Mid-Season Review of Top 10 Draft Picks (Season 40 Edition)
by Eikim | 7 years ago | 0 Comments
Mid-Season Review of Top 10 Draft Picks (Season 40 Edition)
1. WR – Svondo Nimmo – Dallas Cowboys: The 0-7 Cowboys selected outstanding wide receiver Svondo Nimmo from Ole Miss with the number one overall pick. We’re sure they’ve imagined him being able to perform like former Cowboy greats; Hayes, Pearson, and Irvin, but through seven games, Dak really hasn’t found Nimmo. He currently sits at a paltry 16 receptions, 244 yards, and only one TD on the season. For Nimmo to succeed and more importantly for the Cowboys, they need to force feed the ball to this stud. If they can find a way to get him more involved, you’ll start seeing some W’s from these Cowboys.
2. LOLB – Frank Roper – Cincinnati Bengals: The 0-7 Bengals had other pressing needs, but selected talented OLB Frank Roper from Florida A&M. Roper has the toolset to be a tremendous rusher off the edge, but it appears he isn’t being utilized correctly in the Bengal’s current defensive scheme. He has great quickness, can shed blockers with ease, can move the big uglies around, and has a touch of finesse to his moves. He currently sits at 21 tackles with only one sack through seven games. If the Bengals can find a way to implement a blitzing scheme while showing different looks to confuse offenses, Roper could emerge to be a dominant force in the league.
3. CB – Laterrius Lamb – Green Bay Packers: The 3-3 Packers selected CB Laterrius Lamb from Wisconsin with the third overall pick. Lamb is a very well balanced cornerback that performs well in both man and zone coverages. He accelerates quickly to his top speed allowing him to cover the speediest receivers in the league. He currently has 9 tackles, one sack, and one interception. I think you’ll see Lamb’s interceptions increase if the Packers can create more pressure to force QBs to get rid of the ball sooner which would allow Lamb to react and jump routes.
4. DT – Tacoi Moss – Washington Redskins: The 4-3 Redskins selected DT Tacoi Moss from Stanford University. The Redskins have had a tendency to focus on offense, but jumped at the chance to select Moss to start building up their d-line. There is no doubt this kid is a superstar in the making. O-lines focus on double teaming him and he’ll see that through the majority of his RZ career, but if he can hone his block shedding skills then those double teams shouldn’t be an issue in the future. His current stat line is 9 tackles and 1 sack, but expect to see both those numbers increase as he master’s different techniques.
5. WR – Irvin Patton – Cincinnati Bengals: The Bengals chose WR Irvin Patton from the University of Tennessee with the fifth overall pick and it was a reach in most pundit’s opinions. While A.J. Green will retire in the near future and his replacement is needed, they probably should’ve taken a different player here. Patton has decent speed and acceleration, but at the five spot, it should be expected that a WR selected here has above average route running and also be able to separate from the press. Patton only has 15 catches, 306 yards, and no touchdowns. Since rumor has it that Patton is slow at picking up the nuances of the position in practice, they’ll need to make sure he gets the ball in games to gain valuable experience.
6. SS – Aaron Whitney – Houston Texans: The 0-8 Texans selected SS Aaron Whitney from the “U” (University of Miami) with the sixth overall pick. Of course every team is looking for the next Sean Taylor from Miami, and Whitney, while exceptionally talented, is not quite the “Meast.” Whitney performed very well at the combine finishing in the top ten of every category, but that hasn’t quite translated to the playing field yet. Whitney performs great in his designated zone coverage, but when called upon to perform other duties, well, that is where he’ll need to improve. Granted this will come with experience and playing time. He currently has 18 tackles and one sack. If Whitney can begin recognizing plays and schemes against teams he faces regularly, you’ll see him making more tackles at the linebacker level as he is able to anticipate plays better and come up into the box.
7. QB – Hunter Snyder – Cleveland Browns: The 4-4 Browns selected QB Hunter Snyder from Wisconsin with the seventh pick. The Browns needed a franchise QB badly and they believe they’ve found their guy. Snyder possesses great throwing power and deep accuracy, but at times has been a bit overconfident in his abilities by forcing throws into coverage. Snyder needs to recognize when to take check down, take the sack, or throw the ball away, and live for another down. At this time of this writing he leads all rookie QBs in passing yards with 2,042 yards and 16 TDs. However, he also leads all rookie QBs with 10 interceptions thrown. If Snyder can relax, take what the defense gives him, and not force every other throw, then maybe, just maybe, these Cleveland Browns might earn themselves a playoff spot.
8. MLB – Will Barrow – San Diego Chargers: The 2-5 Chargers chose MLB Will Barrow from Oregon with the eighth overall selection and it appears to be paying off. While Barrow isn’t known for his speed, which was well known, he makes up for it with his acceleration to hit the gaps, strength to shed blocks, and high tacking ability to wrap up ball carriers. He currently leads his team in tackles with 23 and has one sack. The Chargers are young and primed for the next few seasons and we should expect to see them make a run for the AFC West Division title if Barrow continually improves and leads the charge.
9. ROLB – Trey Comella – New England Patriots: The 1-6 Patriots selected ROLB Trey Comella from Oregon with the ninth pick. It’s not often you see players from the same university selected back to back, especially from the same position. Unfortunately for the Patriots though, Comella may have already reached his peak before his professional career even began. Comella isn’t known for his speed nor acceleration, but has 18 tackles and 2 sacks at this point. He has other great skills, but there are rumors that he isn’t the most prepared individual when it comes to watching tape and giving it his all at practice. Hopefully games provide him enough experience so that he can improve in other areas of his game.
10. QB – Curtis Pearson – Pittsburgh Steelers: The 7-0 Steelers selected QB Hunter Pearson from LSU to cap off the top ten in the RZ40 draft. The kid is a natural at the position and is proving himself from the get go in the tough AFC North. He’ll need to improve on his deep accuracy and also not solely rely and focus on an aging Antonio Brown as his primary target. As he gains experience he’ll become more aware that he has other receivers to throw to. He hasn’t faced much adversity yet and the rest of the league is waiting to see how he’ll respond to that. The kid is a superstar in the making no doubt and it was a great thing for current ownership to set up the next owner for success when that time comes.