Piece by: Joshua Julian
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen! Now I know you’re probably sick of award show season, what with the Oscars, the Grammys, and the 876 other shows that eat up 3 hours of airtime and amount to boring acceptance speeches, numerous political shame pieces, and half the stars of the event not even bothering to show up.
But, luckily for you, the NFL Draft awards aren’t about that life. We don’t have the need for 3 hours, because we only have eight awards to give out. And, as much as I wish they would, there is an absolute zero chance that any of these teams would answer any sort of message I sent them about showing up if I did have a show. But that’s irrelevant. Without further ado, what you all clicked on the link to see…the first annual NFL Draft Awards!
Vat of Redundancy Award: Jaguars pick Travis Etienne
Look, I get it. Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne shared a backfield for three years. I bet they’ve double dated, had some deep personal talks, and shared a few Cookout meals together. But a running back in the first round? This was dangerously close to winning another award that we’ll cover later in the show.
But the pick instead wins the Vat of Redundancy Award for this simple reason: James Robinson. Robinson was arguably the one bright spot on the Jags last year (other than them out-Jetsing the Jets to get Lawrence). He was an undrafted diamond, rushing for 1,070 yards and adding 49 receptions on top of that. Why not draft some cornerback help (Greg Newsome II)? Or a defensive tackle (Christian Barmore)? Or pretty much any offensive line spot (Teven Jenkins/Landon Dickerson/Liam Eichenberg)? All of those would have been a more productive allocation of resources. But, instead, Jacksonville went with the most devalued position in the league, and it was a position where they were already strong.
Man with a Plan Award: Jerry Jones, Dallas Cowboys
Simply put, the Man with a Plan Award goes to the team/GM who had a clear, highlighted in bold plan for the draft and executed that plan. For example, the Detroit Lions clearly wanted to boost their strength in the trenches, so they spent their first three picks on linemen. They would have won the award, too, if it wasn’t for you meddling GMs. Specifically, one GM, by the name of Jerry Jones. Dallas’ defense was atrocious last year, ranking 27th in passing TDs allowed, 31st in rushing yards allowed, and 28th in scoring defense.
So, naturally, the Cowboys wanted to touch up their aging, falling apart, being-held-together-with-duct-tape-and-prayers defense. And they did just that. First round? Boom, Micah Parsons, a freak athlete who could feasibly end up at at least three different positions. Second round? Boom, Kelvin Joseph, who, while he may have been a tad of a reach, has flashed the potential to be a press man problem. You can coach technique, but you can’t coach aggressiveness and heart, which Joseph has aplenty. Third round? Boom. Three picks, three defenders. Two linemen, Osa Odighizuwa and Chauncey Golston, and another corner, Nahshon Wright. On Day 3, Jones added a value pick at linebacker (Jabril Cox), another lineman (Quinton Bohanna), and thank god, yet another DB (Israel Mukuamu). Execution at its finest.
Reach for the Stars Award: Alex Leatherwood
Was this needed? Absolutely, very much. Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock took the proverbial baseball bat to their proverbial ex-boyfriend’s car, deconstructing their offensive line by trading or releasing Rodney Hudson, Trent Brown, and Gabe Jackson. So yes, they desperately needed some people on the offensive line. But their pick landed them directly in the winner’s circle for the Reach for the Stars Award. And while Alex Leatherwood has a chance to be a solid player, the problem is his position is a little unclear.
He played tackle, both left and right, at Alabama, and he played well, don’t get me wrong. But his technique is overall not the best, and he seems like a prime candidate to be kicked inside to guard. A guard? At 17? Not the best look. Especially not when there were other tackles left on the board. Christian Darrisaw, a better athlete who just had some correctable lower body problems, was still on the board. As was Teven Jenkins, a nasty right tackle who just needed a little variance to his protection plan. But instead, Darrisaw went to the Vikings at #23 and Jenkins slipped to the 2nd round, getting snatched up at #39 by the Bears. But what do you expect? The Raiders do seem to have their own draft board, totally different than everyone else’s. Maybe they end up right. But they haven’t been right yet, so here they land.
Simp Award: San Francisco 49ers
The Simp Award is simple. It is awarded to the team who sunk the most value and assets into a prospect who may not be worth it in the end. Be it through trade or overdrafting at the top, they decided they wanted to mortgage a LOT for this one player. And trading away #12, a 2022 third rounder, and your next two firsts to grab a mystery box at quarterback is a good way to end up here. To be clear, this isn’t a “Trey Lance is gonna be a bust” paragraph.
He’s easily the most intriguing prospect at the QB position this year. But to trade so many picks, and specifically so many first rounders, for a QB who only started one, albeit impressive, year at the FCS level, while Justin Fields was there, seems like a very high-risk, high-reward move. Lance has the tools to make it work. He’s very mobile, has a cannon on that right shoulder, and ran a pro-style offense at North Dakota State. But three first rounders? Talk about putting all your apples in one basket.
We Want the Smoke Award: Oakland Raiders
The We Want the Smoke Award is given out to the team that has decided to buck convention; the team that operates on its’ own time; the team who laughs and spits in the face of the mock draft community. And this award would have gone to the same team last year, and the year before that. Say hello to the Oakland Raiders. I already covered the Alex Leatherwood selection, and, to be totally fair, the Trevon Moehrig pick in the 2nd could be very good.
But as for the rest of their picks, if we’re using Bleacher Report’s Big Board and their grading scale (which I trust with my life), only one of their other picks was not an overdraft. Third round pick Malcolm Koonce? Sixth round grade. Third round pick Divine Deablo? Fourth round grade. Seventh round pick Jimmy Morrissey? Undrafted grade. Fifth round pick Nate Hobbs? Not even on BR’s final Top 300. The only player whose grade lined up with his draft position was fourth round pick Tyree Gillespie, but he’s a safety just like Moehrig, so who knows how many snaps he’ll get. So, congrats to Oakland. At least they’re finally winning somewhere.
Stronger Than I Was Award: New York Jets
In all honesty, improving on last year’s New York Jets roster would not have been hard, because they were abysmal last season. But that shouldn’t take away from the leap they took in talent level after this weekend. So, they are the recipient of our Stronger Than I Was Award. They snagged their new shiny franchise signal caller in Zach Wilson, then proceeded to help build him a cockpit far superior to anything Sam Darnold ever had. They traded up for Alijah Vera-Tucker, a lineman who can play four out of the five positions on the offensive live.
On Day 2, they snagged a dangerous slot receiver in Elijah Moore. And finally, on Day 3, they got one more offensive lick in before hitting the defense hard. Michael Carter in the fourth could end up being great value, as he’s had a lightish workload and could be a very good back. As for the defense, the Jets took three safeties on Day 3, just in case Marcus Maye leaves town or if Ashtyn Davis and Bradley McDougald continue to show apparent uninterest in covering the other team. Hamsah Nasirildeen, in particular, could be a steal in the sixth round. Besides the safeties, the Jets also took two corners to challenge the incumbent starters, Bryce Hall and Blessuan Austin, in Jason Pinnock, who scored a 9.78 Relative Athletic Score, and Brandin Echols, a good athlete who could at the least be a core special teamer. All in all, the talent level in New York just went up.
Value Shopper Award: Cleveland Browns, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah
How? Just how? Last year, Isaiah Simmons went #8 to the Arizona Cardinals because he was a defensive weapon; a guy you could line up at linebacker, pass rusher, safety, or even slot cornerback. Yes, Simmons didn’t have the greatest rookie year, managing 54 tackles, 2 sacks, and 1 interception. But that was more on the Cardinals’ head, since they barely put him out there, lining him up on only 34% of their snaps. So, what made Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah so vastly different that he ended up sliding all the way to #52? One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, or something, so the Browns aren’t complaining. For a second-round pick, Cleveland just snagged a 6’1, 221-pound linebacker who hits hard, diagnoses plays well, and checked in on BR’s final Big Board at #14. Talk about clipping coupons. That defense over in the Land is looking better and better.
Best Haul Award: Carolina Panthers
And finally, we have the Best Haul Award, which is pretty self-explanatory. It may seem close to the Stronger Than I Was Award, but that was more about talent level. This award addressed both talent, value, and need, creating the one biggest winner of the whole event. And this year, the recipient is the Carolina Panthers. Going pick by pick, we see how the three criteria mentioned above all factor in. In the first round, Carolina snagged cornerback Jaycee Horn. And while I personally saw Patrick Surtain II as the clear CB #1 of this class, Horn brings a bit more of a mean streak to his coverage, which seems right up Matt Rhule’s alley. Really, it depends on whether you wanted the inflammatory dog or the quiet lunch pail technician.
A small oversight righted by the rest of their draft. Last year, the Panthers had a solid passing attack, although Robby Anderson is more of a deep guy and DJ Moore is slightly undersized at 5’11. Both good receivers, but neither bring the size of Terrace Marshall Jr., a 6’2 jump ball winner who was a touchdown machine at LSU. The offensive coordinator in Carolina? Marshall’s OC at LSU, Joe Brady. Interesting…anyway, moving on. Their third-round pick, Brady Christensen, has a good chance to compete for the left tackle spot right now, and picking him provided another body, which is essentially what the previous favorite, Cameron Erving, brings to the table.
So really, any pick that may prevent Erving from seeing the field is a good one. Finally, on Day 3, Carolina had a field day, snagging a great replacement for Mike Davis in Chuba Hubbard, potentially snagging the steal of the draft with Daviyon Nixon in the fifth round (#11 on BR’s Big Board!), getting a mountain masquerading as a football player in guard Deonte Brown, and taking a flier on talented wide receiver Shi Smith, one of the many victims of South Carolina’s inability to find a quarterback. And, the final reason for Carolina’s candidacy here can be found in the seventh round, with their selection of Thomas Fletcher. Fletcher’s position? Long snapper. That is all.