AFC West Draft Grades
by adelfish | 7 years ago | 0 Comments
AFC West
A division that seems to flip flop every single year is the AFC West, with the Chiefs and Chargers battling for supremacy last year, the Raiders and Broncos tanking. Now with a new draft and offseason in the books, who is ready to turn the tide?
Denver Broncos
Denver had a terrible draft, and there is no way around it. Not having many selections doesn’t make it easy to have a good draft, but there is still potential for value. The Broncos butchered it.
Their top selection was cornerback Harris Irving in the 2nd round out of UAB, a very solid corner with good athleticism, and can play in a zone scheme today if needed. He is a viable starter in this league if given time, but didn’t make the roster and is now on the Eagles. Speed rusher Francis McQuarters out of Penn State was their 4th round pick, and he didn’t make the roster either, and Miami swept him up. An elite speed rusher, one of the best athletes from the combine, and could be developed into a 9-10 sack guy. Denver didn’t need him.
Denver hung on to their 5th, 6th, and 7th round picks. The best of the three remaining on the roster is 7th round safety Jaquante Sproles, out of Ohio State. Great athlete, but extremely raw in his game. He will be developed for awhile into a great special teams player, and could maybe usurp Mile Maynard if given a shot.
FINAL GRADE - D-
BEST PICK - JAQUANTE SPROLES (7th Round)
WORST PICK - TYRELL MICKENS (5th Round)
Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers blew their first round pick, and there is no way around that. They traded down from the 21st overall pick, and acquired the 29th overall pick. With that, they select bruising running back Jarrett Gould out of East Carolina, a HUGE reach. Gould ended up dropping to the Chargers practice squad, and was snatched by the Giants, where he is the third or fourth option there. So the Chargers essentially gave that pick away.
In the 2nd round, the Chargers grabbed the powerful Bryan Quintana from Syracuse, who was in the top tier of defensive lineman on the bench press, and had 7 sacks his last year in college. Quintana is a great piece for this defense, I loved this pick.
I also really love the Nile Dayne pick in the 4th round, this kid is already 24 (his only real knock), but the Chargers had tremendous value here. He is already the third or fourth most talented corner on this roster, so hee expects to stick around for a long time.
Linebacker Rafael Frost (5th) and cornerback Rodriguez Bond (6th) both made the practice squad. Picking Quintana and Dayne really saved this draft for the Chargers, but they completely screwed the pooch in the first round.
FINAL GRADE - C-
BEST PICK - BRYAN QUINTANA (2nd Round)
WORST PICK - JARRETT GOULD (1st Round)
Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs had a very good draft, they filled a hole with a great pick in the first round, and added great depth all over the roster. The Chiefs were bounced in the first round of the playoffs last season, but this draft is going to pay serious dividends.
In the first round they selected offensive guard Wesley Broughton at pick 25, amazingly enough he fell all the way to 25. He was considered one of the best linemen, period, in this draft. Broughton has elite blocking for his age already, and has high football IQ as well. He fills a huge hole at left guard for Kansas City, and their offensive line seems to be complete.
Outside of that great pick, they added a couple athletes to their secondary in Aaron Patton (4th) and Martinez Rogers (3rd). Rogers is a very solid player to fill in on special teams, and even has potential to start. I’m not a huge fan of the Patton pick that early, there were better corners on the board still, but I understand the selection.
In the second round the Chiefs grabbed linebacker Keliko Mayo, who lacks elite athleticism, but is a great run stopping backer. He will see some work in certain game scenarios, and may compete with Becket Simonson and Reed Cameron for a starting role. I don’t love the pick, but this one is going to pan out later rather than sooner.
Overall, the Chiefs added an elite starter to their offense, and patched in depth across their roster, all of which may start someday. This is a great draft.
FINAL GRADE - B+
BEST PICK - WESLEY BROUGHTON (1st Round)
WORST PICK - AARON PATTON (4th Round)
Oakland Raiders
Not a great week if you’re a fan of any team in this division besides the Chiefs. The Raiders held three picks in the top 60 selections this draft - one they completely reached, one is no longer on the roster, and the third guy may never see the field.
The Raiders selected wide receiver Desi Porton with the 11th overall selection, a guy who didn’t blow anyone away at the combine, and was one of the worst on the Mojilic test, finishing with a 9 (highest score being 80). Porton was an astromincal reach, and will fight for playing time.
Alex Tauscher was selected in the 2nd round, and was released and scooped up by the 49ers. This guy probably would have been a future starter for Oakland, elite strength for his position along with incredible size, and an already impressive understanding of zone blocking schemes. But they didn’t need him, apparently.
Carey Locklear was their second choice in the 2nd round, and was selected due to his elite athleticism. He was a great run defender at Troy due to his ability to speed through gaps, and wrap up. Locklear will not be a starter, but is a great piece to hang on to, simply due to the fact his speed differentiates himself from most at the position.
Perry Sharp (3rd) and Gabe Jones (4th) were good depth choice for linebacker and corner respectively, and both were solid value.
It will be interesting to see how Porton fits into the offense, because frankly this entire draft depends on it. Raiders fans will likely be checking in on 49ers games as well, to watch Alex Tauscher’s development.
FINAL GRADE - D+
BEST PICK - CAREY LOCKLEAR (2nd Round)
WORST PICK - DESI PORTON (1st Round)