Friday, May 9, 2014

Day 1: Well...that happened

I figured I would just throw out some quick thoughts on the first day of the 2014 NFL Draft, though the bulk of my deranged ranting and raving will come later.

So, let me see if I've got this straight.  The Ravens drafted Arthur Brown last year in the 2nd round.  Actually, they traded away a 5th and 6th round pick to move up and select Arthur Brown.  Now, they have selected C.J. Mosley in the 1st round, to play the same position.  That means 4 total draft picks have been spent, to fill one position that is of increasingly less value in the modern NFL.  Unless they have some brilliant plan to get both of them playing time, this pretty much guarantees that at least one of them won't get on the field enough, before his rookie contract expires, to justify these investments.  Personally, I'm not a fan of either linebacker.  I can't say that either of them is doomed to be a failure, but in the eyes of the computer both appear to be mediocrities with little upside.  Supposedly, the Ravens viewed Mosley as one of the top 10 prospects in the entire draft, which suggests to me that they may have lost their minds.

Everybody knew the Panthers were going to have to select some wide receivers.  What I don't understand is why they chose Kelvin Benjamin, who's profile suggests extreme bust potential.  There were at least a half dozen other wideouts who would have been safer bets, so I have to assume that the Panthers were just swept away by Benjamin's ridiculous physical dimensions.  In my eyes, Benjamin is an older WR prospect, who only had one decent (not great, just decent) year of statistical production, poor athletic measurables, and potentially unreliable hands.  I stand by my previous statement, that whichever team selected Benjamin should check the GM for signs of dementia.

I can't complain too much about Anthony Barr, as the computer did give him a first round grade, but going to the Vikings strikes me as a less than ideal landing spot.  Supposedly, they intend to use him as a 4-3 defensive end, which worries me a bit.  I still think he does better in space, and feel he is better suited as a 3-4 OLB, or even better, as a 4-3 OLB (which is also a possibility in Minnesota).  As a 4-3 DE, I think he could end up getting buried by opposing offensive tackles.  This isn't necessarily a terrible pick.  I just have some concerns as to how the team plans to use him.

I can understand why people might think that pairing Mike Evans with Vincent Jackson seems like an awesome idea, but I'm not sure that I buy into this theory.  If Tampa really wanted a wideout, I would have preferred to see them pick up a guy with a different set of skills.  Preferably someone who is a bit more quick and nimble, and who can get open quickly.  Honestly, I thought Tampa would go after DT Aaron Donald, but evidently they weren't interested.  We'll see what happens.

Now that I really look at how things unfolded, there really appears to have been way too many weird/questionable decisions being made in the 1st round this year.  I'll try to get into the rest of this mess in the upcoming days.

8 comments:

  1. "I have to assume that the Panthers were just swept away by Benjamin's ridiculous physical dimensions."

    You could say the same thing for Blake Bortles.

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    1. Yeah, I can't really disagree with you on that point. Sometimes I like Bortles, but overall he strikes me as very erratic. In the end, his larger dimensions undoubtedly gave him a boost over some of the other QB prospects, at least in the eyes of NFL talent evaluators. I'm really not sure how that will work out for the Jaguars, though I doubt he could be any worse than Gabbert. Seems like a rather risky pick to make in the top 5.

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    2. He won't be Gabbert, but that's not saying much.
      1. There were way better overall prospects (Kalil Mack & Aaron Donald)
      2. There were way better QB prospects (Bridgewater* & Johnny 2x4).
      3.Even by "overrated measurables" standards, Bortles is just meh. Compare him to more physically-gifted QBs like Vick, Newton, Kaepernick, or hell even Jamarcus Russell.

      *Fuck Pro Days.

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    3. In what way is johnny manziel a better prospect? Johnny manziel didn't even have a playbook....I'd much rather have bridgewater....Pro ready+Solid mobility+Can make all the throws=Solid Quarterback At the very worst.... he can't be any worse than matt cassel or captian mediocre.....christian ponder.

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    4. I'm not much of a Manziel fan myself. The guy was aided by an Air Raid offense and having Jake Matthews & Mike Evans on the team. But at the very least, I still believe he's more talented than Bortles.

      Bortles is the classic case of "Looks like tarzan, plays like Jane". He's big, yet easy to sack; he can run, but he's not elusive; and while he may have more "clutch" performances than Bridgewater, but he shouldn't be in those situations in the first place. Having a big arm is pointless if you're struggling to be accurate against the Memphis Tigers (http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/boxscores/2013-10-05-memphis.html#passing::none).

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  2. Are you kidding me Baltimore? Timmy!?

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    1. I don't know whether to laugh or to cry.

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    2. Do both....the ravens are going to be bad for a while if these draft picks keep trending this way

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