Winners of the First Round
The first round of the 2017 NFL Draft has come and gone. There were an inordinate number of trades throughout the evening, but there were three teams in my eyes that really made their teams better. Between value and fit, here are the three teams that I felt improved the most on Draft Day.
Cleveland Browns. Yes, you read that right. The Browns, for the first time in a long time, should be applauded for their draft maneuvers. With the first overall pick they went with, who many thought to be head and shoulders above any other prospect in the field, Myles Garrett. Rather than overthink it, as is often the case in Cleveland, they went with the surefire pass-rusher. Then, rather than selecting again at 12, they moved down and acquired ample draft capital. When they were set to pick again at 25, they chose Jabrill Peppers, a defensive playmaker from Michigan. Then, to cap off an eventful first round, the Browns moved back into the first round and took David Njoku, a tight end from Miami. Over the course of the first round the Browns stabilized their defense by adding two key cogs for what would seem like years to come. They also added an offensive weapon in Njoku to aid their offense. While they still need a quarterback, next year's draft is loaded with signal-callers. Josh Allen, Sam Darnold, and Josh Rosen will all declare for next year's draft and are all better than any quarterback that came out this year. The Browns played it smart, they didn't rush it as they have done in the past. Next year they will be able to take a franchise quarterback, and by that time they will have a young nucleus that won't yet be ready to contend, but will be closer. Much closer.
Houston Texans. Bill O'Brien and company were in dire need of a quarterback. They had all of the ancillary pieces - JJ Watt and a stellar defense, a running game, and a potent receiving core led by DeAndre Hopkins. They were missing a quarterback and they certainly addressed that need. The Texans swapped first round picks with the Browns while also throwing in a first-round pick in next year's draft. DeShaun Watson fits perfectly in Houston. His scrambling ability will allow him to extend plays giving the Texans' speedy receivers more time to get open. Houston desperately needed a competent quarterback, and they surely got one in Watson.
San Francisco 49ers. John Lynch should compete in high-stakes poker. Seriously. The newly minted 49ers GM made a fool of Ryan Pace and the Chicago Bears. Lynch duped the Bears into trading up one spot to select Trubisky, a player whom the 49ers had no intentions of selecting. In trading down, the 49ers received the 3rd overall pick, with which they used to nab former Stanford defensive stalwart Solomon Thomas, as well as a 3rd and 4th round pick this year and another 3rd rounder in 2018. That's a hell of a ransom to move down one spot. Then, at the end of the night, the 49ers snagged former Alabama linebacker Reuben Foster. Many had Foster as a top-five talent, but he fell to 31 due to concerns over a failed drug test and a mini-meltdown at the combine. All in all, the 49ers got two of the top defensive players in the entire draft, while also gathering three additional high round picks. What a night for the 49ers in their first draft under a new regime.
