(33) 1. Rams select
WR Brian Quick: This has been my first look at Quick and I’m sure I’m not the
only person taken by surprise by this pick. Overall Quick strikes me as being
an average receiver with pretty good hands and good height. He has some serious
issues running down the sidelines on deep routes with maintaining the proper
distance from the edge of the field and his route running will need some work.
With Alshon Jeffery still on the board, this pick was a little surprising.
(34) 2. Colts select TE Coby Fleener: This is a great pick
in my view. Fleener has taken a lot of stick for his run blocking but
personally I don’t understand that. He was a pretty good blocker on a team that
was very good at rushing, so there’s no issue there for me. As a pass catcher
is where Fleener really comes into his own. He’s a great route runner with
pretty good hands and really he should be considered as an under speed receiver
more than a fast tight end. Playing over the middle he’ll provide a great
target for his former college team mate Andrew Luck and could ease Lucks entry
into the NFL a great deal.
(35) 3. Ravens select DE Courtney Upshaw: The Ravens obviously
saw something in Upshaw to take him in the second round, but I don’t see it. I
stand by what I said previously about him. He is very average, seems fairly
easy to block, is not really that athletic and is almost completely unable to
get a sack unless he’s left unblocked. I don’t understand the interest at all.
(36) 4. Broncos select DT Derek Wolfe: I was quite down on
him before and watching him again, I’m still down on him. Occasionally he’ll
muscle his way close to the play, but it’s a very rare occurrence and just
generally he doesn’t contribute much, and this was against talent not even
representative of the NFL level.
(37) 5. Browns select OT Mitchell Schwartz: Yeah, I think
I’ll stand by Schwartz as a good tackle. He played against some very difficult
opponents and came through with reasonably flying colours. He seems to have a
few problems at times with picking out who to block on certain plays, but
looking at I think it’s probably an issue specific to that scheme and not a
general problem with Schwartz. He should make a good tackle in the NFL.
(38) 6. Jaguars select DE Andre Branch: What the Jaguars
have desperately needed for a while now has been a pass rush of some form and
they’ll be hoping Branch provides it. He’s quick, that much is undeniable. He’s
not always the strongest end on the field and that may hurt him in the long
run, but he can get off the snap quickly and he can give offensive tackles big
problems. He’ll be an interesting and frankly much needed addition to the
Jaguars team.
(39) 7. Rams select CB Janoris Jenkins: One of the most
highly rated corners in the draft, but really I’m not sure why. His coverage
skills are somewhat average, he doesn’t tackle very well at all and he plays
far too loose off the receiver, giving them massive cushions. The Rams need
help at corner and I don’t think Jenkins is it.
(40) 8. Panthers select OT Amini Silatolu: Not a lot of
Midwestern State film kicking about! From what I’ve seen though Silatolu looked
a bit 50/50. In the running game he certainly had that element of being a
bulldozer about him, albeit against some questionable opposition. In pass
protection he looked a little ungainly and slow to me. I’m not sure I’d trust
him with my franchise quarterback, especially as he has to adapt to playing
guard.
(41) 9. Bills select OT Cordy Glenn: In my initial look at
the offensive linemen I was very, very critical of Glenn. Having watched him
again I once again find myself wondering how that could be? Like Kalil and
Reiff, I see nothing really wrong with Glenn. He’s strong, pretty well balanced
and with good footwork. I just really don’t understand what has happened and
why I was so off the first time around with some of these O-linemen? I think
Glenn would make a good left tackle for the Bills and should really help that
offense in the passing game.
(42) 10. Dolphins select OT Jonathan Martin: Seems like the
Dolphins saw a run on tackles and went for one themselves! Martin is pretty
good having covered the backside of Andrew Luck all last year. I kind of raved
about him before and now I won’t say that I’m going to down grade my opinion of
him, which would suggest I don’t like him, just that perhaps I was a little too
eager the first time. He does his job but he has a few technical flaws that
show up every now and again. He’ll likely play as a right tackle for Miami
which will take some adjusting to, but generally he’s a solid run blocker and a
fairly sound pass blocker.
(43) 11. Jets select WR Stephen Hill: What is it about
Georgia Tech producing these tall, thickly built receivers? Maybe more college
teams should go receiver scouting in Georgia high schools? Hill follows very much in the footsteps of
Calvin Johnson and DeMaryius Thomas in that he’s a big, athletic target man
with a great pair of hands. For the Jets he makes a great counter balance to
the smaller and speedier Santonio Holmes.
(44) 12. Chiefs select OT Jeff Allen: Didn’t get a chance to
have a look at him first time around. Having now seen him I’m quite impressed.
Pretty solid, tough, nice punch and extension of the arms. Footwork is pretty
good too. Flip flopped between left and right tackle so has some playing time
at both, though it’ll be interesting to see where the Chiefs finally stick him.
Not a bad little pick at all.
(45) 13. Bears select WR Alshon Jeffery: The Bears have been
crying out for proper receivers for a couple of seasons now. Hopefully the
Devin Hester experiment has ended because that was going nowhere. With Brandon
Marshall brought in all they needed was a decent number two and they have it in
Jeffery. He’s a great receiver, big, pretty quick, great hands and body
control. The only thing he really needs to polish up is the top of his routes
(the breaking point) which sometimes are a little sloppy. But a good pick none
the less.
(46) 14. Eagles select ILB Mychal Kendricks: I was quote
negative about Kendricks first time around and on reflection that may have been
a bit too harsh because Kendricks does have some great speed. But still, he’s a
small kid who gets muscled around far too easily and that’s a problem for a
linebacker. He might have had use as a 3-4 outside rusher, but I can’t see what
help he’s going to give the Eagles? They need stout, gap scheme linebackers and
Kendricks is not that. Maybe they plan on bringing more pressure from the weak
side?
(47) 15. Seahawks select ILB Bobby Wagner: Now this one I do
stand by what I said. Wagner is god awful. He’s slow, unbalanced and not
especially that instinctive. He barely seems to contribute and given that
Lavonte David was still on the board at this point I really don’t understand
why you would take Wagner. You cannot tell me, even if you like Wagner a lot,
that he is better than David. Ridiculous.
(48) 16. Patriots select FS Tavon Wilson: Far be it for me
to question the judgement of Bill Belichick but… what in the hell was he
thinking? Wilson is a very average secondary man with generally poor coverage
skills and poor tackling. About the only thing I can see that might have
attracted Belichick is the fact that Wilson has played corner, slot defender
and safety, as well as special teams. The problem – as I see it – is that he
was no good at any of these. Interesting.
(49) 17. Chargers select DT Kendall Reyes: Hmm. I was pretty
down on Kendall Reyes before, even going to the extent of threatening to get on
a plane and punch Jim Harbaugh in the head if the 49ers drafted him, but at a
second look he seemed much better. He does seem to have a knack for getting
between the linemen and getting disruptive penetration into the backfield.
Still has trouble coping with down blocks in the running game, but not a bad
defensive lineman. Probably make a good DE in the Chargers 3-4 scheme.
(50) 18. Rams select RB Isaiah Pead: I’m going to partially
stand by what I said before. Pead is a terrible pass blocker, despite many
assertions that I’ve heard to the contrary. He just flat out cannot pass
protect. His hands are also a little sketchy, as he seems to drop the majority
of the passes thrown to him. But I will take back what I said about his speed.
He has a great burst coupled with excellent agility that makes him a real
danger when he gets going. Perhaps needs to learn to run a bit more North/South
instead of sideline to sideline, but yeah, there’s a lot to like about him.
(51) 19. Packers select DT Jerel Worthy: The Packers took a
chance to move up and take Worthy and given the way they set their defense that
makes some sense. Worthy is a big body who gets a big push on the first step,
but doesn’t really do a whole lot else. His value is as a player that eats
blocks and causes some disruption in the backfield, creating opportunities for
the supporting linebackers to make play. I still think this is a bit of a
gamble for the Packers, but perhaps not as much as I previously thought.
(52) 20. Titans select OLB Zach Brown: I stand by what I
said. Brown is pure garbage. He ran a quick 40 at the combine and every now and
again as he’s dropping back into coverage someone will sling a pass right at
him which he picks off, but generally speaking he is a complete waste. Slow to
react, unbalanced, terrible footwork and he tackles like a 3 year old child.
Awful. Just awful.
(53) 21. Bengals select DT Devon Still: Perhaps I might
rescind my complaints about Still a little, but not a lot. I’ll grant you that he
probably does have some utility as a role player perhaps, an extra young body
to fill out the rotation and maybe groom for the future, but as a second round
pick I don’t understand it. He’s not that good. Turns up the very occasional
sack and spends a lot of time getting pushed around by guards. I also don’t
think defensive line was especially critical for the Bengals.
(54) 22. Lions select WR Ryan Broyles: Like the Still pick
for the Bengals, I’m not sure this was the greatest idea by the Lions. I understand
the Best Player Available argument and to a degree I’ve been swayed to it, but
really? When your team has so many other issues you went out and got another
receiver? Ok. I hadn’t seen Broyles pre-draft and he looks ok. Hands are pretty
good, he’s quite quick and he runs well with the ball in his hands. Route
running is not a strength though. In the NFL that can cause problems with
getting separation. Perhaps a little high for someone of his ability, but you
never know. Maybe the Lions can do something with that speed?
(55) 23. Falcons select OC Peter Konz: That’s offensive
center and not offensive coordinator, just to clarify. I originally said
outside of the first round Konz would be worth a look and here we are! He’s a
Wisconsin Badger offensive linemen. That tells you a lot of what you need to
know. He’s physically impressive and in the running game has a talent for
blowing people off the ball. He’s also athletic enough to pull on power plays
and play guard if the Falcons decide to go that way with him. Pass protection
needs some work still, but that’s mostly smoothing off the rough edges.
(56) 24. Steelers select OT Mike Adams: Initially I called
him a top 10 pick and I think since then I’ve cooled a little on him, so I
guess it’s a good thing that I wasn’t sitting in a draft room for your team!
Though if I were in such a position I’d have access to a ton more film and all
day to watch it so who knows? Adams is still a good pick though. He does need a
bit of work with his hands and sometimes his footwork is a little clumsy, but
overall he’s a big, powerful young man who has a lot of potential to progress
to a higher level.
(57) 25. Broncos select QB Brock Osweiler: So with Tim Tebow
gone to New York, the Broncos have selected Brock Osweiler to become the new
understudy to Peyton Manning. Of course someone should probably tell the
Broncos that Manning’s track record as a mentor for young quarterbacks is
pretty abysmal (just ask Curtis Painter). Osweiler should be in familiar
territory then because he too is abysmal. He spent the majority of his college
career throwing screen passes. When asked to push the ball downfield he did so
poorly and there is no real reason to expect that to change in the NFL.
(58) 26. Buccaneers select LB Lavonte David: The Buccaneers
traded away their third and fourth round picks to Houston in exchange for this
pick and Houston’s seventh rounder. Though they did pay a hefty price (I feel),
Tampa got a great linebacker in return. I love Lavonte David. Playing in the
heart of the defense he can rush the passer, stop the run, cover tight ends,
cover slot receivers and do it all at speed and with relentless pursuit. I feel
like David gives you a lot of options with what you can do with him and will
give you everything he has on the field. The Buc’s defense got a serious
upgrade.
(59) 27. Eagles select DE Vinny Curry: Originally this
should have been the Saints pick, but part of their punishment for the bounty
scandal left it in the hands of Green Bay, who then traded it along with a fourth
round pick to the Eagles in exchange for the 51st selection (a pick
with multiple owners itself). The Eagles decided to boost their pass rush by
taking Vinny Curry from Marshall. First time around I was incredibly hard on
Curry and since then I’ve eased off a little. Still, he struggled against the
likes of Mike Adams and didn’t exactly blow up lesser opposition. His bull rush
isn’t too bad and he has some moves, he just doesn’t seem able to convert all
that into regular sacks. We’ll see, with the Eagles current scheme the ends
always seem to do well and Jim Washburn is just about as good a D-line coach as
you could hope for.
(60) 28. Ravens select OG Kelechi Osemele: First time I’ve
seen Osemele and I think it’s going to be incredibly hard for anyone to project
him accurately. First off, he played left tackle in college but is expected to
be a guard for the Ravens, so we’re already dipping into murky waters.
Secondly, Iowa State’s running game often called for Osemele to make
ridiculously long reach blocks to the inside against an interior defensive
linemen, which makes it difficult to assess his true potential as a run
blocker. Against the pass Osemele did well. He held his own against some good rushers
and looked pretty stout. Like I say, tough to predict I think.
(61) 29. 49ers select RB LaMichael James: As a 49ers fan I
was understandably very interested in this pick and frankly I find this a bit
of a head scratcher. The 49ers already had Frank Gore, Kendall Hunter and
Anthony Dixon, and then in the off season they brought in Brandon Jacobs and
Rock Cartwright. Adding another running back is very odd. But if you’re going
to add a new back then at least make him a good one and LaMichael James certainly
is that. One thing all of the previously mentioned backs had in common is that
they’re all big, pounding backs, “bangers” as I like to call them. James offers
quite a change of pace with significant speed and sharp cutting ability, making
him a viable option both at running back and as a slot receiver.
(62) 30. Packers select CB Casey Hayward: I don’t know what
to make of Hayward. First look I was very high on him but I think that’s
slipping a little now. Tackling, or rather his seeming inability to tackle, is
a big worry. The way he plays is more suited to a man coverage corner, whereas
really the Packers are more of a zone coverage team. He is good against the
pass, getting his head around most (but not all) of the time and finding the
football. He’s had a good number of interceptions and pass break ups, but he
struggles to control big bodied receivers and has been toasted deep more than a
few times. The Packers have a knack lately for developing corners, so we’ll
see.
(63) 31. Giants select WR Rueben Randle: I still like Randle
and looking at it, this was probably about right for where you would expect him
to land. The Giants may even have some starting time for Randle after Mario
Manningham left for golden pastures on the west coast. Randle is not a dominant
physical receiver in the same sense that Justin Blackmon, Michael Floyd and
Alshon Jeffery are, but he is quick, runs very good routes and has excellent
hands. He can catch awkward balls right after coming out of his break and makes
excellent adjustments under deep balls, which is an art in its own right.
As for the follow on, next is round three but I might interrupt that by doing a post that has been on my to do list for a long time now and that is a post describing the basics of the Zone blitz. I'm also thinking about doing a basics on the ISO running play. If you have any requests, either leave a comment below or e-mail me at keepingthechainsmoving@live.co.uk
The worst I can do is say no. We'll see. Till next time, hold on. It's only four months till the season begins again.
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