Last night’s Round 1 of the NFL Draft started out fairly chalky. That was until we got to 8th overall. The Falcons stunned the world and took a quarterback. The Bills helped out their biggest AFC nemesis. The Raiders drafted maybe the best player in the Draft, and people are mad. Jim Harbaugh drafted a weapon. Well, his weapon. Let’s recap some random Draft thoughts from Thursday night.
NFL Draft Thoughts
Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
In case you forgot, Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze are both Chicago Bears. It still kind of hasn’t hit me yet, and probably won’t fully until Week 1. This is the most excited I’ve been for the long-term outlook of the Bears in my lifetime.
I just can’t get over the Michael Penix Jr pick. And I LIKE Michael Penix Jr. I think he’s a solid prospect who, while older, has a lot of traits NFL teams are looking for in a quarterback. I just cannot believe the Atlanta Falcons took him. And they did it WITHOUT TELLING KIRK COUSINS. How hard is it to make a phone call and give your $100 million man a heads-up? The Falcons had needs defensively, they could have added another weapon if they wanted. There was a lot of high-ceiling talent available and they’re in a division that they can win next year. And they drafted a long-term QB project and likely upset their new quarterback in the process. Have a day, Falcons.
Speaking of draft strategies I don’t understand, I’m not really sure what Buffalo is doing. If you want to trade back, that’s fine. But you’re going to go out of your way to help the Chiefs land Xavier Worthy – the team that beat you three of the last four seasons in the playoffs? Now, the Chiefs have what seems like a perfect fit of a receiver in their offense. Buffalo then traded back with Carolina from the 32nd pick to the 33rd. They netted a 3rd round pick from KC and swapped late-round selections with Carolina. I don’t mind that move as much. It gives them an extra day to maybe try and make a move for Tee Higgins or Brandon Aiyuk, or maybe someone overpays to move up and grab a player they love. There are also still good receivers left on the board. But still, Buffalo helping their top nemesis get better is a head-scratcher.
I don’t really understand the ire toward the Raiders after last night. Sure, they drafted at a position they didn’t really need to address. But the player they drafted might be the best overall player in this draft. Brock Bowers is a freak athlete and a monster. He can fit into any offense and pairing him with Davante Adams gives the Raiders some dangerous weapons. Vegas did draft Michael Mayer last year, who I still like a lot, but he and Bowers can do different things. Mayer can be more of a blocker while Bowers can be more of a receiver. And two tight-end sets are very much a thing in the NFL. Sure, the Raiders needed to address the OL or secondary, but they took the best player available and it was a REALLY good one. It’s kind of hard for me to be mad at that.
Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
I think Minnesota was a big winner last night. They moved up to draft their potential QB of the future and one of the top EDGE prospects on the board and they didn’t have to move a future first-round pick to do it. The Draft dominos certainly fell in their favor to be able to do that, but Kwesi Adofo-Mensah pounced when they did and in my opinion, was a big winner from last night’s first round. They certainly sacrificed mid-round picks next year, but if J.J. McCarthy and Dallas Turner hit, that’s a sacrifice they’ll be ok making.
On the other side of that Minnesota trade, or one of them, was the Jaguars and I love what they did last night too. They traded back from 17th to 23rd, picked up three extra draft picks over this year and next, and still ended up with the player they might have been targeting at 17 anyway. Brian Thomas Jr was one of the top receivers in the draft following the “big three” of Marvin Harrison Jr, Malik Nabers, and Rome Odunze. So the Jags got Trevor Lawrence a new WR1 after Calvin Ridley left and got three extra picks in the process. Not bad!
The Eagles I think have to be thrilled about how last night shook out for them. They were rumored to be interested in moving up to grab a cornerback, they stood pat and ended up having their choice of cornerback at 22, so they were able to draft their favorite of the bunch in Toledo’s Quinyon Mitchell without having to sacrifice future draft capital.
Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
I’m fascinated by the beginning of the second round because it feels like it’s still loaded with talent. AD Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, Jer’Zhan Newton, Ladd McConkey, Keon Coleman, and Ennis Rakestraw all were considered potential first-round picks and I think those guys have some really high ceilings. I’m so interested to see what Buffalo does or if we have any teams trying to move back up into that top part of the second round to target one of those players.
I’ll leave you with a quote from one of the great philosophers of our time that I like to remember when discussing the NFL Draft:
Offensive Linemen we look at as weapons. When we talk about attacking on offense… Offensive Line is the tip of the spear.
Matt is from the Chicagoland area and has been working in Chicago sports since 2015 with stops at WGN Radio, the Chicago Blackhawks, Stadium, and NBC Sports Chicago prior to landing at Betsperts. Matt covers just about everything for Betsperts and Bleacher Nation but focuses on the NHL and college football.
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