The biggest and final takeaway from the first round of the draft? NFL GM's will still sell their soul for hope at quarterback, and this league is ALL about offense (I guess that's two takeaways but they tie in a little). The Bears getting duped to move up a spot and select a quarterback they were gonna have at three anyways is probably the best example. My best guess? The 49ers had a lot of other offers and the Bears decided to outbid someone else in the top ten (maybe the Jets or Chargers) to guarantee they got their quarterback, a quarterback who, as I detailed last post, started thirteen career college games. So the Bears either wrecked the future of the franchise (most likely) by giving up a pair of third rounders and a fourth to skip out on elite talents like Jamal Adams and Marshon Lattimore and neglect the rest of a roster that drastically needs an overhaul. The Chiefs and Texans did something similar, with Kansas City trading up for a complete project at quarterback, and the Texans singing up for a probable game manager. Three other teams in the top ten carried the offense reach trend. I doubt many people had three receivers going in the top ten, considering Mike Williams limited speed (he's too slow for the common Dez Bryant comparisons to be legit) and John Ross' injury history (many teams took him completely off the board) and talents like Jonathan Allen, Marshon Lattimore, Hook and Foster all fell to later picks.
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Watson is a limited athlete without the ability to push the ball downfield. He hasn't stopped throwing picks since day one, and his inside running and designed ball carries are going to all but disappear at the next level. I could see him becoming a competent, and maybe clutch, game manager, he probably peaks at a Kirk Cousins, Alex Smith-esque level, surround him with playmakers and a great OC, and I think he could produce. But he's not ever going to carry a team like Aaron Rodgers or Matthew Stafford has this year.
The most terrifying thing about this QB class? It's very easy to make a case for him as the best quarterback in this class- a crunch time performer who led his team to back to back national championship appearances? Sounds better than the one year starter, the quarterback who can't set his feet to save his life, or the Notre Dame quarterback who failed to produce in college. If I was a GM in this draft there's no way I waste a pick on a quarterback on day 1, especially considering how good this class is. There's probably six or seven defensive linemen worth a pick, two tackles, a guard, at least four running backs, three receivers, possibly four linebackers, and easily eight corners worthy of a first round selection. And don't forget about one of the better safeties classes the draft has seen in a long time, with two top ten locks and a pair of high upside wild cards who could slide in at the end of the first. Oh, and two dual threat freaks at tight end who are also locked to go in the first round? How, I ask, as a GM, do you justify passing up on so many great options for such high risk prospects and such a high risk position? Here's some career advice to NFL heads- if you drop a first round pick on a quarterback who only started one year at a sub-elite program, and he busts in what would be the most obvious "well duh, he couldn't win the starting job in college" hindsight comment on all time and four pro bowlers are picked behind him, you get a pink slip. And are gonna struggle to get picked up anywhere else. Mahomes is so technically flawed and inconsistent I'm not sure anyone could truly fix him, and Kizer can't hit the side of a barn. But Reuben Foster, Marlon Humphrey, and Dalvin Cook might be cornerstones for championship teams- and all of them could easily last to the teens or later. Just saying. |
Michael SmithA life long 'Dawg, Michael has been born and raised spending each and every fall saturday eating, socializing, and watching the sport he was raised to love. Archives
April 2017
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