The NFL Draft is officially over and it is now time for us to look over at every team and critic their picks. We are going to look at every team and decide who had the best drafts. This year the draft was extra special and brought joy to many people across the nation. Amiss the pandemic we were still able to bring a yearly event to live thanks to the NFL, ESPN, and many other people. Hopefully this the start of a recovery that the nation has been waiting for.
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys had one of their best drafts in a while picking up solid players throughout the draft. They started off with a receiver in CeeDee Lamb which was one of the steals of the draft. He is an aggressive receiver and is surely one Dak will prefer by the end of the season. The second round was more of the same, grabbing a steal in Trevon Diggs. He is a playmaking corner and should easily be able to help the Dallas secondary. Right after that Dallas picked up another Oklahoma player in Neville Gallimore who was a predicted 2nd round pick. That’s 3 steals in a row. On the third day, Dallas was a bit shaky with their picks but filled needs. Their last pick was a really interesting one grabbing a QB from James Madison, but maybe this will help Dak step up his game.
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals definitely came into the draft with an offensive tackle on their mind, but they got a steal in Isaiah Simmons. They then filled the OT spot in the second round with a great pick in Josh Jones. The Houston native the 7th best at his position in this deep tackle class. They also filled a lot of positions that they needed help with. Including a pair of defensive backs in Roki Fotu and Rashard Lawerence, which will help this team immensely. The teams focus this draft was on defense and that is what they did. They got what they needed to and should have an improved D next year.
Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals obviously had a lock with Joe Burrow, but that isnt the reason that they had one of the best drafts. Cincinnati picked up Tee Higgins in the second round, the wide receiver from Clemson. Cincy saw the connection between the two earlier before the draft, which finalized their decision on making him the next receiver added to the Bengals young core. In the third round, the Bengals drafted their first defensive player this year. It was Logan Wilson, linebacker from Wyoming. When you look at the current linebacker situation for the Bengals, aside from Wilson, there really isn’t much. Thankfully, though, they addressed the need of one of the worst positions on defense.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville impressed a lot of people in this draft, as they picked up two quality defensive players in the first round. C.J. Henderson is one of the top corners in this year’s draft class, and he will be able to help the Jags defense guarding receivers. Their next first round pick ended up being K’Lavon Chaisson, a linebacker from LSU. This linebacker was one of the best options for Jacksonville at the 20th pick, once again, they needed to replace a defender who is gone from the Jags. They replaced Yannick Ngakoue, someone who meant a lot to them on the defensive end. Hopefully, Chaisson will be worth the first round risk, helping the Jaguars a lot defending offenses.
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings started their draft with a great pick in Justin Jefferson. We believe that this is one of the underrated picks of the draft. Jefferson is a great fit in Minnesota and will greatly help replace the traded Stefon Diggs. They followed that up by grabbing Jeff Gladney with their other first-round pick from San Francisco. The corner position that the Vikings desperately needed help with. Trae Waynes, Xavier Rhodes, and Mackensie Alexander have all departed from the team as well. Gladney may not be a perfect pick here, but he fills the need. They then had a flurry of picks especially on day 3 shoring up the defense and adding a little bit of offense. One notable pick was James Lynch which came off the board in the fourth round after a trade with the Saints. James had a great year for the Bears last season and is certainly one of the sleeper picks if the draft. The Vikings also grabbed a QB in the 7th round in Nate Stanley. This was interesting but definitely points to a backup role for the team.
Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens filled all their needs in this draft except for a defensive end. I was expecting one late, but that just didn’t happen. Patrick Queen from LSU was their first pick and he was another solid pick. He should help this team plenty in a weak spot for Baltimore. Dobbins was the 2nd round pick and I don’t know if this is the right fit here. It will be interesting to see what the Ravens do with him with Ingram already back there. Nevertheless, he is still a great pick. Devin Duvernay from Texas was a receiver drafted in the third round. He was a great playmaker for the Longhorns throughout the duration of his career. I wonder how Marquise Brown feels about his new teammate. (Brown is from OU). The rest of the picks finished with people they needed in specific positions and they filled everything except the defensive end. The Ravens added the depth they needed here to maybe take them all the way.
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