Six Draft Picks That Will Send Waves Around The League!

NFL Draft provides us surprises every year.

  Every year, about six to seven draft selections send waves to everybody in the league. Such selections either send good waves or bad waves. It isn't always the first six to seven picks in the draft that are eye-popping. Sometimes it is the first overall pick which shooks up the draft, sometimes it is the late pick in the first-round which catches everyone's eyes, and other times it is the pick in the middle rounds which send waves down the road. Last year, the selection of Kareem Hunt in the third-round was noticed as a decent pick, but the way he performed during the first half of the season had everyone admit that the Kansas City Chiefs had found their diamond in the third-round. Any team can find its superstar anywhere in the draft. On the other hand, teams make bad picks in the top ten selection of the first-round. Teams like Browns have made bad picks in the top ten by selecting players like Trent Richardson number three overall and Justin Gilbert eighth overall. Both those players had talent, but they just couldn't put their talents on the field. Now both of them are pretty much out of the league, as Trent plays for a Canadian football team and Justin Gilbert hasn't played in the NFL since 2016. The Cleveland Browns aren't the only team to make bad selections in the top ten. The Jets, Raiders, Chiefs, and Giants have all made bad picks in the last ten years. The Raiders made the worst pick by selecting Jamarcus Russell number one overall in 2007.

  Some teams in the past ten years have drafted game-changing players with their top ten picks. Atlanta Falcons drafted Matt Ryan with the third overall pick in 2008 and Julio Jones with the sixth overall pick. Then in 2012, Indianapolis Colts drafted Andrew Luck number one overall. In 2016, Philadephia Eagles drafted Carson Wentz number two overall. Just like all the previous drafts, there are going to be teams this year, who will get to draft stars and some teams are going to draft busts. Some teams are going to make picks that we might not praise at the time, but those picks might turn out to be great selections once the season gets going. Some teams will reach for players with a lot of talent in the first two rounds and act like they hit the lottery, but the players they will draft, might not have the passion and the will to succeed in the NFL. There are six teams in this year's draft, whose draft selections are going to change their fortunes, make them more dominant, or make them worse than they already are.

Cleveland Browns might make a huge mistake in the draft... Again!

  It seems like every year, that the Browns have to select a quarterback in the first-round. If they could just make the right decision by picking a quarterback, then they won't have to worry about drafting a quarterback for the next ten to fifteen years. Every year they either pick the wrong quarterback with the draft pick, or they pass on a great quarterback by trading down from the pick and picking some other quarterback or a player who plays a different position. Two years ago in the 2016 draft, they held the second pick in the draft. They traded it for more picks to the Philadephia Eagles, who ended up drafting Carson Wentz. Then last year, Cleveland Browns had the 12th overall pick. They again traded the pick for more picks, this time to the Houston Texans who went on to draft one of the most dominant college quarterbacks ever, Deshaun Watson. Both Carson Wentz and Deshaun Watson have changed lives of their teams since being drafted by them. Eagles in their second year with Carson Wentz became a Super Bowl contender and ended up winning it, even though Wentz was out for the playoffs. Deshaun Watson had the Texans last year look dominant on offense for the first time since 2010.

Now this year around February and early March, it was certain that the Browns were going to draft Sam Darnold from USC with the number one overall pick. As time goes by, it seems like that the Cleveland Browns are heading more in the direction to select quarterback Josh Allen from Wyoming. The Browns want to draft him because he has similar traits as Carson Wentz, and they don't want to pass on him as they passed on Carson Wentz. Okay, Josh Allen has a strong arm, did well in the combine, but he turned the ball over a whole lot in college while completing only 55 percent of his passes. If a quarterback struggles with turnovers and completing passes in college, how well is he going to do against the defenses in the NFL who are a lot more complicated and faster? In my opinion, if the Browns do select Allen and pass on Darnold, they are going to make a similar mistake which they did in past two drafts. When everybody said pick Carson Wentz, Browns picked Cody Kessler. When everybody said pick Deshaun Watson, Browns picked DeShone Kizer. Now when everyone is screaming at the Browns to select Sam Darnold, they are going to draft Josh Allen. Not drafting Sam Darnold number one overall will have the Browns searching for another quarterback in the top five, in two to three drafts from now.

  If Browns pass on Sam Darnold, the New York Giants will jump on him!

  I was listening to Colin Cowherd on his radio show a few days ago. He made a great point by saying that in the NFL and in the NBA, great organizations feed on the mistakes made by poorly run organizations. He then provided examples to back up his point. One of his examples included Golden State Warriors picking Stephen Curry in the 2009 draft after the Minnesota Timberwolves passed on him with back to back picks. Both players who the Timberwolves drafted ahead of Stephen Curry, don't play for them anymore. Curry, on the other hand, has led his Warriors to two NBA Titles. So if the Cleveland Browns pass on Sam Darnold, the New York Giants will happily take him number two overall. Since drafting Eli Manning in 2004, the Giants have won two Super Bowls, while the Browns haven't made it to the playoffs even once. Once the Giants get Sam Darnold, they will have a great chance to add one or two more Super Bowl trophies in the next fifteen years. Meanwhile, the Browns would struggle to have a record better than 8-8.

  As of right now, Giants are high on players like Bradley Chubb from NC State, Saquan Barkley from Penn State, and Quenton Nelson from Notre Dome. None of those guys play quarterback, but they all could fill in holes on the Giants' roster. However, the Giants might be just giving them high remarks to let the Browns and others know, that they have no intention of drafting Sam Darnold or any other quarterback. So in other words, Giants are probably playing draft mind games with other teams in order to have them panic and make crazy moves in the draft, and then the Giants end up drafting Sam Darnold with the number two overall pick. Last year with Eli Manning, the New York Giants were a mess. Most of the football world believe that the Giants are in a rebuild mode, and Eli Manning has only one or two years left in him. They should go all in for Sam Darnold if he is available. I'm sure that Dave Gettleman, the general manager of the Giants, knows how difficult it is to find a successor to the current quarterback of the team, whose days are almost over.

Buffalo Bills trading up for Baker Mayfield.

  Last year, it was the first time since 1999, the Buffalo Bills made it to the playoffs without good quarterback play and without much talent on the team. To avoid such a drought of missing the playoffs again, the Buffalo Bills need to make a big move in the draft to land a superstar quarterback. I believe there are two superstar quarterbacks in this year's draft. They are Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield. Darnold will either be taken by the Browns (assuming they get their head straight) or the Giants with the first two picks in the draft. So that means, teams in need of a quarterback will have a chance to steal Baker Mayfield somewhere in the first-round. Baker Mayfield has some on and off-field issues and can certainly be a distraction for his team, but there is no doubt that he is a playmaker. He is small, but like Drew Brees and Russell Wilson, he has the heart to succeed in the NFL. Also, like Brees and Wilson, Baker can provide leadership which the Bills desperately need at the quarterback position.

  Buffalo Bills as of right now have two picks in the first-round. They have the 12th and the 22nd pick. There is a chance that Baker could fall to the Bills at number twelve, but he could be drafted by the Jets with the third overall pick. There is no way the Jets are going to trade down with the Bills after the Jets traded up three spots from six to three. So for now, the Bills have to wait until the draft day in order to make a move to trade up. They could move up to number four overall, by giving the Browns their two first-round picks and a third-round pick from this year's draft and a second-round pick from next year's draft. However, they should make this move only if the Jets pass on Baker with the number three pick. If the Jets draft Baker, there is no need for the Bills to trade up for a quarterback who isn't Baker Mayfield or Sam Darnold. If the Jets do pass on him, Bills can jump up to number four and steal away Baker Mayfield. With Baker under center, the Bills could make a lot of noise in the AFC for years to come.

San Francisco 49ers getting lucky with Saquan Barkley.

  For the last three years, the 49ers have spent their first-round picks on defensive players. Last year, they went heavy on defense as they selected three defensive players in the first three rounds of the draft. All three of those selections were excellent choices by the 49ers. This year, many people expect them to draft a player on the offensive side of the ball. However, the 49ers are set on the quarterback position with Jimmy G, there is no game changing wide receiver entering the draft, and there is only one running back worthy of being drafted in the top ten. So the 49ers like last three drafts should draft a defensive player like Derwin James or Minkah Fitzpatrick. Unless Saquan Barkley falls to them at number nine.

  It is unlikely that Saquan Barkley will fall to number nine, but it could happen. This draft is rich with quarterbacks and defensive players, and there is one extraordinary lineman, Quenton Nelson who everyone believes is going to be the safest pick in this year's draft. Let's just assume if the draft goes in an order like this;

1) Cleveland Browns - QB Josh Allen.
2) New York Giants - QB Sam Darnold.
3) New York Jets - QB Josh Rosen.
4) Cleveland Browns - DE Bradley Chubb.
5) Denver Broncos - CB Denzel Ward.
6) Indianapolis Colts - OG Quenton Nelson.
7) Tampa Bay Buccaneers - S Derwin James.
8) Chicago Bears - CB Josh Jackson.

  If the first eight picks in the draft go in this order or similar to this order, then the San Francisco 49ers should definitely draft Saquan Barkley with the 9th overall pick. Jimmy G and Kyle Shanahan would love to have Barkley in their offensive arsenal. With Barkley in the backfield, Garaopplo will get a lot more time and space to throw the ball to his receivers. Barkley is just not going to help Jimmy G and the offense, he will also help the 49ers' defense. When a team runs the ball well and chews up the clock, defense gets well-needed rest on the sideline. The San Francisco 49ers will hit the jackpot with the selection of Saquan Barkley at number nine.

Jacksonville Jaguars - Another team to keep an eye on.

  The Jacksonville Jaguars finally made it to the playoffs last year! People have been waiting for the Jaguars to make it to the playoffs for quite some time. Some thought that the Jags would get to the playoffs in 2016. All in all, they got there last year, thanks to their defense. The Jaguars' defense is loaded with talent, and during the season they made many good offenses look like bad ones. Their signature game came early in the regular season in week five, when they completely annihilated Pittsburgh Steelers' offense. Steelers' offense features Big Ben, Antonio Brown, and Le'Veon Bell. Then later in the post-season, Jaguars didn't annihilate the Steelers' offense, but they did enough to beat them to advance to the AFC Title game. The Jaguars lost the title game to the New England Patriots by a score of 24-20. They didn't lose the game because of their defense. They lost the game because their offense failed to move the ball late in fourth quarter. With the 29th pick, the Jaguars could select tight end, Hayden Hurst. Maybe, he is the missing piece, as he could really help them in the passing game. If the Jaguars do get him, they will have a great chance to dethrone the Patriots in the AFC next year.

What if the New England Patriots end up drafting Lamar Jackson?

  The New England Patriots were few defensive stops away from becoming the first team to repeat as Super Bowl Champions since the 2003-2004 Patriots. For the majority of the year, the Patriots' defense was awful. Even though their defense finished top five in points allowed, they allowed too many yards in several games. In the Super Bowl against the Eagles, they allowed a lot of yards and a lot of points, and that's why they lost the big game. Nick Foles completely torched the Patriots' defense in front of the whole world. In this upcoming draft, one would think that the Patriots' focus will be on the defensive side of the ball, especially after they traded away Brandin Cooks to the LA Rams.

 With that trade, Patriots now have four picks in the first two rounds. Many of us expect them to spend three of those picks on defense and one on left tackle to replace Nate Solder, who left for the New York Giants in free agency. I would certainly do that as the Patriots, besides the left tackle position are set on the offensive side of the ball, and they really need a defensive end and a cornerback to boost up their defense. They also need a linebacker who could pressure the quarterback. The goal of this draft for the Patriots should be to retool their defense. However, if Lamar Jackson falls late in the first-round, the Patriots should consider drafting him. Tom Brady can still give the Patriots another two to three good years, and Brian Hoyer right now is the short-term answer for New England's backup plan. If Lamar Jackson does get drafted by the Patriots and gets to sit behind Tom Brady for two years, boy he is going to be a nightmare for all the defenses in the league. Lamar Jackson has all the talent in the world, but he won't be able to succeed, as he is not mentally prepared to play quarterback at the NFL level. In New England, he is going to get great coaching and training to become a true quarterback. Once he is ready, and Brady leaves football for good, Lamar Jackson will get to continue the dominance of the Patriots for another decade.