Now that the NFL Draft is over, it is time to discuss the losers of this years draft.
Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles came into the draft with a couple of needs including wide receiver, cornerback and defensive line. The offense wasn't the problem for the Eagles last season, so it was expected this would be a heavily defensive draft outside of looking for a replacement for Desean Jackson. The Eagles found a great replacement for the loss of Jackson in Jordan Matthews. Matthews is the all time receiving yards and receptions leader in the SEC and has proven his ability to get open and make plays. He occasionally drops a catchable ball, but his ability to get open in space, block in the running game and the fact that he is a high character and intelligent player far outweighs the occasional drop. This part of the draft was a hit for the Eagles.
The miss started with the over drafting of defensive end Marcus Smith. Smith is a high motor player who gets to the quarterback, which is what the Eagles need, however, he was a second to third round selection that was drafted in the first round. The Eagles already traded back once at this point in the draft, but could have traded out of the pick again to get themselves another selection either in this draft or a future draft and then selected Smith in the mid to late second round. The selection of Josh Huff in the third round was also a little puzzling as the Eagles had just selected Jordan Matthews in the previous round and return Jeremy Maclin and Riley Cooper albeit Maclin coming off a season ending injury. The Eagles could've filled a bigger need like cornerback with a guy like Phillip Gaines, who was drafted with the very next pick, but the Eagles chose to go with another receiver. The Eagles addressed the cornerback position in free agency last season, however, it didn't have the results they expected with the additions of Cary Williams and Bradley Fletcher. Another body at the position wouldn't have hurt, especially in this day in age with the league becoming more pass heavy.
While the Eagles drafted players in their positions of need like defensive back, defensive line and wide receiver, they left a lot to be wanted especially on the defensive side of the ball. With their best pick coming on the offensive side of the ball, the Eagles will have to hope that their pass rush improves with the addition of Marcus Smith because if he doesn't have an impact this season, than that secondary could get torched again for the second year in a row.
Washington Redskins
The Redskins had a lot of holes to fill, most notably on the offensive line to help protect quarterback Robert Griffin III and in the secondary to help improve their pass defense. The Redskins added Ryan Clark in free agency, which should help put a bandaid on the wound, however, they really needed to add some secondary help given that their secondary is aging very quickly. The Redskins attacked the offensive line by getting great value with tackle Morgan Moses and guard Spencer Long. Both Moses and Long come from run first systems, which should help an already powerful running attack that the Redskins have with Alfred Morris. A good running attack will help keep RG3 on his feet and limit the amount of hits he will take, thus ensuring that he will be at his best for the Redskins. It will also help the Redskins offense become more dynamic, especially given the addition of Desean Jackson at wide receiver to go along with Pierre Garcon and tight end Jordan Reed. The offense looks to be in good shape for the Skins.
The problem though for the Redskins is that they really didn't help themselves on the defensive side of the ball at all. Out of the eight picks the Redskins had, only two were used on the defensive side of the ball. One was for outside linebacker Trent Murphy who will be used as an insurance policy to both Ryan Kerrigan and Brian Orakpo, who have had trouble staying healthy. There are two problems with this pick. First I understand the need to get a backup option given both Orakpo's and Kerrigan's injury history, however, the Redskins had a greater need at cornerback and defensive line that went unfilled in exchange for a luxury pick. Secondly, Murphy was a player who could've been gotten in the third or even fourth round, but Washington took him in the middle of the second round. That's a little high for a guy who definitely won't be getting the majority of the snaps at outside backer unless one of the previously mentioned players get hurt. The Redskins could've chosen a guy like Timmy Jernigan at the same slot to help bolster their defensive line or even traded a little further back and taken a guy like Stan Jean-Baptiste who could've learned under pros like Deangelo Hall and Ryan Clark on how to be physical as that was his biggest deficiency coming into the draft.
The Redskins addressed the corner position in the fourth round when they drafted Bashaud Breeland from Clemson. Breeland is a good tackling corner, however, he isn't a playmaking or shutdown style corner so he could find himself at safety given his lack of playmaking potential. Maybe the Redskins can teach him how to make a play on the ball, but he was a better zone defender than press man cover corner so it is unlikely, which is another reason why the Redskins dropped the ball in this draft.
The Redskins offense will be much improved this year with the free agency additions and draft acquisitions. However, the defense still looks to be limited given the lack of attention paid to it not only during free agency, but also in the draft. It looks as though the Redskins will be in a ton of shootouts this year and will be forced to outscore the opposition, since they won't have a defense to rely on.
Buffalo Bills
The Bills came into the draft with needs on both the offensive and defensive line as well as wide receiver and linebacker. The Bills started the draft off nicely by trading up to wide receiver get Sammy Watkins. Watkins is a dynamic player who catches everything thrown his way. He has breakaway speed and was by far and away the best receiver in the draft. On one hand I love the move because they upgraded the position and got a conditional pick in the next draft by trading Stevie Johnson. On the other hand I don't understand the move because the Bills are more than one player away from winning the division or making the playoffs so it seems rather odd to mortgage their future for a player that will help the team, but won't necessarily get them over the hump.
The Bills have a strong defensive line against the pass ranking 2nd in total sacks last season to go along with a good secondary. However, Buffalo really needed to get another tackle to help plug the running lanes as the Bills are one of the worst teams against the rush. Buffalo only drafted one defensive front seven player in linebacker Preston Brown who should help improve the position, but didn't fix their problem at hand against the run.
The biggest problem with the Bills draft was that although they drafted three offensive lineman, their are issues with all three. Tackle Cyrus Kouandjio has had injury problems in the past and didn't exactly light it up at Alabama either. Taking Kouandjio in the second round was a little high as he is expected to step in and contribute right away on the offensive line, which I don't believe he is ready for. Guard Cyril Richardson was drafted in the fifth round, which was proper placement of where he should be taken. Richardson, however, comes from the up tempo passing system at Baylor and had problems at times handling pressure coming from linebackers and corners. His run blocking will also be a subject of talk given that the Baylor up tempo style left defenses wondering what was coming as opposed to the knowing the offense was going to run it right at you, so it will be interesting to see if he can push the pile or not. Lastly, Seantrel Henderson is a waste of pick in my opinion. Henderson completely underperformed throughout his entire time at Miami and the fact that he failed a drug test at the NFL combine knowing that he would be tested just shows that he doesn't care. Now that he is already in the league's drug program, one more failed test and he is gone for an entire season. Henderson is an all about me kind of guy, which is the last the Bills need.
Detroit Lions
The Lions two glaring needs coming into the draft were offensive line and cornerback. The Lions addressed neither of these positions when they drafted tight end Eric Ebron with the 10th pick. Ebron is a big, fast tight end that is a matchup nightmare for a defensive coordinator. Teaming him up with Calvin Johnson will help spread the field and prevent defenses from doubling Johnson especially with the acquisition of wide receiver Golden Tate. However, this pick didn't make much sense in that the Lions just resigned Brandon Pettigrew and have Joseph Fauria as well, let alone the fact that talented cornerbacks like Kyle Fuller, Jason Verrett and Darqueze Dennard were still on the board and yet again the Lions passed on filling this need. The Lions face Aaron Rogers and Jay Cutler twice a year and with those passing attacks you would think that they would realize they need a corner or two on their roster as they were one of the worst teams against the pass and have been for the last couple of seasons. Don't get me wrong, I like Ebron and think he will be an amazing player, but when you continue to miss the playoffs and give up 30+ points a game, eventually you have to realize that the draft isn't always about getting flashy players.
With the next pick the Lions took Kyle Van Noy, one of the most underrated players in the draft in my opinion. Van Noy is a great pass rushing linebacker who is also good in coverage, but has trouble getting off block occasionally. This pick was also a problem because the fit doesn't work. Van Noy comes from a 3-4 scheme at BYU and is too small to be a down lineman or an inside backer in the Lions 4-3 scheme. There is new leadership under first year head coach Jim Caldwell, but he ran a 4-3 scheme in Indianapolis as well and with the defensive line talent that the Lions have, it is unlikely they will move to a 3-4 scheme making Van Noy a player without a position.
Of the remaining six draft selections, Detroit only took one cornerback, one offensive lineman and no linebackers. It just doesn't make sense to draft two more defensive lineman and a kicker when you have glaring holes on the O line and defensive backfield. Quarterback Matthew Stafford has been injured throughout his career because he gets hit 20+ times a game because the offensive line has never truly been upgraded properly through the draft and it was ignored once again so it wouldn't be a surprise to me if Stafford goes down again this year as it is obvious that the Lions will be looking to score a ton of points through the air, opening him up to plenty of hits with the lack of quality on the offensive line.
Seattle Seahawks
Seattle is an interesting team because they didn't really have many needs coming into the draft. Offensive line was an area that was a problem at times last year due to injuries and the loss of Golden Tate at wide receiver and Red Bryant and Chris Clemons from the defensive line were the only areas that needed to be addressed. After trading out of their first round pick, the Seahawks took wide receiver Paul Richardson to try and replace Golden Tate. Richardson was very effective last year catching 83 passes for over 1300 yards and 10 touchdowns. The pick was kind of interesting in that Allen Robinson, Cody Latimer and Davonte Adams were all still on the board at wide receiver and late first round talents like Stephon Tuitt and Timmy Jernigan were available at the defensive line. Both Latimer and Robinson block better in the run game than Richardson does, which was something Golden Tate was very good and something I thought the Seahawks would try to replicate.
As Seattle has done in recent drafts, the Seahawks over drafted for an offensive lineman in Justin Britt. While Britt has the size and is physical, he was more of a third to fourth round selection than a second round pick. Morgan Moses was still on the board and would've been a better value pick than Britt especially since Moses is a very good run blocking offensive lineman. Maybe Britt will be a surprise, but the Seahawks better hope he doesn't turn out like James Carpenter who has been a high pick disappointment at the offensive line so far.
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