2018 NFL Draft

I'm sure there are examples, but what's a pick that was notoriously pegged as a reach that later turned out to be a great selection?

 

No guarantee, but it was very likely they could have at least gotten him in the second round.

 

They've had good luck picking safeties over the years. I'm just glad they didn't take an ILB just to take one. Trading Bryant for a 3rd rounder was smart. He's gonna walk next year, so might as well get something for him before he gets himself suspended again.

 

I'm sure it has happened, but if it is a multi-round reach it still isn't a great selection even if the player pans out. That's why I brought up the example of Stallworth. Sure, if the Steelers had taken him in the first round in 1974, that would have been a good pick. He was a Hall of Famer. But it still would have been a mistake because they would have passed on another Hall of Famer in the first and they could have gotten Stallworth later.

 

Damn Ravens ... Damn it!!!!
Jackson is a steal for them.
The Bengals really Browned it up. And the Bills.

 

But that's the art of the draft -- not pulling the trigger when you might be able to get the same guy 32 picks later (and the corresponding lesser contract). Those are the decisions that make GMs.

I like the pick a lot more knowing that Jackson can sit for a year or two behind the admittedly boring Joe Flacco. If Jackson had to come out of the gate quickly, it might have hindered his growth curve.

My opinion on him hasn't changed over the past 18 months.

He is a freak of nature who will get yardage other backs just won't. And he is a character guy. He'll be a positive to his team and his community.

But Barkley will eventually have to become more economical, stop trying to hit the seven-run homer every time. He takes an awful lot of 4- and 5-yard losses trying to make something out of nothing, rather than putting his head down and getting back to the line of scrimmage. And plays like that shoot a hole into the middle of drives.

 

Jackson wouldn't have been a surprise, if Tomlin had more say, I could totally see him trying to go after him with the 1st or 2nd round pick (assumiong he was still there).
P-G reporting this morning, and though not actually saying it, seemed to imply the Steelers trade to the Raiders was to gain enough ammo to move up in the 1st round, but couldn't pull it off. Colbert declined to say if the Steelers were trying to move up.

 

Watson, as a draft prospect, is better than any of the QBs this year and I speak as a Jets fans that's thrilled to have Darnold. But Watson has also blown out his knee a couple of times in the past five years so he's going to have to adjust his game if he wants any longevity in the league. I don't see why he won't be able to do it. Steve McNair is probably a fair comparison as a player that came in the league as a dual-threat and gradually improved his passing and toned down his running as his career progressed.

 

True enough. But I could give two shits if Mel Kiper, Mike Mayock or Todd McShay think it was not a good value pick; I'd care to know the consensus of other draft rooms. And you won't know that until someone maybe writes the next Collision Low Crossers in like three years. You're not gonna get an honest assessment from anyone within NFL war rooms. They traffic in dishonesty and misdirection.

After watching Mike Mitchell blow coverage for the last few years, I have no problem with reaching a bit to fill a glaring need.

 

McNair wasn't that much of a runner in college. He threw for more than 14,000 yards and ran for 2,200 over 3 seasons. He ran for 900 yards his senior year. He scrambled and ran when he had too. He was pass first and pass often.

 

Is Barkley going to run back kicks for the Giants?

 

For now, he might. By 2020, there may be no kickoff returns.