2014 NFL Draft Graded Recap

-An opinioated look into every selection in the first round-

By: Josh Fyffe

Ah, Draft Day, the most exciting day of football with no actual football being played. In round one of the 2014 edition we watched the Raiders get one right, Jets fans leave happy, the Jags screw up, and of course the Patriots making the most confusing selection of the first night. Below is every pick in order with my analysis on the overall selection. I gave out grades based on a mixture of systematic fit, player potential, and who else could each team could have selected with the pick; let’s get started. 

1^st Overall – Houston Texans - Jadaveon Clowney, DE – Of course I agree with this pick; Clowney was unanimously rated as the most physically gifted player with the highest ceiling in the draft. Clowney plays with explosion never witnessed at his position, and although he admits his moves are unpolished, he has the physical tools (and a great defensive coaching staff headlined by Romeo Crenel) to develop into one of the game’s best pass rushers. The Texans could have also gone QB with this pick but by looking at the value of the quarterbacks taken in round one, they clearly made the best choice with Clowney who likely would have been nabbed by the Rams if he fell past one. The duo of Watt and Clowney is going to reek havoc in the AFC South for years to come. Initial Grade: A

2nd Overall – St. Louis Rams - Greg Robinson, OL – Another great pick, Robinson is a freak of nature at the line of scrimmage, weighing 320 pounds with a 6’5’’ frame. He can easily be molded into a top caliber left tackle and demonstrates similar unique physical attributes that Clowney has but on the other side of the ball. A knock on him is that he needs to be a bit more polished, but he can learn on the job since he is already physically gifted enough to succeed at the position. This pick adds security to Sam Bradford, who has been on IR the last three seasons, and strengthens the youthful run game that Stacy and Co. started to make a strength of this team last season. Initial Grade: A

3^rd Overall – Jacksonville Jaguars - Blake Bortles – What a surprise, the Jaguars make the most ridiculous pick in the top 10. I completely disagree with taking Bortles third overall, not just because he wasn’t the best quarterback in the draft, but because they probably could have gotten him in the second round or way later in the first. The Jags overvalued a prospect that had only one good college year and a deceptively good bowl game. If you watched his bowl game closely, you realize 80% of his passes were screens to the two Julio Jones imposters who played wide receiver for Central Florida and that he struggled with a lot of his throws. Watch his bowl game against Baylor here. Bortles excelled in the offseason and in events leading up to the draft with his interviews and his pro day, however way too much weight is thrown onto the proday when it’s the actual game tape that should be valued highest. Although I disagree with the pick, I must admit the Jags were likely going to take a QB unless they wanted to hop on the Henne train for another season. Bortles was the best stereotypic QB in the draft, having the best frame and physical attributes of the other three top prospects. But most importantly, I don’t understand how a team can draft a player top 3 in one of the deepest drafts in NFL history when he was literally on the radar of NFL teams for a third of his last season in college. If they weren’t going to go QB, Khalil Mack was still on the board and could have solidified a Gus Bradley defense that he has started to “Seattlize” this offseason. Initial Grade: C+

4th Overall – Buffalo Bills - Sammy Watkins, WR – I love the Watkins pick, but Sammy would have fit well wherever he was drafted; who can’t use a true number one wide receiver. Watkins adds another tool and makes the Bills’ offense a bit intimidating, boasting Spiller, Jackson, Williams, Woods, Chandler, and now Watkins. The only question is can EJ Manuel stay on the field and play at a competitive level to get the Buffalo offense finally on tract. Although Sammy will succeed in Buffalo, they did give up a lot of for him, as their first rounder next year is now property of the Browns, so they better hope Sammy can cash them in on a winning season. Despite having other holes to fill and giving up a first rounder next year for Watkins, I feel like the presence of a true number 1 wide receiver in Buffalo has been sorely missed, and I would have gone in the same direction with the pick. Initial Grade: A-

5th Overall – Oakland Raiders - Khalil Mack, LB – I viewed this as a great pick when it happened and I have no complaints at all. There were murmurs of him competing with Clowney for the number one pick, so to grab him at 5 is good value (if you can believe that). Oakland finally picked a quality player in the first round. Mack has speed and playmaking ability at the linebacker position which is coveted. The pick also adds some youth to the aging veteran Oakland defense. Initial Grade: A

6th Overall – Atlanta Falcons - Jake Mathews, OL – I completely agree with this selection. The Falcons averaged 78 yards per game rushing last season, dead last in the NFL. Mathews is an insanely intelligent prospect and is regarded highly with for his technique. A solid addition for the falcons and they grabbed the most polished OL in the draft, who was also in consideration to go second overall. Mathews may not be a flashy pick, but he will add a lot to this organization if his college success translates to the pro level. Initial Grade: A

7th Overall - Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Mike Evans, WR - I like Evans being taken here as it gives the Bucs two very dangerous offensive threats with Vincent Jackson assumed to be playing opposite him. However, they could have gotten a good quality WR in the second round, such as Allen Robinson, Bruce Ellington, Devante Adams, or Jordan Mathews, while solidifying their starting QB with their first selection. As of right now, either Josh McCown or Mike Glennon will be leading the charge next season, but maybe the Bucs can recreate the Alshon Jeffrey – Brandon Marshall tandem via Vjax and Evans. How that all plays out will interesting to see; I think Evans will succeed, but not as much as he could if he had a better QB throwing him the ball. Initial Grade: B+/A-

8th Overall – Cleveland Browns - Justin Gilbert, CB – I really like this pick when I looked over the draft at the end of the night. Cleveland made some questionable moves in free agency, however they just picked a stud to play opposite from one of the games top 5 corners in Joe Haden. Having two young, fast, smart, talented corners can make it very hard on teams with little receiver depth to do anything offensively. Gilbert also boasts amazing return abilities that they have been missing since the Cribbs era. Some people may feel that they reached for Gilbert with this pick, but they walked out of this draft with two quality first rounders an extra pick in the first round next year. Gilbert will make the top ten defensive unit from a year ago only stronger. Initial Grade: A-

9th Overall – Minnesota Vikings - Anthony Barr, DE/LB- I am mixed with my opinion on this pick. Barr was projected to go in the 12-22 range, so I feel that the Vikings and new head coach Mike Zimmer may have reached a little here. For Minnisota this is a need based pick, but this can look like a brilliant pick if Zimmer can squeeze everything out of Barr, as he does present the physical attributes to play the position. The Vikes also only have one current quality linebacker in Chad Greenway so this fills the roster gap on their team. Overall, the mixed reaction stems from the value, as they could have traded back and gotten him later if they were that in love with him to take him at 9. Zimmer knows defense though, as he did wonders with producing and coercing talent from his old unit in Cincy. Initial Grade: B+

10th Overall – Detroit Lions- Eric Ebron, TE - I think this is a flashy pick by Detriot, and a very stereotypical Lions pick, but this time I think it pans out for them. Ebron is a very dynamic tightend and instantly becomes a distraction to defenses from Megatron. This compliment will allow both players to be more open on offense. Ebron now joins a group that consists of Calvin Johnson, Brandon Pettigrew, Golden Tate, Reggie Bush, Joique Bell, and Ryan Broyles.  My only problem with this pick is that Detroit had other areas of weakness (SECONDARY!!!), and that 5 of the top six defensive backs were still on the board. Taking Dix, Pryor, Fuller, Verrett, or Dennard with this pick probably would have been a more popular move, but we have seen Calvin Johnson single handedly win this team games and now with the additions of Tate and Ebron, one of them will be in single coverage every play. If they can score enough points, their offense can be their defense. Initial Grade: B+/A-

11th Overall – Tennessee Titans - Taylor Lewan, OL – I can't argue with the pick, as strengthening a teams offensive line is never a bad thing to do. Lewan played 4 years at Michigan and adds some youth toa an aging line that already has already has a great young guard in Chance Warmack. This is a pick for the Titans future, and there are too many holes on this team (QB, OLB, ILB, TE, RB,) to take a player that doesn’t entirely effect one side of the ball. They got the third best offensive lineman in the draft with Lewan, and the kid already has a chip on shoulder for all of the teams that passed on him. Initial Grade: A-

12^th Overall – New York Giants - Odell Beckham Jr, WR – I agree with the pick, and Beckham Jr has the potential to be a true number one target. They lost Nicks in free agency to the Colts, so by replacing him with Beckham, Eli now has another nice threesome of Cruz, Randle and Beckham to throw to all season long. I wouldn't like the pick if the Giants hadn't shored up defensive needs in the offseason at cornerback, but Thurmond and DRC are good pickups. Although I agree with the pick, I think that it's very bold selection and not necessarily a great decision as they could get a valuable WR in round two, given offensive line woes and linebacker/pass rusher depth issues. Initial Grade: B+

13th Overall – St. Louis Rams - Aaron Donald, DT – The Rams scored big time with this pick. Donald is an ideal 3 technique and one gap penetrator, and was the best defensive tackle coming into the draft.  The projected top ten pick is also good value at 13^th overall and adds himself to a line that already consists of Robert Quinn and Chris Long. This is a great pick up and I like the balance of mixing offense and defense with the two first rounders. Initial Grade: A

14th Overall – Chicago Bears - Kyle Fuller, CB – Fuller joins a crew of corners that consists of Tim Jennings and Charles Tillman, two players who have been very effective pros for the Bears for a long time. Sadly, both players are now on the other side of 30, so taking a young, talented, physical corner like Fuller not only adds to the depth of the team, but allows the organization to groom him behind two stellar veterans. The Bears could have gone safety with this pick, with both Pryor and Dix left on the board, but I can’t complain as they still improved their secondary. Fuller may not have the return skills of Gilbert, but he is arguably the drafts most complete cover and tackle corner. Initial Grade: A-

15th Overall – Pittsburg Steelers - Ryan Shazier, LB – Shazier is a tackling machine from Ohio State, who plays with top notch effort and leaves everything on the field. He adds depth to a linebacking core that already is a pretty solid unit, however the Steelers made a 1st round pick in last year’s nfl draft on a linebacker (Jarvis Jones) and he had a very subpar first season. The repeat of picks is a bit perplexing when their offense has exhibited struggles and has recently lost its second leading target in Emmanuel Sanders due to free agency. They signed both Lance Moore and Darius Heyward-Bey, but I really don't see either players as offensive game-changers for the Steelers. I am assuming they will tackle widereceiver later in the draft, as the depth at the wide reciever position is ridiculous. The Steelers also have an aging secondary and a pick here would have brought in some youth. I see Shazier thriving as he's a smart player, but not necessarily the best pick for the Steelers, as they had so many other team needs to be filled, linebacker not being one of them; they nabbed a great player though. Initial Grade: B/B+

16th Overall – Dallas Cowboys - Zack Martin – The 6’ 4’’ prospect out of Notre Dame is solid addition to a Cowboys Oline that is getting younger by the year. What used to be a perpetual weakness for the ‘Boys is now one of their biggest strengths. There are a lot of concerns on how this team will generate a pass rush, but by solidifying their offensive line, they are protecting their investment in Romo as well as creating some holes for Demarco Murray. I agree with the pick; Martin has the skill set to compete with any of the top tackles in the draft. It's a low profile selection, but he will make a noticeable difference. Initial Grade: B+/A- 

17th Overall – Baltimore Ravens - CJ Mosley – I love this pick. Mosley was a leader on the stout and revered Alabama defense, and is excellent quality for the 17^th overall pick. He povides the Ravens with another leader at the linebacking core and adds to a defense that has Suggs, Dumervil, Elam, Ngata, and Daryl Smith. They could have gone saftey but they have Matt Elam and both of the top two safeties (Dix and Pryor) wouldn't necessarily play well together as they have similar but not complimentary styles. Watch out for the Ravens; they retooled their offense in free agency and just got a solid player on defensive player in the draft. One of better offseasons in the league in my opinion. Initial Grade: A

18th Overall – New York Jets - Calvin Pryor – I hate this pick, but only because I am a Patriots fan. In all seriousness, Pryor was a very smart pick by the Jets; he plays with his head and was a four year starter at Louisville. They missed out on another offensive weapon, but there are plenty in this draft. This solidifies the Jets defense as an elite unit and they have youth across the board. They got great value with Pryor, and he has the mental and physical attributes to be a longtime starter in the NFL. Initial Grade: A

19th Overall – Miami Dolphins - Ja'Wuan James, OL – This was a no brainer pick as we knew they were going to go with an offensive lineman in the first round due to surrendering by far the most sacks in the NFL last season. This is a necessity based pick and they chose the best OL that they felt would fit their system. He was part of a quality offensive line at Tennessee, where he was a constant brightspot throughout his four years, and he brings the necessary skill set to be a starting tackle in the NFL. With the addition of Branden Albert from the Chiefs in the offseason, this is a completely different line from a year ago. They have spattered weaknesses at safety, running back, and wide reciever, but they can easily address two of those in rounds two and three. James isn’t the best tackle in the draft, but they got their money’s worth at 19^th overall. Initial Grade: B/B+
 
20th Overall - New Orleans Saints - Brandin Cooks, WR - I like this pick, but Dennard would have also made sense as they have Keenan Lewis and a washed-up Champ Bailey playing corner right now. However, Cooks is a good pick because they also need another WR. They have Colston, Stills and Graham. Adding Cooks isn’t too shabby considering they lost Darren Sproles and Robert Meachem.  This adds such a weapon to the Saints as Cooks supplies so much playmaking ability. They also only gave up a third round selection to move up seven spots, which is a good deal for the Saints. He draws a lot of comparisons to a young Steve Smith, and Smith dominated the position in his prime years. Cooks adds depth to an unusually depleted New Orleans offense and will be a key offensive player for years to come, but their corners will suffer despite excellent anticipated safety play from Byrd and Vaccaro. Initial Grade: B+/A-

21st Overall - Green Bay Packers - Ha-Ha Clinton Dix, SS/FS- Great pick. Not only did they get the best quality on the board, but they picked the top rated safety in the draft and addressed their largest area of need. They are fortunate he fell to 21, because he is a better player than that. Dix is the product of a very pro style defense at Alabama and he will be ready to play week one after being coached by Nick Saban. They could have gone corner or linebacker here, but they have needed a quality safety for far too long. Initial Grade: A

22nd Overall – Cleveland Browns - Johnny Manziel, QB - Great pick and he can be a starter week one. Aside from finding a running back to pair with Tate in the backfield, QB was Cleveland’s biggest area of need coming into the draft. Manziel is immediately thrown into an offense that already has a solid offensive line, Josh Gordon (drug test pending), and Jordan Cameron. This gives the Cleveland sports market something to be excited about. Manziel is a playmaker, and in the SEC which is known for having the best defenses in college football, he posted amazing Heisman numbers, as well as having a career completion percentage of nearly 70%. On top of that they added a first round pick in next year’s draft to build around him. Browns are winners of this draft. However, the downsides to Manziel are pretty bold; he is undersized with durability issues as well as off the field concerns. I feel like his off the field antics won’t be as crucial as many people assume as he is been in the spotlight for almost two years, and knows what is acceptable and unacceptable at the professional level. Cleveland, you have found your quarterback, let’s just hope he learns to slide fast. Initial Grade: A/A-

23rd Overall - Kansas City Chiefs - Dee Ford, DE – I agree with the pick. Marqise Lee was on the board but bolstering a strong defense is never a bad call. When Houston and Hali went down with injuries last season, KCs defense was definitively worse. Getting a solid defensive lineman that can rush the pass only makes this team stronger. Look for them to go offense in rounds 2 and 3 though, as WR is an area of much need for them. Initial Grade: A-

24^th Overall – Cincinnati Bengals - Darqueze Dennard, CB – I love the selection and he was the top available prospect on the board during Cincy’s pick. He is going to fit in nicely to a very talented Cincinnati defense. The Bengals have the luxury of having depth at a lot of positions so they could select the best player available. They picked a potential top fifteen prospect late in the first round. He also adds to a secondary that has an aging Terrance Newman and a struggling Dre Kirkpatrick. Dennard provides the legitimacy and the potential to be a number one corner and a top name in the secondary in the NFL. Initial Grade: A

25th Overall – San Diego Chargers - Jason Verrett, CB- The Chargers took the next best corner available and that is their largest area of need. The pick makes sense and Verrett was rated equally to the other three corners taken in front of him and that give him great value as the 25^th selection. He also held the 12^th overall pick, Odell Beckham Jr. to only one catch when they played earlier this season. Aside from Eric Weddle, this team needs a lot of help in its secondary, as their corners are headlined by no names like Brandon Jones and Brandon Ghee. Initial Grade: A-

26th Overall – Philadelphia Eagles - Marcus Smith, DE – I am neutral about this pick. At 26, with Verrett and Dennard off the board, I really like the selection. Smith is a versatile player with sack production, having 14.5 sacks his senior year. The Eagles need help on their pass rush so Smith addresses an area of need immediately. However, Smith is considered a second round talent so it’s possible they reached for him. Some negatives though are that they had the 22^nd pick and Dennard was there for the taking and they traded the pick to Cleveland. The Eagles are very much in need of improving their secondary and finding that number one corner. They also failed to recreate the explosiveness they lost when they released Desean Jackson this offseason, however they can recreate that in later rounds (to some extent). Smith may have a slow start, but I can see him being an impact player, maybe just not as much as Dennard would have impacted this team. Initial Grade: B/B+

27^th Overall – Arizona Cardinals - Deone Bucannon, SS/FS – With adding Bucannon, the Cardinals now have a secondary with Patrick Peterson and The Honey Badger. Those are three young players that will progress immensely over the next few season (Peterson already has). Bucannon is a very pure tackler, with 78 solo tackles this last season. The only thing holding this team back is better quarterback play and a consistent run game so I think taking a QB would have been a direction to go as they are decently set at every other position. I like the pick but I could have seen them improving their team more with Bridgewater or Carr, after all, Larry Fitzgerald is only going to be at peak level for a few more seasons. Initial Grade: B+

28^th Overall – Carolina Panthers - Kelvin Benjamin, WR – Benjamin was mocked to the Panthers frequently by a lot of NFL analysts. The Panthers were undoubtedly going wide receiver with this pick as their corps are currently led by Jericho Cotchery, Jason Avant, and Tiquan Underwood; not exactly the best targets in the league. By adding Benjamin they aren’t getting the most athletic WR but he has physical attributes (being 6'5") that make him a major redzone threat. Marqise Lee could have been a better fit and he was available when they picked. I see problems with both players (Lee can't stay healthy and Benjamin has shown concerns about lacking the intelligence to be a dependable NFL starter). I am glad to see they went WR with the pick, although they do have needs to fill in the secondary as it was ravaged during free agency. If Benjamin can mentally tackle the game, I feel like he can be a very good target for Cam inside the 20. Initial Grade: B/B+

29th Overall – New England Patriots - Dominique Easley, DE/DT – Wow, just wow. I am not a fan of this pick whatsoever. I don’t understand how Belichick can spend the Patriots first round selection on a prospect that has already has two ACL tears (one in each knee). Easley may be a fine player when he is actually on the field, but the risk of taking a player with that injury history is too much for me. Easley was a projected late second round to fourth round pick and likely would have been there at the Patriots 62^nd overall selection. Of course Easley is a Belichick guy though, he plays with more effort than most players and has a great burst with a large motor. I do like them going DE/DT here, but Ra'Shede Hageman was still there and other DE prospects such as Demarcus Lawrence could have added more of a spark to this defense. Granted, if Easley somehow remains unaffected by the injuries, he does have a large upside. The Patriots always make questionable picks that weirdly pan out; Devon McCourty was thought to be a reach when the Pats took him in the first round and he turned out to be the only NFL player in the history of the league to go all-pro at multiple positions. Logan Ryan was also a draft pick that came out of nowhere last season and he was third in the league in interceptions last year, so in Bill we trust. Initial Grade: C+

30^th Overall – San Francisco 49ers - Jimmie Ward, DB – I thought this was a quality pick for Niners, and the safety has great ball and cover skills. Ward adds depth to a weakening and aging 49ers’ secondary. Not a lot of holes to fill with the draft so they had the liberty of choosing the position of their choice. Ward also supplies the Niners with versatility in the secondary as he can easily be a converted corner. The only knock on him is that he was rated a second round player, but the Niners clearly know how to evaluate defensive talent. San Fran adds yet another piece to their bottomless pool of players. Initial Grade: B+

31^st Overall - Denver Broncos - Bradley Roby, CB – Roby was rated just below the first tier of corners in this draft. Roby brings a hard hitting presence to the Broncos, and adds himself to a defense that already has Demarcus Ware, Von Miller, Terrance “pot roast” Knighton, Aqib Talib, TJ Ward. Although I like them going defense here, a linebacker would have made more sense as they lost Wesley Woodyard who is going to be tough to replace, and was a very underrated player in their system. And despite Roby bringing a hard hitting presence, the young corner misses on a lot of tackles that should be made by a first round prospect. If his tackling consistency can improve, Denver may have gotten a steal, but at his current state, they could have gone in another direction on defense. Initial Grade: B-

32nd Overall – Minnesota Vikings - Teddy Bridgewater, QB – This is one of my favorite picks in the entire draft and immediately makes the Vikings first round look great instead of a bit questionable with just Barr. I believe Bridgewater is the most talented and pro ready of all of the quarterbacks. The Vikings got a steal and a half taking him at 32, and matching him in backfield with Adrian Peterson is mouthwatering. They gave up their 2^nd and 4^th round picks to trade back into the first round with Seattle, so I think they should try to grab an offensive playmaker in the 3^rd round to give him another target (outside of Corderelle) to throw to. Bridgewater’s stock dropped because of his shaky pro day, but his tape speaks volumes. On the field he displays amazing accuracy and touch as well as good pocket awareness. He is a good kid with good values and won’t make waves off the field. My only concern with him is his durability, and that is because of his small frame. However, he still remains an absolute steal at 32 overall, since Bortles who ranked approximately equal to him was taken 3^rd overall. Bridgewater also finally gives Minnesota a long-needed relevant quarterback. It’s almost hard to imagine that Ponder was taken 12^th overall and a more talented prospect like Bridgewater is taken at 32 by the same team. Initial Grade: A

Concluding thoughts: The three biggest winners of the first round are Cleveland, Minnesota, and the Rams, all nabbing two excellent first round prospects (the Browns being the biggest winner as they solidified two picks for next year’s first round as well). The first round was successful for a majority of the teams and the only franchises that “lost” on draft night are the Jacksonville Jaguars, New England Patriots, and arguably the Eagles. It’s hard to tell after just one day, who knows; Easley could remain healthy, Bortles might become Roethlisberger (doubt it), and the Eagles might not regret passing on Dennard and Verrett.