal’s pocket anytime soon with tickets or merchandise, but I’m definitely interested in this Caserio experiment.

[goldfishwars]

9. Buffalo Bills

 

This Class In One Sentence:

Just Brandon Beane adding mild needs to a stacked team like it’s nothing, like the competent piece of scum he is

Pre-Draft Needs

CB, RB, DT, TE, OT

Selections

Round 1. 23. Kaiir Elam  | CB | Florida

Round 2. 63. James Cook  | RB | Georgia

Round 3. 89. Terrel Bernard  | LB | Baylor

Round 5. 148. Khalil Shakir  | WR | Boise State

Round 6. 180. Matt Araiza  | P | San Diego State

Round 6. 185. Christian Benford  | CB | Villanova

Round 6. 209. Luke Tenuta  | OT | Virginia Tech

Round 7. 231. Baylon Spector  | LB | Clemson

 

What I liked:

I do like that that the Bills did not panic and took a running back in the first round as expected. Beane is just too smart for that nonsense, thankfully for them. 

As a Patriots fan, I’m generally weary of Florida corners but Kaiir Elam is a good prospect and comes in a prototypical size and speed package. What's more, he's supposed to have blown evaluators away with his football knowledge and dedication to the sport. That's important to the Bills, and the video of their new player yelling ‘Put The Playbook On The Plane’ at a confused and panicked Terry Pegula was a highlight of the whole weekend.

I love the James Cook pick-up in the second, who looked to be having an extremely good draft night when he was chosen. He comes into the league with little tread on the tyres and shares an eerily similar speedy skill-set with his older brother - albeit in a slightly lighter package. He offers speed off-tackle and can do wonders for a passing game looking for new ways to attack defenses.

Terrel Bernard is a smaller, faster linebacker, and was the heartbeat of the Baylor defense - a well respected team captain who that ship sail. His playing style is eerily similar to Matt Milano who has thrived in McDermott's defense. Khalil Shakir has plenty of talent as a receiver in the 5th round, where he might be a steal. He did a bit of everything in that funky offense in Boise. I'm annoyed at how much I liked him for the Pats and now he's in Buffalo. Eww. Yuck. Punt God in the 6^th? Sure. 

The team also selected a guy called ‘Baylon’, that is brilliant. Imagine a baby named Baylon. Imagine saying ‘my name is Baylon’, like that guy must have to.

What I didn’t like:

Oh, I don’t know - Christian Benford, is he any good?

[Matts4313]

1 hour ago, ET80 said:

He’s also the same guy who nearly hired Josh McCown as a HC

AKA the next McVay

[ET80]

1 minute ago, Matts4313 said:

AKA the next McVay

…or the next Lane Kiffin.

[onejayhawk]

9 hours ago, 43M said:

Good write up man.

I probably would've put this draft lower, but Ive warmed up to it a little more over the past week.

My biggest issues with this draft...

1)  Pickett just feels like a copy of Mitch Trubisky.   I just felt like it was a forced pick.   Maybe they really liked him....and he has some tools to work with....but I wouldnt have put a first on him.

2)  All of the picks were risky.   Pickett wasnt hugely risky IMO, but he doesn't have top notch upside either.   Both Pickens and Leal are wild cards.   Neither really showed a ton in 2021, but going into 2021 both were projected as possible top 10 picks.  Major boom/bust guys.   Austin is small and while that can be overcome, that doesn't always happen.

3) Our future GM probably isnt currently on the team.   Which means we didn't let the new GM have any say in how the team he is taking over is being built.   

This draft just feels like our 2008 draft which was considered pretty on paper, especially on offense (Mendenhall, Limas Sweed and Tony Hills), but turned into one of our worst drafts under Colbert.

Oh, and while I would have liked to grab a DB or 2, I didnt expect to target one early, especially after resigning Edmunds.   QB and WR were major needs, and DL is probably just as big of a need as DB given the ages of Heyward and Alualu and uncertainty of Tuitt going forward.  So from a positional standpoint alone, our draft made alot of sense.

It's not a bad thing that Pickett feels like Trubisky. It does mean he needs a lot of support but it also means that there is a solid foundation to build upon. Consider comparing him to Daniel Jones.

[onejayhawk]

Who would have thought that the Giants would make top 10? 

As GFW says, the grown ups have arrived. I agree that Wan'Dale Robinson was a reach, tough I won't complain since it let the Chiefs steal Skyy Moore. That said, at least Robinson brings yards-after-catch to the party. With the Giants QB room, that's important.

Buffalo at #9 is about right. They have been solid drafters for a while but didn't hammer this one deep

9 hours ago, TheRealMcCoy said:

I'm really curious where he ends putting the Eagles. Obviously the spot where he ranked the Saints for misutilization of draft capital indicated to me that the Eagles should be pretty high, but we did only make 5 selections.

...

Awsome writeup on the Eagles. We may still wait a while for their name to come up.

[43M]

1 hour ago, onejayhawk said:

It's not a bad thing that Pickett feels like Trubisky. It does mean he needs a lot of support but it also means that there is a solid foundation to build upon. Consider comparing him to Daniel Jones.

My main issue with that is that....Trubisky is already on the team and isnt much older than Pickett.   Pickett has more upside to play with, but again, not worth spending a first on IMO, especially since we have a similar player on the team already.

Knowing we could have had Malik Willis in round 3 hurts.   I think Pickett has a better chance of being a quality pro, but Willis has much higher upside and was drafted 2 rounds later.    We couldve gotten Dax Hill or Andrew Booth in round 1 and Willis in the 3rd, and I wouldve been happy.    Willis couldve sat behind Trubisky for a year or two and learned.

[onejayhawk]

8 minutes ago, 43M said:

My main issue with that is that....Trubisky is already on the team and isnt much older than Pickett.   Pickett has more upside to play with, but again, not worth spending a first on IMO, especially since we have a similar player on the team already.

Knowing we could have had Malik Willis in round 3 hurts.   I think Pickett has a better chance of being a quality pro, but Willis has much higher upside and was drafted 2 rounds later.    We couldve gotten Dax Hill or Andrew Booth in round 1 and Willis in the 3rd, and I wouldve been happy.    Willis couldve sat behind Trubisky for a year or two and learned.

I don't disagree with any of this. I fully expect Trubisky to play in 2022 unless injured, partly as example and partly to prevent Pickett from picking up the bad habits. 

Most likely, this will be Pickett's team in 2023. If Tubisky plays well, he has trade value.

Knowing that they could have gotten Pickett a round or two later is just hindsight. The move made sense at the time.

Edited May 8, 2022 by onejayhawk

[onejayhawk]

4 minutes ago, onejayhawk said:

 

Double post

Edited May 8, 2022 by onejayhawk

[goldfishwars]

8. Houston Texans

 

This Class In One Sentence:

Nick Caserio kicks off the Belichick shackles and grabs a solid haul of high-floor draft prospects

Pre-Draft Needs

Everything

Selections

Round 1. 3. Derek Stingley Jr.  | CB | LSU

Round 1. 15. Kenyon Green  | OG | Texas A&M

Round 2. 37. Jalen Pitre  | S | Baylor

Round 2. 44. John Metchie III  | WR | Alabama

Round 3. 75. Christian Harris  | LB | Alabama

Round 4. 107. Dameon Pierce  | RB | Florida

Round 5. 150. Thomas Booker  | DT | Stanford

Round 5. 170. Teagan Quitoriano  | TE | Oregon State

Round 6. 205. Austin Deculus  | OT | LSU

What I liked:

Isn’t strange that every GM who transcended the New England front office, suddenly starts putting together draft classes closer to consensus opinions? I’m not saying one approach is better than the other, or advocating for group-think. But, what I’m saying is these fellas don’t want to take that magic formula with them, for whatever reason.

I like the Stingley pick, even it carries with it some risk. He’s a prospect whose stock was all over the place after a confusing post 2019 career where the sky was limit. Clearly he’s an exceptional talent, and his peaks probably transcend the entire class – you just have to go back a while to see it consistently. But he does play at a position considered to be an absolute cornerstone piece for Casserio who shares a belief that defensive pressure can be built from the outside, in.

I love the Jalen Pitre pick-up, someone who was one of my favorite players in this draft. He’s an electric eel at the back-end who plays with uncanny play-recognition and always seems to be around the football. He filled in all over the place at Baylor – including at linebacker. I love that selection as much as any taken in the entire draft.

Metchie III can become a very solid second receiver in the league, even if better (and healthier) receivers came off the board later. There is a Robert Woods likeness about his game, a polish over the more explosive receivers coming out of Alabama. If Houston were targeting high-floor talents as they appeared to be, he is one. Similarly, Christian Harris was a three year starter from that same huge program – he’s an explosive hitter who is ready to roll. I also liked Dameon Pierce in the 4^th, he can be an asset on the ground and as a receiver. I don’t understand why he wasn’t in that top-tier bracket for backs in this year’s class, he is every bit as good. Given the other backs currently on this roster, a bet on Pierce for OFROY isn't a bad idea.

What I didn’t like:

I didn’t not like Green at 15, I think he’s an exceptional run blocker when playing to the limit of his talents and this will probably be a solid selection. The positional value here gives me slight pause, with the franchise being rebuilt brick by brick and under its second head coach in as many years. The fact the Texans did not add a pass-rusher, even in a deep class, makes this a little iffy considering how much Jonathan Greenard desperately needs a running mate.

[onejayhawk]

9 minutes ago, goldfishwars said:

8. Houston Texans

This Class In One Sentence:

Nick Caserio kicks off the Belichick shackles and grabs a solid haul of high-floor draft prospects

Isn’t strange that every GM who transcended the New England front office, suddenly starts putting together draft classes closer to consensus opinions? I’m not saying one approach is better than the other, or advocating for group-think. But, what I’m saying is these fellas don’t want to take that magic formula with them, for whatever reason.

Consensus opinion is like ADP to a fantasy player. It tells you what others are likely going to do. 

Stingley and Pitre will do wonders for that secondary.

I understand your feelings on Green. It was a position of dire need, but too much of the roster fits that description. Likewise, I was not a fan of Metchie or of that pick. 

This draft was exclusively from blue blood schools. It may indicate that Caserio did not have faith in the scouts. 

[Matts4313]

The joke about not calling the Eagles name is getting less and less funny. 

[onejayhawk]

5 minutes ago, Matts4313 said:

The joke about not calling the Eagles name is getting less and less funny. 

It's no joke to say the Eagles had a top 5 draft. Check out TheRealMcCoy's great writeup a page back. The first three picks all All-Pro potential. 

[Matts4313]

3 minutes ago, onejayhawk said:

It's no joke to say the Eagles had a top 5 draft. Check out TheRealMcCoy's great writeup a page back. The first three picks all All-Pro potential. 

I read that propaganda. Its full of lies. @TheRealMcCoy is the same guy who wrote a 50 page book a few years ago saying the Eagles were going to win 13 games. They won 6.