Winners
Dallas Cowboys
12. Tyler Booker (OG – Alabama) / 44. Donovan Ezeiruaku (DE – Boston College) / 76. Shavon Revel (CB – East Carolina) / 149. Jaydon Blue (RB – Texas) / 152. Shemar James (LB – Florida) / 204. Ajani Cornelius (OT – Oregon) / 217. Jay Toia (DT – UCLA) / 239. Phil Mafah (RB – Clemson) / 247. Tommy Akingbesote (DT – Maryland)
The value on Tyler Booker is certainly questionable to some, but I had him ranked as a top ten prospect in the class. He’s not exactly an athletic freak up front, but Booker is an ass kicker in the trenches and fills a massive need left behind now that the mid-2010’s star laden offensive line is gone in Dallas. Ezeiruaku was a productive pass rusher in the ACC and was behind just Mykel Williams and Mike Green for me in this pass rusher class. Revel is a player I am super high on because of his rare combination of size and coverage ability and I believe he would have been a first round pick had he not suffered a serious injury this past season. Lastly, I love the double dip on running backs Jaydon Blue and Phil Mafah considering both the need and amount of picks, and grabbing two backs with drastically different styles is a good call.
Arizona Cardinals
16. Walter Nolen (DT – Ole Miss) / 47. Will Johnson (CB – Michigan) / 78. Jordan Burch (DE – Oregon) / 115. Cody Simon (LB – Ohio State) / 174. Denzel Burke (CB – Ohio State) / 211. Hayden Conner (OG – Texas) / 225. Kitan Crawford (S – Nevada)
The Cardinals had massive needs across the defense and managed to land several players who could be stars for this unit moving forward. Nolen, the former number one overall recruit, is a great addition in the middle who drew comparisons to Cards great Darnell Dockett in the pre-draft process. Will Johnson could be the steal of the draft if he can stay healthy, which was clearly a concern amongst teams considering he was a projected first rounder by many. Burch adds a big body pass rusher who’s solid in both facets of the game off the edge. On Day Three, they opened up by grabbing two Buckeyes fresh off a National Championship to add more depth to the defense, and I think both Simon and Burke can carve out long term roles on the team.
Seattle Seahawks
18. Grey Zabel (OG – North Dakota State) / 35. Nick Emmanwori (S – South Carolina) / 50. Elijah Arroyo (TE – Miami FL) / 92. Jalen Milroe (QB – Alabama) / 142. Rylie Mills (DT – Notre Dame) / 166. Tory Horton (WR – Colorado State) / 175. Robbie Ouzts (TE – Alabama) / 192. Bryce Cabeldue (OG – Kansas) / 223. Damien Martinez (RB – Miami FL) / 234. Mason Richman (OT – Iowa) / 238. Ricky White (WR – UNLV)
The Seahawks had a massive need in the interior of the offensive line and got spot on value with Zabel, another product of the Bison-NFL pipeline for lineman. Emmanwori was pretty inconsistent in college but he tested as one of the best athletes to ever enter the draft and should fill a role similar to Kyle Hamilton if he develops properly. Arroyo is an athletic tight end who can outrun linebackers with ease and Moss safeties over the middle, but doesn’t give a ton as a pass blocker. Milroe is the big question mark, but with Sam Darnold locked into a multiyear contract he won’t be pressed into immediate action and his athleticism should give the Seahawks offense the ability to create packages for him from the jump to ease him into the league. Tory Horton was an uber productive receiver in the Mountain West and could carve a future role here, same with thundering Miami running back Damien Martinez. Lastly, Ricky White was a special teams ace for the Rebels who could fill that role well while developing as a depth prospect at receiver.
Losers
Cleveland Browns
5. Mason Graham (DT – Michigan) / 33. Carson Schwesinger (LB – UCLA) / 36. Quinshon Judkins (RB – Ohio State) / 67. Harold Fannin (TE – Bowling Green) / 94. Dillon Gabriel (QB – Oregon) / 126. Dylan Sampson (RB – Tennessee) / 144. Shedeur Sanders (QB – Colorado)
Let me preface this by saying I thought Mason Graham was a top five prospect in this class and I’m perfectly fine with trading for future assets to address the quarterback position, but I don’t love the makeup of this class as a whole. The Browns were picking here because they had a lot of needs, but with seven selections they double dipped at both QB and RB. Shedeur should have been the play at 94 instead of Gabriel, but it feels like this was a case of not seeing eye to eye between coach/GM and ownership. I was much higher on TreVeyon Henderson than Judkins because I think he’s a much more complete runner, which would have allowed them to fill a different hole instead of grabbing Sampson (who I do like, fwiw) nearly a hundred picks later.
Houston Texans
34. Jayden Higgins (WR – Iowa State) / 48. Aireontae Ersery (OT – Minnesota) / 79. Jaylin Noel (WR – Iowa State) / 97. Jaylin Smith (CB – USC) / 116. Woody Marks (RB – USC) / 187. Jaylen Reed (S – Penn State) / 197. Graham Mertz (QB – Florida) / 224. Kyonte Hamilton (DT – Rutgers) / 255. Luke Lachey (TE – Iowa)
Entirely too many Jays in this class. In all seriousness, CJ Stroud took a step back in year two in large part due to the offensive line being near the bottom of the league. They traded Laremy Tunsil to Washington but did little in this draft to address the need. Ersery is an interesting developmental prospect, but if he’s starting day one it is a cause for concern. Drafting both Iowa State receivers is a fun bit for sure, and both are capable of being long term playmakers for Stroud, but it feels like they could have filled a bigger need with either selection instead of double dipping. If you told me Graham Mertz was drafted, I’d assume you were talking about the CFL Draft.
Denver Broncos
20. Jahdae Barron (CB – Texas) / 60. RJ Harvey (RB – UCF) / 74. Pat Bryant (WR – Illinois) / 101. Sai’vion Jones (DE – LSU) / 134. Que Robinson (DE – Alabama) / 216. Jeremy Crawshaw (P – Florida) / 241. Caleb Lohner (TE – Utah)
Jahdae Barron is a very good football player but it comes as a luxury because the defensive back room is one of this teams strengths already. There were plenty of options at receiver and running back available here that I feel would have been the smarter play. I’m also not very high on RJ Harvey, especially in the second round with plenty of superior runners on the board. For Denver, it felt like they left a lot of value on the board throughout the weekend between both needs and who they ultimately selected.
