As you may have noticed, there’s something big going on tonight in the NFL. 253 players are going to find out who they which team they are going to be with, hopefully for the next 3-5 years! Some will be happy. Some of them will land with the Browns on the Jets and maybe won’t be quite as happy.
The Browns and the Bengals have the most picks with 11 (currently… there’s a lot of chat of the Browns moving up which means they’ll lose a few of the lower round picks) and both teams need those picks to strengthen their rosters. The teams with the lowest amount of picks, strangely are the 2 Superbowl teams from last year, the Falcons and the Pats have 2 apiece. The Patriots don’t actually get a pick until no.72 after trading their first rounder for Brandin Cooks.
Lets be fair, the first round is what we’re all interested in, and the Browns, Titans and Saints all have 2 picks each at the best of the college kids coming through. The Browns pick at no.1 and are surely going to take Myles Garrett, he’s the consensus #1 guy in the draft and is a physical freak. Now there’s strong rumours going around that they’ll either trade out of that pick, or move up back into the top 5 to take Mitchell Trubisky who’s started a massive 13 games in college. Now personally I don’t agree at all with the Browns taking a QB, there are so many holes in the Browns roster that I don’t see why they would bother taking a shot at a QB in a class that until this week was dubbed by most as not very good. They should be strengthening throughout and seeing whether Kessler can do anything against a much strengthened offensive line. But this is the Browns and their front office seem to love all the hype and attention so it would be no shock to see them move back into the fourth round.
As well as the draft competition that i’ve put together, and got a pretty good response given how many people read the blog, I have challenged @rfltips to name the whole 32 picks which is something that has proved incredibly difficult! – Now it may be worth mentioning that my picks are completely the same as my entry in the pick comp! It’s a random thing and pretty much anything could happen so no reason why it should be the same! So here goes nothing. Bear in mind these were done a couple of days ago and things have changed a lot since then! (apologies for the formatting on mobile its not nice!)
| Team | Me | RFLTips (Simon) | So as you can see we both had the same idea for the first 4 picks, and the first 10 in theory should show the most symmetry as they’re the easiest to find out about and arguably the top players in the draft. It’s when you get past halfway where it all gets a bit nerdy and a hell of a lot more difficult to pick from!
I went with the Titans taking a WR, I’m pretty sure they will with one of their picks, so why not the first, they need a big target for Mariota, strangely enough he went with the same guy with the Titans other pick, so that makes sense. The Jets need everything, Lattimore was my pick, one of the best CBs in the draft, and went with Howard. They definitely need a TE, they targetted the TE something like 20 times in the entire season last year, so whether they know what to do with the best one in a great class remains to be seen. We’ve both bought into the hype on the Panthers taking McCaffrey. Something i’m not so confident of now, but everyone seems to think it will happen. The LA Chargers need a few guys, I’ve got them taking Malik Hooker, one of the 2 best safeties, he covers ground with ease. The other pick here was Allen who’s a top Defensive end and will do well to last to here, somehow i’ve got him a lot later |
| 1. Cleveland Browns | Garrett | Garrett | |
| 2. San Francisco 49ers | Thomas | Thomas | |
| 3. Chicago Bears | Adams | Adams | |
| 4. Jacksonville Jaguars | Fournette | Fournette | |
| 5. Tennessee Titans | Williams | Lattimore | |
| 6. New York Jets | Lattimore | Howard | |
| 7. Los Angeles Chargers | Hooker | Allen | |
| 8. Carolina Panthers | McCaffrey | McCaffrey | |
| 9. Cincinnati Bengals | Ross | Foster | |
| 10. Buffalo Bills | Davis | Hooker | |
| 11. New Orleans Saints | Allen | Humphrey | |
| 12. Cleveland Browns | Trubisky | Trubisky | |
| 13. Arizona Cardinals | Mahomes | Mahomes | |
| 14. Philadelphia Eagles | Cook | Reddick | |
| 15. Indianapolis Colts | Lamp | Charlton | |
| 16. Baltimore Ravens | Foster | Davis | |
| 17. Washington Redskins | Humphrey | Peppers | |
| 18. Tennessee Titans | Howard | Williams | |
| 19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Reddick | Cook | |
| 20. Denver Broncos | Charlton | Ramczyk | |
| 21. Detroit Lions | Njoku | Davis | |
| 22. Miami Dolphins | McDowell | Lamp | |
| 23. New York Giants | Ramczyk | Njoku | |
| 24. Oakland Raiders | Conley | Jackson | |
| 25. Houston Texans | Watson | Robinson | |
| 26. Seattle Seahawks | Robinson | Bolles | |
| 27. Kansas City Chiefs | Barnett | Watson | |
| 28. Dallas Cowboys | Brantley | Conley | |
| 29. Green Bay Packers | McKinley | TJ Watt | |
| 30. Pittsburgh Steelers | Peppers | Engram | |
| 31. Atlanta Falcons | Bolles | McKinley | |
| 32. New Orleans Saints | Jones | Budda Baker |
At 9 I’ve gone with Ross after reading some stuff this week about the Bengals opinion on him, Simon has gone for the best LB in the draft Rueben Foster, although seemingly controversial he’s incredibly good at what he does on the field and the Bengals are no stranger to troubled players
At 10 I’ve gone with the next available WR, Corey Davis, he’s a guy I want for the Bengals, but have seen hardly any hype on that happening, so had to go for Ross. The Bills need another WR to go opposite Watkins (or take over when he’s injured) He’s gone for Malik Hooker.
This is where Jonathan Allen went on my picks, I would be amazed if he lasts to the Saints, but they’ll be extremely happy to have him with their main need being their defence. Which is where Simon has gone too with Humphrey, the corner back who’s been recieving the most hype this week which means a lot
We’ve both gone with Trubisky despite the fact I don’t agree with it.
Mahomes is the consensus pick at 13 for the Cardinals, Carson Palmer can’t have too much longer left and Arians will love the skills that Mahomes does have, despite the need for him to be coached in the ways of the NFL. He’s got the biggest arm in the draft and with the speedy pass catchers they’ve got could be a big hit in the next year or two.
I’ve gone with RB Dalvin cook to the Eagles at 14. I now regret this pick and I think there’s a good chance he’ll either fall to the second round of the bottom of the first. Hasson Reddick is the other pick, the general no.2 LB in the draft. I think they need a CB but strength in depth is always good.
The Colts need offensive line help. They are wasting one of the best QBs in the league by giving him zero protection year in, year out. Forrest Lamp seems to be the hype guy this week so i’ve gone with him, Simon has gone with Taco Charlton at to strengthen the Defensive line, which admittedly does need work
Rueben Foster drops to the Ravens in my draft, while Corey Davis drops to them in his, that’s a good pick and a nice replacement for Steve Smith who retired last year.
The Redskins are another team in need of cornerback help so that’s where I’ve gone, Simon has gone for Marlon Humphrey as mentioned, he’s getting a lot of hype. Jabril Peppers is a multi-talented kid who can fit a whole lot of positions on the defensive side of the ball so makes sense as this pick, and he has no issues with the diluted sample given at the combine given the lads history of cramps.
With the Titans second pick I have somehow left out Howard until now. Delanie Walker is a phenom but he probably doesn’t have many years left, so why not take a top 10 talent down at 18. As mentioned above, Simon has taken the guy I took with their first pick. Nice work.
Hasson Reddick falls to the Buccs here for me, while i’ve gone with Cook, weirdly the opposite of the Eagles picks from #14
Taco Charlton goes here to the Broncos. This is a mistake by me, they need offensive line, no defensive players, so I’d imagine they’ll be taking White here instead of him, but oh well, it’s done now. This seems to be Simons thinking too as he’s gone with Ramczyk one of the top 4 or 5 OL guys.
I’ve got the Lions taking David Njoku at #21. From things i’ve heard they may move Ebron inside to the position exited by Boldin retiring, or play a 12 man set and use both of them Njoku is no slouch himself at slot. He’s gone with Jarred Davis, the Lions do need to improve at LB, so makes sense
I’ve got Malik McDowell to the Dolphins adding even more depth to their defensive line, Forrest Lamp is Simons choice further shoring up a pretty good (on paper) offensive line next to last years first round pick Laremy Tunsil
I’ve got the Giants picking up some offensive line help with Ramczyk while Simon has them finally getting a tight end to go with their great looking offensive players. I love this pick for them.
The Raiders picked up Lynch this week, meaning they don’t really need anything on the offensive side of the ball, so i’ve got them picking up Gareon Conley, he’ll drop tonight due to the rape allegation which has been strongly denied. Simon has gone with Adoree Jackson also at Cornerback.
DeShaun Watson is taken by the Houston Texans. The guy “just wins” and they’re desperate for a QB, while Simon has gone OL with Cam Robinson
Unsurprisingly we’ve both gone O-Line for the Seahawks as they’re well known for having one of the worst in the league last year. I’ve chosen Robinson and he’s chosen Bolles. Anything is better than what they had.
Derek Barnett is either the premiere edge rusher in the draft, or the biggest potential bust, but he’s the all time sack leader at his school so should do well for the Chiefs at 27. DeShaun Watson falls to them in Simons draft as the eventual replacement for Alex Smith.
I’ve got Kyle Brantley falling to the Cowboys which now seems unlikely given his scumbag-ery while Gareon Conley falls here in the other draft replacing the CBs they lost in free agency.
Takk McKinley falls to the Packers for me to help with the offensive line, they lost a few guys there in February, so makes sense to me, whereas simon has gone for the other side of the ball and chosen TJ Watt, who it seems inevitable that he will make the first round given his name, and in fairness to him, his combine performance.
The Steelers. I’ve got them taking Peppers who can improve them on the defence and add to the impressive kids they took last year, while Simon has them taking Evan Engram, who’s pretty much a giant WR although listed as a Tight end. If they feel Ladarius Green is a risk for further concussions makes complete sense.
The Falcons i’ve gone for offensive line and Garrett Bolles, he’s gone with Takk McKinley, they’ll strengthen their Superbowl team where they can.
The final pick of the first round (phew.) sees the Saints pick up arguably the best CB in the draft who has fallen down this far due to rupturing his achilles with the final run of his pro day! He’s a great player and should be back halfway through the season at worst, while Budda Baker has been taken as the final choice of Simon’s 32 at Safety, meaning that we’ve rightly got them taking 2 defensive players each.
TouchdownTips 
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