26CornerBlitz Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 (edited) NFL re-draft: How would the first round play out today? If only NFL teams knew in May what they know today. The draft would look a lot different. So because we can put on our 20/20 hindsight glasses, we're going to go back in time and re-draft the NFL's first round. Our resident draft gurus, Peter Schrager (even number picks) and Ross Jones (odd number picks), went back and showed us what the first round would look like today. 1. Houston Texans Original pick: Jadeveon Clowney, DE Re-draft pick: Sammy Watkins, WR Don't get me wrong, this WR class might be the deepest ever, but Watkins is a 10-year playmaker. While rib and groin tweaks have affected Watkins a bit on the field, he has been one of the league's biggest game changers when he's on. Clowney could still turn out to be a dominant player, but the lack of consistency on the field has raised some concerns. 8. Buffalo Bills Original Pick: (Traded to Cleveland) Re-Draft Pick: Odell Beckham, Jr., WR We've already seen four wide receivers selected in the first eight picks. The Bills traded two first round picks to acquire Sammy Watkins back in May. You've got Sammy going first overall in this Re-Draft. But looking at things now, I'm not sure the Bills would have been better off hanging tight and snagging Beckham here. 30. San Francisco 49ers Original Pick: Jimmie Ward, SB Re-Draft Pick: Preston Brown, LB Ward ended up on injured reserve, and Brown has been a tackling machine in Buffalo. With Borland off the board, Vic Fangio gets a versatile linebacker with some pop. Edited November 28, 2014 by 26CornerBlitz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly the Dog Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 That is a reasonable stance. I'm glad the writers acknowledged what Whaley and the Bills thought and knew, that Watkins is a 10 year player. If it were up to me, even knowing the years that Benjamin and Beckham are having, I would still make the Watkins trade every single time. I understand people saying Beckham and a #1 looks better now but I truly believe that 10 years from now, watkins will be considered a Hall of Fame candidate and Beckham and Benjamin will be thought of as good receivers that had a couple three great years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big C Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 Whoops, two teams drafted Kelvin B. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoloinOhio Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 While I agree Sammy looks like he was the best player in the draft and worthy of the #1 pick, I think SF got great value where they took Borland who fits their scheme at MLB and has performed at a high level. I think they would still have taken Ward there. I like the recognition though for Preston. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D. L. Hot-Flamethrower Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 Thank you for this. I wish some on this board would just thankful for what we got in the draft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoloinOhio Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 That is a reasonable stance. I'm glad the writers acknowledged what Whaley and the Bills thought and knew, that Watkins is a 10 year player. If it were up to me, even knowing the years that Benjamin and Beckham are having, I would still make the Watkins trade every single time. I understand people saying Beckham and a #1 looks better now but I truly believe that 10 years from now, watkins will be considered a Hall of Fame candidate and Beckham and Benjamin will be thought of as good receivers that had a couple three great years. a lot of WRs look great until they become the #1 focus of the opponent. Let's judge/compare them all once they all are playing in that role for at least a year. If indeed they all do. Until then, stats don't tell the whole story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deranged Rhino Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 a lot of WRs look great until they become the #1 focus of the opponent. Let's judge/compare them all once they all are playing in that role for at least a year. If indeed they all do. Until then, stats don't tell the whole story. True. Sammy's been the number 1 since day one though, the only other rookie WR that can say that is Benjamin. Evans, ODB (until this week), Cooks, Brown, et al are all number 2 or 3 on their respective teams and have gotten the more favorable match ups so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoloinOhio Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 (edited) True. Sammy's been the number 1 since day one though, the only other rookie WR that can say that is Benjamin. Evans, ODB (until this week), Cooks, Brown, et al are all number 2 or 3 on their respective teams and have gotten the more favorable match ups so far. correct, which is why the comparisons are going to be inaccurate at this stage of the game.The Bills felt they needed a guy who could step on the field and on Day 1 be a true #1. This is not an easy feat as most WRs coming out of college are not polished or mature enough in their skill set, practice habits and prep to do that. This is why he was the "prize" that he was and cost them what they have up. If they wanted to keep pretending SJ was a #1 they could have taken their chances with any of the other guys. Edited November 28, 2014 by YoloinOhio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts