Here are some of my favorite players in the draft by
position. The rule is I have to pick at
least one player I like from each position minus special teams. I tried to pick some guys that were not a
obvious or guys that I felt were being underrated. Asterisk denotes my top favorite players that
are being underrated:
QBs: Derek Carr Fresno State, Jimmy Garoppolo E.
Illinois, Jeff Matthews Cornell
RB: Terrance West Towson, Jerick McKinnon Georgia Southern
FB: J.C. Copeland LSU
H-Back: Ryan Hewitt Stanford
WR: *Jordan Matthew Vanderbilt, Jeff Janis Saginaw Valley
State
TE: Troy Niklas Notre Dame, CJ Fiedorowicz Iowa, Richard
Rogers Cal
OL: *Jake Matthews Texas A&M, Dakota Dozier G Furman, Weston Richburg C Colorado State, Zach Martin OT Notre Dame, Joel
Bitonio T Nevada
DL: Caraun Reid DT Princeton, DeAndre Coleman DT/DE Cal, Chris
Smith DE/OLB Arkansas, Stephon Tuitt DE Notre Dame
LB: *Anthony Barr UCLA, *Dee Ford 3-4OLB Auburn, Jordan
Tripp Montana, Jordan Zumwalt
CB: Pierre Desir Lindenwood, Darqueze Dennard Michigan
State, Rashaad Reynolds Oregon State, Jason Verrett TCU (Slot CB)
S: Ha Ha Clinton-Dix Alabama, Deon Bucannon Washington
State, Dezmen Sotuhward Wisconsin
Guys that I think could be major busts:
Taylor Lewan OT Michigan
Johnny Manziel QB Texas A & M
Eric Ebron TE North Carolina
Kelvin Benjamin WR Florida State
Ra’Shede Hageman DT Minnesota
Tom Savage QB Pitt – Sorry he just reminds me too much of
Jake Locker. Has all the tools, has a
big arm, just never put it together, et cetera.
Bears
Overview: Needs - S, LB, DT, CB, QB. Basically, you could draw a straight line
down the middle of the Bears defense at this point to look at their needs. They have continually been very bad at
finding safeties since drafting Mike Brown.
They have addressed their Defensive Ends but need a good DT and they
will have a shot at a very good one.
They also need to start thinking about Cornerback and back-up
quarterback. This is a very deep draft
for QBs that could be solid back-ups so it might be smart to nab one late.
1-14 (14): Aaron Donald DT Pitt. I know I am not really going out on a limb
here but the more I look at it, the more this pick makes sense. I am not sold on any of the other top DTs. Certainly Calvin Pryor or Ha Ha Clinton-Dix
makes sense here but the Bears can get their safety later. Donald reminds me a little bit of a smaller
version of Corey Simon. The only issue
is that smaller DTs tend to wear down a little so you almost have to rotate
them and that is a tough pill to swallow when taking a guy at 14. Still, I think they can address their other
needs later in the draft.
2-19 (51): Jimmy Ward S Northern Illinois. Ward is not going to be the next Mike Brown,
but he should be a very good player.
3-18 (82): Jordan Zumwalt LB
UCLA. True, he played opposite one of
the best players in this draft but I think he is being underrated and he would
bring some tenacity that the Bears are losing in the LB group.
4-17 (113): Rashaad Reynolds CB Oregon State. I really like this kid a lot. He is a bit short but he could be a very good
slot CB if not a good outside CB. He
needs some refinement, but who doesn’t at this point in the draft?
5-16 (144) Zach Fulton G Tennessee. The Bears bring this tenacious and smart
offensive lineman back to his home state.
There was a lineman I liked for the Bears last year who impressed me
when I heard him in an interview by the name of Jordan Mills, Fulton did the
same thing. I don’t think he is quite at
the level of Mills, but he could be good.
6-7 (167) Jeff Matthews QB Cornell. Matthews has a lot of skills that are
moldable and I think his lack of speed is really hurting him. I think he is one of the more underrated QBs
in this draft.
6-15 (175) De’Anthony Smith RB/WR Oregon. A situational player that is a bit undersized
and could go earlier but might be here.
He should return kicks and be a change of pace back or could even line
up in the slot.
Packers
Overview: The Packers need to address Safety, Tight End, and
Middle Linebacker. From there they also
need to work on Offensive Line depth with the loss of a mediocre back-up OT,
the middle age of the guards, and a possible opening at Center. From there they need to work on depth at the
WR position and the defensive backfield.
In general the Pack is in pretty good shape because they were missing
some key contributors from time to time last year.
1-21 (21) –Calvin Pryor S Louisville – I am not sure if he
will be here but I think that either him or Clinton-Dix should be here so I would
take either or. I like Clinton-Dix a
little bit better but I think other teams do as well. This instantly solves a major hole for the
Packers. A back-up pick here would be CJ
Mosely if he is available. There are not
a ton of guys I really like in this spot.
I have also seen some projections where Anthony Barr is
available here. If Barr is available, he
needs to be taken as he is too good of a player in my opinion to fall this
far.
2-21 (53) Originally I liked C.J. Fiedorowicz TE Iowa the best
but the more I hear about Troy Niklas, the more I am wondering if he is the
better prospect. Neither of them might make
it to the Packers 3rd round pick so they would be a good pick-up
here. I give them a slight edge over
Jace Amaro as CJF is a more complete tight end.
However, as a receiver, Amaro is better and it could be that he was not
asked to block so he has the potential to be an underrated blocker.
Plan B: If the Packers do not get a Safety in round 1 I would
want Deon Bucannon, Lamarcus Joyner, Jimmy Ward, or Pierre Desir in that order.
3-21 (85) DaQuan Jones DL Penn State: Penn State DL have
burned me a lot in the past but I think Jones could move around between all
three DL positions and offer future options for the Packers. It looks like there are varying opinions on
where he should go but I like him here.
3-34 (98) Jordan Tripp LB Montana: Tripp is an outside linebacker but I think he
will project well to a 3-4 ILB. I like
his skills and instincts and the Packers need a young guy to step up at the
second ILB position. If the Bears do not
go with Jordan Zumwalt he would be an excellent pick here as well.
In the scenario that the Packers have addressed ILB but not
Safety at this point then an intriguing prospect would be Marqueston Huff S/CB Wyoming.
4-21 (117)Dakota Dozier G Furman: Sounds a lot like some
previous college tackles that have done well moving inside, needs time to
develop but it sounds like he might be a perfect swing lineman before settling
into a starting position a few years down the road.
5-21 (149) Jeff Janis WR Saginaw Valley: Somewhat of an unrefined player but he looks
like he can start out as a kick returner and develop into a solid WR. He might be able to contribute pretty early
on as a #4 receiver for the Packers. I
really like this kid a lot.
5-36
(176) Richard Rodgers TE Cal: He fits in as more of an H-Back type of TE but
with a consistent coaching staff that is not asking him to get too big, I think
he might do well.
If the Packers do not draft an ILB up to this point then the
pick is Max Bullough ILB Michigan State:
He has some weird things about his personality but he might be able to
settle down with the Packers. More of a
run stopper but as the second ILB, that is really all you need.
Back-up picks: Chris Smith DE/OLB Arkansas – Pass rusher who
could fill in from time to time.
6-21 (181) Deandre Coleman DT/DE Cal: He sounds like a solid
run stopper that could play all three DL positions in the 3-4. Might be a bit underrated, I am not sure, it
seems like there are some that have him going higher and some that have him
going a little lower.
Back-up Pick: Dezman Southward S Wisconsin. Southward is very raw but has a lot of
tools. His situation reminds me a little
bit of Sam Shields but he is a different player at a different position. I love him at this spot.
7-21 (213) Tyler Larson C Utah State: Sounds like a very
cerebral C that could surprise.
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