Final news, nuggets from last weekend’s draft
Atotal of 259 players were taken in last weekend’s NFL Draft, a three-day bonanza that lasted seven rounds and took 14 hours, 30 minutes to complete.
For teams such as the Panthers, Texans, and Colts, the draft was a defining moment to rebuild their franchises with a new quarterback and other young cornerstone players. For teams such as the Dolphins and Broncos, the draft was a chance to take a few backups and try out that new office pingpong table.
Let’s take one last look at the draft and some of the most interesting stories to emerge:
■ Texans general manager Nick Caserio dominated the weekend, taking quarterback C.J. Stroud at No. 2 overall and trading up to No. 3 to take defensive end Will Anderson. Caserio is clearly on thin ice with a 7-26-1 record, and it’s understandable that he would want Anderson, who according to Next Gen Stats is one of four edge defenders in the last 20 years to earn a “max-99 production score,” joining Myles Garrett, Mario Williams, and Chase Young.
But Caserio, or whoever is running the Texans next year, is likely going to regret trading so much — picks 12, 33, and next year’s first- and third-rounders. It’s not common for teams to give up that much draft capital for a nonquarterback, and the two recent occasions that teams made a big trade up for a pass rusher did not end well.
In 2018, the Saints traded two firstrounders to jump up and draft pass rusher Marcus Davenport, who had 21.5 sacks in five seasons with the Saints and now plays for the Vikings. And in 2013, the Dolphins gave up a first- and a second-rounder to draft defensive end Dion Jordan, who had just three sacks in two seasons with the Dolphins and had multiple suspensions for substance abuse.
■ GMs should make sure they have Sean Payton’s number on speed dial on draft weekend, as the Broncos’ new boss doesn’t seem to care much about draft value charts. The Broncos got pick 3-83 from the Seahawks for 4-108 and a 2024 third-round pick, and drafted cornerback Riley Moss. The chart says the Broncos only should have given up an extra sixth-rounder.
“This is a brutal trade by the Broncos and a heist for the Seahawks,” tweeted ESPN sports analytics writer
Seth Walder. “To get a future third is incredible for Seattle — not just by our pick valuations but relative to other trades tonight.”
■ Last year, the Rams’ Sean McVay and Les Snead couldn’t contain their reactions when they saw that the Patriots had drafted guard Cole Strange, whom they thought would be more of a middle-round pick, at No. 29.
Well, look who’s getting ridiculed now? The Rams drafted TCU guard
Steve Avila with pick 2-36, and the website The 33rd Team, which publishes draft analysis from former GMs and scouts, was all over them.
“Taking a player we graded as a backup and ranked No. 169 overall is a clear reach here regardless of positional need,” wrote the site. To be fair, Dane Brugler of The Athletic had Avila ranked 40th overall.
■ This year’s draft saw a record 43 trades executed over the three days, surpassing the 40 made in 2019. The 12th and 29th picks in the first round got traded three times. Picks 6-191 and 7-230 were traded four times.
But Chargers GM Tom Telesco was content to sit on his hands. The Chargers were the only team to make all seven of their slotted picks, and even reacquired pick 6-200 that they had sent to the Bears in the Khalil Mack trade.
Telesco doesn’t seem to enjoy wheeling and dealing. This draft marked the third time in recent years that Telesco didn’t trade a single pick (also 2017 and 2019), and in 2016 and 2018 he traded just one late-round pick.
■ The Falcons probably over-drafted Texas running back Bijan Robinson at No. 8. But GM Terry Fontenot made an interesting point about “position-less football” and said the Falcons plan on using Robinson also as a slot receiver. And it’s hard not to be impressed at the high-end talent the Falcons have collected over the last three years — tight end Kyle Pitts, receiver Drake London, Cordarrelle Patterson, and now Robinson. If dual-threat quarterback Desmond Ridder is even halfway capable, watch out for the Falcons’ offense.
■ The Lions had one of the more fascinating drafts. Everyone seemed to love their Day 2 picks — tight end Sam LaPorta, safety Brian Branch, quarterback Hendon Hooker, and defensive tackle Brodric Martin, the first three of whom were projected to go in the first round — but their first-round picks were almost universally panned. Originally holding the Nos. 5 and 18 picks, the Lions traded down to No. 12 to take running back Jahmyr Gibbs, and used the 18th pick on linebacker Jack Campbell, two positions that don’t make a big impact in today’s NFL.
“They had premium draft capital, and they squandered it on two non-premium positions,” wrote The 33rd Team.
■ The Rams led the league with 14 draft picks, followed by the Packers at 13, illustrating the rebuilding nature of both teams. The Packers did a nice job of trying to find new weapons for Jordan Love, going TE-WR-TE in Rounds 2-3 and picking wide receivers again in Rounds 5 and 7.
The Jaguars also made 13 picks as they continue to build depth, while the Colts and Patriots picked 12 players. The Dolphins’ four draft picks were the fewest, followed by the Panthers and Broncos with five.
■ The Chargers took 6-foot-3-inch receiver Quentin Johnson with the 22nd pick, and now seven of their eight wide receivers stand between 6-1 and 6-4. Tight end Donald Parham is 6-8.
“No one is ever going to complain about having a receiver room like this room, where you have all of this talent,” new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore said.
■ Two Byron Youngs got drafted in the third round when the Raiders took the defensive tackle from Alabama at No. 70, and the Rams took the defensive end from Tennessee at No. 77. But they were close to going back to back — per a league source, the Byron Young who went No. 77 was almost taken by the Texans at No. 69, but they opted for receiver Tank Dell after taking Anderson the pass rusher at No. 3.
■ Quarterback Will Levis probably landed in a good spot in Tennessee, and going in the second round will reduce the pressure on him to perform. But the Colts said they would have taken him at No. 4 were Anthony Richardson already gone, and Levis’s drop to No. 33 was costly. The No. 4 pick will sign a four-year deal worth $34 million, while Levis will sign a four-year deal worth approximately $10 million.
■ Next Gen Stats rates the Lions’ draft class as the most athletic, followed by the Cardinals, Jets, Bengals, and Giants. Next Gen’s analytics model identifies five “can’t miss” prospects (in order): Robinson, Panthers quarterback Bryce Young, Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez, Anderson and Raiders defensive end Tyree Wilson. New Buccaneer Calijah Kancey, drafted 19th overall, earned the highest athleticism score of any defensive player in this year’s draft after running the fastest 40-yard dash (4.67) by a defensive tackle at the Combine since 2003.
Germany game remains a mystery
The NFL schedule is expected to be released this coming week, and the most intriguing game on the Patriots’ schedule will be their “home” game in Germany, to be played in Frankfurt. It is one of two games in Frankfurt in 2023, the other hosted by the Chiefs.
The NFL has been quiet on the opponents and dates of the games, but German newspaper Bild reported that the games will be played on Nov. 12 and 19, and that the Chiefs will play the Bears and the Patriots will play the Saints. The report also stated that the Chiefs will play the Panthers in Germany in 2024, with the Panthers serving as the home team. An NFL spokesman would not respond for comment.
Assuming these reports are accurate, it appears the NFL had two goals in mind for scheduling the games: 1. Don’t use a division or conference game; 2. Provide some star power, but not too much.
Last year’s Germany game was a cross-conference matchup with a similar profile, Seahawks at Buccaneers, with Tom Brady providing the star power. The German fans get to see exciting players, but the games won’t have a significant effect on the playoff standings, and the networks don’t have to give up a game they want for national TV.
Patriots-Saints and Chiefs-Bears certainly match all criteria. However, if the NFL doesn’t want to send the Saints internationally two years in a row (they played in London last year), the Commanders are another Patriots opponent who make sense. They don’t have much buzz, and haven’t played internationally since 2016. The Patriots’ only other NFC home game is against the Eagles, which is a candidate for prime time or the 4:25 p.m. national window.
The Chiefs’ three NFC home games are against the Eagles (guaranteed to be in prime time), Lions, and Bears. The Lions make sense as an opponent, but their last road game against the Chiefs, in 2015, was played in London. The NFL may not want to send that matchup overseas again.
It also makes sense that PanthersChiefs would be set for next year. The Panthers and Chiefs (and Patriots and Buccaneers) were granted marketing rights to Germany, next year is the Panthers’ turn to host a game there, and the Chiefs are on their schedule.
Must be more to this violation
One of the more bizarre stories of the offseason happened right before the draft when the NFL announced that the Cardinals had self-reported a tampering violation over new coach Jonathan Gannon, and independently settled the matter with the Eagles, agreeing to trade pick 3-66 for 3-94 and a 2024 fifth-rounder.
For the Eagles to get such a heavyhanded win, and for both teams to clam up as to what happened, only added more intrigue to the story. The idea of the Cardinals self-reporting is also tough to buy, considering tampering happens all the time in the NFL. As one league source who deals often with both teams said, it seems like the Eagles’ Howie Roseman caught wind of the violation and squeezed the Cardinals until they gave Roseman what he wanted.
Because according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, there were consequences to the tampering — highly regarded defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, who consulted for the Eagles during last season’s playoff run, ended up not taking the Eagles’ defensive coordinator job, and instead took the same position with the Dolphins. Schefter did not elaborate on how the tampering prevented Fangio from staying with the Eagles. But if that is indeed what happened, it’s easy to see why Roseman would be upset.
A season unlike any other
The 2020 season was the most unique in NFL history, with the draft, training camp, and regular season upended by the pandemic. It should be little surprise then that the 2020 season was a huge aberration all the way around.
Defenses were awful that year, as 2020 is the highest-scoring season in NFL history by nearly 3 points (49.6 points per game to 46.8). The 871 touchdown passes, 747.5 scrimmage yards per game, and 93.6 league-wide passer rating that season also are NFL records.
And the 2020 draft, with much of the process made virtual, was brutal. With last week’s deadline passing, only 12 of the 32 first-round picks from
2020 had their fifth-year options triggered, the fewest since the system was implemented for the 2011 draft class. Only six of the top 10 picks had their options picked up, also the fewest.
Extra points
Packers quarterback Jordan Love bought himself an extra year of job security and a decent pay raise for this year when he agreed to a new two-year contract. Love was set to make $2.3 million this year, and the Packers weren’t going to pick up his fifth-year option. Instead, Love will make $10 million this year, has $5.5 million fully guaranteed next year, and can make another $9 million in 2024 with performance escalators. But Love may regret signing this deal and betting against himself. While he got an extra year of job security, he also locked himself into a low-paying contract. If he plays like an MVP and wins the Super Bowl in 2023, his contract in 2024 maxes out at $14.5 million. Daniel Jones didn’t play nearly that well in 2022, and still turned one decent year into four years and $160 million . . . My eyebrow raised this past week when I saw that the real estate company owned by Seahawks receiver Tyler Lockett became an official sponsor of the team. It seems like it would run afoul of the NFL’s bylaw that teams cannot provide financial value to a player that isn’t reflected in the salary cap. But an NFL spokesman said the league is OK with the partnership as long as it was set at fair market price. It brings to mind how the NFL consistently looked the other way as to the Patriots’ cozy relationship with Tom Brady and his TB12 brand . . . Lamar Jackson made a lot of agents nervous when he signed a five-year, $260 million contract while representing himself. Assuming an agent fee of 1 to 1.5 percent, Jackson saved himself $3 million-$4 million. But while Jackson ultimately signed a terrific contract, a good agent would have potentially gotten him a new contract after Year 3 or 4, instead of having to finish out his rookie contract and fifth-year option. Jalen Hurts just got his massive pay day after Year 3, and Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert are on the verge, as well . . . The Panthers aren’t just giving the quarterback job to No. 1 pick Bryce Young, installing Andy Dalton as the early starter. I give it until the second week of training camp . . . Music has always been a big part of DeMarcus Ware’s life, and Ware will sing the national anthem before the Hall of Fame Game in August, the same weekend he is inducted into the Hall . . . Great job from Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press in calculating the final tally on the Matthew Stafford trade to the Rams. The original trade was Stafford for Jared Goff, two firstrounders and two third-rounders, but it ultimately involved eight teams, 28 draft picks, 30 players, and impacted four quarterbacks (Stafford, Goff, and rookies Will Levis and Clayton Tune).