Poor Drafts can really hurt a team over the long run. In the past 5 Drafts the FALCONS have only added added 6 starters from their 36 selections. They entered the 2016 Draft with only 6 Picks (8 is average), and made a few strange selections in the process of using those picks. GM THOMAS DIMITROFF could be… Read More »
This team was built around the shrewd drafting of GM JOHN SCHNEIDER who worked under TED THOMPSON in Green Bay. The shrewdest move of all was rolling the dice on QB/RUSSELL WILSON when most of the League felt he was too short to play QB in the NFL. But the team has lost more than its share of… Read More »
This is a huge season for the Chargers as they effort to have a Play-Off team again, and to use that success to convince the San Diego area to pony-up for a new stadium before the NFL allows/forces the team to provide L.A. with its second NFL franchise to share a stadium with the RAMS. Here’s a look… Read More »
I realize that the team continues to lose 10-games per season, and that HC GUS BRADLEY and his staff have coached in the Senior Bowl for 3 straight years. But it may just be time to start taking this team seriously. They added some nice VFA pieces to their roster this off-season, and have multiple young players starting… Read More »
The Boys in the Bayou are trying to hold their team together with baling wire and duct tape these days. Too many years of credit card drafting and trading away picks have put the team in a hole. And clearly they are not at all prepared for DREW BREES to retire in the foreseeable future. So lets look… Read More »
Despite declarations of denial, the BEARS are clearly rebuilding their roster, especially on the defensive side of the ball. That could be plainly seen when they used 6 of their 9 Draft picks on that side of the ball. Now the question becomes how much closer will those picks bring them to respectability in the tough NFC North.… Read More »
No one in the organization is saying it out loud, but it is quite clear that the rebuilding process is on in the Motor City. It was pre-MILLEN days when the team last had as many as 10 Picks in a Draft. In fact, part of their roster decline can clearly be traced to the MAYHEW regime when… Read More »
The banners at the Tampa Bay Training Camp facilities will blare out “It’s a BUCS life” in another month, and now that they have a franchise QB in place they might be on track to make that slogan mean something on Sundays in the Fall. Here’s what they did in the recent Draft. Round 1 VERNON HARGREAVES/CB/FLORIDA 5’11/204… Read More »
It has been a strange 6 months for the EAGLES, starting with the firing of CHIP KELLY, and followed by a contract extension for SAM BRADFORD, the signing of VFA QB/CHASE DANIEL and then capped by a blockbuster trade of Draft Picks to get themselves in position to acquire CARSON WENTZ. During the course of all those fun… Read More »
Welcome to the NFL Draft as it is done “the old fashioned way”. This is as vanilla as it gets, just like PAUL BROWN would have done it. No flavor of the day, not even Neapolitan. A BENGALS draft is pure, with the team picking exactly where the League slots them. No trading up, no trading down. And… Read More »
It was only at the end of the last decade that this franchise was down in the dumps with no prospect of significantly improving itself. AL DAVIS was in his final days, with his son taking the controls of the franchise in 2011. The younger DAVIS made one bold move reminiscent of his father’s legacy. He hired REGGIE… Read More »
The JETS are hoping they are poised to make a push for the AFC title, and as of today their roster has more Rookies on it than any other team in the NFL. 7 of those Rookies came from the Draft, so let’s look at those guys. Round 1 DARRON LEE/LB/OHIO STATE 6’1/232 4.47/40 33 1/4″A/9 3/4″H LEE… Read More »
Clearly the biggest issue for the COLTS is getting a healthy ANDREW LUCK back out on the field to lead the Offense. But to be a serious Super Bowl contender this team clearly needs more talent overall on both sides of the ball. Shuffling a few VFA in and out is always on the agenda, but GM RYAN… Read More »
It’s not easy to get to the top of the mountain in the NFL. It’s even harder to stay there. And GM JOHN ELWAY finds himself in major retool mode with no desire to concede their title to other teams. So let’s look at what ELWAY did to restock his roster which took some heavy hits in the… Read More »
The CARDS have made huge progress in recent years under the tag-team tandem of BRUCE ARIANS/HC & STEVE KEIM/GM. But like every team the annual infusion of Draft talent is key to continued success. How about we leave it for now that this group contains more surprise Picks than perhaps any other team in the league. IMO. Round… Read More »
Let’s travel way over the left side of New York state and talk about the BILLS Draft as sculpted by DOUG WHALEY & REX RYAN. As you look at the player rankings below you would have to conclude this is on e of the best drafts around this year. Almost every player taken by Buffalo is ranked higher… Read More »
I would be remiss if I didn’t go after COLIN’s favorite team in NYC. After a very active and costly VFA season, it was time to do some Draft damage. Round 1 ELI APPLE/CB/OHIO STATE 6’1/200 4.40/40 9 3/8″H/31 3/8″A The Giants really went after fixing their secondary hard this off-season including of course this Pick. It’s a… Read More »
Since RICK SPIELMAN took over as VIKINGS GM the team has had a succession of fruitful Drafts to build their roster around. As some of us like to say, they seem to get good value at almost every pick they make. Overall, 2016’s effort appears to be no exception. Round 1 LAQUON TREADWELL/WR/OLE MISS 6’2/220 4.65/40 9 1/2″H/33… Read More »
GBN Friend Larry requested a look at the CHIEFS Draft. Fair enough. First let’s make sure people understand how the Chiefs handle their draft and player evaluation. The key man is GM JOHN DORSEY, who used to run the PACKERS College Scouting Dept., when TED THOMPSON was busy elsewhere. DORSE and ANDY REID go way back to their… Read More »
At the request of GBN reader ED it’s time to take a look at the DOLPHINS Draft effort. Names have changed a bit at the top of the Miami pecking order but rest assured that the major voices are now MIKE TANNENBAUM & ADAM GASE. Round 1 LAREMY TUNSIL/OT/OLE MISS 6’5/310 5.00/40 10″H/34 1/4″A With a great degree… Read More »
Year two of the SCOT McCLOUGHAN era saw the team with 7 Picks to exercise, as opposed to his usually desire for double digit picks. But as expected it appears as though the team got help for some key needs, and upgraded the team’s speed and athleticism. Round 1 JOSH DOCTSON/WR/TCU 6’3/195 4.46/40 31 7/8″A/9 7/8″H One of… Read More »
Time to plunge back into the the 2016 NFL Draft and get some kind of feel for how I think teams helped themselves, or not. No grades here, but by the end of the review you should have a feel for how I perceive the team’s overall effort. PITTSBURGH STEELERS 7 Picks Just like they run their overall… Read More »
After some positive feedback for my PACKERS Review I have decided to keep on with these non-grade Draft Review article. But… I will not be doing every NFL team. So if you have a favorite team that you would like me to cover in this series please advise with a note back to the the website. For now… Read More »
For those of you looking for my Draft Grade on the PACKERS you have come to the wrong place. I find Draft grading, especially this soon, almost as useless as Mock Drafts. But I think it might be useful to really hard core Draft and NFL fans if I shed a little light on what teams did in… Read More »
My favorite two weeks of the year come in January when I spend time traveling to the Shrine Game practices and game, followed by a jaunt across the Florida Panhandle to Mobile to take part in the Reese’s’ Senior Bowl week of events. The combination of time actually on the field scouting and interacting with a couple hundred… Read More »
