Day 249

Fresh Start_249: 2017 NFL 1^st round recap

As the clock ran down to triple zeros on New Year’s Day of 2017, the New York Jets closed the door on a season they would like to send off into the wind like one of the many interceptions that Ryan Fitzpatrick did last season, 17 in fact. The Jets looked a daunting task of fixing a 5-11 team that was aging faster than Father Time could keep up. Not only that, but a player who you sold the farm to Darrelle Revis to get in legal trouble, it seemed like the ongoing nightmare that it is to be a New York Jet fan.

As the offseason moved on, the team got younger, cutting older players like Nick Mangold, Brandon Marshall, Nick Folk—the fan base getting more and more terrified with each and every move. As the months drew on, the conversations about the draft started to happen, and no please no don’t do this again. Do not pick another quarterback or a player we do not need. Do not work out Patrick Mahomes or Mitchell Trubisky we do not need another quarterback on roster. “What about the defense?” pleaded the fans—including myself in a large part.

Personally, I wanted Marshon Lattimore for the longest time, but last night, I stumbled upon Jamal Adams tape at a late hour, which impressed me a ton. As I scouted Adams I was completely wrong about him and should have put him as my 2 or 3 overall prospect in this class—HE IS THAT GOOD! The ability that Adams will have on this defense, will lessen the pain of being a Jet fan (only by a little, he isn’t that good). Adams in his LSU career had a total of 146 tackles (58 in 2016), 5 interceptions (1 in 2016), 12 pass break ups (3 in 2016), and only allowed 2 touchdowns in his 3-year career. Not to mention that Adams can pack a punch, being one of the hardest hitting safeties when he enters the league, that being highlighted by his 18 bench press reps at the combine. The Jets just draft one hell of a player.

Bowles and Maccagnan picked the right player, and showed the fan base for the first time in a VERY long time that there just might be a plan for gang green. Building through defense with Adams with the 6^th overall selection this year, Darren Lee last year with the 20^th overall pick last year, and Leonard Williams with the 6^th overall pick in 2015 (Maccagnan’s first selection as a GM).

I like this pick, as much as you could like a safety who hasn’t played a down in the NFL. The comparisons of Ed Reed, Ronnie Lott, and Steve Atwater can only come to fruition and be a matter of time until we see who Jamal Adams truly is. I can hope for the best, and dream of a defense that just flies around the field led by Williams, Lee, Adams, and possible more.

Disregard the Jets 6^th pick of Adams for a minute—the first round of the NFL Draft tonight was as electric and insane as I can remember. It started with the Commissioner getting a well-deserved warm shower of hate filled boos from the crowd in Philadelphia tonight, and ended with a lot of NFL fans pinching themselves to see if it was actually real.

 The night started with Miles Garrett going to Cleveland (shocker right, it got leaked 3 hours before the draft), the #2 selection gets traded from San Francisco to Chicago for: Chicago’s 2017 1^st round pick (#3{ SF takes Solomon Thomas}), 2017 3^rd round pick (#67), 2017 4^th (#111), and 2018 3^rd round selection. With the 2^nd pick the Bears get Mitchell Trubisky… wait… yeah that actually happen. Next up on the list the Buffalo Bills trade the 10^th overall selection to Kansas City for:  Kansas City’s 2017 1^st round pick (#27{Bills take Tre’Davious White}), 2017 3^rd round pick (#91), and the Chiefs 2018 first round selection. All of this was for Patrick Mahomes II to come to Kansas City and presumably replace Alex Smith. We are not done there; the Texans would trade up to #12 to select Clemson Quarterback Deshaun Watson in exchange for: Houston’s 2017 1^st round pick (#25{the Browns take Jabril Peppers}), and Houston’s 2018 1^st round pick. The Falcons would be next trading up to #26 to take Defensive End Takkarist McKinley and Seattle would get Atlanta’s 2017 1^st round pick (#31), 2017 3^rd round pick (#95), and 2017 7^th round selection (#249). The Seahawks were not done there; they would move back into the 2^nd round allowing San Francisco to jump back into the 1^st round to pick Reuben Foster 31^st overall in exchange for: 2017 2^nd round pick (#34) and the 4^th round pick which San Francisco got from Chicago (#111). This was after Cleveland jumped back into the 1^st round trading picks number 33 (2^nd round pick) and 108 (4^th round pick) for Tight End David Njoku. I know a lot of trading, but it defiantly was interesting.

Finally getting into the Winners and Losers of the 2017 1^st round. My Winners are in order:

1.      San Francisco 49’ers-What the 9’ers were able to do getting Solomon Thomas and Reuben Foster for basically nothing, while fleecing the Chicago Bears is unquestionably the best thing in the first round. John Lynch should be showered in champagne after a very successful first round as a first-time GM.

2.      Cleveland Browns-Yes, that’s right the Browns actually had a great draft, one of the best in recent memory. Not screwing any of their picks up, getting Miles Garrett (best talent in the draft), Jabril Peppers, and David Njoku, letting teams screw up around them, and getting three 1^st round picks for basically nothing is a great way to turn the franchise around.

3.      New York Jets-Listen, I may be a homer with this pick, but the Jets didn’t overthink this pick and they got a guy in Jamal Adams that could be the best player in this draft. This pick helps the depleted secondary that needed massive help. Now continue to draft well, please it might kill me if you don’t!

On the other hand, where there are Winners, naturally there has to be Losers. The Top 3 Losers of the 2017 1^st round are:

1.      Chicago Bears-Moving up ONE spot to get a guy with 13 career college starts, sacrificing 4 picks for him, and most likely sitting him behind Mike Glennon for his first year in the NFL—as if it didn’t hurt enough being a Bears fan in the 21^st Century. That is the definition of fleeced, let’s hope you don’t turn out like the Jets aka move up to draft Mark Sanchez. One can only hope.

2.      Tennessee Titans-I want the Titans to be good alright. I am sick of a terrible division with a helpless Andrew Luck, a terrible Jacksonville team, and a Houston Texans team that can barely go over .500 and host a playoff game. In other words, I am on your side Tennessee, but you made it hard tonight. Your two selections tonight were Corey Davis at #5 and Adoree Jackson at 18. I would be applauding these picks if they were in the second round, I would be applauding these picks if players like Mike Williams, O.J. Howard, Reuben Foster, or Gareon Conley weren’t on the board when the Titans were selecting. For a team that has holes on defense and a lack of playmakers in the passing game. Tennessee, you totally stroke out, even if Davis and Jackson produce well in 2017.

3.      Indianapolis Colts-GET ANDREW LUCK O-U-T! I honestly don’t know how you miss on this pick… With needs at running back, linebacker, and corner, why go Malik Hooker? I get safety is an issue, but for a guy with limited play time in college, who doesn’t have the tackling ability to be a 1^st round pick why reach? If I am Andrew Luck, I am scratching my head and looking for ways out of Indianapolis, because they are not helping out their franchise quarterback.

Well on a night like tonight, it is important to remember that amongst this excitement from teams, fans, and players alike this is only the beginning. The tears of joy need to turn into the sweat of hard work and determination to be great. Tonight, also should be a wake up calling for any high school or college player that has dreams of walking across that stage, because the guys who did tonight were just like you a short time ago. A night like tonight, for the teams should be a look into the future and a stepping stone for the rest of the draft. If a team didn’t draft well tonight, hopefully they can turn it around. A night like tonight for the fans should be a brief jolt of excitement for the season to come, and boy do I miss football.

Sources:(nfl.com, espn.com, profootballfocus.com)

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