The NFL draft is, undoubtedly, one of the most coveted traditions in sports. With the uncertainty of which player is going to what team, one can only watch with anticipation. This year’s first round saw many surprises, such as Johnny Manziel’s failure to be selected until the 22nd pick, despite high recruitment and tons of media hype. So, which teams made their rosters stronger and who blew it?
Winners
Buffalo Bills. To reiterate the obvious, a quarterback can only be successful when he has a strong passing game. Ranked 28th in pass yards for the 2013 season, former first round pick, EJ Manuel, was unable to develop a connection with his wideouts. By selecting Clemson wide receiver standout, Sammy Watkins, the Bills definitely improved their passing arsenal.
Miami Dolphins. The 2013 Dolphins were abysmal when it came to protecting the quarterback. Last year, the Dolphin’s allowed 58 sacks, a franchise-worst. With the 19th pick, it was obvious that the Dolphins needed a right tackle and they landed a big one. At 6’ 6” and 311 pounds, former Tennessee Volunteer, Ja’Wuan James, was a perfect selection for the Dolphins as he had an unprecedented 87.3 blocking consistency grade and started all of his 49 college games at the right tackle position. I look forward to watching James and former Gator, Mike Pouncey, work together to stop the rush.
Atlanta Falcons. This year’s draft was all about finding fresh, healthy players who could protect the quarterback. By selecting offensive tackle Jake Matthews, the NFL legacy out of Texas A&M, the Falcons definitely added some physicality to last year’s weak offensive line.
Losers
Jacksonville Jaguars. I can understand where Jacksonville’s mindset was in this year’s draft. They wanted to find the next face of the franchise, someone who could take their team to the next level. But is Blake Bortles going to be the next Cam Newton or Andrew Luck? My answer is, simply, no. An absolute nobody in 2012, Bortles rose to fame with a 3,581 yard and 25 touchdown season in 2013, while also winning the BCS Fiesta Bowl and nearly defeating SEC powerhouse South Carolina.
The only problem I have with Bortles is that he only had one year of superstardom, which provoked him to forgo his senior season with the UCF Knight’s which I would have liked to see him play to develop consistency. In addition, he’s not even projected to start and, even if he did, his passing options are very poor, considering that the Jaguar’s best wideout, Justin Blackmon, may not be with the team much longer due to a third violation of the NFL’s substance abuse policy. If I was general manager of the Jaguars, I would have selected Johnny Manziel based on his year-after-year consistency and his playmaking in a much tougher South Eastern Conference than UCF‘s American Conference.
Denver Broncos. The Bronco’s 31st pick was probably the riskiest pick in the first round of this year’s draft. By taking Ohio State cornerback, Bradley Roby, an All American in 2012 and an All-Big Ten player in 2013, the Broncos looked like they took a top secondary in order to replace a dismantled Denver defense. But Roby’s 2013 season sometimes ran amok in zone pass coverage and produced several missed tackles. Hopefully, with proper coaching, Roby will improve but, at the moment, I do not believe Roby was a plausible first round contender.
Indianapolis Colts. This year, the Colts did not even have a first round pick as part of last year’s acquisition of Trent Richardson from the Cleveland Browns. The move has, unfortunately, backfired on the Colts being that Richardson had a poor season last year with only 563 rush yards and four touchdowns for the season. I will be interested to see what kind of ramifications this situation has on the Colts next season.
