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 AFC West.
Denver Broncos
Selections:
Round 1: WR Jerry Jeudy
Round 2: WR K.J. Hamler
Round 3: CB Michael Ojemudia, C Lloyd Cushenberry, DT McTelvin Agim
Round 4: TE Albert Okwuegbunam
Round 5: LB Justin Strnad
Round 6: G Netane Muti
Round 7: WR Tyrie Cleveland, DE Derrek Tuszka
Analysis: The Denver Broncos have been one of the most hyped-up teams of 2020. After winning four of the final five games in 2019 under Drew Lock, and a strong free agency, the Broncos have caught the eye of football nerds as a potentially fun and surprising team in 2020. After using free agency to acquire Melvin Gordon, Jurrell Casey, A.J. Bouye, and Graham Glasgow, they used the draft to address more issues and to give their new young signal caller some upgraded toys.
I highlighted after free agency that wide receiver was their top need and desperately needed a guy opposite with Courtland Sutton, and they got just that. With the 15th pick, the Broncos selected Jerry Jeudy out of Alabama, the second receiver off the board, and who many thought would be the top guy. Jeudy is an elite route runner and has the tools to be all around great receiver. The receivers behind Sutton (1,112 yards) were abysmal. The next closet wide receiver in yards was Emmanuel Sanders with 562… he was traded away mid-season. DaeSean Hamilton hasn’t done too much in his career after he was selected as a 2018 fourth-rounder as a double-dip at receiver with Sutton (second-round). The Broncos did the same thing this year with the double-dip, but much earlier. They selected K.J. Hamler with the second round, the speedster out of Penn State. Hamler is expected to start at slot receiver with Sutton and Jeudy on the outside.
Skipping ahead to the middle of the third round, they selected center Lloyd Cushenberry out of LSU. This is an absolute steal for the Broncos. I thought he’d go much earlier, potentially even the first round, and to get a likely first-year franchise starter in the third round, that’s incredible. It wasn’t until a few weeks ago that I saw Cushenberry as the starting center, but it was all thanks to the decision of right tackle Ja’Wuan James to opt out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19. With James out for 2020, Elijah Wilkinson will likely start at RT, unless newly signed veteran Demar Dotson beats him out. Glasgow was set to start at center, but with the drafting of Cushenberry, Glasgow can move to right guard, where I had Wilkinson originally, which opens up Cushenberry to be the starting center.
As for the rest of this class, they got some nice depth options with some potential starters. Ojemudia is joins a crowded cornerbacks room, Agim will have some opportunities at nose tackle and Okwuegbunam is in a surprisingly crowded and talented tight ends group.
Conclusion: There’s a lot of hype around this Broncos team, and it’s pretty warranted, but I feel like it’s a bit premature and fans shouldn’t get their hopes too high. I really do like what I’ve seen from Lock, but it was such a small sample size, and it was at the end of a lost season, so I’m taking it with a grain of salt. I do like what John Elway did with surrounding the kid with talent with upgrades all throughout the offense. The defense is got better with their free agent additions, and with guys like Bradley Chubb and Bryce Callahan coming back healthy, should be an improved unit.
You can get excited about this Denver Broncos team. They might not live up to all the hype, but I’m excited to watch Drew Lock and see what the future may hold.
Kansas City Chiefs
Selections:
Round 1: RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire
Round 2: LB Willie Gay
Round 3: OT Lucas Niang
Round 4: S L’Jarius Sneed
Round 5: DE Mike Danna
Round 7: CB Thakarius Keyes
Analysis: The reigning Super Bowl champs have had a decent amount of roster movement in 2020, losing several starters in free agency, and a few to the opt-out option. But a strong draft helped with a couple of those losses, while getting one of the top playmakers in the draft.
With the final pick of the first round, the Chiefs selected the first running back off the board, LSU’s Clyde Edwards-Helaire. At the time of the selection, I didn’t quite agree with it, with much bigger needs elsewhere, like cornerback, but after the opt out of Damien Williams, it became one of the best picks of the draft. After a breakout season in a running back by committee at times, Williams was set to be the full-time starter. But due to COVID-19, Williams decided to opt out of the season due to his mother’s colon cancer, opening the door for CEH to be a top rookie playmaker, even earning a first-round fantasy grade. Outside of fantasy, the Chiefs offense is deadly, like really really good. Think Kareem Hunt, but better. Mahomes is only getting better, and this offense is only getting better.
On to the second round, the Chiefs selected linebacker Willie Gay out of Mississippi State. Gay is in line to be a starter, given that the Chiefs don’t have many options at linebacker. They lost Reggie Ragland and Damien Wilson is in a contract year, so Gay will have his opportunities.
Not draft related, but just wanted to touch on some additional moves made. They signed veteran guard Kelechi Osemele, who is the projected starting right guard after Dr. Laurent Duvernay-Tardif opted out of the season to focus his efforts on COVID-19. Third-round pick Lucas Niang also opted out of the season, so there’s another depth option gone. They did recently sign former 49ers and Dolphins starting center Daniel Kilgore, who could compete with Austin Reiter for the starting job, or maybe challenge Andrew Wylie or Nick Allegretti for the other starting job spot.
Conclusion: Despite a decent amount of turnover, the Chiefs are still powerhouses and the likely Super Bowl favorite. If you have Patrick Mahomes leading the way on a 10-year contract, and still getting better, defenses are gonna have a bad time. They still got all their receivers, and the addition of Edwards-Helaire will make them even better. I’m still concerned about the defense. I really wish they addressed the cornerbacks position after losing Kendall Fuller, and they very much could still. They’ve been giving out massive contracts left and right to their star players, so signing a guy like Logan Ryan will be tough. Will likely look at the trade market or in the waiver system when cutdown day comes along.
The Chiefs ain’t going anywhere, and for the next 10+ years, this division belongs to Kansas City.
Las Vegas Raiders
Selections:
Round 1: WR Henry Ruggs, CB Damon Arnette
Round 3: RB/WR Lynn Bowden, WR Bryan Edwards, LB Tanner Muse
Round 4: G John Simpson, CB Amik Robertson
Analysis: The Raiders have had eyes on them the past couple drafts, after acquiring a plethora of picks from the Bears in the Khalil Mack trade. With three first-round picks last year, they had two this year, while giving up their second-rounder, and made some interesting selections, getting some studs and steals, while not selecting after the fourth round.
In the first round, with the 12th pick and their pick of the top receivers, the Las Vegas Raiders selected Henry Ruggs, the speedster out of Alabama. Ruggs has blazing speed and wasn’t widely thought of as the top receiver in this draft, but some did say don’t be shocked to see Ruggs first off the board. He joins a surprisingly deep receiving core with Hunter Renfrow, Tyrell Williams, Zay Jones, Nelson Agholor, and third-rounder Bryan Edwards. Edwards, for what it’s worth, has been really hyped up throughout camp. Fantasy heads consider him to be a high-volume grinder while Ruggs is the home-run hitter.
With the pick acquired in the Mack trade, the Raiders used the 19th pick on another top need of theirs, selecting Ohio State cornerback Damon Arnette. I didn’t really hear much about Arnette prior to the draft, but the Buckeyes got a good reputation for producing top secondary talent, so hopefully it works out with Arnette. The Raiders secondary was one of the worst, so the selection of Arnette should help. Not to mention fourth-round steal Amik Robertson, who projects to be the starting nickelback.
Finally just want to hit on the Lynn Bowden selection in the third round. This guy is the ultimate utility player. A quarterback in college who ran for a ton of yards. He figures to be the primary returnman, but is a guy that can be moved all around the offense, jet sweeps, wildcat, inside, outside, backfield, wherever. Keep a close eye on Bowden.
Conclusion: The Raiders have been so fascinating ever since Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock took over. Interesting roster decisions, both in free agency and in the draft. They have reaped the benefits from the draft picks acquired in the Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper trades, getting some starters and franchise players to build around. To me, they are the biggest wild cards in the AFC. I have no idea if they’re gonna be good or not. It all depends on the play of Derek Carr. If he can get back to his 2016 MVP level form, this offense should be high-flying with their young additions. The defense is still pretty rough, but they made significant changes in free agency at linebacker, plus the recent trade acquisition of former Dolphin Raekwon McMillan. The secondary is very young, and was one of the worst in 2019, so they really can only go up.
The Las Vegas Raiders are a fascinating team, but is it in a good way or a bad way?
Los Angeles Chargers
Selections:
Round 1: QB Justin Herbert, LB Kenneth Murray
Round 4: RB Joshua Kelley
Round 5: WR Joe Reed
Round 6: S Alohi Gilman
Round 7: WR K.J. Hill
Analysis: The Chargers have had a rare offseason, and by that I mean they were very active. They signed guys like Chris Harris Jr., Bryan Bulaga, and Nick Vigil in free agency, and followed that up with a very good draft that was preceded by a rare trade. Let’s get into it.
With the sixth overall pick, the Chargers could’ve gone into multiple different directions. Many predicted a quarterback, others though maybe they’d go offensive line and go with Tyrod Taylor, but they went with the obvious choice, selecting the quarterback of the future, Justin Herbert out of Oregon. With longtime starter Philip Rivers in Indianapolis, the Chargers acted immediately and started preparing for the future of the franchise. Many believed it would come down to either Herbert or Tua Tagovailoa, with the latter the presumed favorite. But Tua went the pick prior to the Dolphins, which led to the Chargers selecting Herbert. General manager Tom Telesco straight up said if the Dolphins took Herbert, they would’ve taken Tua. The brought up speculation that maybe Herbert wasn’t their first choice, but the team will never admit that and that’s up for theorists to speculate about. Either way, the Chargers have their new franchise quarterback. Tyrod Taylor will take the reigns to start 2020, but if things play out like they did for Taylor in 2018 with the Browns, he’ll be replaced mid-season by the rookie. Herbert has been lighting it up in camp, but he’s young and needs some development before becoming the future. He’s much more athletic than Rivers, and can make all the throws like Rivers, so a nice young mobile quarterback is a breath of fresh air for Chargers fans. But for now he’ll sit and learn, and when the time comes, he’ll be ready.
As the first round progresses, star prospects are being selected, but the Chargers were keeping a close eye and made a rare move to get back into the first round to get one of those premier talents. They traded with the Patriots (of course they’ll move back) to acquire the 23rd pick in exchange for their second- and third-round picks. With the 23rd pick, the Chargers selected linebacker Kenneth Murray out of Oklahoma, the consensus second- or third-ranked linebacker behind Isaiah Simmons in the draft. I love this pick for the Chargers. Linebacker is such an important position that teams tend to ignore and it ends up biting them in the ass. They invested in Nick Vigil in the offseason and previously extended Denzel Perryman, but they still needed some work. Murray is an absolute stud with positive character traits that are off the charts. That’s what you need at linebacker, a strong leader who has an ideal frame that brings athleticism, great tackling, and can line up the defense and diagnose a play. He’s a perfect linebacker in my opinion and the Chargers’ rare move around the draft board will pay off.
After taking day 2 of the draft off, the Chargers focused on getting some weapons that this offense so desperately needed. In the fourth round, running back Joshua Kelley is competing to be the primary backup to Austin Ekeler and figures to have a key role. Fifth-round receiver Joe Reed is built like a running back and is a versatile utility player, and seventh-round receiver K.J. Hill is being called one of the biggest steals of the draft. Hill has the all-time career receptions record at Ohio State and projects to be the starting slot receiver. The wide receiver position looked pretty rough after Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, but these two rookies will have plenty of opportunities to make plays and make an impact for an interesting Chargers offense.
Conclusion: It’s not often the Chargers have a little fun and move around the draft board to get their guys. They’ve been fairly boring and average for years, and now that Rivers is gone, they could turn into a fairly exciting offense if/when Herbert takes over. I’m fascinated by this offense with Ekeler finally becoming the lead back after starting out that way last year before Melvin Gordon came back. I’m interested to see these receivers play with Tyrod and eventually Herbert. The defense has been the unsung hero, with their two stud (and rich) pass rushers, some new linebackers, and an improved secondary. It sucks that they’ll be without Derwin James for another year, but they have guys in Rayshawn Jenkins and Nasir Adderley who can help replace them, plus they have really good cornerbacks.
The AFC West is always an interesting division. You have the reigning Super Bowl champion Chiefs, and then three ascending franchises. I have no idea how the rest of the division will play, but all I know is that this division, and conference, runs through Kansas City. Everyone else just needs to catch up.
Football Nerds 