AFC South Draft Grades
by adelfish | 7 years ago | 0 Comments
AFC South
The AFC South is a division that seems to always be in flux - take last year; the Titans blatantly tank for a quarterback, the Jaguars fall apart after a brilliant Season 42 campaign, the Colts flirt with an 8-8 division title, and the Texans are the Texans. It seems as though someone different (besides Houston) comes out of the South every year, despite Indy being the most talented. Let’s see how this draft improved the chances of each.
Indianapolis Colts
Indy comes into the draft looking for a way to become more explosive on offense, and more opportunistic on defense. Last year their playoff run ended with the buzzsaw Buffalo Bills, but they were able to get a victory in the wild card round. With the departure of Marlon Mack, we knew we’d see a running back selection.
With the 26th overall pick, the Colts went with running back Frank Drakeford out of West Kentucky, a guy they fell in love with, who may have played a part in the decision to let Mack test free agency. Here is the problem, Drakeford being in the 1st round is a huge reach. Jamal Green was a much better prospect who went about 20 picks later to Miami. Sure, the two top prospects in Dyson (NE) and Sayers (CLE) were off the board, but you don’t have to reach at a position because the pool has become shallow. Even Jarrett Gould, who was selected 3 picks after Drakeford, was a better choice.
About the player - Drakeford is a fast player, he tested high on the 40 time and 3 cone drill, combining that with his pure strength while carrying the ball, he is very difficult to bring down. He seems to be faster than your traditional power back. The problems with Drakeford lie in his lack of elusiveness and open field moves - simply put, he needs a lot of help to get loose. Indy has a good offensive line, but they need to hope they can continue to road grade for Drakeford, the way they did for Mack. Overall, I think this was a reach that the Colts will ultimately regret.
In the second round, the Colts selected quarterback Willis Merritt at the bottom of the round, who actually was graded as my 4th best quarterback on my big board (behind Redding, Townsend, and Schlegel) - but the pick still confuses me. The Colts went all in on a trade for Jack Paulson last year, who still has 2 years left on his contract. Paulson is no doubt the starter, and may have another extension with Indy in the future. Despite Merritt being very talented (great arm, elite play action skills for his age), it seems to pressure Paulson out the door. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
In the third round, the Colts addressed depth in the receiving corps with slot receiver Craig Biekert, compared by many to Danny Amendola, or even Zac Huerta (old school reference). Great speed and acceleration out of his breaks, has the elusiveness of a running back, and extremely reliable hands. Biekert is immediately going to help this offense, and could lead the team in receptions in yards after catch. I love this pick, and think Biekert could have gone in the second round.
In the later rounds, more odd picks from Indy. In the fourth round they grabbed another running back, Curtis Booth from Wisconsin. The thing about this choice, is he is a very similar prospect to Drakeford, except without the elite strength and power back abilities. He is a speed back, that likely will be used in certain situations, and maybe try and work him to a receiving back role.
The Colts didn’t address defense until the 5th round, and grabbed a linebacker and a safety. I like the pick of Randall Sharpe in the 6th round, a speedy backer who could be developed into a great special teams, 20 snap a game guy. My favorite part of him is his downfield speed, and the Colts are known to stockpile athletes in the secondary.
Overall, this draft seemed to be a whimper. I think the Colts did little to replace Marlon Mack’s production, and have a couple wait-and-see picks in Merritt and Sharpe. I absolutely love the Biekert pick, but feel as though that is the silver lining in a class full of duds.
FINAL GRADE: D+
BEST PICK - CRAIG BIEKERT (3rd Round)
WORST PICK - FRANK DRAKEFORD (1st Round)
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars went from a 14-2 Season 42, with a monumental playoff collapse to the New England Patriots, to a forgettable 6-10 season, in which they had tons of quarterback problems, offensive line problems, and bad free agency signings starting to rear their ugly head. In this draft, they didn’t have a 1st round selection, so they’d have to do damage with just 6 choices. Damage they did, but not the right way.
In the 2nd round, the Jaguars made a monumentally terrible decision in drafting defensive tackle Adric Tamme out of Montana. No disrespect to the kid, we’re happy that he locked in a 2nd round salary, but we had him ranked as an undrafted free agent on our board. Tamme spent two seasons injured at Montana, killing his development. He was a combine disaster, testing in the bottom three at the position on the bench press, and showed a complete lack of athleticism in any of the agility drills. He finished his senior year at Montana with a team low 6 total pressures from his position, as Montana had a nation low worst run defense. Jacksonville was tempted by his 6’7 stature, and great interviews; simply put, they like the kid. Tamme was regulated to the practice squad after training camp, failing to show any sort of flash. This is a terrible pick.
In the 3rd round, the Jaguars went with tight end Conner Beisel out of Yale, another pick that left us wondering what the Jags were up to. Perry Rankin has been the starter there for a few years, and yes, the Jaguars did need depth, but there were 11 tight ends on our board about Beisel. He is a solid player, fills a serviceable intermediate pass catching role, and a decent blocker, but is ultimately going to be a forgettable pick, especially this early.
Skipping to the 5th round, the Jaguars made their best pick of the day in left tackle Dillon Gordon out of Central Michigan, who is actually a very solid player. He is not elite at any part of his game, but is an extremely serviceable 6th or 7th guy in an offensive line group. In the 5th round, this is a very good choice.
The Jaguars selected 3 linebackers in rounds 4, 6, and 7, and they are all extremely mediocre. Granted, picks in the 6th and 7th rounds are usually delegated for backups and athletes teams try to mold, but selecting Khiary Wagner in the 4th round was a strange choice. Not a great athlete at his position, struggles with identifying coverage, and was pulled out of defensive sets that were 3rd and long.
Overall, this draft for Jacksonville was a complete waste. As a team, sure they added depth, but these guys were all touted on our board as either undraftable, or 4th round and later. Not an exciting draft for Jags fans.
FINAL GRADE: F
BEST PICK - DILLON GORDON (5th Round)
WORST PICK - ADRIC TAMME (2nd Round)
Houston Texans
Houston entered the draft knowing they have to build around Chase Hillman, and they have to do this without a 1st round pick. Their offensive line has been much maligned, and their receiving corps has been a one man show for a long time.
In the 2nd round, the Texans grabbed offensive guard Jordan McMahan, graded on our board as the 6th best offensive line prospect, period. He slipped out of the 1st round, and Houston ran to the podium to grab him at 36th overall. McMahan is an elite blocker from pure strength standpoint, and graded as the best run blocker in the draft in our opinion. He is an immediate day one starter, and will lift this offense up.
In the 3rd round, Houston went after Southern Miss defensive end Sanchez Wallace, a great speed rusher and a great run stopper. He looks to get some rotational snaps as a rookie, due to his elite tackling abilities, and athleticism to break off blocks. He is a coach’s dream at 6’7 with the speed and strength he has - look for Wallace to develop into a 7-8 sack a year guy.
Houston grabbed a pair of offensive tackles in rounds 5 and 6, in Brock McIntyre from Temple, and George Huntley from Illinois State. They are very similar in how we graded them, Huntley is a slightly better prospect, but both could be groomed into serviceable starters. I love what the Texans did for the offensive line this draft.
Overall, I think Houston was smart to build on both sides of the offensive line, the receiving corps will suffer for it - but I think Hillman sleeps better at night knowing the help Houston got him for his protection.
FINAL GRADE: B
BEST PICK - JORDAN MCMAHON (2nd Round)
WORST PICK - MARCUS BEST (7th Round)
Tennessee Titans
After falling apart as a team after trading Nash Zelenka to the Giants, the Titans earned the 3rd overall pick in the draft. In a draft with two quarterbacks with first round grades, the Titans were obviously heading that direction.
In the 1st round, the Titans grabbed their guy in Nash Townsend from Oklahoma, the best quarterback in the draft from a day one standpoint. Townsend has everything you want, in the arm, in his athleticism and pocket presence, and football IQ. Townsend is entering a situation where some quarterbacks have failed, but he has all the tools to bring Tennessee back to AFC South supremacy. The Titans nailed it.
With their second 1st round choice, the Titans brought help for Townsend, by drafting Nebraska center Carroll Gore, the best center in the draft. Gore is a day one starter as well, who is a great athlete for his size, and finished at the top of his class (and frankly it wasn’t close) on the bench. The Titans nailed the first round.
The Titans knew that they needed depth on the defensive line, as they truly have only two rushers they can count on. We had Bradley Broyles ranked the 3rd overall defensive lineman in the entire draft, and he fell into the second round, where Tennessee grabbed him at 35 overall. Great rush skills for a rookie, was touted the best run defender in the nation for Notre Dame, and also possesses athleticism that could see him playing in any sort of defensive set. Broyles could end up being the best defensive lineman from this draft.
In the 3rd round, the Titans grabbed Broyles’ teammate Morgan Mack, left tackle from the Irish as well. Despite struggling in pass protection his junior year, Mack was highly touted for his road-grading abilities with his raw power. The Titans know he can be developed, so they grabbed him at the top of the third round. With a pending Jack Conklin extension due, they may opt to go with the young Mack soon.
The Titans grabbed depth on the offensive and defensive line later in the draft, and did very well with their choices. Overall, this team improved ten fold from where they were in December last year. This is one of my favorite overall drafts.
FINAL GRADE: A
BEST PICK - NASH TOWNSEND (1st Round)
WORST PICK - NONE