A surprise reaction to the NFL Draft is never easy, but it's necessary. And each NFL team brings in a whole new group of draftees to try to rebuild/reload their respective franchises, with 257 picks currently in the works.
It's going to be tough to judge, especially since there are six players, six players, in this draft. — A quarterback drafted in the top 12 of the first round. Some of these QBs will be asked to carry the team out of the gate, but some will hopefully be out for a few years.
But don't get me wrong. It's these QBs who will ultimately decide the winners and losers of this draft. Let me introduce my recommendations.
winner
pittsburgh steelers
This was a no-brainer for me, and not just because of the fourth-round pick in Peyton Wilson, who was probably the biggest takeaway of the entire draft. Injuries and age are concerns for the NC State linebacker, but he plans to start early and often for the Steelers. Landing Troy Fautanu in the first round would be perfect for the Steelers, especially with Arthur Smith taking over as offensive coordinator, helping them get more physical in the run game. It should be. Zach Frazier also becomes a physical addition to the offensive line, which suddenly looks like a possible rebuild. Mason McCormick, who is late in the draft, shouldn't be an issue either. Roman Wilson is a beast in the run game, but gives Russell Wilson/Justin Fields another competent and reliable weapon in a wide receiver room that suddenly lacked bodies after the offseason trade of Diontae Johnson. It will probably happen. This is a really tough division, but it's not impossible to imagine this draft upending the Steelers' 2024 expectations if either quarterback addition has meaningful results.
philadelphia eagles
Howie Roseman's great fame is well-deserved. The Eagles GM had another great draft performance over the weekend. It started with him jiggling a little bit with two early cornerback picks in Toledo's Quinyon Mitchell and Iowa's Cooper DeJean. We've seen Philadelphia focus on the SEC and the trenches over the past few years, so this was a surprise, albeit a welcome one. Both players could end up being early starters in a defensive backfield that already features Darius Slay and James Bradberry. Jalyx Hunt is a fascinating prospect whose safety has turned into his EDGE, something you don't see very often. Clemson running back Will Shipley had a steal in the fourth round. Dipping into Death Valley again for Jeremiah Trotter Jr. is good for business, even if it's primarily an emotional choice. Johnny Wilson in the 6th round??! NC State's Dylan McMahon (aka “Baby Jason Kelce”) in the late rounds?? Only elite picks from Howie late in the draft. Perhaps most impressively, he traded away a ton of minutes and an extra pick for next year. The reduction in talent in this class (largely due to the trickle-down of his NIL) allowed him to get out of the 7th round and improve his ammo for 2025.
commander of washington
Washington's first draft under Adam Peters (running his first draft as GM) and Dan Quinn (working on his second job as head coach) feels like a huge success. It's not just because we're used to WFT limping around on the fight bus at the misguided hands of Daniel Snyder. Obviously, everything about this draft hinges on what happens with Jaden Daniels. Unlike the Bears, Daniels will be compared directly to Drake Maye over the next decade in Washington, making the pick even more difficult. K-State tight end Ben Sinnott and Rice wide receiver Luke McCaffrey will be great complementary weapons for Daniels on a team that features two strong wideouts. Johnny Newton had a steal early in the second round. Mike Sainristil gave Quinn a new role on defense. I like the late-round gamble with Jordan McGee (Temple LB), Dominic Hampton (Washington safety), and Javonte Jean-Baptiste (Notre Dame DL) to help give this defense some upside. . People forget how many mid-round/late round players had a big impact on Quinn's defense in Atlanta.
buffalo bills
It's been a tough offseason for Buffalo, and getting more help from Josh Allen was paramount following the Stefon Diggs trade. They did just that early on the second night of the draft, taking Keon Coleman after the FSU product fell to the second round. The Bills only lacked a first-round pick because they moved down multiple times in the draft. I'm on the Bill Belichick bandwagon when it comes to getting enthusiastic about a trade with the Chiefs. Worry about your team first. Ray Davis from Kentucky is a hard hitter who should fit well with Joe Brady's more run-oriented approach. The Bills had a fun game Saturday on offense with Cedric Van Plan-Granger from Georgia, Tyrann Grable from UCF and Travis Clayton from England. A bunch of big guys on the upswing that provide good depth and should probably develop into something more. Second-round pick Cole Bishop should help fill out the all-important safety spot in Sean McDermott's defense.
loser
kirk cousins
Be careful not to be called a “loser” for this. Kirk Cousins is still being paid $100 million by the Falcons and is still the starting QB in Atlanta. But his decision to leave Minnesota and sign with the Falcons also made sense because there was no competition from his future successor. Apparently Cousins felt a bit of a slight burn from the Falcons' decision to sit No. 8 and take Michael Penix Jr. out of Washington. This is a top 10 pick for a quarterback. When a quarterback is drafted with a mid-round pick, we over-scrutinize the depth chart situation. When it comes to the eighth overall pick, it's hard not to think, talk and debate the decision. People (mainly fans) are upset about this for a variety of reasons, and it raises questions about Cousins' health as he recovers from an Achilles injury sustained last year. If he had known the Falcons were going to take Penix there, would he have signed with the Falcons this offseason?Would the Falcons have signed him? he? This situation will likely come under strict scrutiny in the future. It would be really awkward if Cousins was rehabbing and Penix was throwing darts here and there during the offseason.
Cleveland Browns (Deshaun version)
Saturday's draft action saw them acquire the final pick from the Houston Texans in the Deshaun Watson trade. That means you can make a reasonable argument about who won, who lost, or both in the blockbuster deal that sent the Texans a ton of picks in exchange for Watson. The Browns acquired Watson and a 2024 sixth-round pick. Watson played in 12 games with Cleveland, missed 11 games in 2022 after being suspended by the NFL, and 11 games last year due to injury. He has thrown for over 300 yards zero times and over 250 yards only twice. On the other hand, the Texans ultimately acquired the following picks and players as a result of the swap.
2022 1st round pick — 15th overall — OL Kenyon Green
2022 4th round pick — 107th — RB Dameon Pierce
2023 1st round pick — 3rd overall — EDGE Will Anderson Jr.
2023 4th round pick — 69th overall — WR Tank Dell
2024 1st round pick — traded to Minnesota — CB Kamari Lassiter (2nd) and LB Jamal Hill
2024 4th round pick — 78th overall — Kayden Brock
They traded up for Anderson, giving up some capital in doing so, but also traded back to Minnesota for more picks. So it's not a perfect science. But the conclusion is quite clear. The Texans crushed the Browns with this trade. Anderson is probably the only one who wins this contract, and when you add in Dell's upside, especially considering the Browns give Watson a huge, fully guaranteed contract and the Texans go ahead and add C.J. Stroud as a secondary player. Then it would be very easy to give the Texans the win. fall out.
denver broncos
I'm typically a blind Sean Payton believer. You won't hear me questioning his quarterback decisions. Russell Wilson convincing the world he was going to do the job and then bailing just a year later is definitely raising eyebrows, but seeing as the Broncos took Bo Nix with the 12th overall pick , I was totally into it. The idea of employing Bo Nix AT TWELVE is completely outlandish. It helps that the Broncos used a fourth-round pick on former Knicks teammate Troy Franklin. Troy Franklin was a physical burner who made my buddy Pete Prisco's Better Than team stand out, yet somehow fell on day three of the draft. That duo could be interesting. Notre Dame running back Audric Estim could be a legitimate threat to start for the Broncos. Not having a second-round pick in this draft doesn't help at all, especially for a team trying to bounce back from a tougher-than-expected 2023. Ultimately, I think this could end up being very good for Denver. However, I'm not completely sold on the idea of the Knicks running this offense from Jump Street.
carolina panthers
The idea of using a pick to help Bryce Young makes a lot of sense, and the Panthers deserve credit for doing it with so many picks. But as a result of the Young trade, they didn't get the No. 1 overall pick, and they did something I really hoped they wouldn't do – trade for a wide receiver in the first round. The idea was to bring it back with your eyes. Trading him back to No. 32 is outrageous, especially when he was sitting at No. 33. Xavier Leggett is a good weapon for Dave Canales and Young, but it's a bad trade. And while it was a good trade to go from No. 39 to No. 50 and get a second-round pick in 2025, giving up his rights to the Bears in the Young trade, it was also a bad trade to move him. He moved back up to No. 46 to acquire a running back. Jonathan Brooks is by far the best back in this class, but he's coming back from an injury, this team just paid up Miles Sanders, and Chuba Hubbard is also on the roster. They're not running away. Trevin Wallace was a surprising pick as a linebacker with better options on the board. Ja'Tavion Sanders is off to a really good start with the No. 1 pick in the fourth round on Saturday. You could make a case that he's the second-best tight end in the class and a peer against the Texans. Carolina made some OK defensive picks on the final day of the draft, but in general I wasn't surprised by this draft class, even if I appreciate the idea behind it.
