NFL Draft: Winners and Losers

So the draft is over and after months of anticipation every team now has their young rosters set. Everyone from pick 1 to pick 253 is valuable because to ever get to the draft you have to be incredibly talented and very smart so without further ado, let’s take a look at the winners and losers from the 2016 NFL draft.

Winners

Jacksonville Jaguars:

I think the Jaguars are the clear cut winners of this draft. They had the 5th pick in the draft and got who I think was the number 1 guy in cornerback/safety Jalen Ramsey from Florida State and then traded up to the 36th pick and got the 2nd best player in the draft, linebacker Myles Jack out of UCLA. It’s not that rare to see a team pick up 1 really good player because most teams get at least 1, but to get the best 2 players in the draft in almost unheard of. Both of these guys will have immediate impact on the Jags and help to boost the horrendous defense this team has put on the field these last few seasons.

Minnesota Vikings:

The Vikings had a brilliant draft, filling the holes in their roster that needed to be filled. Laquan Treadwell is the best receiver in the draft and will certainly help to mold young quarterback Teddy Bridgewater into a really good quarterback. 2nd round pick Mackenzie Alexander is another guy who will help give a boost to this defensive secondary which had only 8 interceptions last year. Alexander didn’t have 1 interception in his last 28 games in college, but he also didn’t allow any touchdowns in his last 23 games.

Buffalo Bills:

The Bills also killed it man. In the first round Shaq Lawson fell right into their hands with the 19th overall pick. Lawson will definitely fill in the vacancy left by a departing Mario Williams with his combination of quickness and strength. 2nd round pick Reggie Ragland I think was their best pick. The Bills haven’t had a legitimate middle linebacker since Kiko Alonso back in 2012 who they traded the Eagles. Ragland brings that rough and tough style that I love to see in linebackers. Starting at MLB for Alabama is not easy, but Ragland made it look like it was. Side note: If he can play like he did in college quarterback Cardale Jones will turn out to be a stud having never lost a college football game.

Cincinnati Bengals:

The Bengals drafting was so good because all of their players they got for a steal. William Jackson III could be the best cornerback in the draft besides maybe Vernon Hargraves and taking 2 dominant defensive linemen like Andrew Billings and Christian Westerman in the 4th and 5th rounds respectively is downright crazy talk.

Losers

Miami Dolphins:

The Dolphins draft to me was OK at best. Yes Laremy Tunsil is a beast and should be treated as such, but smoking a bong through a gas mask before the draft is not a way to keep your job. Also 3 round pick Kenyan Drake was a waste of a pick to me especially a guy like Devonte Booker of Utah still on the board. I think that if Tunsil can fix his off field problems, this draft wouldn’t be a complete loss.

Oakland Raiders:

So I’m ok with first round selection Karl Joseph, safety out of West Virginia, but it was downhill after that. Connor Cook in the third round was a waste. Derek Carr is already turning out to be a great pick a few years back for them, so they don’t need another quarterback. DeAndre Washington, running back out of Texas Tech is not a bad player, but Oakland already has Latavius Murray and George Atkinson III as tailbacks so it’s kind of pointless. I’m not saying that they picked bad players but they didn’t draft where needed. (Defensive lineman)

Carolina Panthers:

Honestly the Panthers don’t even need that many new players because they already have great roster, but the panthers didn’t do so well. Their first pick Vernon Butler is ok, and he could help this defensive line, but he’s not the best lineman in the draft. And they completely overdrafted for defensive backs James Bradbury and Darryl Worely. I would say Carolina were the ultimate losers in this draft.

Unknown

New England Patriots:

The Pats didn’t even get a pick until #60 but they still have a shot of doing pretty good. Cyrus Jones was a good first pick to help and bolster up the defensive secondary. Plus Joe Thuney couldn’t hurt the NFL’s worst offensive line. I have these guys at unknown because we don’t know what they could have gotten if not for them losing draft picks due to deflategate. So this is definitely going to go down as an unknown.

Dallas Cowboys:

Of course Dallas winds up here because they drafted an injured player in Jaylen Smith and they took Ezekiel Elliot as a first round pick. Drafting a running back in the first round has been risky in the past (Trent Richardson). So if Elliot and Smith prove to be valuable picks this will be a win, if not they caught and L.

Written by Kenny Quinn