NFL Draft - First Round Recap

I will never claim to be an NFL Draft expert. I love the weekend. I take part in the fun with some guesses. I got 7 picks exactly right.

But we knew Joe Burrow was going first and Chase Young second. The Lions made the right choice with Jeff Okudah at 3. I also hit on Derrick Brown at 7, CJ Henderson at 9, Henry Ruggs III at 12 and Patrick Queen at 28.

Other than that, you can tear it up and cross it off. Seven out of 32 is hardly a passing grade. But I am sure it's better than some no-name guys filling it out.

Burrow to the Bengals, Young to the Redskins and Okudah to the Lions were the smart picks. Can't be mad at any of those selections.

I also loved Tua going 5 to the Dolphins and Arizona got great value with Isaiah Simmons at 8, Cleveland got great value at 10 with Jedrick Wills and Tampa Bay the same at 14 with Tristan Wirfs.

I didn't hate most of the picks. I think the Raiders should have taken Ceedee Lamb or Jerry Jeudy at 12 but they value Henry Ruggs' speed.

As a 49ers fan, I would rather had them take Lamb or Jeudy at 14. Jevon Kinlaw is a solid pick that can replace DeForest Buckner but I was salivating over an elite WR. They did make up for it by choosing the speedy Brandon Aiyuk at 25 but moved up to do so.

San Francisco is basically getting another Deebo Samuel with Aiyuk and they replaced their two biggest losses in Buckner and Emmanuel Sanders with Kinlaw and Aiyuk. Not bad.

Dallas chose to go with Lamb. They didn't need a WR but took best player available. I still don't know who the Cowboys stop with that defense though.

The Eagles had a head scratcher, too. They took Jalen Reagor over Justin Jefferson, which I definitely didn't understand. Jefferson to me is a better version of Stefan Diggs and Minnesota got a good one.

The Vikings, Dolphins, Chargers, Niners, Raiders and Jaguars all had multiple picks.

The Dolphins got Tua at 5, Austin Jackson at 18 and Noah Igbinoghene at 30. Not a bad haul. I probably would have taken Josh Jones over Jackson and Jeff Gladney or Trevon Diggs over Igbinoghene but they hit on needs. And they have 14 picks total.

The Vikings were one of the big winners to me. I love Jefferson and they got the other glaring need in Gladney at 31.

There were picks I didn't like. I don't think Justin Herbert is worthy of the No. 6 pick but I get the Chargers needed a QB. I would have taken Simmons at 4 if I was the Giants. They went with an OT but not one of the top two in my opinion.

And at 7, Brown is a good pick, but why not Simmons? Simmons was a top 4 talent and went 8 to Arizona. The Cardinals need an OT but Simmons will certainly help the defense.

I hated the Falcons going with A.J. Terrell at 16. That's way too early. But the Raiders taking Damon Arnette at 19 is even worse.

The Chargers made up for the Herbert pick but trading up to get Kenneth Murray for their defense.

Packers' fans hated the Jordan Love pick at 26. They traded up to get him but most fans wanted a receiver. It appears that most teams were OK with waiting on a deep receiver class and addressing some other picks first.

Right now, the Packers are one of my biggest losers but there are still plenty of WR left to take in Round 2. They can make amends on Friday night.

Seattle took linebacker Jordyn Brooks over Patrick Queen. That was dumb to me. Queen is LB3 to me.

Kansas City did take a running back at 32 but it wasn't D'Andre Swift or Jonathan Taylor. They grabbed Clyde Edwards-Helaire and he might catch 75 passes next year. He's a great fit for the offense but I probably would have taken Swift or Taylor first.

Top winners

Jaguars

Vikings

Arizona

Top losers

Falcons

Packers

Seahawks

Favorite Pick

Vikings - Justin Jefferson. The Eagles' mistake was the Vikings' game.

Least favorite Pick

Seahawks - Jordyn Brooks. Much better linebackers were on the board. I don't get this one at all.

Best available guys 

D'Andre Swift

Xavier McKinney

A.J. Epenesa

Yetur Gross-Matos

Jonathan Taylor

Kristian Fulton

Ross Blacklock

Josh Jones