Tag: Philadelphia

2017 NFL Draft 1st-Round Review

~ Dave Ettinger ~ 2 Comments

adams

Well that didn’t go as planned. Despite months of draft analysis from experts, and countless mock drafts, the 1st-round of the 2017 NFL Draft was as unpredictable as the weather (Mel Kiper and Todd McShay do look a lot like meteorologists today). In between the plethora of boos hurled at Roger Goodell, the 1st-round provided more twists and turns than the Taconic Parkway (New Yorkers know what I’m talking about). There were multiple trades and many players rose or fell from their projected draft spots.

No surprise at the top, as the Cleveland Browns selected Myles Garrett from Texas A&M with the 1st overall pick. The Browns evening didn’t end there. They traded the 12th pick to the Houston Texans for the 25th pick and the Texans 1st-round pick in 2018. The Texans drafted Deshaun Watson from Clemson at 12 while the Browns drafted Jabrill Peppers from Michigan at 25. I don’t love either pick, as I think Watson, despite his outstanding career at Clemson, is an undersized quarterback who lacks the arm strength to succeed in the NFL . Peppers is a ‘tweener’ (safety/linebacker) who comes with baggage after failing a drug test at the NFL combine. The Browns then traded back into the 1st-round by shipping the 33rd pick and a 4th-round pick to the Green Bay Packers for the 29th pick. The Browns selected David Njoku from Miami. Njoku was the 3rd tight end selected in the 1st-round, and while I like the player, I wonder who will be throwing him the football this year….

Of the many trades from Thursday night, my favorite was the 1st one (for the 49ers that is). New 49ers General Manager, John Lynch, swindled the Chicago Bears. There is no other way to put it. The Bears traded up 1 SPOT, from the 3rd to 2nd pick, giving up 3rd and 4th-round picks from this year as well as a 3rd-round pick in 2018. Only problem is, the Bears LITERALLY didn’t have to do that. How did that conversation go?

Lynch: Listen Chicago, we’re getting multiple offers for the #2 pick here. If you can’t give us 3 valuable draft picks to move up only 1 spot, I’m afraid you’re going to miss out on your guy.

Ryan Pace (Bears GM): That sounds extremely fair. Now we can get Mitch Trubisky! You want me to throw in my 1st-born child too?

Yes, you heard that right. The Bears gave away the farm, to move up 1 spot, to draft a guy that was going to fall to them anyway. Even if Trubisky ends up being good, he simply is not worth such a high draft pick. He has only started 13 games at the collegiate level! The 49ers then drafted Solomon Thomas from Stanford, who yup you guessed it, is the guy they wanted anyway! Nice work Chicago. The 49ers, like the Browns, weren’t done for the evening. They moved back into the 1st-round by sending Seattle their 2nd and 4th-round picks in exchange for the 31st pick. John Lynch continued to impress in his 1st draft as the 49ers selected Reuben Foster of Alabama, who despite off-field issues, is regarded as one of the most talented players in the draft. The other major trade from last night saw the Kansas City Chiefs trade the 27th pick, a 3rd-round pick, and their 1st-round pick in 2018 to the Buffalo Bills to move up to the 10th pick. They selected Alex Smith’s potential successor in Patrick Mahomes II from Texas Tech. Mahomes has an absolute cannon for an arm, which often leads to risky throws. Only time will tell if Andy Reid can mold Mahomes into a successful NFL quarterback.

And last but not least, let’s talk about New York. We’ll quickly brush over that New York team that wears blue or purple or whatever color that is, so we can get to my New York Jets. The Giants gave Eli Manning another safety valve and drafted Evan Engram out of Ole Miss. Engram is an undersized tight end who will bring playmaking ability to an already talented receiving core for the Giants.

And then there were the New York Jets. As I like to call them, My New York Jets. With tank mode in full-effect, it was imperative that the Jets did not draft a quarterback on Thursday night. And thanks to the Chicago Bears, they didn’t even get that chance. The top 5 picks saw 3 offensive players fall off the board, leaving the Jets with the pick of the defensive litter. And even though the suspense was cut short when ESPN camera’s accidentally showed LSU safety Jamal Adams receiving his call of a lifetime, Jets fans have to be ecstatic that he fell into their laps. With the Jets’ secondary in shambles, they just picked up, according to some experts, the best player in the draft. Personally, I love the pick, and I love Adams already. First of all, CHECK OUT THE SUIT!! And talk about passion. His interview immediately following the selection was filled with raw emotion and the promise to “work his butt off”. Jets General Manager Mike Mccagnan has stuck to the motto ‘draft the best player available’ in the 1st-round. As for the 2nd-round, eh………not so much. So, let us collectively hold our breath until we reach the Jets next pick (39).

How do you feel about the Jets 1st-round draft pick? How do you feel about your teams draft pick? Tell me in the comment section below.

Since you enjoy my writing, follow me over to intheneutralzone.com where I am a contributing author there as well. You can also follow me on twitter @DaveEttinger2 or like me on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/DaveTalksSports. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it!    

 

 

T-Minus 8 Days and Counting….

~ Dave Ettinger ~ Leave a comment

Jets

The fate of the whole world hangs in the balance. In just 8 shorts days, on April 27th, 2017, the world you’ve come to know and love could change forever. That’s right, the NFL Draft is nearly upon us!! It’s time to warm up those vocal chords and practice those boos, because whether you like it or not your team will undoubtedly draft someone you don’t want. On a personal level, I am anticipating being one of those booing (possibly crying) fans. Since you read my About page, ahem, you know I’ve been a New York Jets fan my entire life.

The Jets underachieved their way to the #6 overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft. That’s a solid pick, so why am I preemptively planning tears?? I’ll tell you why…….enter very long-winded deep breath here ——>                           .

For those who have been Jets fans for more than 10 years, like myself, you already understand everything I’m about to say, but for the rest of you, I am going to give you a peak behind the systematically dysfunctional curtain. The Jets are a circus, which technically makes Jets’ owner Woody Johnson the ringmaster. Johnson, also known as Robert Wood Johnson IV, purchased the Jets at the turn of the century for a whopping $635 million. This purchase was made possible by the hard work of his great-grandfather Robert Wood Johnson I, also known as the co-founder of Johnson and Johnson. Anyway…….

The mess that is the Jets starts and ends with Woody Johnson. He needs to go, but unless billionaires all of a sudden stop loving money, I don’t see that happening. Enter the current state of the Jets. They fumbled and stumbled their way to a 5-11 record last season, earning the #6 pick in this year’s NFL Draft. So far this off-season, the Jets have done ALL the right things. They cut anyone older than me (30), they cut anyone making more than me (….), and they’ve set the wheels in motion for a spectacular tanking. Again, you’re probably wondering why the apprehension, well, here it is.

The Jets give you hope. They set you up with an amazing trailer, they put out the best advertisements and commercials to get you into the movie theater, and then they show you Gigli (no offense Batman, but ‘C’Mon Man!’). In today’s NFL, you can not win without a franchise quarterback. Don’t believe me? Take a look at the last 10 quarterbacks to win a Super Bowl. The worst you’ll find is Joe Flacco or Eli Manning. So while I am hopefully optimistic that the Jets won’t chase the ‘carrot on a stick’, I am realistically pessimistic that they will draft another flawed quarterback at #6. Subsequently, I will lose my freakin’ mind!! None of the quarterbacks in this draft are worth the #6 pick. With such a valuable draft pick, the process is simple: DRAFT THE BEST PLAYER AVAILABLE. With countless holes to fill, the Jets need to build a roster, while tanking, and set themselves up for the 2018 NFL Draft. College and NFL experts have unanimously stated that the 3 quarterbacks coming out next year will likely be the top 3 overall picks. That sounds a lot like music to my ears. The question is: Will they follow this plan?

I certainly hope so. This would set up their 3-5 year plan, which coincidentally is approximately when that schlub Brady up in Foxborough will finally be retiring.  Everything Jets General Manager Mike Maccagnan has done since the end of last season has been perfect, so I will reserve judgment for at least 8 more days. Until then I say tank on Josh McCown, Bryce Petty, and Christian Hackenberg.

Since you enjoy my writing, follow me over to intheneutralzone.com where I am a contributing author there as well. You can also follow me on twitter @DaveEttinger2 or like me on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/DaveTalksSports. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it!