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I like this review...I agree how he analyzed all four teams: Do you agree?
NFC West Draft Review
May 21, 2014 •
By Drew Boylhart
[www.thehuddlereport.com]
Rams – The Rams made a plan and then they worked that plan. They selected OT Greg Robinson (Auburn) who was the top rated offensive player on just about everyone’s board. The followed that up with a 1-gap DT who has remarkable athletic talent. Aaron Donald, who in spite of his size has athletic talent, work ethic and character to impact right away and will improve with experience. CB/S Lamarcus Joyner is a smart, athletic playmaker. He will become a fan favorite and a core player for the defensive backfield. RB Tre Mason (Auburn) is a tough back and as long as the coaches can solve his fumble issues, he should impact and help out right away. They need healthy running backs and Tre has the talent to become a starting running back in the future if need be. CB EJ Gains is an underrated corner back and the type of player that once he gets on the field, will be hard to get him off the field. Of course I have to say something about Michael Sam. I said in my profile that Michael would have to change positions like Teddy Bruschi had to when he was drafted. I said some team with a 3-4 defense that wanted to develop an inside linebacker might feel that Michael was worth developing because he is smart, had good enough talent and showed leadership skills on the field. Here is a quote from my profile:
“Michael is a developmental player who may need a position change to become a productive player and that could affect his value to all 32 teams. Look at Rob’s board to find out what round Michael is most likely to be selected in”.
Personally I don’t think this was a good fit for him because the Rams have a 4-3 defense but you never know, if Michael wants it bad enough (not for off field issues but for on field performance), there is no reason he can’t be successful, but I don’t think it will be with the Rams. It’s just not a good fit. I would guess the Jets, Ravens, Steelers, Seahawks would have been better fits for “the first openly gay player”. You do have to wonder if Michael’s goal was just to be drafted or is it to be a starting player in the NFL? Overall this was an excellent draft getting talent and impact in almost every round and a 7th round pick who most likely will not make the team really should not be in the discussion. Nevertheless, I would be remiss if I didn’t note it.
Cardinals – For me personally, the Cardinals at the 27th pick of the first round, selected a player I thought was the best pure safety in this draft: Deone Bucannon (Washington St). He fit a need, has excellent talent and is a wrap up, head up squeeze and drive tackler with the leadership skills and football intelligence to impact the day after the draft. They followed that up with tight end Troy Niklas (Notre Dame) who I think will struggle big time to be consistent and to adjust to the NFL level. DT Kareem Martin was a solid pick, but the selection that really bothers me is the player they selected at the 91st pick of the draft. I’m sure that WR John Brown (Pittsburgh St–Ks), is a nice kid and maybe he has one of those stories that bring tears to your eyes, but Rob had him rated as the 176th player on his board of 200 players and Rob has a 80% accuracy rate; therefore, to suggest that this is not a reach of immense proportions is BS. I know it’s possible John will be an impact player, but let’s be honest– with WR Bruce Ellington (South Carolina) who played in the SEC sitting there to be selected, I just think that this pick was questionable to say the least. Seriously the Cardinals could have selected this small school wonder at the 120th pick or the 160th pick. We shall see…I’m sure John will adjust, learn how to use his speed and become the next great all purpose player in the NFL and I’ll be inundated with E-mails telling me what a jerk I am, but something tells me I won’t be wrong on this one. QB Logan Thomas will either be a great tight end or a QB in the same mold as Cam Newton. Either way you have yourself a talented player who could be starting at more than one position in the very near future. Overall this was a strange draft, but they did add talent to the team that has the potential to impact at more than one position and that’s what the draft is all about.
49ers – The rich get richer and prove my theory that there is no slot that guarantees that you will select a successful player, not even the 1st pick of the draft. At the 30th pick in the draft, S/CB Jimmie Ward was the pick and the 49er’s have themselves a playmaker for their defensive back field who might wind up being an all pro cornerback in spite of the fact he played safety for his college team. At the 57th pick, they select one of the biggest and most athletic running backs, Carlos Hyde (Ohio St) who, if they can keep him out of trouble, will impact. At the 70th pick, they select a center Marcus Martin who fits their offensive scheme and later add OG Brandon Thomas who I had a 2nd round TBR on. I also had WR Bruce Ellington with a 1st Rd TBR grade and CB/S Donte Johnson with a 1st RD TBR grade also. Add to that LB Chris Borland who, if he can get over his shoulder problems, could become an intricate part of defense because of his football intelligence and instincts to be a coach on the field and you have a draft that others teams should be looking at and saying to themselves how did we miss drafting those players?
Seahawks – When you look at the players the 49er’s drafted and then you look at the group of players the Seahawks drafted, you see a big difference in the talent level where there should not be. The Seahawks hit the incompetence switch over and over trading back and missing out on some excellent talent and for what reason? You got me! The only player I see having a real chance of impacting is the one player they didn’t reach for. At the 123rd pick of the draft they selected WR Kevin Norwood (Alabama) who is surprisingly similar in talent to the receiver they gave up in free agency to the Lions. But they did save some money in salary. I guess the complacency after winning a Super Bowl has set in to this administrative staff. This was a poor draft in a very deep and talent pool of players. WR Paul Richardson has talent, but will struggle to stay on the field because he lacks the bulk and injuries could be a big issue. OT Justin Britt was rated on our board at the 163rd best player and the Seahawks drafted him at 64. I’m not suggesting that we are always right, but after 30 years of doing the draft with the site being in existence for 14 yrs, I think we have some credibility. DE Cassius Marsh wasn’t rated and I saw nothing on film to warrant him being rated. Once again, we could be wrong. LB Kevin Pierre–Lewis has the speed to help out as a Safety/LB in nickel-dime situations. The rest of the players will struggle to make the team. This is a draft this team needed to stay on top, challenge the starters and give the team leverage in contract talks and free agency for the next few years. Boy, did they blow it big time. Let’s look at it this way: first, I would not have traded out of the 30th pick as I would have selected DT Ra’Shede Hageman. At the 45th pick, WR Cody Latimer was still on the board. At the 64th pick, OT Morgan Moses was still
NFC West Draft Review
May 21, 2014 •
By Drew Boylhart
[www.thehuddlereport.com]
Rams – The Rams made a plan and then they worked that plan. They selected OT Greg Robinson (Auburn) who was the top rated offensive player on just about everyone’s board. The followed that up with a 1-gap DT who has remarkable athletic talent. Aaron Donald, who in spite of his size has athletic talent, work ethic and character to impact right away and will improve with experience. CB/S Lamarcus Joyner is a smart, athletic playmaker. He will become a fan favorite and a core player for the defensive backfield. RB Tre Mason (Auburn) is a tough back and as long as the coaches can solve his fumble issues, he should impact and help out right away. They need healthy running backs and Tre has the talent to become a starting running back in the future if need be. CB EJ Gains is an underrated corner back and the type of player that once he gets on the field, will be hard to get him off the field. Of course I have to say something about Michael Sam. I said in my profile that Michael would have to change positions like Teddy Bruschi had to when he was drafted. I said some team with a 3-4 defense that wanted to develop an inside linebacker might feel that Michael was worth developing because he is smart, had good enough talent and showed leadership skills on the field. Here is a quote from my profile:
“Michael is a developmental player who may need a position change to become a productive player and that could affect his value to all 32 teams. Look at Rob’s board to find out what round Michael is most likely to be selected in”.
Personally I don’t think this was a good fit for him because the Rams have a 4-3 defense but you never know, if Michael wants it bad enough (not for off field issues but for on field performance), there is no reason he can’t be successful, but I don’t think it will be with the Rams. It’s just not a good fit. I would guess the Jets, Ravens, Steelers, Seahawks would have been better fits for “the first openly gay player”. You do have to wonder if Michael’s goal was just to be drafted or is it to be a starting player in the NFL? Overall this was an excellent draft getting talent and impact in almost every round and a 7th round pick who most likely will not make the team really should not be in the discussion. Nevertheless, I would be remiss if I didn’t note it.
Cardinals – For me personally, the Cardinals at the 27th pick of the first round, selected a player I thought was the best pure safety in this draft: Deone Bucannon (Washington St). He fit a need, has excellent talent and is a wrap up, head up squeeze and drive tackler with the leadership skills and football intelligence to impact the day after the draft. They followed that up with tight end Troy Niklas (Notre Dame) who I think will struggle big time to be consistent and to adjust to the NFL level. DT Kareem Martin was a solid pick, but the selection that really bothers me is the player they selected at the 91st pick of the draft. I’m sure that WR John Brown (Pittsburgh St–Ks), is a nice kid and maybe he has one of those stories that bring tears to your eyes, but Rob had him rated as the 176th player on his board of 200 players and Rob has a 80% accuracy rate; therefore, to suggest that this is not a reach of immense proportions is BS. I know it’s possible John will be an impact player, but let’s be honest– with WR Bruce Ellington (South Carolina) who played in the SEC sitting there to be selected, I just think that this pick was questionable to say the least. Seriously the Cardinals could have selected this small school wonder at the 120th pick or the 160th pick. We shall see…I’m sure John will adjust, learn how to use his speed and become the next great all purpose player in the NFL and I’ll be inundated with E-mails telling me what a jerk I am, but something tells me I won’t be wrong on this one. QB Logan Thomas will either be a great tight end or a QB in the same mold as Cam Newton. Either way you have yourself a talented player who could be starting at more than one position in the very near future. Overall this was a strange draft, but they did add talent to the team that has the potential to impact at more than one position and that’s what the draft is all about.
49ers – The rich get richer and prove my theory that there is no slot that guarantees that you will select a successful player, not even the 1st pick of the draft. At the 30th pick in the draft, S/CB Jimmie Ward was the pick and the 49er’s have themselves a playmaker for their defensive back field who might wind up being an all pro cornerback in spite of the fact he played safety for his college team. At the 57th pick, they select one of the biggest and most athletic running backs, Carlos Hyde (Ohio St) who, if they can keep him out of trouble, will impact. At the 70th pick, they select a center Marcus Martin who fits their offensive scheme and later add OG Brandon Thomas who I had a 2nd round TBR on. I also had WR Bruce Ellington with a 1st Rd TBR grade and CB/S Donte Johnson with a 1st RD TBR grade also. Add to that LB Chris Borland who, if he can get over his shoulder problems, could become an intricate part of defense because of his football intelligence and instincts to be a coach on the field and you have a draft that others teams should be looking at and saying to themselves how did we miss drafting those players?
Seahawks – When you look at the players the 49er’s drafted and then you look at the group of players the Seahawks drafted, you see a big difference in the talent level where there should not be. The Seahawks hit the incompetence switch over and over trading back and missing out on some excellent talent and for what reason? You got me! The only player I see having a real chance of impacting is the one player they didn’t reach for. At the 123rd pick of the draft they selected WR Kevin Norwood (Alabama) who is surprisingly similar in talent to the receiver they gave up in free agency to the Lions. But they did save some money in salary. I guess the complacency after winning a Super Bowl has set in to this administrative staff. This was a poor draft in a very deep and talent pool of players. WR Paul Richardson has talent, but will struggle to stay on the field because he lacks the bulk and injuries could be a big issue. OT Justin Britt was rated on our board at the 163rd best player and the Seahawks drafted him at 64. I’m not suggesting that we are always right, but after 30 years of doing the draft with the site being in existence for 14 yrs, I think we have some credibility. DE Cassius Marsh wasn’t rated and I saw nothing on film to warrant him being rated. Once again, we could be wrong. LB Kevin Pierre–Lewis has the speed to help out as a Safety/LB in nickel-dime situations. The rest of the players will struggle to make the team. This is a draft this team needed to stay on top, challenge the starters and give the team leverage in contract talks and free agency for the next few years. Boy, did they blow it big time. Let’s look at it this way: first, I would not have traded out of the 30th pick as I would have selected DT Ra’Shede Hageman. At the 45th pick, WR Cody Latimer was still on the board. At the 64th pick, OT Morgan Moses was still
