Well the NFL Draft has come and gone. After months of anticipation, mock drafts, big boards and rumors; teams have welcomed in their new rookie class. Not all draft classes are created equal, and as with the game of football itself there are winner and losers.
We all know it’s far too early to give these picks a real grade, because the game isn’t played on paper and we truly have no clue how these young rookies will fare on Sundays. We’re in the business of speculation though, so it’s only right to provide you all with our initial reaction.
Baltimore Ravens
It’s not unusual to see Baltimore on the list of winners after the NFL Draft, this year is no exception. After being jumped by the Philadelphia Eagles in the draft order (more on them shortly) the Ravens still somehow came away with my number one player in this draft, Kyle Hamilton. Hamilton encompasses everything someone would want in a safety, pairing him with the newly signed Marcus Williams automatically gives Baltimore one of the best tandems in the league.
Shortly after the pick of Hamilton, Baltimore traded away their only viable wide receiver in Marquis ”Hollywood” Brown, getting a first round pick from the Arizona Cardinals in return. While it raised some eyebrows, it was later reported he had requested a trade. They used that pick to get my top interior lineman in the class, Tyler Linderbaum. On days two and three they drafted a trio of freakishly high upside guys in David Ojabo, Travis Jones and Daniel Faalele.
It’s hard to give Baltimore any less than a resounding “A” for this draft on paper. The combination of day one contributors and high upside developmental guys could be franchise altering.
Philadelphia Eagles
Howie Rosmeman and the Philadelphia Eagles entered draft season with the most capital in the league, they surely did a great job utilizing it. Three weeks before the draft even happened they pulled off an epic fleecing of the New Orleans Saints, trading away two of their three 1st round picks this year (16 and 19) for picks 18 and 101, a 1st round pick in 2023, and a 2nd round pick in 2024.
This still left Philly with four picks in the top 100 this year, while ensuring they have plenty of bullets in the chamber over the next two years. Howie wasn’t done wheeling and dealing though. The ever aggressive Roseman jumped up into the 13th spot to draft NFL Combine darling Jordan Davis as the heir apparent to Fletcher Cox. Shortly thereafter, much to the joy of fans and Eagles players; he shipped picks 18 and 101 to Tennessee for superstar wide receiver AJ Brown.
After the excitement of day one, the birds got right back to work. In the 2nd round they drafted Cam Jurgens to replace their future hall of fame center Jason Kelce. All the while, the previously thought of top 40 lock Nakobe Dean was falling fast. Size and injury concerns pushed him all the way down to pick 83. Philadelphia being so needy at the position could not pass up a chance to pair the Butkus award winning linebacker with his college teammate, Davis.
All in all Howie Roseman turned a 2021 trade down with the Dolphins and Carson Wentz into Jordan Davis, AJ Brown, Nakobe Dean, and a future 1st and 2nd round pick…. Talk about a return on investment.
New York Jets
This is not a typo, Jets fans you weren’t dreaming; The New York Jets absolutely killed this draft and had undoubtedly the best opening night of any team in football.
There weren’t many people surprised when the Jets decided to draft Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner with the 4th overall pick in this years draft. If he was on the board he was going to New York, he could reestablish the island formerly known as Revis…. Sauce Island does have a certain ring to it.
With the 10th overall pick, acquired during the Jamal Addams trade; The Jets selected arguably the best wide receiver in the draft Garrett Wilson. The selection gives their young QB Zach Wilson a formidable young trio of targets in Elijah Moore, Braxton Barrios and the aforementioned Wilson.
Not to let a good deal pass them by, New York jumped back into the first round to snag the falling Jermaine Johnson at pick 26. Johnson was arguably the best pure pass rusher in his class and viewed by many as a lock to go inside the top 15 picks. Adding a piece like Johnson to Robert Saleh’s defense to go along with the addition of Sauce Gardner could change the entire culture on that side of the ball.
To put the cherry on top, the Jets added running back Breece Hall as well as a pair of developmental players in OT Max Mitchell and Texas A&M DE Michael Clemons. Nobody can be certain as to what will come from this influx of young talent, but New York is certainly an improved roster.