The 2020 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 also talk about any moves that have been made since free agency. I get in to all that and much more in this series. Let’s continue with the NFC South.
Atlanta Falcons
Selections:
Round 1: CB A.J. Terrell
Round 2: DT Marlon Davidson
Round 3: C Matt Hennessy
Round 4: LB Mykal Walker, S Jaylinn Hawkins
Round 7: P Sterling Hofrichter
Analysis: After a fairly eventful free agency process, the Falcons followed up with a solid draft. I said they have to go defense, and that’s exactly what their mindset was and get a major position of need. Clemson cornerback A.J. Terrell was the third corner selected in the draft, and fills the top need for the Falcons. Terrell likely slides in as a starter opposite Isaiah Oliver, with Kendall Sheffield and the recently signed former Bengal Darqueze Dennard.
In the second round, the Falcons stayed on defense with defensive lineman Marlon Davidson. At 6′-3″, 300 lbs, he’ll likely start alongside the 6′-0″ 305 lb Grady Jarrett. This defensive line has a very different look with the additions of Dante Fowler in free agency and the acquisition of former Dolphins first rounder Charles Harris in a trade after the draft. Takk McKinley could be on his way out, so they gotta start rebuilding pass rushers yet again.
In the third round, the Falcons selected center/guard Matt Hennessy. I saw some mocks with Hennessy as a first-rounder so this is great value. Interior offensive line was probably the weakest position of the draft, and it wasn’t a position I thought the Falcons would address, but it does show their hand on the future on one of their best players. Pro Bowl center Alex Mack is in a contract year and despite still playing at a high level is 34 years old, and it’s pretty clear that they are willing to let him walk. The Falcons have invested a lot in their offensive line the past two years with the signings of James Carpenter and Jamon Brown in free agency and the drafting of Chris Lindstrom and Kaleb McGary and now Hennessy, who’ll likely sit this year and hopefully take over in 2021 if given the opportunity.
Conclusion: Another really solid draft by the Falcons. They addressed some of their top needs and are planning for the future, that’s what I really like in a draft. They still have some work to do to be contenders, but I think they’re on their way. The offense should be really good, as it usually is, but the defense is very young and they have some holes that need filling. They still need some more pass rushers and more importantly, linebackers. Deion Jones is a top linebacker and Foye Oluokun is solid, but they need more help. The Deone Bucannon signing helps, but you still need young linebackers to develop.
The Falcons got work to do, but they’re on their way. They’ve had some good drafts and have been active in free agency. They’ve lost a lot of key guys in Devonta Freeman, Desmond Trufant, De’Vondre Campbell, and Vic Beasley, but they’ve made key additions and could surprise people in 2020.
Carolina Panthers
Selections:
Round 1: DT Derrick Brown
Round 2: DE Yetur Gross-Matos, S Jeremy Chinn
Round 4: CB Troy Pride
Round 5: S Kenny Robinson
Round 6: DT Bravvion Roy
Round 7: CB Stantley Thomas-Oliver
Analysis: Defense. Defense. Defense. That was literally the sole focus of the Panthers draft. Seven selections, seven defensive players. While the Panthers really need help on defense, I’m surprised they didn’t address probably their weakest unit on the team, the offensive line, but we’ll get into that later, let’s talk about these picks.
Holding the seventh overall pick, I thought the Panthers would go defense with Isaiah Simmons or a cornerback or Derrick Brown, and they went with Brown, and I love the pick for them. Brown is a beast, and fills a massive (literally) need on a defensive line that lost Gerald McCoy and Dontari Poe in free agency. He’ll start alongside veteran Kawann Short with Brian Burns and the next guy selected on the edge.
In the second round, the Panthers selected Yetur Gross-Matos, a projected first-rounder in many mock drafts. They selected Burns in the first round last year and really needed a partner in crime, and Gross-Matos is just that. They had one of the oldest defensive lines in football in 2019, and with these two young pass rushing studs, turn into building blocks for a rebuilt defense that has some new members of the secondary.
With four of the final five selections being defensive backs, that showed how much the Panthers need to rebuild a secondary that lost James Bradberry and Eric Reid. Jeremy Chinn is a safety/linebacker hybrid similar to Kam Chancellor, and is in line to be a starter alongside Tre Boston. Guys like Troy Pride and Kenny Robinson and even Stantley Thomas-Oliver are likely special teamers to start out, but could earn roles on defense given the little depth. The top corners are now Donte Jackson and recent free agent signing Eli Apple (great signing by the way) with the spots behind them wide open.
Conclusion: While the Panthers went all defense, they failed to address the biggest hole on defense: linebacker. Perennial Pro Bowler and future Hall of Famer Luke Kuechly retired, and they need some guys to help fill the void, which is a tall task in itself. That’s why I thought they’d go Simmons, the defensive Swiss-army knife who went the following pick to the Cardinals. I love the Brown pick, but you still need to address the linebacker spot. Shaq Thompson is a very good linebacker who earned a contract extension, and the signing of Tahir Whitehead helps, but there’s not much behind them.
Now back to the offensive line, this line is abysmal. They traded Pro Bowl guard Trai Turner for oft-injured tackle Russell Okung, who has expressed concern over playing in 2020 and possibly retiring. Your draft picks from last year didn’t play great and a piecemeal line that just added veteran Michael Schofield (good move) is not gonna do well to protect Teddy Bridgewater and block for Christian McCaffrey.
This is likely a lost year for the Panthers as they attempt to restart their franchise with a new head coach, new quarterback, and a new team. Just ride out 2020 Panthers fans, it won’t be your year, but at least you get to watch McCaffrey.
New Orleans Saints
Selections:
Round 1: C Cesar Ruiz
Round 3: OLB Zack Baun, TE Adam Trautman
Round 7: QB Tommy Stevens
Analysis: After the first round of this draft, I was perplexed. This was starting out to be a weird draft by the Saints, a normally well-run organization, and I was starting to question it. By the end of this draft, I was a big fan of this class. There weren’t many holes on this roster, but they managed to fill them perfectly, while screwing over a division rival.
In the first round, with the 24th pick, the Saints selected the top interior offensive lineman, Cesar Ruiz out of Michigan. Like I mentioned earlier, I was shocked by the pick. A center? They drafted a center in the second round last year (Erik McCoy) who became their immediate day one starter and played at a very high level, so there is no way they’re moving him. Well what about moving him to guard? Both their two starting guards are coming off Pro Bowl seasons, so play shouldn’t be the issue. They just gave a big extension to left guard Andrus Peat and right guard Larry Warford was set to make over $7 million with a $12.875 million cap hit. Well there’s your answer. Warford was cut not long after the draft, which opens up the spot for Ruiz to be the Saints new starting right guard.
Their next pick wasn’t until the third round after trading away their second back in 2019 to move up to select Erik McCoy. The player they got is a guy I was very high on as a Patriots fan, and it’s a position so many teams are overlooking and is a weakness on several units. Zack Baun out of Wisconsin is a hybrid outside linebacker/defensive end who can put his hand in the ground and rush the passer, or stand up and cover tight ends and running backs. I compared him to the likes of Kyle Van Noy and Rob Ninkovich in New England, a guy who coaches can move around a defense and have flexibility with matchups. The Saints have a lot of good linebackers, not a lot of teams can say that. With that group led by Demario Davis, Alex Anzalone, and free agent signings Anthony Chickillo and Nigel Bradham, the defensive coordinator can have a field day and create some interesting packages with the vets and Baun. Love the pick, wish he was in a Pats uniform though.
Onto the next pick, the Saints got a nice young weapon in tight end Adam Trautman. The selection came at a price, in the form of trading the rest of their draft picks to move back in the third round to select Trautman. The Saints have experienced a lack of depth at receiving weapons the past couple years, which is why Michael Thomas gets so many targets, and that exposes and limits an offense. I love the Emmanuel Sanders signing in free agency, and Jared Cook a couple years ago, but they still need depth. I thought they’d go receiver early in the draft with such a deep class, but I guess the Trautman selection helps with that.
And there you have it. They traded all their picks and can take day three of the draft. But knowing Sean Payton, he loves to stick it to division rivals, and made one final move that is pretty interesting. The Saints, with no more picks in 2020, traded a 2021 sixth-rounder to move into the seventh round to select quarterback Tommy Stevens. There were reports that the Panthers were planning to sign Stevens as an undrafted free agent, and the Saints got word of that and wanted to steal him away. Stevens is an interesting player. Many see what the Saints have done with Taysom Hill, and the same will be said about Stevens with his recent move to tight end. They gave Hill a two-year extension, and have talked about him as the franchise successor to Drew Brees, so they could be grooming Stevens to be the new Hill, but they also have Jameis Winston in the building so who knows what’s going on. Only Sean Payton could scheme something like this up. I love this man’s brain.
Conclusion: Super Bowl or bust. That’s the sole goal for the 2020 New Orleans Saints. There are no more holes. They have everything they need. Just stay healthy and dominate. There’s some new competition in the division, and they have to be ready to defend their crown and get a Lombardi.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Selections:
Round 1: OT Tristan Wirfs
Round 2: S Antoine Winfield Jr.
Round 3: RB Ke’Shawn Vaughn
Round 5: WR Tyler Johnson
Round 6: DT Khalil Davis
Round 7: OLB Chapelle Russell, RB Raymond Calais
Analysis: If you get Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski, you are prepared to compete for a Super Bowl. If you are in win-now mode, you need to have a draft that gets immediate impact players, and that’s exactly what the Buccaneers did with this draft class.
After parting with longtime starter Demar Dotson, the Bucs top need was offensive tackle to protect their new investment at quarterback. This was a great draft for tackles, and to ensure they got one of the big four, they made the move up one spot to select who many thought would be the first tackle off the board in Tristan Wirfs. The Iowa product is an athletic freak, famous for jumping out of a pool at 320 lbs, and considered the best all around tackle, not the highest floor or highest ceiling, just great all around.
In the second round, the Bucs took a defensive back, not uncommon for them, in Antoine Winfield Jr. Tampa has been very focused on their secondary over the past several drafts, selecting five the past two drafts in the early rounds. They only selected one in 2020, in an effort to upgrade and have options throughout that secondary. Winfield is competing with 2019 third-rounder Mike Edwards and 2017 second-rounder Justin Evans, who is on the PUP list.
In the third round, the Bucs selected running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn. I pegged the Bucs to take a running back much earlier, as that was one of their clear top needs, but they got Vaughn, who is a player I didn’t hear much about prior to the draft. He rushed for over 2,200 yards in his two years at Vanderbilt after two years at Illinois. Ronald Jones is the presumed starter, but he doesn’t fully have the confidence of his coaching staff for him to be the answer, so the Bucs backfield is open. They did add veteran LeSean McCoy, and also selected Raymond Calais in the seventh round, so those guys along with passing back Dare Ogunbowale form an interesting backfield. Stay away from Tampa in fantasy is all I have to say.
Conclusion: The Buccaneers are all in on 2020. They got Brady and Gronk, and are ready to take the NFC South crown. They’ve been the laughing stock of this division for too long, and just like that, they’re the favorites for not just the division, but the conference. As a Patriots fan, it sucks to see Brady in another uniform, but I got another team to watch and route for in 2020, and this Bucs team is gonna be dangerous.
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