Travis Thomas: 2015 NFL Draft First Round Winners & Losers
WINNERS
Tampa got their man. With those weapons on the outside, if Jameis Winston can stay out of trouble, he will have immediate success.
The Jags hit a hometown home run with Defensive End Dante Fowler, and do you remember that game against them last season? That D-Line was really good, now they could be great.
The Raiders have put together several solid drafts in the past few season, they did it again adding Wide Receiver from Alabama Amari Cooper. I believe he and Michael Crabtree will make a formidable duo of weapons for a young developing Derek Carr at quarterback.
The Redskins were a pleasant surprise actually drafting somebody that they desperately needed. Brandon Scherff the big mammoth tackle from Iowa, is now asked to protect RG3.
The Jets got the steal of the first round as versatile defensive lineman Leonard Williams fell right into their laps.
The Falcons added a much needed pass rusher in Vic Beasley out of Clemson.
The Rams selected my favorite player in the draft in Todd Gurley the impressive running back from Georgia. With Gurley and Tre Mason, I believe the Rams have the best running game in the league overnight.
The Vikings took the best cover corner in the draft by selecting Trae Waynes from Michigan State. With Aaron Rodgers and Matthew Stafford in that division you better be able to cover somebody.
I liked what the Browns did with drafting Washington defensive tackle Danny Shelton, he immediately upgrades them against the run, where they ranked dead last in the league last season. Later in the round the Browns took a versatile offensive linemen in Cameron Erving from Florida State, another smart value pick.
I liked that the Dolphins did at #14 selecting a weapon for the now out of excuses QB Ryan Tannehill in wide receiver DeVante Parker from Louisville. If Tannehill doesn't produce this season at a higher level, it's time to start the bust talk for him.
The Chargers took the second best Running Back in this draft Melvin Gordon from Wisconsin. He will have an immediate impact on a good team in a wide open division.
The Texans took Baltimore hometown talent Kevin Johnson at corner, if those pass rushers they have can stay healthy along with J.J. Watt, that defense could make the leap from really good to great.
The Broncos made the smartest move of the first round trading up for defensive end stud Shane Ray out of Mizzou. He is my pick for Defensive Rookie of the Year.
With the welcome additions of veteran playmakers on the offensive side of the ball this offseason, I thought the Colts inched even closer to the Super Bowl with the selection of speedy wide receiver Phillip Dorsett from the U. Andrew Luck is going to have an MVP caliber season.
The Green Bay Packers made a nice pick with versatile defensive back Damarious Randall from Arizona State. He can play at CB or safety, as well as Special Teams.
The Patriots did it again. Vince Wilfork who? The Malcom Brown era has begun. What a pick for the Pats, Brown the defensive tackle from Texas is 6'3, 320 pounds and ready to plug and play on the next level.
LOSERS
Tennessee tried to break up with the girl friend they didn't want to be with but couldn't quite go through with it. You stay with her anyways and hope you can work things out… but it never does.
The Bears added a speedy wide receiver in Kevin White from West Virginia. He will help fill the void that Brandon Marshall leaves, but I'm afraid he won't be able to help Jay Cutler be good at playing quarterback.
Offensive lineman Ereck Flowers from the U will take his talents from South Beach to NYC protecting Eli Manning on the Giants, but Andrus Peat from Stanford was still on the board, who I have rated higher. Peat would eventually goa few picks later to the Saints.
The 49ers need somebody immediate who can come in and make an impact, with Shane Ray and Randy Gregory on the board; they instead elect to take a project defensive end in Arik Armstead from Oregon.
The Chiefs reached for troubled corner Marcus Peters from Washington. He's a great talent, but has had some much publicized character issues and was expected to fall late in the first round, not #18. Kansas City could have traded back, added another pick and still got Peters.
The Eagles took undersized USC wide receiver Nelson Agholor? Chip Kelly continues to perplex me. Essentially this kid is a poor man's DeSean Jackson.
Cinci took offensive lineman Cendric Ogbuei from Texas A&M which was a head scratcher for me, I figured the Bengals may select an offensive linesman, but with so many game changing defensive edge rushers available, I figured it was a no-brainer to take one.
The Steelers selected edge rusher Bud Dupree out of Kentucky, not a bad pick; I just enjoy calling the Steelers losers.
I thought the Arizona Cardinals missed a chance to trade up and get one of the impact running backs, Gurley or Gordon, instead they stayed put and selected D.J. Humphries, an offensive Lineman project out of Florida State.
The Carolina Panthers dropped the ball big time not building around Cam Newton. Linebacker Shaq Thompson from Washington is a project and not to mention that in order for Cam Newton to fully reach his potential, he needs more weapons offensively.
I felt like our Ravens reached with wide receiver Breshad Perriman from Central Florida. I understand the pick in terms of some of the players they coveted defensively were off the board, but Perriman is a big body who can run, jump and flat out drop the football. This pick showed the desperation at this position for the Ravens, why not Jaelen Strong from Arizona State?
The Cowboys took Cornerback Byron Jones out of UConn. An extremely athletic DB, but I question the level of competition he's faced in college. There are a lot of good wide receivers in the NFC East, so good luck kid.
The Lions took guard Laken Tomlinson out of Duke, he's the best guard in this draft, but I question why they didn't opt to replace Ndamukong Suh with obvious replacement Malcom Brown still on the board from Texas.
I thought the Saints missed the boat drafting inside linebacker Stephone Anthony out of Clemson, with both defensive end Randy Gregory and safety Landon Collins still on the board.
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