Let’s carry on with the Cream Of the Crop Drafts over the past weekend. I have 3 more teams that I ranked as having A- efforts, just a notch below the COLTS & EAGLES.
So let explain why the following teams impressed me with their drafting efforts.
Grade: A- SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
SCHNEIDER & CARROLL enjoyed the fruits of the WILSON trade last year, once again by having 2 Picks in both the FIRST & SECOND Rounds. They ended up with 4 Picks in the Top 100 and 9 overall. And all 4 early Picks should see considerable playing time. DEVON WITHERSPOON is likely to start opposite last year’s drafted CB and standout Rookie TARIQ WOOLEN. JAXON SMITH-NJIGBA is likely to win the starting job as the slot receiver rounding out a starting elite trio partnering with METCALF and LOCKETT. At Pick 37, the team snagged DERICK HALL to bolster their Edge-Rush group. He is also athletic (4.55/40) and long (34 1/2″ arms) despite being a shade under 6’3″ in height. Finally, at Pick 52 they selected ZACH CHARBONNET RB from UCLA. At 6’1/225 he was my Prospect No. 45 and replaces the oft-injured RASHAD PEENY who is now in Phily.
In the middle rounds they grabbed off some beef, all of whom will likely win some starting jobs, or at the least join rotation spots. Huge OL ANTHONY BRADFORD will compete for an OG spot, and with the retirement of Austin Blythe I expect 5th Round Pick OLU OLUWATIMI/Michigan to have a solid shot at the starting OC job. Along the defensive front they add CAMERON YOUNG at DT.
What got them the minus, after such solid work detailed above was their final two Pick in Rounds 6 & 7. I never even saw S JERRICK REED/New Mexico actually play last season. I did see KENNY McINTOSH/RB/UGA in action but found his work uninspiring on the whole. His 4.60+/40-time was noticeable in his Senior Bowl Week, where he was almost invisible.
This franchise has basically used the WILSON trade to revitalize their roster, and they now are back to being a real threat to challenge for the second place in their division, and a be Wild Card Play-Off team.
Grade: A- PATRIOTS
As usual Head Coach BELICHICK headed their Draft efforts. He jumped around a bit, but when the smoke cleared the team had 11 Picks on their roster. The team moved back slightly, twice in Round One, somehow still landing CB CHRIS GONZALEZ, who almost shockingly lasted until Pick 17. He should make a welcomed full size CB compared to all their less than 6′ tall CB room. They also finished off their Draft using their 2 final Picks for large sized CB AMEER SPEED (Special Teams candidate) and the only HBCU school Draftee in CB ISAIAH BOLDEN of Jackson St. They also Picked MARTE MAPU, a hybrid SS/LB type athlete, who wowed scouts working in post-season All-Star venues, including the Senior Bowl. Round 2 netted them highly regarded DL/ER KEION WHITE/Ga Tech.
In Rounds 4/5 the team drafted 3 solid IOL prospects. JAKE ANDREWS the scrappy battler from Troy fits the mold of over-achiever, high effort OC. And SIDY SOW, from Eastern Michigan is a Canadian lad who got too big to play hockey. He’s almost 6’5/325#, and has a 81″ Wingspan. His 5.07/40-time is exceptional for his massive body. They used 2 Picks Round 6 on WR prospects in LSU’S KAYSHON BOUTTE and DEMARIO DOUGLAS, who has the look of guys like WELKER & EDELMAN but flashes sub-4.40/40-speed, to go with his 5’8″ quickness. One of these guys should make the roster in September.
And after suffering through an inconsistent year from their kicking/punter spots the team they drafted both a PK (CHAD RYLAND) and a Punter (BRYCE BARINGER) hoping to solidify their kicking spots with good young talent for the next decade.
Their inability to secure a quality TE may be their biggest flaw but they did sign a guy names GESICKI as a VFA. It should also be noted that even though it was not Draft related there is a renewed sense of optimism regarding their sluggish Offense from last season, by the addition of an Offensive Coordinator named BILL O’BRIEN. No more nameless Coordinators and no more MATT PATRICIA mis-cast as their play caller. BOB failed in Houston when handed the GM job not for lack of coaching ability.
Grade: A- PACKERS
I lived in Wisconsin for 40-years and the PACKERS and their fans wore me down. I am secretly a PACKERS fan at heart and I must admit that G.M. BRIAN GUTEKUNST sometimes drives me to distraction when he throws in Picks like SEAN CLIFFORD into his draft efforts. Or his insistence on taking pride in not drafting WR in Round 1. But… I do appreciate his approach in drafting highly ranked athletic players, which continued again with most of their 13 selections. If you follow my football coverage then you know I have in recent years become a big fan of the RAS prospect rating system developed by KENT LEE PLATTE, known professionally as Math Bomb on the internet. Relative Athletic Score uses athletic testing numbers to evaluate a player’s athleticism. GUTEY drafted 7 players with RAS scores over 9.00, which are labeled elite. Two others were rated in the 8.00+ category which is also elite.
The team entered the proceedings with 11 Picks, and made moves that netted them 13 players. Completing the RODGERS/JETS trade added an extra Pick and a move up in Round 1, and a conditional Round 1 or Round 2 pick in 2024. They selected 4 of my top 88 prospects.
This team entered the 2023 Draft with needs just about everywhere on their roster. And they covered many areas with their Picks. 2 TE and 3 WR were selected, and I think all 5 have a chance to make their final roster. LUKE MUSGRAVE (my #53 prospect) and TUCKER KRAFT (my $#58 prospect) are likely to be TE 1 & 2 this Fall. They selected 3 defensive front-7 players, with First Rounder LUKAS VAN NESS their first Pick with great expectations of growth in the next couple of seasons. VAN NESS is seen as a player with double-digit per season potential. And COLBY WOODEN in Round 4 should fit into their DL primary rotation.
If PK ANDERS CARLSON (Pick 207) shows length and consistency he may end the almost two full decades that MASON CROSBY has been the Packers PK. ANDERS is the kid brother of RAIDERS PK Daniel Carlson. VFA Matt Orzech /LS was added as a VFA just prior to Draft Week. So last year’s VFA Pat O’Donnell/P may be the only returner still on the team come December.
The team had 4 Picks in Round 7 and all 4 players taken have pro potential. CARRINGTON VALENTINE/CB/Kentucky may have a solid chance to make the team if he impresses Special Teams Coordinator. He could also help their secondary depth. Despite a lack of elite speed (4.54/40) he has coverage skills in press-cover as demonstrated by his 10 pub & 1 INT last season. RB LEW NICHOLS, out of the MAC, had an injury plagued 2022 season but has the size (5’10/220) to compliment the combo of JONES/DILLON in the RB group.
I still can’t quite figure the CLIFFORD Pick but it is Round 5, and they do need more guys in their QB room. So I will ding them from a straight-A to the A- just ’cause.
