Although it didn't seem like an eventful draft, there was a lot of moving pieces. There was only two trades, but a lot of surprise picks.
Washington selected OL Brandon Scherff with the 5th pick, which not many people saw coming. I was almost certain that they would go with an edge rusher, but elected to take arguably the best offensive lineman in the class. The Skins should look to add a rusher in the second.
St. Louis watched as the players higher on their board got taken. Instead of trading back, they took RB Todd Gurley. The Rams know their identity needs to be a ground-and-pound attack, and adding Gurley gives the Rams a two-headed monster. Although i was surprised at the pick, I believe it was the right move.
The Jets didn't waste a pick, and didn't sell their farm to move up and take someone. By doing so, they saw the best player in the draft (Leonard Williams) fall to them at 6. This absolutely solidifies the best defensive line in the league, although it sounds like they're still listening to offers for Muhammad Wilkerson.
Cleveland made the right moves, beefing up both their offensive and defensive lines. Danny Shelton is a gigantic human and pushes people around allowing backers to make tackles, and shutting gaps before running backs can hit them. Cameron Erving is a smart player and will likely play guard for the Browns. Instead of giving up any of their picks for a quarterback they added beef, and both players will be immediate starters.
I really liked Miami drafting DaVante Parker. The decision to move on from Mike Wallace was smart, and bringing Parker in gives them a true number one receiver. Parker may have been overlooked since a lot of hype was surrounding Kevin White and Amari Cooper, but Parker's name belongs next to those two.
Kevin Johnson (Houston) and Marcus Peters (Kansas City) both landed in spots will they'll likely be the successors to the starting corner spot. Both teams have corners who will be free-agents next year, and bringing in younger players gives them insurance if they don't re-sign.
Denver got the steal of the draft, trading up to draft Shane Ray. His off-field issues are documented, but purely from a talent standpoint he is one of the best players in the draft. Denver didn't have to give up much to jump up, giving Detroit their 5th round pick this year, a 5th next year and Center Manny Ramirez.
Breshad Perriman to the Ravens is a good match. He has a very similar game to Torrey Smith who left to sign with the 49ers. Perriman needs to work on his hands if he wants to stay on the field, but you can't deny his speed.
New Orleans essentially wasted their second first-round pick, taking Stephone Anthony. I didn't see him coming off the board until the late second round at the earliest. There were more talented players they could've drafted and still gotten Anthony later in the draft.
New England actually stayed in the first round. By doing so they found a good player in Malcolm Brown, who is a dominant defensive tackle. They needed a replacement for Vince Wilfork and Brown could wind up filling those shoes well.
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