Silverman: Several Sure-Fire NFL Stars Were Selected In First Round
By Steve Silverman
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There are a lot of myths, half-truths and flat-out lies told at the NFL Draft every single year.
They are often said with the intention of confusing and misleading the competition, and, depending on the level of experience of general managers around the league, those obfuscations often work.
One of the biggest falsehoods is told about the draft on an every-year basis: "We're going to take the best athlete available, no matter what position he plays."
There are two things that make this statement absurd. The first is that teams have holes, and those holes in the lineup may have made the difference in a team making the playoffs the year before. You get those holes plugged in the draft or free agency, and those losses turn into wins.
This applies to nearly all teams, including Super Bowl champions. The Denver Broncos obviously had a huge hole at the quarterback spot after the retirement of Peyton Manning and the departure of Brock Osweiler to the Houston Texans.
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They moved up so they could select Paxton Lynch (who was dropping), and a great argument can be made that there were at least five other players on the board who will be more effective and better players than Lynch. But the Broncos had a huge need at the position, and they made the best move for them.
The old "best athlete available" case got started a long time ago, and it has been a winner on occasion. The Pittsburgh Steelers picked up the cornerstone of their brilliant defense when they selected Joe Greene with the fourth pick of the 1969 NFL Draft.
"Mean Joe" was a brilliant athlete out of North Texas, and many teams did not have the information on him that the Steelers had at their disposal. O.J. Simpson was the first player selected in that draft by the Buffalo Bills, while running back Leroy Keyes of Purdue was selected by the Phiadelphia Eagles in the third spot and Greg Cook of Cincinnati was drafted by his hometown Bengals in the fifth spot.
Keyes was a bust, while Cook could have had a brilliant career had it not been for arm injuries. Greene is arguably one of the five best defensive players in the history of the game.
The Giants used the same criteria for drafting Lawrence Taylor with the second pick in the 1981 draft. Taylor, like Greene, was one of the greatest players the NFL has ever seen.
So, if you are going to get one of the game's all-time greats, go for the best athlete or best player available. Otherwise, you have to go for the best player that meets your needs -- no matter what the general manager or coach says when he is interviewed on television.
That's why I love the selections of defensive end Joey Bosa by the Chargers, free safety Jalen Ramsey by the Jaguars, defensive end DeForest Buckner by the 49ers, defensive end Shaq Lawson of the Bills and linebacker Darron Lee of the Jets.
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These are five first-round players who will be able to contribute right away during their rookie seasons and have the all-around ability to be consistent players throughout the run of their NFL careers.
We are not talking about projects, or what a player might be able to turn into with coaching, weight gain, or skill development. These players are there right now and will pay immediate dividends.
Bosa demonstrated more explosiveness throughout his career at Ohio State than any other pass rusher in the nation. Will he turn into another J.J. Watt? I'm not saying that. But Bosa has the pass-rushing instincts, the core strength to fight off the blockers and the discipline to maintain his lane and not get trapped in the running game.
The Chargers have lacked a game-changing player on defense for a long time, and Bosa has the talent and demonstrated skills necessary to quickly upgrade their defense immediately.
Ramsey may be the finest player in the draft and the quick-thinking and fast-playing free safety from Florida State could have been the No. 1 player taken in the draft and nobody would have blinked -- until trades were made by the Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles so those teams could reach for quarterbacks.
Ramsey has the athletic ability to play cornerback, but he can command the defense from the free safety spot. The Jaguars were an up-and-coming team by the end of the 2015 season, and as long as Ramsey does not suffer a serious injury, he will give that defense a major upgrade.
The 49ers made a smart decision when they took Buckner with the seventh pick out of Oregon. The stud defensive end has the length, size and weight to take over a game because he does everything well. He plays with excellent leverage and knows how to use his hands to shed blockers like an All-Pro. He has can't-miss stamped all over him.
Lawson is another defensive end who has the ability to turn the corner and get to the passer on a consistent basis. That's just what Rex Ryan and the Bills need, and the Bills loved what Lawson did with Clemson last year. Lawson is equally good against the run as he is rushing the passer, and the X-factor is that he plays his best football in his team's biggest games.
If he continues to follow that pattern, the Bills have a potential All-Pro on their hands.
Lee is not a perfect player because he needs to get stronger, but I still think he can be an impact player right from the start because of his speed, instincts and ability to make plays from the outside linebacker position. Lee is very good against the run and he is even better against the pass.
Lee showed off his speed and athleticism at Ohio State, and running backs and receivers are not going to be able to run away from him at the next level. Outside linebackers with speed are incredibly valuable commodities in the NFL, and Lee has a chance to show off his gold-standard ability.
Follow Steve on Twitter at @ProFootballBoy