1. Cincinnati Bengals– They really caught my eye. Originally, I felt they needed defense especially with some guys in their front seven getting older. This would’ve been the perfect opportunity for a guy like a Taco Charlton or even a Reuben Foster. Instead at number nine, they decided to select Mr. 4.22 better known as John Ross and made him the third receiver selected in the draft. This pick made so much sense because the Bengals simply struggled without a complementary piece alongside A.J. Green. The Bengals were without Mohamed Sanu and Marvin Jones in 2016 as they signed elsewhere and we saw just how important they were to Andy Dalton and this Bengals offense. With the selection of Ross, they now have a guy not only penciled in as their number two option, they have a guy that can stretch the field with explosive speed and runs polished routes to simply create for himself. With their second pick, they decided to draft Joe Mixon and he entered this draft with a lot of clout and negativity for obvious reasons. The young man will now have a chance to make a name for himself and he’ll be featured heavily in the Bengals offense. Jordan Willis in the third round was a nice value pick and in the fourth round, they selected Carl Lawson, the defensive end from Auburn and the one thing I’ve noticed about the Bengals is they’ve always drafted defensive linemen who would end up making names for themselves (Geno Atkins, Domata Peko, and Andrew Billings). Great moves by Cincinnati.
2. Cleveland Browns– From the start when the Browns decided to make Myles Garrett their first overall pick, they were a winner from the start. With their first pick, they’ve always selected a quarterback and it simply just hasn’t panned out the way they’ve expected it too. They’ve also searched for an impact pass rusher and they finally got it. Ideally, I preferred the Cleveland Browns to stay at 12 and a guy like Malik Hooker could’ve fallen right to them but everything truly happens for a reason because they were able to draft Jabrill Peppers at 25 in the first round and four picks later at 29 in the first round, they selected David Njoku which I really liked and Hue Jackson will find ways to use him within that offense. My favorite pick Cleveland made was DeShone Kizer. This could potentially be your franchise quarterback and the guy to be under center for the next 10-15 years or so. He needs a lot of work but with the right coaching and mentor-ship, he’ll be just fine. He’s a lottery ticket and could be the steal of the draft if everything were to pan out for him. Larry Ogunjobi and Caleb Brantley, two defensive linemen were also selected. Just imagine a line with those two and Myles Garrett on the edge. That could be a scary sight to see. A fantastic draft for the Browns.
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers– I absolutely love what they did in this year’s draft. O.J. Howard was a steal for the Buccaneers sitting at 19 and now this offense can be a very scary unit. Jameis Winston continues to elevate himself as a well-rounded quarterback and they’ve given him weapons to work with. Mike Evans of course, they signed DeSean Jackson in the off-season and now you add Howard to the mix. Two receivers with great speed on the perimeter along with a now towering target running the seams over the middle of the field. The Bucs also needed that help in the secondary especially at safety and Justin Evans was another solid pick and could be a key contributor for the Bucs defense in the near future along with Kendall Beckwith. The Bucs only had six picks, but I at least like each one. There were no reaches and they got what they needed. They’re going to be really good next year and fun to watch on both sides of the football.
4. San Francisco 49ers– John Lynch did really well for this to be his first NFL draft. The future Hall of Famer was pretty much presented a platter due to the Chicago Bears trading up just a spot and they were still able to get Solomon Thomas, a guy that many people predicted them to select and later in the draft with the final pick in the first round, they were able to select Reuben Foster out of Alabama and this was their best move by far. I’ve compared him to Patrick Willis and they’ve needed a guy to replace Patrick, now, they have him. He’s the most explosive defender in this draft class. He’s a missile and can get to the ball-carrier with tremendous ease. I wasn’t really on board necessarily with the C.J. Beathard pick but with Kyle Shanahan as the head coach and his history of working with quarterbacks, who knows what could happen, after all, Matt Ryan had the best year of his career under Shanahan while he was a coordinator with Atlanta. Witherspoon was the proper range and he’s a perfect fit in the 49ers’ new scheme.
