2014 NFL Draft: First Round Thoughts

NFL

The first round of the NFL Draft came and went (FINALLY).  From what I saw, I have more than a few observations.

Shall we go? …

The Houston Texans made the right pick in Clowney.  Jadeveon Clowney was the first overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft.  I have one thing to say to that: bravo Houston!  Let’s examine this closely.  The Texans are getting an uber-talented pass rusher in Clowney to go with another stud pass rusher in J.J. Watt.  On a team with several needs (Houston did finish 2-14, you know?), getting a stud pass rusher was not a bad start.

If the Texans want to make some noise in the AFC South again, they have to beat Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts.  Now Luck will have his head on a swivel with both Watt AND Clowney coming after him on the pass rush.  And anyone who understands Football 101 will tell you the key to a good turnover machine playmaking defense is having a good-to-great pass rush.

Now Houston can focus on getting their quarterback of the future – Derek Carr, come on down!

That St. Louis defense is going to be VERY nasty.  In what had to be one of the biggest surprises in last night’s draft, the St. Louis Rams drafted Aaron Donald from Pitt.  The Rams’ defensive line depth chart will now look like this: Chris Long, Donald, Kendall Langford, Michael Brockers and Robert Quinn.  Dayum!  As I said with the Texans, the key to a having a good playmaking defense is a good pass rush.  With those five defensive linemen, there should be no need for the Rams to blitz – EVER.

How about that NFC West?  All four teams – Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers, Arizona Cardinals and Rams – have hellafied defenses.

The Jacksonville Jaguars obviously do not know what the hell they are doing.  Blake Bortles with the #3 overall pick – when they could have had Johnny Manziel?  Really?  See, this is the reason why the Jaguars are the Jaguars.  For some reason Jacksonville felt as though Blaine Gabbert wasn’t bad enough, so why not draft Bortles?

Look, I know that Bortles has the measurables.  He has been compared with Big Ben Roethlisberger because of his size (6’4″ 230-plus lbs).  And more importantly, he has a smoking hot side piece.  But Bortles does not pass the smell test with me, certainly not enough to be drafted #3 overall.

It’s as if those cats were listening to Ron Jawkorski and company on ESPN hyping Bortles and downgrading Manziel.  Speaking of which, the Jags will rue the day they passed up Johnny Football for Blaine Gabbert Part II.

I’m going to pray for Johnny Manziel.  I’m happy that Johnny Football got drafted.  I’m one of the few who thinks he will make an impact in the NFL.  I’m just sad that he got drafted by the Cleveland Browns.  While the Browns have a capable offensive coordinator in Kyle Shanahan who knows a thing or two about working with mobile QBs (see Robert Griffin III), there is no need to believe that Manziel will succeed where others such as Tim Couch, Brady Quinn and Brandon Weeden failed.  Simply put, Cleveland is where QBs go to die.

You are in my prayers Johnny…



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