Notes from NFCW draft moves:
- The SF Niners had a ton of picks and have maneuvered up and down the board through the first few days but they've definitely improved their roster. When I look at the Niners objectively (admittedly, I would like them to lose all their games), I see a team that needed more lateral speed and tackling ability on the edges to slow down so called factor backs like A.Peterson, R.Rice, and M.Lynch, but also needed a bruising safety to punish versatile downfield threats like the bigger pass catching tight-ends and the thicker WRs you see out of Green Bay and the NYGiants. They got those guys in the form of 2 DEs and one of the better safety prospects in this draft. They also added a small school pass catching Tight End to help offset the loss of Delanie Walker. The rich get richer, but this team still isn't invincible in the NFCW.
- The St. Louis Rams were an underrated squad in 2012. By season's end I was convinced they were just suffering from execution problems and already had in place a pretty solid core of talent on both lines and up the middle of the defense. What they were missing was surehanded playmakers, so they went out and got two of the highest rated WRs in the this draft. It helps that huge holes were left by the departures of Danny Amendola and Brandon Gibson to the AFCE; I usually think skill position players that aren't 100% locks are luxury picks, but the Rams honestly had a need. I would say this makes their offense much improved, but considering the secondaries and linebacking cores the Niners and Seahawks already have in place, the Rams are still looking up in the division from a match-up perspective. At the very least, by the end of the 2013 season, Coach Fisher will know exactly what he has in Sam Bradford.
- The Arizona Cardinals had a lot of talent on defense, and a lot of talent on offense, but desperately needed a quarterback and quality depth on the back end. I guess they've addressed that. They took a run stopping LB in the second and shocked the world taking honey badger Tyrann Matheiu in the 3rd. He can slide right into a safety role and return punts and should pair nicely with LSU BFF Patrick Peterson. Honestly, that early win streak notwithstanding, this team was so jarringly bad week in and week out in 2012 I can't even rightly evaluate their picks. Bruce Arians and Carson Palmer can't take them anywhere but up.
I'll be doing a profile on every seahawks draft pick over the next few days, and a more general outlook on the draft's bigger storylines.
No comments:
Post a Comment