First Round Reaction

Kansas City Chiefs:  Eric Fisher OT Central Michigan…Has room to get even better and isn’t the finished product Joeckel is but can’t see anything wrong with this pick.  Only thing that scares me is Andy Reid is less than stellar at developing offensive linemen

Jacksonville Jaguars:  Luke Joeckel  OT  Texas A&M….Big name player who has faced some great talent and done well.  Hopefully the Jaguars new regime gets them on the right track and adding Joeckel is a great start.

Miami Dolphins:  Dion Jordan  OLB  Oregon…Talented player but not sure on this being the top need for Miami.   I am assuming the trade up was because they thought his old college coach would take him.  

Philadelphia Eagles:  Lane Johnson  OT  Oklahoma…Every bit as talented as the top offensive tackles taken before him.  Athletic and a former QB so he understands all aspects of the game and knows the importance of the offensive line, this was a great first selection for the new regime in Philadelphia.

Detroit Lions: Ezekiel Ansah  DE BYU….Has skills but not a ton of football experience.  With the big boys at defensive tackle should find it easier than some to have early success.  I just think too high for him but the Lions staff knows defense.

Cleveland Browns: Barkevious Mingo  DE  LSU….Great pick for new defensive scheme in Cleveland.    Mingo along with the new talent brought in will make the Browns defense considerably better this year.  Cleveland will not be an automatic W this year.

Arizona Cardinals: Jonathan Cooper  OG  North Carolina. ...Plenty of experience as a starter for four years and should help keep Carson Palmer a little healthier as he starts his Arizona career. 

St. Louis Rams: Tavon Austin   WR  West Virginia…  Fills the Danny Amendola spot and more.  The more he touches the ball the more points the Rams get on the board.

NY Jets: Dee Milliner  CB  Alabama….Love this pick.   Fills the Revis spot and now they can add talent the rest of the draft.

Tennessee Titans:  Chance Warmack  OG  Alabama….Great player and teaming up with the new signings in Tennessee the offensive line should be strength for this team.

 

San Diego Chargers:  D.J Flucker  Alabama…..This team needs to keep Phillip Rivers healthy and Flucker is a day one starter.  Flucker is more than battle tested and immediately becomes a leader on the line.

Oakland Raiders:  DJ Hayden  CB  Houston….Great story but seriously?  Where they afraid he was going to be gone in round one.  Hope Hayden has a great career but this was a reach.

NY Jets: Sheldon Richardson   DT  Missouri…..Nice to continue to improve the defense and wise not to take a quarterback.

Carolina Panthers:  Star Lotulelei….DT   Utah…Steal at this point and should become a day one starter.  Star has everything you would want in a player on and off the field hopefully health concerns are over and he has a nice career.

New Orleans Saints:   Kenny Vaccaro   S  Texas…..Saints needed a QB for their defense and Vaccaro is the top safety on the board.  University of Texas has slipped some but Vaccaro has the skills to play with anyone.

Buffalo Bills:  E.J. Manuel  QB  Florida State….Talented player but not sure this is a great marriage.    If this is a miss Marone will be an NFL assistant again in 2 years.   It should be real interesting to watch this play out in Buffalo.  (EJ Manuel = Tarvaris Jackson)

Pittsburgh Steelers:  Jarvis Jones   OLB  Georgia…..Perfect fit for the Steelers.  Harrison’s replacement.

San Francisco 49’ers:  Eric Reid     S   LSU…..I like this pick as Reid is a hitter and tough.  Harbaugh and the great Vic Fangio will get the best out of him.

NY Giants:  Justin Pugh  OG  Syracuse….Smart player who can play a few positions on the offensive line.  Pugh is an ideal Tom Coughlin player who got great pro coaching from Doug Marrone and should push to get on the field early and stay there for 10 years.

Chicago Bears:  Kyle Long  OG  Oregon….Cutler needs protection but can’t understand this pick at this spot.  This seems to be a very odd pick but the new guys in Chicago.

Cincinnati Bengals:  Tyler Eifert  TE  Notre Dame…Another weapon for Andy Dalton and should make real impact near redzone.

Atlanta Falcons:  Desmond Trufant  CB  Washington….A need pick who has family in the league.  Should have no issue making the transition and becoming a day one starter.  Very nice pick

Minnesota Vikings:  Sharrif Floyd  DT  Florida…Good player who went a lot lower than anticipated.   Vikings seem to have a great ability to mentor these types of players.  Raw but talented.  Benefitted going to a better team.

Indianapolis Colts:  Bjoern Werner  DE  Florida State….Nice fit for the new regime in Indianapolis.  Future face of the Colts defense.

Minnesota Vikings:   Xavier Rhodes  CB   Florida State….Playing in the division with Aaron Rodgers and Matthew Stafford you can never have enough top flight corners.   Rhodes is a great value pick at this point and should start.

Green Bay Packers:  Datone Jones  DE   UCLA….Had some great coaching with former NFL HC Jim Mora Jr. and certainly has skills.  Hopefully more success than past defensive line selections by the Packers.

Houston Texans:  DeAndre Hopkins   WR  Clemson…Talented player who received less attention than other prospects but is a nice fit as the Reggie Wayne type guy to Andre Johnson

Denver Broncos:  Sylvester Williams  DT  North Carolina…Nice pick by John Fox as Williams is the perfect defensive tackle for the Broncos system.

Minnesota Vikings:  Cordarrelle Patterson  WR  Tennessee.   Special talent but immature.  Combining with Floyd the Vikings locker-room did not add boy scouts but if his head is on straight he is a beast only starting to realize his potential.   

St. Louis Rams: Alec Ogletree  ILB  Georgia…Very talented player who needs to stay out of the police blotter.   Jeff Fisher should make him into something special.

Dallas Cowboys: Travis Frederick  C  Wisconsin…Finally Dallas realized the obvious need in the middle of the offensive line.  As Akeem Spence told me Frederick was the best offensive linemen he faced in the Big 10.

Baltimore Ravens:  Matt Elam   S  Florida.   New leader at safety for the Ravens.  Nice pick for a franchise that does not make a lot of bad picks.