Tim Peterson
The Jacksonville Jaguars may have set up a pass-catch combination that could last into the next decade when they picked up Blake Bortles and Marquise Lee in the first two rounds of the NFL draft.
Bortles may have gone a little high and Lee a little low but for the Jaguars they could be a perfect fit. Some thought Johnny Manziel could go number three to the Jags but when Jacksonville looked at the 6-5 Bortles compared to the 6-0 Manziel (5-10?) it was an easy choice. Plus when they threw in Manziel’s off the field issues…
Did Manziel go too low at 22 to Cleveland? Only time will tell but it appears to be a win-win all around. Johnny Football still gets drafted in the first round and if he’s a bust then the Browns are ok because they didn’t use their top pick.
Jadeveon Clowney was the safe pick for Houston but also the right one. I haven’t heard a “draft expert” yet that thinks Clowney will flop. Just too talented – a freak if you will.
Nobody will really know until five years down the road but on paper the St. Louis Rams may have had the best draft in the league. They picked up the top offensive lineman in Greg Robinson and the top defensive lineman Aaron Donald with the first two picks. Then later in the fourth round they landed what many thought was the best running back in the draft in Auburn’s Tre Mason.
They made a lot of headlines drafting the first openly gay player in Missouri’s Michael Sam but even if he can’t play (which at this point the jury is still out), the Rams wont get hurt since they used a seventh round pick. Ram head Coach Jeff Fisher said Sunday that the Rams wouldn’t hesitate to cut Sam if he doesn’t make the roster spot.
I still can’t figure out what everybody had against Tim Tebow.
The Vikings could have done a lot worse than UCLA’s Anthony Barr and Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater with their first two selections. Bridgewater might be the quarterback most ready to make contribution right away.
UCLA had five players drafted overall while USC had just three. Sometimes it’s better to stay in school. Trojan safety Dion Bailey, defensive lineman George Uko and tight end Xavier Grimble, who all came out early, were not drafted.
So you think Manziel dropped? How about AJ McCarron? The Alabama quarterback was told he could go in the first round (between 16 and 35) and wound up as the 164th pick overall when the Bengals took him in the fifth round. McCarron won two national championships and was the runner up in the 2013 Heisman Trophy balloting. His stock plummeted when he reportedly rubbed people the wrong way in team interviews.
One more thought on Manziel. Let’s hope he doesn’t follow in the footsteps of former Brown quarterback Brady Quinn who also slid in the first round before Cleveland grabbed him. Quinn was ultimately a flop and so far the circumstances are eerily similar to Manziel. Quinn, was also the 22nd pick. Cue up the Twilight Zone music.
That’s my principle.
Tim can be reached at tim@midvalleysports.com or on Twitter @tspeterson40.
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