The Miami Dolphins select: LB - Dakota Allen, Texas Tech The Miami Dolphins select: S/LB - Drew Lewis, Colorado
Jets draft overview: Round 1, Pick 3 - Josh Allen, Edge: Pretty easy selection here really, for me there are three players in a tier clearly above the rest in this draft and the other two had gone first and second. I would have heavily considered trading down but the opportunity didn't materialize. I don't think I need to say much about him, Josh Allen provides the Jets with a pass rushing star that they haven't had since the very early 2000's. We had already picked up a fair bit of pass rushing talent during the free agency period (Za'Darius Smith, Anthony Barr) but one of the biggest strengths of all of these players is that they are pretty versatile and therefore DC Gregg Williams would be able to use plenty of different packages and exotic blitzes, making sure all our best players are on the field at all times. With Leonard Williams, Henry Anderson, Anthony Barr, Za'Darius Smith, Jordan Jenkins and now Josh Allen, quarterbacks are finally going to be fearful of playing against this Jets defense. Round 3, Pick 4 - Julian Love, Corner: I was very surprised that Love dropped all the way to the third round, in my eyes he definitely has the talent to go pretty early in the second. I even considered the possibility of trading up towards the end of the second round to get him. Luckily I didn't have to, he dropped right into my lap. I genuinely think Love is one of, if not the most, pro-ready cornerback in the draft. He would slot into the Jets defense right away with his excellent coverage ability and high football IQ. His speed and athleticism are a little bit of a worry so he might have to play in the slot and predominantly in man coverage but when he is doing what he's best at, the kid usually can't be beaten. He's exactly what the Jets need to sure up the secondary. Round 3, Pick 29 - Miles Sanders, Runningback: After picking up Tevin Coleman during free agency, I wanted to draft a running back in the earlier rounds that could give the Jets a solid 1-2 punch going into the season. Sanders is a player who sat behind Saquon Barkley for a long time and only has one year of experience under his belt but I thought there was a lot to like about his potential when shifting to the NFL. Sanders is a patient runner who can quickly put his foot in the ground and change direction, confusing defenders with his change of pace. He's not the quickest player ever and he doesn't have a massive amount of power put he's very clever moving out of the backfield and can easily find a gap if the defenders leave one open. Another trait that I love about him, and part of the reason I drafted him so high, is his willingness and ability to pass protect and steer blitzes around the quarterback. He's truly a three-down back, often lining up in the slot in college with good route running and catching ability. Miles Sanders would do a great job of protecting Sam Darnold while also providing a useful option in both the running and passing game. Round 4, Pick 3 - Dennis Daley, Tackle: The Jets need some depth at Tackle and, if we're honest, could probably do to upgrade from Kelvin Beachum and Brandon Shell. Dennis Daley might not be able to start from week 1 but he has a lot of the traits I would look for in an offensive lineman and should be able to progress into a very capable player. Daley has the ideal size you would look for at 6' 6", 312lbs with the potential to fill out his frame even more, power rushers are not a problem at all for him combining that with his great balance. He effectively shut down Clemson's Clelin Ferrell who will definitely go in the first round. He has a tremendous mental spirit and fight, aggressive on every single snap and fights till the whistle blows. However, he will struggle against speed rushers at the next level as his footwork still needs a lot of improvement. Luckily, playing against Josh Allen was by far his worst tape in college and he won't have to worry about that threat if he's on the same team. Round 6, Pick 23 - Clayton Thorson, Quarterback When deciding my strategy prior to the draft, I came to the conclusion that I should pick up a late round quarterback to compete for the backup position against Davis Webb. The original plan was to draft one in the seventh but when I saw that there was only one quarterback remaining in the sixth who I believed was worthy of drafting at all, I took that opportunity with Clayton Thorson. As a four year starter, Thorson has tremendous experience and the ideal size and frame to be an NFL quarterback. In fact, this isn't going to be particularly nice to say about my newest draft pick, but he looks like an NFL quarterback all the time except when he's making throws. Thorson's accuracy and decision making are his biggest issues, particuarly downfield, but he can effectively make short passing plays with good placement. The Northwestern QB also had a serious void of talent around him during his time in time at college so I think it would be interesting to see how he would do with better options around him and some decent coaching in the NFL. Round 7, Pick 3 - Greg Gaines, Defensive tackle My original plan was to draft a defensive tackle pretty high, it's an area of the team that, in all honesty, wasn't properly addressed in free agency and therefore the team needed at least one extra option coming into next season. Maccagnan drafted Shepard and Fatukasi last year but they are now the only options and neither we extraordinary in their first year (Fatukasi was injured). However, I saw that defensive tackles in general seemed to be falling heavily down the board and therefore decided to take the risk that one would drop to me in the later rounds. I did not expect a player of Greg Gaines' quality to be available to me by the seventh. Gaines isn't the type of player to apply a lot of pressure inside but he uses his size and strength to close up any running lanes on the inside and prevent anything from reaching the second level. He's far from the best pass rusher in the world but that's absolutely fine for the Jets, we only need him for a specialized role, we have plenty of quality pass-rush outside him now. All we need him to do is protect the A-Gap and be an anchor that is not easy to move. Gaines does this very well.
Bengals Select Zach Gentry TE Michigan Only one reason. The man is 6-8. You can teach him football. You can't teach size.
Bengals Draft Selections: 1st: Jonah Williams, OT - Alabama 2nd: Dre'Mont Jones, DL - Ohio State 3rd: Chauncy Gardner-Johnson, FS - Florida 4th: Will Grier, QB - West Virginia 5th: Isaiah Prince, OL - Ohio State 6th: David Sills Jr., WR - West Virginia 6th: Daylon Mack, DT - Texas A&M 6th: Trey Pipkins, OT - Sioux Falls 7th: Drue Tranquill, LB - Notre Dame 7th: Zach Gentry, TE - Michigan Bengals added need early on with the Offensive and defensive line and depth at key positions. With some steals along the way like Drue Tranquill and David Sills, this Bengals draft could truly be the surprise to the AFC North.
The Jacksonville Jaguars Select Josiah Tauaefa, ILB - UTSA Jags finally address ILB and this doesn't feel like it's too late because Tauaefa feels like a plaer that should have gone at around the midpoint of the draft.
Pretty good haul Paddy. Funny you bring up Shell. I know he’s got the bloodlines. I remember scouting him, and I remember being shocked when he actually became a starter. He was an easy guy to scout. Half a tape in, you’re thinking “he’s too slow to play tackle, let’s move on”. But for this draft, great value on Love and Gaines. And probably Josh Allen too
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS 1(7) Jawaan Taylor, OT - Florida 2(2) Kelvin Harmon, WR - N.C. State 3(5) Jace Sternberger, TE - Texas A&M 3(34) Ryan Bates, G - Penn State 4(33) Justice Hill, RB - Oklahoma State 6(5) L.J. Collier, DE - TCU 7(22) Josiah Tauaefa, ILB - UTSA
All the Jags did in the GMO was sign Nick Foles. So when I took them over for the draft my goal was to give BDN and all the people Blake Bortles disappointed a chance to quickly rebound and use the talent they have to bounce back into a contender. The window is now. It's not time to rebuild but to push for a championship. It's a big defensive draft but we went all offense and tried to find some value there as the rest of the league is taking defenders. Defense wasn't addressed until the end of the draft but I felt they were solid depth pieces at the least.
It was actually this year. He was arrested for a fight at a bar over the summer and was suspended for the first game. He also had an injury that kept him out late in the season and might be why there are no workout numbers available on him. I wouldn't have taken him in the 2nd or 3rd because of the character concerns. But this was my last pick of the draft and all other needs had been met, so it was the right time to take a flyer on a developmental linebacker prospect who has the physical attributes and skill set to fit the profile.
Redskins select OLB Porter Gustin, USC Pure upside swing with our last pick. If he had been healthy he might be a top 50 pick. Sack production was outstanding in his little action
Bears draft Haul: 3.24.86 - Amani Hooker S Iowa 4.24.127 - Elijah Holyfield RB Georgia 5.24.163 DaMarkus Lodge WR Ole Miss 7.8.224 Kris Boyd CB Texas 7.24.240 Sione Takitaki LB BYU
I'll get the division order randomized for UDFA in a bit. 10am start tomorrow. Half hour windows per division. Order reverses for "2nd round".
