The draft kicks off in just over 10 hours and like just about every year one of the biggest questions is where and when do the QBs start coming off the board. Nobody seems to like this year’s QB crop all that much. By all accounts, North Carolina’s Mitch Trubisky is still a possibility to go first overall to Cleveland. There is also a growing buzz – here and here – that Jacksonville may in fact be targeting Clemson’s Deshaun Watson with the 4th pick. The Jags, of course, still have Blake Bortles, a top 5 pick in 2014, but he regressed last year, and with Tom Coughlin back at the helm in Jacksonville anything is possible. There have even been some whispers that Chicago has considered Watson at #3, but those aren’t as strong. Listening to Bears’ G.M. Ryan Pace one gets the sense that he’d really prefer to trade down and he’ll likely get some calls. In fact, one keeps hearing that several teams are looking to leapfrog each other to get LSU RB Leonard Fournette including possibly Carolina and Cincinnati which have the 8th and 9th picks respectively. At the same time, one keeps hearing that more than one team – which may include the Panthers – actually have Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey rated ahead of Fournette. And if the Panthers may have to move up just to get McCaffrey. One also has to be cautious at this time of year because one actually hears a lot!!
No one should be surprised if the contingent of Alabama prospects including DE Jonathan Allen, TE O.J. Howard, LB Reuben Foster, and CB Marlon Humphrey all go later than expected. Allen may simply get caught up in the numbers game early, while teams just aren’t sure about Howard on game. He’s got all the physical tools to be a great one at the next level, but teams still don’t why he wasn’t more of a presence with the Tide. On the other hand, guys one keeps hearing mentioned as possible late first rounders include Ole Miss TE Even Engram, Tennessee RB Alvin Kamara, and CBs Tre’Davious White of LSU and Quincy Wilson of Florida.
One of the pivotal spots in tonight’s open round could be in the 15-16 range where both Indianapolis and Baltimore reportedly are targeting an edge rusher. However, based on the conventional draft board out there, it doesn’t look like there will be any top edge-rushers available to either team at the spot. And that could open the possibility of a surprise pick of an OLB like Takk McKinley from UCLA or Houston’s Tyus Bowser, or Kansas State DE Jordan Willis at that point. Of course, both Indianapolis and Baltimore also have other issues – the Colts the offensive line, the Ravens WR and their OL – which they could address with a more conventional pick. We’ll find out soon enough.
It could also be kind of interesting a little earlier at the 10-11 picks where there might not be a neat fit between what Buffalo and New Orleans are looking for respectively at that spots and the talent that will likely be available. The Bills’ biggest issues for example appear to be at WR and CB, but unless Ohio State corner Marshon Lattimore somehow miraculously falls to them at #10 they’ll have to reach if they want either one of the top receivers or second-tier corners. Meanwhile, New Orleans also desperately needs an upgrade on the corner, as well as in their pass rush, but they could be in the same situation as the Bills. That could open either or both to a trade down , especially if there was a team like Houston that wanted to move up from the mid-twenties to get a QB.
