After every season NFL teams have two ways of getting better. The first is through free agency where players who have expired contracts are free to sign with new teams who can afford them. The second way is through the draft. It is very difficult NOT to get better during a draft but this year we saw 1 team actually get worse and another that it really seemed like their children were in charge… Here are my two biggest LOSERS from this years NFL draft:
Loser #1: Green Bay Packers. The Packers had the 30th pick in the draft which means they did not need much help after a pretty successful 2019 season but they did have some glaring holes at WR and LB. They decided to trade up four slots and select Jordan Love who is a QB from Utah State. He will likely sit behind Rodgers for at least 2 years and possibly 4 before getting his chance to play. This is someone who will not even see the field for potentially four seasons so he is of no use to the Packers win now chances. (for more on the Jordan Love saga see my article on the “Ultimate Packers Blunder” I will leave a link at the bottom). In the second round things did not turn around. With Denzel Mims falling the Packers did not trade up and Mims was taken by the Jets 3 picks before the Packers. They ended up taking A.J. Dillon a RB from Boston College. Although I don’t think Dillon is bad, the Packers have a good system at RB right now and there was no need to draft another one. Unless this kid ends up being Derrick Henry 2.0 it is a bad pick. Finally, in the 3rd round they had another chance to trade up and take the last really good WR on the board, Devin Duverney but, but they again did not trade up and Baltimore took him before the Packers could. So, what does a team during a bad draft do? They made another mistake. This time it was TE Josaih Deguara from Cincinnati who is also sort of a fullback but either way it addressed no current needs of the Packers. Unless the Pack made a trade for Odell OR sign either Dez Bryant or Antonio Brown it could be regression in Green Bay…
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Loser #2: Oakland Raiders. Before the draft I looked at the teams and where they were drafting and thought the Raiders had a good chance of knocking this draft out of the park. With the 12th and 19th pick it seemed like a perfect spot to take a top WR and a top DB or LB at 19. When their 12th pick came all the WRs were still on the board so I figured the Raiders have to take the best one on the board in Jerry Jeudy right? Wrong. They elected Jeudy’s college teammate Henry Ruggs from Alabama with the 12th overall pick. I think Ruggs is very talented and his sub 4.3 40 will be a match up nightmare for some teams but Ruggs is not anywhere close to the talent level of a Jerry Jeudy or even a Ceedee Lamb. With their 19th pick they still had Xavier Mckinney, Grant Delpit, Kenneth Murray, and Patrick Queen all still available which would have been a good fit for the Raiders. They instead went with the other Ohio State starting corner Damon Arnette. Arnette simply isn’t very good. He got burned and was targeted early and often at Ohio State being opposite 3rd overall pick Jeff Okudah. Even guarding the second best WR on college teams he still looked uncomfortable trying to guard them. He will step into an Oakland team who will ask him to be their number 1 corner which will include 6 matchups, twice each, total against the following: Jerry Jeudy, Tyreke Hill, and Keenan Allen. All I can say is good luck Arnette…
From the start I believed the hirings of Matt Lefleur and Jon Gruden were poor signings as Lefleur hadn’t proven anything and Gruden was too old and out of the game for too long. Either way, It seems likely, unless Aaron Rodgers has an MVP type season, that both coaches will be questioned on their drafts this year.
Link to Packers Blunder article (https://worldinsport.com/the-packers-ultimate-blunder/)