Hello readers! For the first time in the Blogpost era, I am actually posting a blog that is during the relative offseason. Indeed, it is an interesting time to be alive. The NFL draft is over. The magical time where teams get to dream a bit and hope for the best with their selections. The fans of such teams will get to celebrate. The players get to feel a sense of joy as they will remember the day that an NFL team drafts them.
2024 NFL Draft
The way I am going to go about with this is fairly simple. The draft is more of inexact science. The potential of players doing well is a mix of success. You will likely have more misses than hits. Hence, why I don't really like doing Draft grades. Team's with a D or F grade could turn out well and teams with a A or B do the opposite. Here's my thoughts on how well the 32 teams did:
Arizona Cardinals: You get a wide receiver for Kyler Murray to throw to in Marvin Harrison Jr. and get a edge rusher in Darius Robinson. Trey Benson could be a decent player for you.Atlanta Falcons: It didn't take long for the Falcons to do the biggest surprise in Day 1 with drafting Michael Penix Jr in the 1st round. Even Kirk Cousins was shocked. Despite that, the Day 2 and 3 load was fairly better as the Falcons added needed defensive help.
Baltimore Ravens: Nate Wiggins could be the answer to the weary Ravens secondary that has been missing that defensive presence for years. Roger Rosengarten in the 2nd round is a good pick up as even most teams were hoping to get him. He'll help keep Lamar Jackson upright.
Buffalo Bills: Oh Bills, you get fleeced by the Chiefs during both the playoffs and during the offseason. You also accepted a draft trade by the same Chiefs and Panthers. Both of which selected wide receivers. Something that you needed desperately. Despite all this, the Bills got Keon Coleman from Florida State. The experts didn't get all that thrilled by the pick. Suffice to say, maybe Coleman could be solid in the production department, catching passes from Josh Allen. Despite this, the rebuilding of the Bills defense would happen with Cole Bishop from Utah. I'm mixed by the Bills.
Carolina Panthers: Carolina managed to get Xavier Legette from South Carolina. At least you have someone for Bryce Young to throw to. Jonathon Brooks could by a good option if he can stay healthy.
Chicago Bears: The big winners from Day 1 as the had two Top-10 picks. They got Caleb Williams from USC and Rome Odunze from Washington. With a plethora of wide receivers to go to. The Bears have to be seeing anything but up. The Bears picked up a punter though.
Cincinnati Bengals: Cincinnati needed help from the offensive line in Amarius Mims from Georgia. He can help keep Joe Burrow from injury. Assuming he can stay healthy. The draft also yielded some defensive line help in Kris Jenkins and McKinnley Jackson who should be able to fight to disrupt offenses.
Cleveland Browns: Despite no 1st round pick in the draft, the Brownies got some defensive line help in Michael Hall Jr. from nearby Ohio State. If Zak Zinter can be a serviceable player for Cleveland he could be some help in the offense. Jamari Thrash was considered to be the best route runner in the draft.
Dallas Cowboys: Dallas drafting an offensive tackle showed that they needed to rebuild an offensive line in this draft. Maybe Marshawn Kneeland from Western Michigan could be a serviceable defensive player that can help take some pressure off of Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence. The Dak Prescott to Ryan Flournoy connection could be good.
Denver Broncos: Denver needed to get a quarterback in the draft and it seems that Bo Nix is their guy. Jonah Elliss could cause some havoc in the AFC West as he can come off the ball rather quick. Getting Troy Franklin from the highly efficient offense from Oregon will help as Bo Nix is also from Oregon.
Detroit Lions: The hosts did well in delivering their fans some joy. Terrion Arnold has good upside and can help with an already good Lions defense. Mekhi Wingo could provide some needed inside penetration on the defensive line.
Green Bay Packers: Green Bay picked up Jordan Morgan in the 1st round. I do think they could've gotten someone else, Morgan does fill a need for the Green and Gold. Maybe a wide receiver. Developing the defense in the draft was a wise choice as Edgerrin Cooper could be one of the best athletic linebackers in the draft. MarShawn Lloyd from USC could be a decent choice in partnering up with free agent acquisition Josh Jacobs.
Houston Texans: Nothing great but nothing bad for the Texans who had the successful draft last year. Kamari Lassiter from Georgia could be the most NFL ready corner in the draft. Cade Stover from Ohio State will be a good option for CJ Stroud to throw to on the inside as a security blanket.
Indianapolis Colts: A lot of questions about Adonai Mitchell's work ethic but the Colts took a chance on him in the 2nd round. Laiatu Latu was their man in the 1st round that will help the Colts defense in athletic ways. Shoring up the offensive line in Matt Goncalves from Pittsburgh will help Anthony Richardson stay upright.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Getting another option for Trevor Lawrence to throw to was needed in the 1st round. They got Brian Thomas Jr and could be the needed help that would help take the pressure off of Christian Kirk in the passing game. They invested in building their defense in adding Maason Smith (apparently one "A" wasn't enough). Decent draft.
Kansas City Chiefs: You just keep beating the Bills both in the playoffs and in the offseason. You add Xavier Worthy, a worthy wide receiver that will help Patrick Mahomes in his quest for a three-peat. You also add Jared Wiley from TCU as a tight end. Must be a security blanket until Travis Kelce retires (as of this writing he signed a contract extension. Not a bad draft from the two-time defending champs.
Las Vegas Raiders: A bit of a question mark in drafting Brock Bowers when they already have a plethora of tight ends to go with. They helped shore up a need in offensive line with Jackson Powers-Johnson and Delmar Glaze. Dylan Laube might be a diamond in the rough he can play in both run and pass situations. Pretty solid draft with Antonio Pierce in charge.
Los Angeles Chargers: A bit of an interesting pick in taking Joe Alt but he was likely the best player available for the Chargers to take. They filled that need. Another need was getting Ladd McConkey from Georgia in the 2nd round for Justin Herbert to throw to. New head coach Jim Harbaugh also drafted Junior Colson from Michigan. Obviously a bit of a connection there. Getting Brenden Rice from USC was good too as he is also the son of some guy named Jerry Rice. If he has a 1/10th of the talent of his father, Brenden could be a steal.
Los Angeles Rams: It seems that the Rams love Florida State as they took Jared Verse, an edge rusher, in the 1st round and Braden Fiske a defensive lineman in the 2nd round. Adding a running back in Blake Corum could be a nice addition to the Rams plans of running an offense that is efficient. The Rams also shored up their defense.
Miami Dolphins: A decent draft for the Dolphins. They needed to rebuild the defense as they drafted Chop Robinson in the 1st round. Patrick Paul could be a bit of a question mark in what the Dolphins philosophy in blocking. Malik Washington fell quite a bit in the draft and landed at pick 184 which might be a steal if he can reach his potential.
Minnesota Vikings: Minnesota might have struck gold or struck a dud in drafting JJ McCarthy. They have the best situation in the NFL for a quarterback to flourish. Just ask Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. Adding the defense was also big as they also added Dallas Turner to the defense. Giving defensive coordinator Brian Flores a new toy to play with in his defensive plans. A defense that will need to get better with the Packers, Lions and Bears adding to their offense.
New England Patriots: Drake Maye might have quite a few question marks but his personality is NFL ready. Safe to say that he won't be starting a whole lot in Year 1. The Patriots added Ja'Lynn Polk from Washington, a wide out that has the best hands but probably was a reach. Adding offensive line pieces and Marcellas Dial from South Carolina to help the defense. The first non-Belichick draft since 1999 was not bad.
New Orleans Saints: In the cool name department the Saints won the draft in getting Kool-Aid McKinstry, a cornerback, in the 2nd round. Taliese Fuaga might be a good addition in protecting Derek Carr from opposing defenses. A bit of question marks for Spencer Rattler but he could be a quarterback that can be a decent understudy under Derek Carr.
New York Giants: The G-men didn't have a good season and their offense suffered. The addition of Malik Nabers will help them out. Rebuilding the defense was also a priority as they took Tyler Nubin, the safety from Minnesota and Andru Phillips, the cornerback from Kentucky. Tyrone Tracy Jr will be a good sidekick for Devin Singletary.
New York Jets: Not being able to draft a lineman last year costed the Jets and Aaron Rogers. This year they drafted Olu Fashanu from Penn State. They also added Malach Corley, the wide out from Western Kentucky, for Aaron Rodgers to throw to. Braelon Allen will be a serviceable back for them to go to. If Jordan Travis can reach his potential in the future, he will need to be the best student to Aaron Rodgers. Decent draft.
Philadelphia Eagles: General Manager Howie Roseman knows how to work his magic. They get arguable the best cornerback prospect in the 1st round and get another solid cornerback in Cooper DeJean from Iowa. Ainias Smith and Johnny Wilson, the wide outs from Texas A&M and Florida State respectively, seem like side pieces in a roster that is filled with wide receivers.
Pittsburgh Steelers: The Steelers got needed help with the offensive line with Troy Fautanu from Washington. They also arguably a great lineman from nearby West Virginia in Zach Frazier. Roman Wilson did some good things in a run-oriented offense in Michigan but him catching balls from Russell Wilson will be worthwhile.
San Francisco 49ers: Not sure what the 49ers were doing for a bit in the draft. They got Ricky Pearsall when they had the possibility to get Ladd McConkey. Suffice to say he will still fit well in the Kyle Shanahan offense. The Niners got a potential great cornerback in Renardo Green from Florida State.
Seattle Seahawks: A mixture of players in the Seattle draft class. They got Byron Murphy II from Texas. He could be a big rush defender in a division that has Christian McCaffrey, Kyren Williams and James Conner. They also filled a need in the offensive line and linebacker. AJ Barner could be a great tight end in the future.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: They managed to get the best offensive lineman prospect in Graham Barton at pick #26. He could be a solid contributor in the Baker Mayfield offense. Adding Chris Braswell as a defensive end could be a steal in the making.
Tennessee Titans: The JC Latham pick was a bit of a surprise but it was a need that the Titans needed to fill. Tennessee needed to add pieces to the defense to help compete with the Jaguars and Texans. Cedric Gray from North Carolina will add speed to the the Titans defense.
Washington Commanders: The first draft in the post-Dan Snyder era and the first draft for General Manager Adam Peters was pretty solid. Getting Jayden Daniels worked out well for them. Peters a majority of his picks on defense. Washington also got some guy named Luke McCaffrey, a brother to some other guy named Christian McCaffrey. Could turn into a solid wide receiver for the Commanders.
Safe to say, these evaluations could be for not. The average career for an NFL player is around three years. most of these players might achieve a higher number or lower number. It's always fun to speculate who could be a diamond in the rough that could turn a franchise around or a bust that will sink his team for years to come.
I would like to possibly do a post on free agency eventually but who knows. Until then, see you around!
-Tom
A bit late but Rest in Peace, Roman Gabriel
