Eagles signed Colorado TE Brady Russell, the nephew of Eagles senior personnel director/advisor to the general manager Matt Russell. Unless they get another TE, he's gonna have a legit look at.
The other funny thing about that is watching a Florida Gator (Roseman) repeatedly taking so many Alabama and Georgia players. 7 of the 10 players that Philadelphia has taken in the first two days of the last three drafts have been Alabama or Georgia.
Atlanta's moment like that came when they drafted Grady Jarrett. It was one of those rounds where the league had fans announce the picks from the team headquarters or from some other chosen local site (the team's stadium, a park, etc) just to liven up the TV broadcasts on Day Three. Atlanta had long time linebacker Jesse Tuggle there as part of it to be there with the lucky fan who announced the pick. I don't think they planned it or if Dimitroff even knew about it, but that turned out to be the pick when he traded up to take Jarrett. So Tuggle was right there when Jarrett - his son - was announced as his team's pick. Even better that it turned out to be one of the best picks of Dimitroff's career.
The other noteworthy position change from Atlanta's draft is that we naturally counted Zach Harrison as an edge rusher. In the team's press conference, GM Terry Fontenot described him as a defensive lineman. Rather than DE/OLB like the other edge guys, Atlanta sees him as DE/DT in Ryan Nielsen's scheme. Now I really like the pick. I liked it a bit before because he's a good player, but to me it meant that other good players would be bumped out of the rotation - making it essentially a sideways move. But I had listed the defensive line group as one of the few remaining "open" spots on the projected 53-man roster. And he's it. That also tells me Fontenot went BPA in round 1 and more need-oriented in rounds 2 and 3.
We can talk about BPA all we want, but unless every free agent in a given year is magically going to agree with the same team, below value, the reality is in the first 3 rounds at some point a team is going to have to address an area of need. Most likely a couple times. You’re mostly trying to prepare for the coming season, and obviously you don’t want any glaring weaknesses hopping on the field week 1. In a year when everything breaks right you can hit your 3 biggest needs within your first 4 picks and pass it off as true BPA. But most of the time at least one pick is going to be an obvious need-based selection.
I really like the Colts draft the more I look at it, even if I’m not the biggest Julius Brent’s fan. We got athleticism all over the place, and seemingly hit obvious scheme fits at positions of need. We got our future QB, without trading up. Triple dipped at CB, and added a S. As far as starters go the back four was definitely our biggest issue on defense. All quite athletic too. Adebawore and Blake Freeland are also very good athletes, at positions we needed depth at. Will be interesting to see how they’re both deployed. Adebawore gets the benefit of being brought in slow because we have quality starters across the DL. He can come in fresh on key 3rd downs early and learn some of the nuances of our scheme and the league slowly as he develops. And again, even though I’m not Josh Downs’ biggest fan, as he was frequently mocked in the top 40, he’s got some quality NFL traits, and we got him much later. Was surprised he lasted as long as he did. In non-Colts news, maybe my BIGGEST surprise of the draft as far as riser/fallers go, Dawand Jones got to the 4th round?? I don’t know a ton about some reported character concerns. But on the surface that pick could be an absolute robbery. He uses his length about as well as any bigger guy I’ve scouted in recent drafts. The Browns also snagged Isaiah McGuire who I really liked. For a team with no early picks I personally felt they crushed this draft. Cedric Tillman and Siaki Ika were also quality value selections IMO. As for some of the LB panic I’ve heard, Deion Jones is still an FA under 30 waiting to play ball, and I’m betting there’s 1-2 other names I’m forgetting.
For me the big deal is just trying to get my arms around Fontenot's style. Fontenot has been a big improvement in my eyes, but it has taken up to now to pin down his philosophy. This year's draft has been the breakthrough moment for me to get him pegged. He's a lot more like Rich McKay than Dimitroff in that sens. For that matter, Fontenot and Dimitroff are pretty far apart. BPA also turns into need-based on its own by round four, and usually by round three. After the first couple of rounds, there are so many players with roughly equivalent rankings that trying to say one of them is the lone BPA becomes pointless. Need / utility is the tiebreaker. And this year the shift to pure need was more important because - I'm not kidding on this - the team was almost out of open spaces on the projected 53-man roster. (For that matter, they were almost out of room even on the 90-man roster.) The other side of a true BPA approach that the TV talking heads never seem to comprehend is that it's an all-encompassing philosophy rather than a draft approach. The most critical element is that you fill the needs via free agency and trades so that you are free to go whichever way the wind blows in the draft. That's huge. I'll have to go back to the press conference and see if it was something that Fontenot or Arthur Smith actually said or if staff writer Tori McElhaney made the observation herself, but even if they weren't able to draft a left guard they still had options available and could still add other free agents or make trades to fill that hole.
This is good to hear. I don't know the current Colts staff well enough to guess about the system fit myself, but it sounds like they nailed it. A lot of great athletes for sure. The other draft from your division that I have to appreciate is the Titans. I wouldn't have paid much attention to it had I not covered them myself in the mock. But this is a rookie GM who had the balls to pass on the top QB with his first pick, take an offensive lineman instead, and then come back and trade on the cheap to get the same QB prospect that everyone thought he'd take the first time around. It reminded me of 2007, when Brady Quinn was on the cover of "ESPN The Magazine" right before the draft. As always, Cleveland needed the next franchise QB, and they had the #3 pick. Gotta be the can't miss phenom du jour Quinn, right? Nope, they took Joe Thomas instead and came back later to scoop up the falling Quinn with a trade. The big difference is the trade price. Cleveland overpaid to get Quinn. Ran Carthon reportedly tried (but failed) to get back into the tail end of the first round to get that fifth year option. But in the end the trade price was a future third and moving down 9 spots in this year's third. That's it??? For that price, he was able to grab a target guy at a top need who was a consensus top 20 prospect in the draft class. We'll have to wait and see if Levis really was the right guy to target or if he would have been better off with Hooker. But that's a separate question. As far as the tactics go, getting Skoronski first and doubling back for Levis on the cheap later is A+ work by the rookie GM.
I'm still laughing about Melissa Stark saying "You're going to fit right in in Minnesota" to start the quick interview with him right after his pick. She obviously meant the system fit of him as a receiver. But saying that to a guy in a pink suit with white sunglasses and a baseball cap... priceless.
This is good to hear. I don't know the current Colts staff well enough to guess about the system fit myself, but it sounds like they nailed it. A lot of great athletes for sure. The other draft from your division that I have to appreciate is the Titans. I wouldn't have paid much attention to it had I not covered them myself in the mock. But this is a rookie GM who had the balls to pass on the top QB with his first pick, take an offensive lineman instead, and then come back and trade on the cheap to get the same QB prospect that everyone thought he'd take the first time around. YES I agree with Ruth and Torgo..........INDY Colts did very well. My Titans did well and I was shocked they got Levis in RD # 2.....and we got Skoronski in RD # 1.....Yahoo Buckaroo Jacksonville Jags did well and Lawrence got a very good OT in Anton Harrison. Houston Texan's did very well and they were aggressive.....WOW # 2 and # 3. ALL 4 Teams in the AFC South did well Ruth.....that is something we have to think about when the season starts. Rankings for the AFC South /23 are going to be very interesting.
Kiper gives Atlanta's draft a B-. At first it's terrifying to think he liked the Falcons draft enough to grade it that high. Kiper likes us. We're doomed. But no, Falcons fans can breathe a sigh of relief. No team had a lower grade, and Atlanta joins New Orleans, Las Vegas and San Francisco as the only teams he graded even that low. Whew, crisis averted.
Ya... opinions, everybody has one. In my opinion, the Falcons get an A, because they didnt hurt anything. The 'biggest surprise' and still talked about was the #8 drafting of Bijan Robinson... people just cant seem to let that go, claiming that the Falcons in essence waisted that pick by trying to fix something that wasnt broke. I think thats nonsense as they arnt researching enough to understand why Robinson was drafted that high and yes, Atlanta's run game was ranked #3 in the entire NFL last season, BUT and thats a 'Big ol' BUT, like Brenda', the Falcons intent may be to utilize Patterson in more catching roles, after all he has good hands coming out of the backfield. He could even do some slot receiving, catch and run over defenders. Patterson is also aging and some have even suggested he may be a cap-casualty (cBS), im not buying that. Last years Falcons was a very tricky and effective offense and this season with the addition of Robinson, they only got better, more dangerous and trickier the ability to stretch a defense deep and from sideline to sideline. Heaven for bid a ball-carrier goes down, they will have the depth in the running game that most teams can only dream about.
Great points Will!! I agree 100%! The offense gets better with the addition of Robinson. Atlanta has a unique roster in that they have WRs, TEs AND (3) RBs that can catch the ball. They can send two RBs out there and send one in motion to become a receiver, while still having the option to throw the the remaining one in the backfield. They can do a lot with that offense for Desmond Ridder. What I do know, is they are focusing on scoring points and with another weapon it will make it more difficult for DCs to put together a reliable game plan against them. I'm excited to watch that offense grow. It might not happen week 1, but by the end of the year, barring injuries, I think they could have something pretty special brewing.
I don't see Patterson as a cap casualty, though it's possible. He was at his best in the "utility" role, playing at WR more often than at RB in 2021. He's set to have that role again. He might even be the #2 WR on many snaps. It's a warm, fuzzy feeling to know that Atlanta can put Bijan Robinson, Kyle Pitts, Drake London and Cordarrelle Patterson out on the field at the same time.
I did... which is sweet and sour... I hate to be in the company of Mel Kiper Jr... but, I also am not seeing the overall grades being as high as they are for all the teams. Not because I think they were shit drafts, but because the overall talent in this particular draft, I find to be extremely lackluster. Broderick Jones got pushed up the value charts based out of need for LT and the lack of first round talent. Most years, he would be a borderline 2nd round grade. THAT is why I don't think as highly on the pick. In fact, I like their second round pick better than their first. Take away the name, and Porter still, imo, is one of the better prospects in the draft. He is why I would give them a B in this draft. The rest of the prospects are what they are..
