OTAs and minicamp are over, and we are now in the dark period of the NFL calendar before training camp. The 2019 NFL Draft has come and gone, and now it’s time to get in to the picks. I dig in to the selections and analyze if the team made the right picks, addressed their needs, ignored their needs, reached for a player, etc. I get in to all that and much more in this series. Let’s continue with the NFC South.
Atlanta Falcons
Selections: Round 1: G Chris Lindstrom, OT Kaleb McGary; Round 4: CB Kendall Sheffield, DE John Cominsky; Round 5: Qadree Ollison, CB Jordan Miller; Round 6: WR/RB Marcus Green
Analysis: It’s amazing how far the Falcons have fallen since their Super Bowl run in 2016. Last year was a lost season due to injuries to several starters, but this is a new year and everyone is healthy. They lost a lot of guys in free agency, and only signed a handful of players, so they needed a strong draft to fill those holes. They made seven selections, and to be honest, this was one of my least favorite drafts of 2019.
Their two biggest signings in free agency were offensive linemen James Carpenter and Jamon Brown. With their first two selections, both first round picks, the Falcons selected two offensive linemen, guard Chris Lindstrom and tackle Kaleb McGary. This was not a position of need for the Falcons, they were very active in the free agent o-line market, signing two new players and extending tackle Ty Sambrailo. They had so many other holes on the roster, and they double-dipped on a position they had no business taking in the first round. Yes, the offensive line wasn’t great last year, but they signed starting-caliber players to improve that line, and they just shouldn’t have drafted offensive linemen in the first round, maybe the second or third, but not the first. As for the players themselves, I thought the Lindstrom pick was a bit of a reach as I saw him as more of a second rounder, but getting McGary at the end of the first, after trading back in with the Rams, is a more reasonable value. I actually like the McGary pick better than the Lindstrom pick as they had a much bigger need at tackle than guard. As I mentioned earlier, the Falcons signed Carpenter and Brown, both have started plenty of games in their careers. Sambrailo doesn’t have a great track record as he was traded away from the Broncos and spent most of last season as a backup to Ryan Schraeder before he was released. There were plenty of better players available at the 14th pick at positions with a much greater need than guard. Their top needs in my opinion were defensive tackle, to pair with the recently extended Grady Jarrett and cornerback. They completely ignored the former, but they did use their next pick on the latter.
With the next pick, the Falcons selected cornerback Kendall Sheffield. They gave up their second and third round picks to trade back in to the first to take McGary, so they had to wait until the fourth round to select a corner. What I considered their top need, the Falcons got a corner who likely won’t be a day one starter, but could carve out a role for himself. The Falcons parted ways with Robert Alford, which opened the door for last year’s second rounder Isaiah Oliver to start alongside Desmond Trufant.
Conclusion: As much as I disliked the Falcons draft this year, they still have one of the more talented rosters in the league. The offense was rarely the problem last year, as Matt Ryan was playing some of his best football and Julio Jones was Julio Jones. They didn’t have Devonta Freeman for most of the year and Tevin Coleman filled in nicely, but the play of rookie Ito Smith gave the Falcons confidence that he could fill the Coleman-role once Freeman came back as Coleman left for the 49ers. The o-line was an issue, and they Falcons knew that, but I think they really over-emphasized the issue and actually made too many moves.
The defense had some bad injuries last year, losing starting safeties Keanu Neal and Ricardo Allen along with star linebacker Deion Jones. Damontae Kazee filled in very nicely at safety, recording a league-leading seven interceptions, but even that wasn’t enough to overcome their defensive woes. They should have focused more on solidifying depth on the defensive side of the ball, instead of TWO offensive lineman in the first round, but I digress.
The Falcons still have one of the leagues most complete rosters filled with young and veteran talent. Their offense should be high-flying as usual, and the defense should hope it stays healthy, because it can be very good. It’s been slow rolling for the Falcons since their Super Bowl loss, but they are primed to be contenders this year, and a threat in the NFC South.
Carolina Panthers
Selections: Round 1: DE Brian Burns; Round 2: OT Greg Little; Round 3: QB Will Grier; Round 4: LB Christian Miller; Round 5: RB Jordan Scarlett; Round 6: OT Dennis Daley; Round 7: WR Terry Godwin
Analysis: Much like the Falcons, the Panthers have been a bit disappointing since their Super Bowl loss in 2015. After starting out 2018 with a 6-2 record, the Panthers season went into a free fall and lost the next seven games. Needing to bounce back from a rough season, the Panthers desperately needed a good offseason. They lost several franchise staples in Thomas Davis, Julius Peppers, and Ryan Kalil, along with Devin Funchess and Matt Kalil. Looking to rebuild, the Panthers had a decent free agency, and one of the better drafts of 2019.
With the 16th overall pick, the Panthers selected pass rusher Brian Burns. The Panthers have one of the oldest defensive lines in football with Mario Addison (31) and Bruce Irvin (31) atop the edge rush depth chart with Gerald McCoy (31), Kawann Short (30), and Dontari Poe (28) on the interior. Addison and Irvin aren’t exactly the greatest starting pass rushers, so the drafting of Burns was a very smart move for the Panthers. I had Burns mocked to Carolina as it made way too much sense. Burns is an athletic, long, and speedy pass rusher, running a 4.53-second 40-time, third among edge rushers, and finished his final season at Florida State with 15.5 sacks. Burns’ speed will compliment the veteran pass rushers and will greatly improve Carolina’s defensive line.
In the second round, the Panthers selected Ole Miss offensive tackle Greg Little. The Matt Kalil signing never panned out as he was released two years into his five-year deal, so this was a great pick for the Panthers. Little will get a chance to earn the starting left tackle job against former second rounder Taylor Moton.
With the 100th overall pick, the Panthers got quarterback Will Grier. Many Panthers fans HATE this pick as obviously Cam Newton is the franchise quarterback, but he’s had some injury problems in recent years. Last year’s backup Taylor Heinicke played well before he got hurt, and they had to rely on undrafted rookie Kyle Allen for two games. You need to have a trustworthy backup quarterback on your roster, and Grier can provide you with that and can step in in case Newton gets hurt or isn’t fully healthy.
Conclusion: The Panthers need a bounce back season, as a lot of jobs could be in jeopardy. The health of Cam Newton has been a story of the offseason, although he is expected to be ready for Week 1. The offense is now defined by speed, with last year’s first rounder D.J. Moore and the emergence of Christian McCaffrey as one of the most dynamic playmakers in the NFL. The defense is one of the oldest in the league, but they’ve been adding some young starters in Burns on the d-line along with the emergence of Shaq Thompson at linebacker and James Bradberry and Donte Jackson as starting corners.
The Panthers desperately need to bounce back and be the NFC powerhouses they once were. Although they did not make many moves this offseason, the moves they made in free agency and the draft were smart and addressed top positions of need. If everything goes well health-wise, expect the Panthers to be fun in 2019.
New Orleans Saints
Selections: Round 2: C Erik McCoy; Round 4: S Chauncey Gardner-Johnson; Round 6: S Saquan Hampton; Round 7: TE Alizé Mack, LB Kaden Elliss
Traded first round pick to move up to take DE Marcus Davenport last year.
Analysis: After coming up just short of the Super Bowl, the Saints were very active in free agency, both signing new players and losing some key starters. To follow up a good free agency, the Saints had a pretty mediocre and bland draft, which I think can be perceived as a good thing. The Saints were so dominant last year that they didn’t have too many holes after free agency. There were some positions that I feel still need an upgrade, but let’s start with the picks that were actually made.
Without a first round pick after the trade up to take Marcus Davenport last season, the Saints waited til the second round to make their first selection. With that pick, they drafted center Erik McCoy. Max Unger retired this offseason, and the move to replaces him was initially the signing of former Vikings guard Nick Easton to a four-year deal. That seems to be all down the drain as the starting job is McCoy’s to lose, and all the other starting spots are occupied, so this was a very interesting pick for the Saints.
In the fourth round, the Saints drafted safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson as their second selection. The Saints secondary has been one of the most improved units in the league, and they’ve been using a lot of draft capital at the position, and Gardner-Johnson is the latest example of such. Projected as a second round pick, he joins a secondary littered with young talent, and will likely start out as a backup to Vonn Bell and Marcus Williams.
Conclusion: The Saints Super Bowl hopes came crashing down at the hands of the officials last year, but that shouldn’t stop them from having another great season and should easily make it back to the playoffs. They lost some key pieces in Mark Ingram and Max Unger, but have seemingly replaced them with Latavius Murray, Nick Easton, and the selection of Erik McCoy. The offense is still elite with Brees, Thomas and Kamara, along with the addition of Jared Cook, but they were exposed last season on one major flaw in the offense: Thomas is the offense. When defenses figured out that the offense essentially runs through Michael Thomas in the passing game, with little depth behind him, they really struggled down the stretch. I thought they’d add another receiver in the draft, but I guess the coaching staff believes in Tre’Quan Smith, Cameron Meredith and Ted Ginn to stay healthy and take the load off Thomas.
As I mentioned earlier, the Saints secondary is one of the most improved positions in the NFL, and it all started with the selection of Marshon Lattimore in 2017. He, along with Patrick Robinson, Ken Crawley, Eli Apple, and P.J. Williams round out a very strong cornerbacks room with Vonn Bell, Marcus Williams, and Gardner-Johnson at safety. The front-seven is also improved with Cameron Jordan and Marcus Davenport coming off the edge and Sheldon Rankins and former-Patriot Malcom Brown on the interior, with the former coming off a torn Achilles.
The Saints should continue their dominance in 2019 under their 40-year-old quarterback. They have a high-flying offense and an emerging defense. If they can get past their bad playoff luck from last season, expect them to be back in the title game once again.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Selections: Round 1: LB Devin White; Round 2: CB Sean Murphy-Bunting; Round 3: CB Jamel Dean, S Mike Edwards; Round 4: DE Anthony Nelson; Round 5: K Matt Gay; Round 6: WR Scotty Miller; Round 7: DT Terry Beckner
Analysis: Defense, defense, defense, defense, defense, a kicker, a slot receiver, and more defense; that is the story of the Buccaneers 2019 draft class. The Bucs defense was one of the worst in 2018, and it’s clear based on the draft that the front office new it and needed to reshape it. The offense isn’t in great shape either, but it looks like their primary focus in the draft was on the other side of the ball. For a team that lost stars Gerald McCoy and Kwon Alexander, they seem to be in better shape than they were last year, and it started with a great draft.
With the fifth overall pick, the Bucs were locked in to take any of the top defensive players, and they got a real good one in linebacker Devin White. After losing the aforementioned Alexander, Tampa had a major whole in the middle of the defense, and White is an elite talent. He’ll start alongside former Cardinal Deone Bucannon and Pro Bowler Lavonte David.
With the next three picks, all their selections on the second day of the draft, the Bucs drafted all secondary, two corners and a safety. Their secondary was one of the worst in 2018, and they’ve been rebuilding that group for years now. The new guys this year are CB Sean Murphy-Bunting, CB Jamel Dean, and safety Mike Edwards. Former first-rounder Vernon Hargreaves is the top corner on the depth chart, but has not been healthy the past two years and has struggled with inconsistency. Bunting and Dean will battle with last year’s second rounders M.J. Stewart and Carlton Davis will be vying for starting spots. Edwards will battle with fellow safeties Justin Evans, Jordan Whitehead, and Kentrell Brice for starting jobs.
The Bucs have had kicker problems for years now. After striking out on Roberto Aguayo in the second round in 2016, and free agents Nick Folk and Chandler Catanzaro, the Bucs went to the draft again, this time in the fifth round with Matt Gay. Gay will battle with veteran Cairo Santos for the starting job.
Conclusion: After being hyped up a few years ago on Hard Knocks, the Bucs have been very disappointing. The offense has underperformed and the defense is towards the bottom of the league. Jameis Winston is in a contract year and he has to prove to the organization that he is a franchise quarterback and has to earn his second contract. The pass catchers are solid with superstar Mike Evans and young up-and-comer Chris Godwin along with the addition of former Ravens first-round bust Breshad Perriman. Tight end O.J. Howard was on the verge of a breakout year last year before an injury limited him to 10 games, so expect big things from him and Cameron Brate this year. The running game struggled mightily last year after parting ways with Doug Martin. Peyton Barber was solid as the starter, racking up 871 yards on the ground, but the guy the franchise needs to get going is Ronald Jones. The 2018 second-rounder rushed for a measly 44 yards on the season at 1.9 yards per carry. He needs to improve dramatically if he wants to be the starter many have pegged him to be.
The defense is not good. After cutting franchise stalwart Gerald McCoy, the Bucs longest tenured defensive player is Lavonte David. They are a new look defense, filled with young draft picks and veteran free agent signings. On the d-line, Vita Vea will be the anchor and looked like the real deal down the stretch last season after starting the season hurt. Let’s not forget about Ndamukong Suh, because I did, and completely forgot he was on the team as I’m writing this. The linebackers could be sneaky elite, with David, White, Bucannon, Shaq Barrett and Kevin Minter. The pass rushers will likely be without Jason Pierre-Paul for most of the season as he recovers from a neck injury suffered in a car accident (this guy needs to be put in a plastic bubble in the offseason) and the guys behind him are Carl Nassib and Noah Spence, not great. I talked about the secondary earlier, and they have some open competition for starting jobs and need to be better.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a new look about them in 2019, under new head coach and recently unretired Bruce Arians. If he can unlock Jameis Winston, the Bucs could be going places, and Winston could earn a hefty second contract. The offense needs to improve, and the defense needs to improve. All those high expectations from a few years ago have gone away, and people expect the Bucs to be at the bottom of the NFC South, but don’t be surprised if Arians turns this team around, and brings a spark to Tampa Bay.
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