Piece By: Owen McCullor | YouTube: Weekly Huddle
The NFL Draft is this week and teams are finishing up their boards and deciding on what players will best fit their team stylistically and positionally in relation to where they are picking on the board. This list will be my best attempt at matching prospects to their perfect team fits and vise versa.
The point of this article is not to point out the obvious(Lawrence at 1 etc.), but to give fans a player to look for when their team is coming up. These players will fit best for different reasons and I will provide my opinion on the player and where I believe these teams could land them. Final thing, I will not repeat any prospect for more than one team. With the rules established let’s get to it.
Arizona Cardinals: Caleb Farley, CB, Virginia Tech
Farley may be dropping due to his back injury, but his skill and high ceiling still makes him the best corner in this draft. The Cards have established starters in Robert Alford, Malcom Butler and Byron Murphy heading into the season. Farley would come into a scenario where he can take less reps, limiting the amount of strain on his body following this injury. The Cardinals can’t pass up the level of talent at 16th overall, especially when the team is 1-2 pieces away from making a run. A young natural at the position who has taken to the nuances of both man and zone so quickly will help add to that.
Atlanta Falcons: Kyle Pitts, TE, Florida
Arthur Smith is coming over to the Falcons, leaving behind Johnu Smith and a heavy 2 tight end system in Tennessee to take over a team who has everything else on offense established except the pieces for an elite running back. Pitts is Smith on steroids, extreme length combined with high end speed, hands and route running for the position. Adding him to an offense with Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley and Hayden Hurst would lead to a ton of passing weapons on the field for Matt Ryan despite running primarily 12 personnel. If the 4th overall pick isn’t used on a QB or a trade back, Pitts’ addition to the offense will out weight any addition they could make on defense in this draft.
Baltimore Ravens: Jayson Oweh, EDGE, Penn St
The 27th pick may be a bit rich for any of the interior blockers in this draft not named Alijah Vera-Tucker, so without moving back the Ravens could pick up a player high on the boards of multiple NFL teams if rumors are to be believed. Oweh isn’t exactly my cup of tea when it comes to first round EDGEs, but even I can’t ignore how much physical talent this guy has. He is a FREAK and can play from either the stand up or with a hand in the dirt. His pass rush acumen may have a way to go before it is NFL ready, but I trust John Harbaugh to put this absolute freak of nature in the right spots to succeed on his defense while masking his flaws.
Buffalo Bills: Joe Tryon, EDGE, Washington
In all my years as a draft fanatic and a Buffalo Bills fan I have never been this comfortable heading into the final weekend of April. The Bills have no immediate needs on the team, could they upgrade corner opposite Tre White. Maybe. But I am going to side with a player they can target at 30 to develop and become a potential high end pass rusher down the road. Tryon is a perfect blend of height, weight, and athleticism. He may need to add a few more counters to his game but being able to sit and not forced into a starting line up right away will allow him to gain those skills. Jerry Hughes, Mario Addison, and Daryl Johnson are veterans already on the depth chart who will take snaps ahead of Tryon which allows him to hone his craft and take advantage of a high pass rushing upside(higher than that of second year man AJ Epenesa).
Carolina Panthers: Christian Darrisaw, OT, Virginia Tech
Since Jordan Gross in 2013 the Carolina Panthers have used 14 different left tackles. Apparently protecting the blindside in NC means just making sure no scratches end up on the disc. To fix this error the Panthers should target the most pro ready NFL tackle remaining on the board(assuming Sewell is off the board) in Darrisaw. Some believe Rashawn Slater should be the move at 8th overall, but Slater might be best suited on the interior due to his lack of length and Darrisaw is just an overall more prototypical tackle prospect. If the Panthers want to salvage the rotting corpse of Sam Darnold they are going to need to keep him clean in the pocket.
Cincinnati Bengals: Terrace Marshall, WR, LSU
Sewell SHOULD be the pick at 5 to protect Burrow’s blind side especially after coming off a torn ACL. This leaves Joe Burrow with Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd as his main two targets, and he desperately wanted one of his old receivers from college so let’s get him one Cincy. Now it may not be Ja’Marr Chase as Burrow is, allegedly, pounding the table for him. But Marshall is a good deep threat receiver who still has room to grow on his route running. Also being 6’4” and already having chemistry with your franchise quarterback also helps. This would give Burrow two big bodied targets on the outside while Boyd works the slot and Sewell paves the road for Joe Mixon. Dream draft scenario if Marshall is there at 38.
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