The NFL draft was this past weekend, and this year, was actually fairly predictable. At least round 1 was. While many people were hoping for a trade with the 2nd overall pick (including me), the Titans stood pat and drafted Marcus Mariotoh, as Roger Goodell would say. A few picks really did stand out to me in the first round of the NFL draft, in both positive and negative ways.
New York Giants - Ereck Flowers, OG/OT
This was the biggest shock to me in the first half of the first round, and that includes Todd Gurley to the Rams. Sure the need of O-line was there, and a lot of people think the value was there too. I'm not one of them. It wasn't an insane reach either way, but there was a clear divide of talent in the first round. Universally, there were about 10 players, give or take a few, that were elite, blue-chip talents. The Giants had the 9th pick and they had a chance to get one of these players whether it was Todd Gurley or Devante Parker. Both of those picks would have filled needs too, especially because Victor Cruz' status is up in the air a bit, and both of those picks would have helped Eli too. This wasn't an awful pick in any means, and I'm sure that's noticeable because no analyst has really bashed this pick. Yet there were better picks on the board for the Giants, and if they are going to play Ereck Flowers at guard too, then they could easily have waited until the second or third round when the value lined up with the pick.
Kansas City Chiefs - Marcus Peters, CB
This was a steal. The only reason I'm not shaming the Minnesota Vikings for picking Trae Waynes over Marcus Peters is because I'm scared of Mike Zimmer since he will obviously turn any defensive player into a star. Back to KC though, if Marcus Peters can focus on football, this is potentially the best pick in the entire draft. Peters has the size, speed, athleticism, explosiveness, ball skills, smooth hips and toughness to become a top 5 cornerback in the NFL. Kansas City has quickly rebuilt their secondary and their defense as a whole looks pretty deadly now. With Dontari Poe, Tamba Hali, Justin Houston, Derrick Johnson, Marcus Peters, Sean Smith, Eric Berry (hopefully medically everything will be okay with him), and a lot of other solid players, they have a very threatening defense to go along with their offense. Great pick by the Chiefs.
Denver Broncos - Shane Ray, DE
Elephant in the room, let's get it out of the way. Shane Ray is a very good player, the value for the Broncos was great. That being said, what the hell Denver? Let's look at the Broncos current position, they have Peyton Manning for another year, maybe two. With how they have built their roster, it looks like they are going all out to win a Super Bowl before Manning retires. So what is the point to pick a pass rusher that will have to compete with Von Miller and Demarcus Ware for snaps when they should be trying to protect Manning or give him more weapons. The Broncos offensive line last year was not good. The Broncos could easily have picked D.J. Humphries, who was picked next by the Cardinals, to fill a void left by Orlando Franklin and even give a boost in pass protection. That would have been good value, and filled their biggest need. They did pick Ty Sambrailo with their second round pick, but there O-line still needs work and on top of that they didn't address the running back position at all in the draft. To sum up, good value, very confusing pick.
Pittsburgh Steelers - Bud Dupree, OLB
Depending on how the Steelers handle Dupree's development, this was a steal. The last few years the Steelers have had one mission. Get younger, faster, and more athletic on defense. They are accomplishing that. Between Cameron Heyward, Ryan Shazier, Jarvis Jones, Cortez Allen, and now Bud Dupree, there is talent on the Steelers defense. Now to focus on Bud Dupree, he is a very talented player. There was talk of Bud Dupree going top 10 before the draft, and the Steelers stayed where they were and got him at 22. He is a big and strong player, lacks a certain amount of consistency, but he landed in a terrific spot with the Steelers. He is extremely explosive, and this was a steal for a team that has a history of developing talented defensive players into stars.
New Orleans Saints - Stephone Anthony, ILB
The Saints had an interesting draft. I completely understand the direction they are trying to take with their team, and with Brees getting up there in age, it could pay off huge. I just did not like this pick at all. I thought there were 4 better inside linebackers then Stephone Anthony still on the board. Anthony is fairly raw in his technique, and he also has questionable instincts. Now that's not to say it's all bad, he's a heck of an athlete and he can grow into a great cover linebacker, which is a big need in the current passing NFL. If they were set on going ILB, I think Eric Kendricks would have been a better choice, or Benardrick McKinney. It is also a confusing pick because the Saints do have quite a few needs across the board. Malcolm Brown would have been a great pick, covering a big need as they need talent on defense and getting a very good value too. Or they could have drafted Randy Gregory which would have been huge for their defense giving Junior Galette a partner in crime to rush the passer.
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