Season 62 Draft Lookback - NFC East

by adelfish | 4 years ago | 0 Comments

The Season 62 Draft Lookback - Part 2 - NFC EAST

If you missed any divisions, check out all the finished grades below!

Part 1 (AFC East) - http://daddyleagues.com/redzone/blog/articles/40794/Season-62-Draft-Lookback---AFC-East

Welcome back to the Season 62 Draft Loockback, where we look at each division throughout the course of Season 66, as these draft picks start to get their new contract extensions, and see how their first four years in the league have gone.

-Best Pick

-Only grading players STILL ON THE ROSTER (if I am able to locate players you drafted and released, I will grade those as well)

-UDFAs COUNT towards your grade

 

DALLAS COWBOYS (WHITE GREG)

 

GRADE - C+

Best Player - Levi Dockery (81 OVR)

Record Since S62 Draft - 29-27

Playoff Appearences - 0

Notable Awards - None

Dallas went into this draft with the goal in mine of building their defense, and that showed with their first 4 selections, all four going defense. 

Jamie Woodbury has been a good, not great, 1st round player. He has been a contributor on a talented defensive front, but seems to be the odd man out now. He had a fantastic sophomore campaign that saw him tally 7 sacks, but that is still his career high. Worth noting through 8 games in Season 66, he is on pace to hit 8 sacks. The knock on Woodbury is that he wasn't great at one thing, and that still appears to be the case (75 BSH, 68 PMV, 78 FMV).

Thaddeus Selvie out of Arkansas has struggled in the league, he is now a rotational rusher, with a career high of 2 sacks in 1 season. He has been replaced through the draft twice now, and I struggle to see how he remains with Dallas long term. Once again, another guy who tested well at the combine (85 AGI, 80 ACC), but isn't a great rusher (66 FMV, 76 PMV).

Levi Dockery in the 3rd round elevates this class, the speedy and intelligent Notre Dame product has been a day 1 starter for Dallas, and has provided tremendous value. 20 interceptions in 3 and a half seasons, and 2 defensive touchdowns is a pretty incredible stat line for where he was picked, and he just inked a long-term deal with Dallas. He is one of the better players to come out of this draft.

Keith Harold in the 5th round has been a special teamer, but has seen his role increase in his 4th season. Hackett (LG) and Hollister (LG) have been depth for Dallas for four years, but have developed into competent backups. Kevin Friedman (FB) and Kenny Hendricks (P) have also played for Dallas for four years at their respective positions, nothing wrong with cheap contracts to young punters and fullbacks.

Overall, this class really hasn't helped Dallas ascend. Dockery is a great player, and Woodbury is a solid contributor, but outside of that there aren't enough meaningful snaps or difference makers in this class. If anything, the draft picks in later classes were made to replace players from this one. But, it does have a lot of solid depth. 

 

NEW YORK GIANTS (BEECH)

 

GRADE - A-

Best Player - Stephen Silvers (96 OVR)

Record Since S62 Draft - 15-40

Playoff Appearences - 0

Notable Awards - None

After a really rough first season in New York, Beech followed it with a great draft. He actually managed to trade down 1 spot, grab the future 1st rounder of the Dolphins, and still secure Stephen Silvers, who has become the best player in this draft class. He was called the safest pick in the draft, and still somehow fell to the third overall selection.

Silvers has been great for New York despite their losing record since they selected him, totaling 45 sacks in 4 seasons, along with 5 strip sacks. He has been everything you want from a high selection, and New York would do him a favor in looking for an edge rusher to play alongside him. New York exercised the 5th year option on Silvers, but a lucrative contract extension is coming.

Oklahoma linebacker Taylor Hicks (no, not the American Idol winner) was selected in the 2nd round, and has been great for New York as well, becoming their 'jack of all trades' guy in their front seven, in terms of coverage, run defense, and rushing the passer. This was great value, as Hicks has been an every-down starter for the Giants.

So the Giants got two great to elite starters on their defense, what did they do in the later rounds? 

The two defensive tackles they selected in rounds 2 and 3 (Barker, Carnegie) have actually stuck around, and both are slotted as #2 and #3 on the depth chart. Very limited contributons from both, especially Carnegie who struggles to find the field. 

Wide receiver Blake Weston out of New Mexico State was always a head scratcher in round 3, and has made 2 career receptions in 4 years. On a team where wide receiver has been weaker over the years, he hasn't been able to break through. 

6th round selection Dalton Walden actually had a ton of upside coming into the league with his Star dev trait, and after a 3 sack rookie campaign with limited snaps, it seemed like he could be a contributor. It seems after that, the development slowed for him, as his snaps dwindled each year, including a Season 65 that didn't see him play 1 defensive snap. 

Overall, the Giants nailed their first two picks, including 1 player who is a generational talent, and the remainder of their draft picks are likely to be out of the league or off this team within the next few years. I have to give them credit for Silvers and Hicks, but having no positive selections outside of Pick 34 is rough.

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (ADEL)

 

GRADE - A-

Best Player - Jeremiah Barrett (84 OVR)

Record Since S62 Draft - 43-19

Playoff Appearences - 3 (Season 63, Wild Card Loss to 49ers - Season 64, Won RZ Bowl 64 over Titans - Season 65, Wild Card Loss to Buccaneers)

Notable Awards - RZ Bowl 54 Champion, 2x NFC East Champion

The Eagles had 6 picks in the first three rounds of this draft, and used them to replace cap casualites (Zach Ertz, Alshon Jeffery, etc.). 

With their first selection in the 1st round, the Eagles took tight end Jeremiah Barrett, who excelled at the combine (90 SPD) and was touted as one of the best in a loaded tight end class. Barrett has been exactly as advertised since joining the Eagles, with 3266 yards in 3 and a half seasons, and 30 touchdowns. Barrett is currently in the midst of his best season (555 yards, 8 touchdowns through 8 games). 

At the bottom of the 1st round, the Eagles took slot receiver Alex Sharp, who along with Montrell Hannah, tested as the fastest players in the wide receiver class. Sharp put together a 1400 yard, 11 touchdown rookie campaign that saw some Offensive Rookie of the Year votes. He has totaled 3709 yards and 29 touchdowns through his career, with two 1000 yard campaigns. He is the definition of a burner. 

The depth is what makes this draft so impactful towards future success of the Eagles, starting with 6th round linebacker Kaleb Davis, who has been a starter for three years now, totaling 40+ tackles a season, 4 sacks, 3 interceptions, and 3 defensive touchdowns. Getting a starter in the 6th round, and developing into an 80+ overall is tremendous value.

Zach Graves has been a rotational defensive tackle behind Fletcher Cox and Stephon Tuitt, but has been groomed to be the run stopper of the future (91 STR, 88 TAK, 86 BSH). Connor Hearst has struggled to find snaps on a deep Eagles defensive line, but has done enough to stick around, even knotching his first sack in his 4th season. 

Wide receiver Josh Small out of Minnesota has been the kick returner for Philadelphia since he was drafted, and 3rd round kicker Mark Owens has been the stable presence for four years. 5th round corner Daymond Goodwin has been a fourth string cornerback since he was picked, totaling 30+ tackles a season, and 1 interception, and safety Matthew Lambert has been a backup for his entire Eagles career.

Overall, the Eagles acquired 5 quality starters out of this draft, and all 9 players have remained with the club since they were drafted. There are no superstars in this group like the rest of the division has with Silvers and Skinner, but it is one of the deepest classes you'll see.

 

WASHINGTON FOOTBALL TEAM (WEED)

 

 

GRADE - A-

Best Player - Darryl Skinner (87 OVR)

Record Since S62 Draft - 30-26

Playoff Appearences - 2 (Season 63, Wild Card Loss to Cardinals - Season 64, Divisional Round Loss to Eagles)

Notable Awards - 1x NFC East Champion

It has been an up and down cycle for the Washington Football Team, after winning the NFC East and the 1st seed in the NFC at 12-4, they lost their first playoff game, and have been 9-14 since. The issues that have plagued them have been consistency on offense, as the defense has truly been among the league's best at times, and this draft is a major reason why.

Let's skip to the 3rd round, as cornerback Darryl Skinner out of Oklahoma fell between the cracks, and Washington was able to get incredible value here. Skinner has a fantastic combination of athleticism and build, with his 6'3 height and 94 speed. He has developed into one of the best young corners in football, and is one piece of what is becoming an elite secondary. Skinner doesn't jump off the stats page, but he makes most of his plays in forcing quarterbacks to look elsewhere.

The Football Team also managed to bring in one of the best tackles in the class in the 1st round, selecting Quincy Kilgore with the 20th overall pick. Kilgore has been the day one starter for Washington at left tackle, and has grown into a really solid pass blocker, in terms of power and finesse. His run blocking leaves much to be desired (77 RBK, 75 RBP, 78 RBF), but he makes up for that with his pass blocking abilities.

2nd round cornerback Keith Carson has not developed the way Washington wanted, but it's almost like it doesn't matter since Skinner has taken off. Carson has been relegated to the 4th cornerback spot on the roster, and has seen sporadic playing time over the years. His best season came in his second year, catching 4 interceptions.

Running back Jose Broyles (2nd round) had a great rookie campaign, with 900 yards on the ground and 9 touchdowns, but has found himself replaced since then. Since that rookie season, he has totaled 330 yards and 1 touchdown, being almost completely phased out of the offensive gameplan. 3rd round tight end DeMarcus Mills currently sits at 2nd on the tight end depth chart, with a career high of 25 catches for 288 yards and 4 touchdowns in Season 65. Outisde of that, he has 12 catches in 3 years.

Jonathan Hazelton in the 4th round has been the starter at center for 4 years for Washington, and he has developed into a really solid player (94 STR, 82 RBK, 85 LBK). Not a great pass blocker, but has brought stability to the position for Washington. Will be interesting to see if they view him as the long-term solution.

A really interesting player from this class comes from the undrafted side, with defensive Tyrone Sweet out of Texas. After being a backup and fringe roster guy for the first two seasons of his career, Sweet has become a starter on a defensive line featuring Montez Sweat. Sweet totaled his first two career sacks last year, and through 7 games this year already has 3. Safe to say patience paid off with this kid.

Overall, the selection of Skinner is an absolute home run, especially in the 3rd round. Two starters on the offensive line in Kilgore and Hazelton cannot be glossed over, and being patient with an undrafted free agent like Tyrone Sweet is huge value for this class. But the picks of Carson and Broyles in the 2nd round are starting to look worse every year, as these two guys aren't contributors anymore. This class really is centered around Skinner and Kilgore, and I think that is enough to give this a good grade.