New York Giants: B+
Pretty good draft for Giants GM Jerry Reese, at least on paper it is. He could have tried to do a little more to bolster that offensive line, but that could be just nit picking. The two linemen they wanted were picked right ahead of them in the first round, but still not a bad choice grabbing Cornerback Eli Apple with the tenth pick. He was great pickup for the Giants, a hyper-aggressive pass defender with a lot of athletic upside. A big plus side for the Giants in this draft, was being able to get a guy like wide receiver Sterling Shepard. A highly productive target in college, Shepard projects very well to the slot in the NFL, and should provide some coverage relief for Odell Beckham, Jr.
Then there's Darian Thompson, the saftey out of Boise State. Thompson is an excellent deep-coverage player who should help Big Blue's defensive backfield right away. UCLA's Paul Perkins was a late pickup for the G-Men. He isn't viewed as an every-down back due to his size, but the tape shows a player comparable to LeSean McCoy with a bit more power. After a prodigious spending spree in free agency, the Giants came back with one heck of a draft. Still need to get kinks worked out on the offensive line for next season, but with what they've done in free agency and now with the Draft, this Giants team could be a threat in the NFC this season.
New York Jets: B-
What the Jets did in the draft left myself, and other Jets fans I'm sure, scratching heads a little bit. At least with one of their picks. First lets look at the positives. Taking Darron Lee, the Ohio State Linebacker, in the opening round was a fantastic pickup. Lee brings much-needed athleticism, and a decent blitzing ability, to the Jets’ linebacking corps. Call the pick of edge-setting OLB Jordan Jenkins a solid pickup in its own right, provided New York can get him on the field. He's aw good rusher off the outside, which will really help the Jets out who like to blitz. Now here's where things get interesting.
Picking up Christian Hackenberg, the quarterback out of Penn State, makes you wonder. As it sits right now, Geno Smith is the starter (god help us), Bryce Petty is still a work in progress and isn't ready to be a bigtime starter in this league just yet, and now you throw Kackenberg into the mix. He's a good QB don't get me wrong, but I've heard a few things about his last two years at Penn State that don't sound very flattering. Those problems I've heard about don't really seem like they could be a possible quick fix. So it leaves a huge hole at QB with Ryan Fitzpatrick not even there. Geno flat out sucks, and you can try to convince me otherwise but he's not much better than a bag of footballs at this point. The other two QB's the Jets have on the roster really aren't ready to take over.
Now for the best and worst of the rest.
Tennessee Titans: A
This team has a bit of a build around it now to be scary good this season. After now taking over the role of GM in Tennessee, Jon Robinson has done a fantastic job setting the Titans up to be a successful team, not just this year but for years to come. People thought he was crazy to trade away the #1 overall pick, but it turned out to be a good move. He got tackle Jack Conklin is a huge upgrade at the position on that offensive line. So did adding Sebastian Tretola late in the draft. Oh yeah and they did also take Derrick Henry, the Heisman Trophy winner from Alabama. Now with him and DeMarco Murray in the backfield with Marcus Mariota, this Titans offense could be scary good.
Denver Broncos: B+
Denver made a good move in picking up Paxton Lynch out of Memphis. John Elway and Gary Kubiak will do a good job, as they usually do, in being able to groom this kid to be a star in the NFL.Adam Gotsis, a 2nd round draft pick defensive end from Georgia Tech has enormous potential. He is a perfect fit for their 3-4, and boosts a rotation that lost Malik Jackson. Denver really found top-shelf value on the third day when they snagged Utah running back Devontae Booker in the fourth round. He's a guy who will push to play immediately, and Missouri guard Connor McGovern in the fifth round is a big help to that offensive line.
San Francisco 49ers: C-
A curious draft for a rebuilding team, to be sure. The Niners drafted three cornerbacks, Will Redmond, Rashard Robinson and Prince Charles Iworah. The problem is they didn't take an inside linebacker, something they really need. They traded up to select a player at a position that was already addressed in free agency. Joshua Garnett is a good pickup, no knock on him by any means, but they already signed Jordan Devey and bring in Zane Beadles so this may be done as a move to create competition. And they fortified the right side of the offensive line with late picks and Anthony Davis making noise about returning from retirement. Oh, and they drafted QB Jeff Driskel in the sixth round. It's a bit of a strange draft if your the 49ers.
Miami Dolphins: D
OK this is going to cause a red flag here. It's been well documented the troubles that this Dolphins organization has had with offensive linemen. Now they take Laremy Tunsil. I've heard all the stories and reports that this has been a one and done mistake that the kid made a couple of years ago and I could be wrong in my assesment of the guy. He could still turn out to be a fantastic offensive linemen, even possibly be a hall of famer. But based on what we've seen in the here and now, it raises a red flag. He is a good lineman but he was taken way too high considering everything that's gone on.
This is just some of the fun things that went down during the draft.
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