1. Las Vegas Raiders: They’ve made questionable picks in years past. That trend continued last week. Remember when they drafted Clelin Ferrell back in the first round of the 2019 draft? He’s only recorded 6.5 sacks since coming into the league. Alex Leatherwood was a solid offensive tackle at Alabama. He won the Outland Trophy in 2020 but selecting a lineman when the Raiders had more pressing needs I felt was a reach. A defender here would’ve been perfect on day one to play alongside Maxx Crosby. That was a very underwhelming move for them. I loved the Trevon Moerhig pick in the second round, but again, safety wasn’t a need. They had other defensive needs.
2. Seattle Seahawks: They didn’t make their first pick until the second round. With the 56th overall pick, the Seahawks selected D’Wayne Eskridge, a wide receiver from Western Michigan. A receiver wasn’t a need for the Seahawks. Did they not watch the film from last season? There were times when Russell Wilson was running for his life in 2020. Keeping your quarterback protected should’ve been your top priority. Seattle used limited draft capital on a player who will likely be a return specialist in 2021. Very questionable move to me. We will see where they go from here.
3. New Orleans Saints: This was a head-scratcher to me. Maybe they saw something in Payton Turner that none of us saw. However, they had the possibility of drafting either Jayson Oweh from Penn State or Gregory Rousseau from Miami. Both those guys I listed are leaps and bounds better than Turner, no disrespect. I understand they lost Trey Hendrickson who left after a breakout year in 2020. The only good thing the Saints did this draft was drafting Ian Book out of Notre Dame who will possibly be their quarterback of the future. Maybe Payton Turner can prove me wrong. I just don’t see him outplaying the two pass rushers they passed up in the NFL.
4. Cincinnati Bengals: I love Ja’Marr Chase. I watched him during his days at LSU and he wowed me. For the second consecutive year, the Bengals spent their first pick on two guys from LSU. Burrow was last year of course and Chase was this year. I feel the Bengals made the “sexy pick” instead of picking what they truly needed which was offensive line help. For months, they seemed to be linked to Penei Sewell and Rashawn Slater, the two best offensive linemen in this draft class. Did they not see how Burrow would be running for his life? Plus, he’s coming back after tearing his ACL last year. The Bengals could call Chad OchoCinco and Terrell Owens to come out of retirement. Having the weapons for the quarterback means nothing if he’s getting drilled in the pocket.
