Houston Texans
With the 30th-ranked defense last year, it was easy to guess how Houston would draft. They spent their first pick on a great fit for their new look 3-4 defense in JJ Watt (DE, Wisconsin). Big, strong, athletic, and tireless on the field, Watt will be a good starter at the very least and could be a star.
Arizona linebacker Brooks Reed brings a big-time pass rush to Houston. He should start right away and bookend Mario Williams nicely.
In the late second round, the Texans got a starting-level corner in Brandon Harris from Miami.
Rashad Carmichael was another nice addition to the secondary in the fourth round, though he won’t be ready to help out next year. He will need a year to learn and acclimate to the NFL environment, but he is an impressive athlete.
I like the pick of North Carolina quarterback TJ Yates in the fifth round. Yates basically had the world crash down around him last year with so many of his Tar Heel teammates getting suspended for the year. Yet he played tremendously in such an impossible situation. Yates isn’t a huge talent, but the guy has guts. He finds ways to score and win games. I think he may develop into a good NFL starter given enough time.
The Texans improved their defense as much as any team improved on any side of the ball in this year’s draft. Houston’s pass defense was abysmal last year, but with Watt and Reed getting after the quarterback and Harris improving coverage, this defense should be dramatically better next year. Plus, Yates was a good value in the fifth.
Grade: A
Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis addressed their biggest need head-on in the first round—protect Peyton Manning—by drafting stud offensive tackle Anthony Costanzo from Boston College. Costanzo is smart, tough, durable, strong, and athletic. He’s the perfect fit for the Indy system who will be able to step in immediately and upgrade the Colts’ protection. The same can be said for Ben Ijalana (OL, Villanova) whom the Colts took in the second round. Ijalana can play tackle or guard, is a great athlete, and is very strong. He and Costanzo add a really physical dimension to an offensive line that has been lacking an identity for a while now.
In the third round, the Colts made one of my favorite picks in the draft. They nabbed LSU defensive tackle Drake Nevis, and in so doing finally get the physical, nasty player they’ve needed in the middle of their defense. Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy called Nevis the best player he ever played against, even better than thirteenth overall pick Nick Fairley.
Delone Carter (RB, Syracuse) was a nice pick in the fifth round. At 222 pounds and with 27 bench press reps at the combine, Carter’s physical presence should help bolster a backfield that looked average last year between Joseph Addai and Donald Brown.
The Colts had a limited number of picks, but they really maxed them out and did a great job of changing the identity of their team. They got three players that should start and bring tremendous strength and physicality to their offensive and defensive lines. Costanzo should be a star, Ijalana and Nevis should be very good starters, and Carter adds a new dimension to the backfield.
Grade: B+
Jacksonville Jaguars
I don’t love Blaine Gabbert, but I love that the Jags got him at the 10 spot, and I love how he fits into their franchise. Gabbert needs time to learn an NFL system and needs to be surrounded by talent. In Jacksonville he can sit behind David Garrard for a year or two, learn the system, and then step in only when fully ready to take over an already talented team. The Jags have been slowly building up their offensive line, and they have a star in Maurice Jones-Drew and a young defense that is on the verge of being very good.
In the third round, the Jags continued to improve their offensive line by selecting Lehigh guard Will Rackley. Rackley is a smart, strong player who was a second round talent.
The Jaguars’ next three picks are all small school prospects that we will have to wait and see on. Cecil Shorts (WR, Mount Union) is a quick, explosive player but not yet strong enough to get off jams at the NFL level. Chris Proskinski is definitely a project coming out of Wyoming. He’s a solid athlete that wasn’t spectacular in college.
This draft really was about Gabbert, and I liked that pick a lot. Still, this isn’t a team that’s one player away from being a championship contender. They needed to do more, and while I like the pick of Rackley, they needed to add more immediate contributors in the later rounds.
Grade: C+
Tennessee Titans
If you love Jake Locker, picking him is fine, but the Titans didn’t need to grab him 8th overall. They could have traded down and paid a lot less for him. Still, that’s who the Titans wanted, and this time last year he was projected as the number one overall pick.
In the second round the Titans got a good player that could have gone in the first round, Akeem Ayers (LB, UCLA). Ayers is not a combine freak, but he is a nice athlete with great pass rush skills who will help the Titans defense right away.
USC defensive tackle Jurrell Casey was a solid pick in the third round. He’s a stout player with decent quickness who will be tough to move in the run game.
I really like the fourth rounder Colin McCarthy (LB, Miami). A very good athlete with all the ability to start, and be an impact player, McCarthy just needs to get bigger to play full time in the NFL.
Jamie Harper (RB, Clemson) was a reach in the fourth round, but at 5’11” and 233 pounds he brings the physicality and a change of pace to Chris Johnson.
Fifth rounder Karl Klug was a reach, but he’s a strong, hardworking player who could make the team. The Titans also added three developmental players in the sixth and seventh rounds.
Locker was a reach but fit a need and is a big talent; I don’t mind the pick too much. Ayers was a good value and meets a need; I like that pick. Casey improves the defense and can play right away, and McCarthy was a steal in the fourth. If Harper can be a 7-10 touch per game player and be effective, he will have been a steal.
Grade: B-
--from Adam
No comments:
Post a Comment