Elite Eight of the NFL Draft contd.

By: Josh Frey-Sam

Some general managers just have an innate feel for the draft board.

They know when to move — up or down — and when to stay patient.

Baltimore Ravens GM Eric DeCosta displayed the latter beautifully in last week’s draft, especially on the first two days. 

The Ravens talked a lot about adding a safety this offseason, and after whiffing on one during free agency, I think they hit the bullseye on one in Malaki Starks at 27th overall. The former Georgia Bulldog should be the perfect complement to Kyle Hamilton, aligning at free safety or nickel while Hamilton plays in the box and wreaks havoc closer to the ball.

Then came what was perhaps the steal of the draft, EDGE Mike Green in the second round (59th overall). Green was expected to go in the first round — some had him going top 15 — but his two sexual assault accusations dating back to high school hurt his stock. 

I’m here to tell you the Ravens landed a gem, and he fell right in DeCosta’s lap.

Baltimore had one of my favourite classes this year. I like the way they addressed their top needs early on before finding some value picks later in the draft.

As per usual for the Ravens, who do as well a job as any team of stacking compensatory picks, they entered among the league leaders in draft capital and wound up leaving with 11 new players.

OT Emery Jones,  LB Teddye Buchanan, OT Carson Vinson, CB Bihlal Kone, K Tyler Loop, WR LaJohntay Wester, DT Aeneas Peebles, CB Robert Longerbeam and G Garrett Dellinger were their other picks.

A couple of notables among the rest of the group: Jones could become the Ravens’ starting right tackle as early as next season, but HC John Harbaugh views him as even more than that. Baltimore will train him at guard, too, so while he will be an important swing tackle as a rookie, he could also serve on the interior in the future. The Ravens just lost a player of similar ability this offseason in Patrick Mekhari.

All signs point to Loop, the kicker from Arizona who was selected in the sixth round, getting an opportunity to replace Justin Tucker, whose career is in serious jeopardy while he continues to battle multiple sexual assault accusations.

I also liked the Wester selection. I don’t see him as an immediate contributor, but rather a player to watch in training camp. He has some juice and was a big-play threat while catching passes form Shedeur Sanders at Colorado. He could make this team out of training camp.

Let’s look my other favourite classes from the AFC.

New York Jets

*T Armand Membou, TE Mason Taylor, CB Azareye’h Thomas, WR Arian Smith, S Malachi Moore, LB Francisco Mauigoa, EDGE Tyler Barron.

Everyone, including me, thought the Jets should’ve taken Tyler Warren at 7th overall. I shut up real quick when they still managed to get Taylor in the second round. 

What a solid draft for the Jets. They added the final piece of the puzzle to their offensive line and acquired an awesome weapon for new QB Justin Fields in the first two days.

I also loved the selections for the secondary. Thomas ran slow at his pro day, but his tape says he can play. Meanwhile, I can confidently say Moore was highly regarded in circles.

Barron may have been a 5th round pick, but don’t sleep on him.

Cincinnati Bengals

*EDGE Shemar Stewart, LB Demetrius Knight Jr., G Dylan Fairchild, LB BArrett Carter, OT Jalen Rivers, RB Tahj Brooks

Stewart was one of my favourite players in this class. He lacks finish at this point in his development, but he has every trait and physical tool that you could dream of in a pass-rusher. He’s going to be a monster.

I also love how the Bengals upgraded the second level of their defence with Knight Jr. and Carter. I’m intrigued by Fairchild and whether he lands a starting job this season. He’ll be an important depth piece regardless.

Meanwhile, I really like the Rivers selection. He has some stuff to work on, but he can play.

Kansas City Chiefs

*OT Josh Simmons, IDL Omarr Norman-Lott, EDGE Ashton Gillotte, CB Nohl Williams, WR Jalen Royals, LB Jeffrey Bassa, RB Brashard Smith

Remember when the Chiefs got absolutely dominated in the trenches in the Super Bowl two months ago? It’s clear they didn’t want to let that happen again.

I’ll tell you right now, Simmons is in the same category as Mike Green of players we’ll look back on and say, “How the hell did he fall to them?”

Simmons, by all accounts, was the most talented lineman in this class. Holding him back was a torn patellar tendon in his left knee that he suffered early last season. If he was healthy all year, he’s a top-10 pick.

Kansas City clearly isn’t worried about his ability to bounce back, though, and now we’ll see whether he starts at left tackle, where he’s played the last two years, or right tackle, where he started for San Diego State as a RS-freshman. Keep in mind, the Chiefs signed T Jaylon Moore to a two-year deal during free agency earlier this offseason. Moore has primarily aligned at LT during his NFL career, but has played snaps at RT.

Meanwhile, Norman-Lott was a nice value pick at 63 overall, he should complement Chris Jones well along the front-four.

My favourite pick of theirs was Royals, a receiver out of Utah State who has been compared to his new teammate Rashee Rice. I think Royals has a skillset that will allow him to contribute immediately in this offence, so if you’re a dynasty fantasy player, he’s worth looking at later in drafts.

Their final pick, Smith, is also intriguing. I think he could make this roster as a 7th-round pick, and he would be the fastest RB in that room which could provide him a path to seeing snaps as the season goes on.

New England Patriots

*OT Will Campbell, RB TreVeyon Henderson, WR Kyle Williams, C Jared Wilson, S Craig Woodson, DT Joshua Farmer, EDGE Bradyn Swinson, K Andres Borregales, OT Marcus Bryant, LS Julian Ashy, DB Kobee Minor

You know a team has a lot of draft picks when they select a kicker and a long-snapper in the same draft.

Listen, I think this could turn out to be the best draft class in the league. I thought there were a ton of hits here for the Pats, who added a plethora of talent to this growing roster.

Their first four picks could all start for them this season. Campbell will be a rock, whether it’s at left tackle or guard.

Henderson, in particular, is a guy I valued in dynasty fantasy drafts, and now with him landing here, I think he could be a home run pick.

Meanwhile, Williams was an underrated selection. He might not end up with eye-popping stats, but he projects as a solid and reliable target for Drake Maye.

Grabbing Farmer and Swinson consecutively near the 4th and 5th-round turn was what put this class over the top for me. Farmer could see significant snaps this season, while Swinson can develop into a rotational pass-rusher.

My favourite individual picks from the AFC:

• EDGE Mike Green, Ravens, 2nd round (59 ovr)

• WR Jalen Royals, Chiefs, 4th round (133 ovr)

• OT Josh Simmons, Chiefs, 1st round (32 ovr)

• RB Dylan Sampson, Browns, 4th round (126 ovr)

• RB RJ Harvey, Broncos, 2nd round (60 ovr)

• WR Jaylin Noel, Texans, 3rd round (79 ovr)

• WR/CB Travis Hunter, Jaguars, 1st round (2 ovr)

• IDL Joshua Farmer, Patriots, 4th round (137 ovr)

• TE Mason Taylor, Jets, 2nd round (42 ovr)

• QB Will Howard, Steelers, 6th round (185 ovr)

Thanks for reading and, as always, have a great day.

Josh