If you were a fan of surprises and head scratchers in the first round of the NFL Draft, tonight was your night. After an eventful first round the picks are all in the book as we begin to look ahead to round two tomorrow. But before we entirely commit to that lets take a look at some of the winners and losers as we wrap up the first round.
Winners
Cleveland Browns
- Myles Garrett – DE, Texas A&M
- Jabrill Peppers – SS, Michigan
- David Njoku – TE, Miami (FLA)
With three first round picks, the Browns came out looking good on all of them. They go safe with Myles Garrett at one overall, get a versatile defensive playmaker in Jabrill Peppers and a nice offensive threat in David Njoku. What they didn’t get was a QB which is something they don’t necessarily need this season. Draft one in 2018.
San Francisco 49ers
- Soloman Thomas – DE, Stanford
- Reuben Foster – ILB, Alabama
The 49ers get a nice edge guy in Thomas and perhaps the best linebacker in the draft Reuben Foster who if it wasn’t for his failed drug test and questionable off the field behavior would have certainly gone higher. Nonetheless they absolutely robbed Chicago when they moved down one spot from two to three and still get a guy in Thomas who they were probably going to draft all along.
New York Jets
- Jamal Adams – SS, LSU
Benefiting from some questionable picks ahead of them, the Jets select one of the best backfield guys in the draft when they took Jamal Adams who should have a nice long career in New York.
Kansas City Chiefs
- Patrick Mahomes II – QB, Texas Tech
Yeah Deshaun Watson was still on the board here but Mahomes is going to be better. He has the accuracy and the better arm which will transition nicely to the NFL. Especially under the guidance of Andy Reid.
New Orleans Saints
- Marshon Lattimore – CB, Ohio State
- Ryan Ramczyk – OT, Wisconsin
The Saints needed defense and took a guy in Marshon Lattimore who won’t have a huge impact right away but plays the defensive backfield like a center fielder. I would’ve like for them to go defense with that second pick in the first round given their need on defense but an offensive tackle at 32 isn’t bad.
Carolina Panthers
- Christian McCaffrey – RB, Stanford
I think if Leonard Fournette was available the Panthers would have still gone with McCaffrey who really isn’t just a running back. Pairing him with Cam Newton and NFL South defenses are going to have of a hell of a time dealing with that Carolina offensive attack.
Wide Receivers
Three wide-outs went in the top 10 of this year’s first round which despite if you think some of those guys were a reach or not, it was a good night to be a wide receiver.
Teams needing high impact defensive players outside the top 15
If you were a team needing a impactful defensive player outside of the top 15 then you had to be happy about the way things went tonight. Aside from Foster, you had guys like Jonathan Allen going to Washington at 17 and Charles Harris going at 22 to Miami. Then there’s T.J. Watt to Pittsburgh, Taco Charlton to Dallas and the list goes on.
Losers
Chicago Bears
- Mitchell Trubisky – QB, North Carolina
I can see why the Bears took Trubisky, he fits their system well and they still need a QB of the future. But was he worth the price to move up one spot when the 49ers probably weren’t taking him anyway?
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Leonard Fournette – RB, LSU
Leonard Fournette is a talented back, there’s no question about that. However the Jaguars had other pressing needs and the running back spot wasn’t one of them.
Cincinnati Bengals
- John Ross – WR, Washington
The Bengals fell for Ross’40 which was a combine all-time record. I can see needing help for A.J. Green and Andy Dalton but Ross was a reach the nine spot.
Oakland Raiders
- Gareon Conley – CB, Ohio State
The Raiders needed some help at corner so in that sense the Conley selection makes sense. But despite him passing a polygraph what if these rape accusations against the former Ohio State defensive back go further and he somehow is found guilty?
High-end Defensive Players
It was really amazing to see some of these guys like Jonathan Allen fall.