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We went into the draft looking for D-Line/Secondary talent and depth, A developmental Center, a RB, and some developmental pieces at QB and WR. We managed to find a lot of those thanks to 13 picks and a very deep draft. Our thoughts on those selections below:
1.31 - S Ernest Matthews - The first selection for us was a sign of a trend as we selected several guys this draft who did not go to the combine. We see it as high risk/high reward, but out scout has been a reliable guy in the past regarding these types, so we trusted him a lot with the selections we made. If our scout also likes the idea of moving Matthews to CB, we will likely do that before camp. He will likely start in a nickel situation, but may move up the depth chart based on his development and the performance of those ahead of him.
PRE CAMP: 30/67 - Strong indications that he will be outstanding for us.
POST CAMP: 35/67 - The best safety we have had around in a looong time. Glad we left him there.
REG SEASON WEEK 1: 37/67 - Looks like he should develop at a decent rate. Would like to see him hit 50 or so before the year is over.
2.24 - CB Erik Ramirez - We picked Ramirez because he looks like the perfect corner to help us create a few turnovers against the better passing teams in the league, who we tended to struggle against last season. He and Matthews will likely be interchangeable in our defense, switching in and out based on what we want them to do. I see Ramirez playing in pass coverage situations while Matthews sees more time in our base package once he develops.
PRE CAMP: 25/48 - We think he may actually go up. +3 or more would be amazing.
POST CAMP: 30/48 - A zone defender and playmaker who will make our nickel and dime packages stronger and hopefully help us create a few turnovers.
REG SEASON WEEK 1: 30/48 still. Will see a lot of time in a lot of spots this year as we try and get him on the field as much as possible.
2.31 - RB Corey Gonsales - The nickname "Speedy" would be too obvious and borders on copyright infringement, but we like Gonsales ability to turn the corner and get us chunks of yardage. He won't see a lot of throws out of the backfield, but as a runner, he should be able to improve our talent at the position significantly. He and Ian Webster should be our tandem of the future, if not right away. We've got our fingers crossed that he makes us look like geniuses for jumping on him in the late 2nd.
PRE CAMP: 41/52 - If he ends up as a 52 overall with good speed to the outside and good breakaway speed, we picked the right guy.
POST CAMP: 43/52 - We picked the right guy.
REG SEASON WEEK 1: 46/52 - Might actually climb to the mid 50's by seasons end. Very nice.
3.23 - WR Ed Henson - We weren't sure how far this guy would fall, but here is another no combine guy our scout thought was amazing. We're in love with WRs who can get downfield after the catch more than any other type of WR, so he was perfect for us to add to the receiving corps as ournumber 3/4 receiver. Fingers crossed the scout is right and he develops into a future starter.
PRE CAMP: 20/41 - A nice starting point for Henson. If he goes up, he'll eventually start. If he doesn't go up, he'll be a great 4th WR.
POST CAMP: 25/44 - He may never get a ton of targets, but he should be very valuable paired with a strong route runner.. This year he will be our 3rd/4th WR.
REG SEASON WEEK 1: 27/44 - Had a great preseason and will see some snaps as a 3rd/4th receiver.. Hoping he comes up with about 32 catches for 500 yards or so.
3.31 - S Andre Poysky - No combine but the scout loved him, we need a safety to groom for the future, and 1.31 pick Matthews might move to corner.. All reasons why he topped our draft board when 3.31 came up. He isn't even the last guy we went with in the secondary in this draft, where we seemed to like an abundance of DBs.
PRE CAMP: 22/53 - Jury is out on Poysky. "The Polish Panther" was loved by my scout and we hope he was right.
POST CAMP: 24/49 - Scout wasn't right, and we have a ton of depth at S.. Poysky may not even make it out of the preseason, unfortunately.
Poysky didn't make it to the regular season. It was tough, but he was stuck behind a lot of depth and we couldn't afford to release an established vet for him.
4.22 - FB Kendall Lewis - This guy intrigues us as a possible TE convert. We didn't like the amount being requested to re-sign our backup TE Melvin Whiting, so Lewis is one of the guys we will probably take a look at in the 2nd TE position as a possible replacement for Whiting. If Lewis doesn't look like a good TE in our scouts eyes, we will probably leave him where he is to platoon with 2nd year FB Hunter Nichols.
PRE CAMP: 32/56 - We do already have a FB, but Lewis might fit the role better in our offense. If he improves, he will probably leapfrog into the starting spot within a year.
POST CAMP: 35/56 - Will split time with our incumbent FB and make a solid receiver out of the backfield on passing downs.
REG SEASON WEEK 1: 36/56 - Lewis looked good in the preseason with a few catches out of the backfield and will likely split time right down the middle with Nichols.
4.31 - DE Bart Aguiar - We finally get a guy for the D-Line, another our scout liked, but we're not incredibly sure about. He has some ability to get to the QB, but he is less of a 3-4 guy and more built for a 4-3. Even so, he did have decent combine numbers and seems to have a shot at being a starter if he keeps in line with what our scout saw in him.
PRE CAMP: 19/42 - No idea what to expect from Aguiar. Hoping he pulls off a nice camp and eventually hits the 50's.
POST CAMP: 22/42 - Probably won't ever hit the 50's, but may get one more year to show us something. Might need an injury in preseason to stay on board though.
REG SEASON WEEK 1: 23/42 - Barely made the roster, but will stick around until something better comes along. Will be inactive barring injury.
5.25 - C Anthony Bradley - This guy is built to be a backup, and may split time fairly evenly with our new starter at C Dominic Galloway, who moved from G to C this offseason. Its gonna be a crowded camp at that position, necessitated by the major injury to our 2019 starter Albert Bailey, who doctors were saying would not be the same guy after he recovers from his compound leg fracture about a quarter of the way into this season.
PRE CAMP: 16/64 - For a guy who is only 5% developed, 16 is a nice start. Will the 64 hold?
POST CAMP: 22/66 - A steal in the 5th for us, he will be a great utility lineman who can line up in all 3 interior spots as a backup. He may never have the endurance to start, but will get a lot of snaps in relief of our current and future starters at the G and C spots.
REG SEASON WEEK 1: 23/66 - Still raw, but will play a lot in our offensive line rotation as well as being our long snapper. He has great skills, we just need to give him time to develop them.
5.31 - OLB Shane Foley - We can't stop drafting LB talent, and our depth there speaks to our philosophy. You can't have too much of a good thing at LB. Foley doesn't have the pass rush skill we would like from a WLB, but looks like he can be a good coverage SLB who can learn behind the deep line of talent he will be in while waiting for PT.
PRE CAMP: 23/47 - If this sticks, he will stick. He won't play much for a while, but depth is a nice luxury.
POST CAMP: 25/44 - Hmm.. He's barely hanging on as of now, may not make the squad. We are just too deep at LB.
Foley just missed the cut for us. He was the last of our cuts, just another case of depth being too great for him to keep above water.
6.24 - DT Al Donovan - This guy is just a strong dude who can do everything decently, but doesn't really excel in anything but being strong. We want him to fill a role as a backup DT who can play in our goal line package on occasion.
PRE CAMP: 18/34 - We expect a bump up for Donovan. If not, he may be left off the squad.
POST CAMP: 22/36 - A project who will be inactive for a couple years, more than likely. If he hits the mid 40's he might get some PT by 2022.
Another cut, just as tough to let go as Foley was. He has promise and should find a home somewhere, but unfortunately not with us.
6.31 - QB Wayne Puente - Theres our developmental prospect, another guy who skipped the combine. He is gonna have a decent amount of time to learn and has a decent shot of being sent to Europe next year if he looks good in camp this year. He will also get plenty of time in preseason to show us what he can do, if anything. We would love him to be ready to assume a starting role in 4-5 years when Sammy Dillon just can't do it anymore.
PRE CAMP: 6/28 - Puente has a way to go, we have our fingers crossed.
POST CAMP: 9/30 - If I knew he would be more promising than Campana, I would have been elated.. Until I found out neither would be very promising at all. Puente will be our 3rd QB, but barring something catastrophic, will never be more than that.
Reg Season Week 1: still 9/30 - Puente played decent in his chances in the preseason, but goes in as our number 3 behind Lowe, who played pretty well. All 3 of our QB's can hurt you with their feet, including Puente, who showed flashes. We're hoping to hold on to him for a few years and maybe bump him up to number 2 for a long run with us as our primary backup.
7.23 - CB Rick Carr - The last DB we took this draft, Carr had a 4th round grade from us, so we thought the value was too great to pass on him in round 7. He has all the athletic ability one needs in a CB, but he is raw and will need time. He'll have plenty of that behind 4 or 5 other guys.
PRE CAMP: 14/29 - This should go up a healthy amount. We're thinking 20/34 ish.
POST CAMP: 18/31 - Not near 20/34.. But he went up significantly in current, so maybe he hits the 40's at some point and makes a decent dime back.
REG SEASON WEEK 1: Still 18/31 Carr didn't see much time in the preseason, and probably won't touch the field
much until next year. He will need to develop some in the offseason for us to give him more of a shot.
7.31 - TE Preston Witt - Another guy we had pegged to go a couple rounds higher at least, Witt also skipped the combine but our scout thinks he can be of value, and if he gets downfield as well as he looks like he can, he'll be an asset indeed. If he is who we think he is, we can leave Lewis at FB.
PRE CAMP: 19/44 - Not sure if this will hold, but we want it to badly. He would be a great 2nd TE.
POST CAMP: Dropped bad enough we already cut him. Our FA TE signings actually were very impressive in camp, so it would have been hard to keep him anyway.
OVERALL PRE CAMP IMPRESSION
Right now, I think this might be one of the most successful classes I have had the privilege of drafting. If it even compares to our class of 2015, we will be set for a loooong time at nearly every position, which will give us some room to maneuver if we need a piece or two. Will update this with ratings when they become available, then we'll see post TC how they all turn out. I'm chomping at the bit to see the results of that.
OVERALL POST CAMP IMPRESSION
We found paydirt with our first 4 picks, but everything after that with the exception of C Anthony Bradley was a crapshoot. I see maybe 6 or 7 players who will be here 5 years from now. We're happiest with Henson, the WR and Gonsales the RB. Henson was a steal in the late 3rd while Gonsales fills a need and gives us our best skill set at RB in about 4 years. Overall, I would give us a C+. The guys we thought were going to explode just didn't, but we got some solid help.
WEEK 1 OUTLOOK: Henson, Gonsales, Lewis and Bradley will see a lot of time on offense, while Matthews and Ramirez spend a lot of time in action in our secondary. We think Gonsales might be a 1500 yard back given his performance in the preseason. He ran the ball 67 times for 289 yards in the preseason and got better every week.
1.31 - S Ernest Matthews - The first selection for us was a sign of a trend as we selected several guys this draft who did not go to the combine. We see it as high risk/high reward, but out scout has been a reliable guy in the past regarding these types, so we trusted him a lot with the selections we made. If our scout also likes the idea of moving Matthews to CB, we will likely do that before camp. He will likely start in a nickel situation, but may move up the depth chart based on his development and the performance of those ahead of him.
PRE CAMP: 30/67 - Strong indications that he will be outstanding for us.
POST CAMP: 35/67 - The best safety we have had around in a looong time. Glad we left him there.
REG SEASON WEEK 1: 37/67 - Looks like he should develop at a decent rate. Would like to see him hit 50 or so before the year is over.
2.24 - CB Erik Ramirez - We picked Ramirez because he looks like the perfect corner to help us create a few turnovers against the better passing teams in the league, who we tended to struggle against last season. He and Matthews will likely be interchangeable in our defense, switching in and out based on what we want them to do. I see Ramirez playing in pass coverage situations while Matthews sees more time in our base package once he develops.
PRE CAMP: 25/48 - We think he may actually go up. +3 or more would be amazing.
POST CAMP: 30/48 - A zone defender and playmaker who will make our nickel and dime packages stronger and hopefully help us create a few turnovers.
REG SEASON WEEK 1: 30/48 still. Will see a lot of time in a lot of spots this year as we try and get him on the field as much as possible.
2.31 - RB Corey Gonsales - The nickname "Speedy" would be too obvious and borders on copyright infringement, but we like Gonsales ability to turn the corner and get us chunks of yardage. He won't see a lot of throws out of the backfield, but as a runner, he should be able to improve our talent at the position significantly. He and Ian Webster should be our tandem of the future, if not right away. We've got our fingers crossed that he makes us look like geniuses for jumping on him in the late 2nd.
PRE CAMP: 41/52 - If he ends up as a 52 overall with good speed to the outside and good breakaway speed, we picked the right guy.
POST CAMP: 43/52 - We picked the right guy.
REG SEASON WEEK 1: 46/52 - Might actually climb to the mid 50's by seasons end. Very nice.
3.23 - WR Ed Henson - We weren't sure how far this guy would fall, but here is another no combine guy our scout thought was amazing. We're in love with WRs who can get downfield after the catch more than any other type of WR, so he was perfect for us to add to the receiving corps as ournumber 3/4 receiver. Fingers crossed the scout is right and he develops into a future starter.
PRE CAMP: 20/41 - A nice starting point for Henson. If he goes up, he'll eventually start. If he doesn't go up, he'll be a great 4th WR.
POST CAMP: 25/44 - He may never get a ton of targets, but he should be very valuable paired with a strong route runner.. This year he will be our 3rd/4th WR.
REG SEASON WEEK 1: 27/44 - Had a great preseason and will see some snaps as a 3rd/4th receiver.. Hoping he comes up with about 32 catches for 500 yards or so.
3.31 - S Andre Poysky - No combine but the scout loved him, we need a safety to groom for the future, and 1.31 pick Matthews might move to corner.. All reasons why he topped our draft board when 3.31 came up. He isn't even the last guy we went with in the secondary in this draft, where we seemed to like an abundance of DBs.
PRE CAMP: 22/53 - Jury is out on Poysky. "The Polish Panther" was loved by my scout and we hope he was right.
POST CAMP: 24/49 - Scout wasn't right, and we have a ton of depth at S.. Poysky may not even make it out of the preseason, unfortunately.
Poysky didn't make it to the regular season. It was tough, but he was stuck behind a lot of depth and we couldn't afford to release an established vet for him.
4.22 - FB Kendall Lewis - This guy intrigues us as a possible TE convert. We didn't like the amount being requested to re-sign our backup TE Melvin Whiting, so Lewis is one of the guys we will probably take a look at in the 2nd TE position as a possible replacement for Whiting. If Lewis doesn't look like a good TE in our scouts eyes, we will probably leave him where he is to platoon with 2nd year FB Hunter Nichols.
PRE CAMP: 32/56 - We do already have a FB, but Lewis might fit the role better in our offense. If he improves, he will probably leapfrog into the starting spot within a year.
POST CAMP: 35/56 - Will split time with our incumbent FB and make a solid receiver out of the backfield on passing downs.
REG SEASON WEEK 1: 36/56 - Lewis looked good in the preseason with a few catches out of the backfield and will likely split time right down the middle with Nichols.
4.31 - DE Bart Aguiar - We finally get a guy for the D-Line, another our scout liked, but we're not incredibly sure about. He has some ability to get to the QB, but he is less of a 3-4 guy and more built for a 4-3. Even so, he did have decent combine numbers and seems to have a shot at being a starter if he keeps in line with what our scout saw in him.
PRE CAMP: 19/42 - No idea what to expect from Aguiar. Hoping he pulls off a nice camp and eventually hits the 50's.
POST CAMP: 22/42 - Probably won't ever hit the 50's, but may get one more year to show us something. Might need an injury in preseason to stay on board though.
REG SEASON WEEK 1: 23/42 - Barely made the roster, but will stick around until something better comes along. Will be inactive barring injury.
5.25 - C Anthony Bradley - This guy is built to be a backup, and may split time fairly evenly with our new starter at C Dominic Galloway, who moved from G to C this offseason. Its gonna be a crowded camp at that position, necessitated by the major injury to our 2019 starter Albert Bailey, who doctors were saying would not be the same guy after he recovers from his compound leg fracture about a quarter of the way into this season.
PRE CAMP: 16/64 - For a guy who is only 5% developed, 16 is a nice start. Will the 64 hold?
POST CAMP: 22/66 - A steal in the 5th for us, he will be a great utility lineman who can line up in all 3 interior spots as a backup. He may never have the endurance to start, but will get a lot of snaps in relief of our current and future starters at the G and C spots.
REG SEASON WEEK 1: 23/66 - Still raw, but will play a lot in our offensive line rotation as well as being our long snapper. He has great skills, we just need to give him time to develop them.
5.31 - OLB Shane Foley - We can't stop drafting LB talent, and our depth there speaks to our philosophy. You can't have too much of a good thing at LB. Foley doesn't have the pass rush skill we would like from a WLB, but looks like he can be a good coverage SLB who can learn behind the deep line of talent he will be in while waiting for PT.
PRE CAMP: 23/47 - If this sticks, he will stick. He won't play much for a while, but depth is a nice luxury.
POST CAMP: 25/44 - Hmm.. He's barely hanging on as of now, may not make the squad. We are just too deep at LB.
Foley just missed the cut for us. He was the last of our cuts, just another case of depth being too great for him to keep above water.
6.24 - DT Al Donovan - This guy is just a strong dude who can do everything decently, but doesn't really excel in anything but being strong. We want him to fill a role as a backup DT who can play in our goal line package on occasion.
PRE CAMP: 18/34 - We expect a bump up for Donovan. If not, he may be left off the squad.
POST CAMP: 22/36 - A project who will be inactive for a couple years, more than likely. If he hits the mid 40's he might get some PT by 2022.
Another cut, just as tough to let go as Foley was. He has promise and should find a home somewhere, but unfortunately not with us.
6.31 - QB Wayne Puente - Theres our developmental prospect, another guy who skipped the combine. He is gonna have a decent amount of time to learn and has a decent shot of being sent to Europe next year if he looks good in camp this year. He will also get plenty of time in preseason to show us what he can do, if anything. We would love him to be ready to assume a starting role in 4-5 years when Sammy Dillon just can't do it anymore.
PRE CAMP: 6/28 - Puente has a way to go, we have our fingers crossed.
POST CAMP: 9/30 - If I knew he would be more promising than Campana, I would have been elated.. Until I found out neither would be very promising at all. Puente will be our 3rd QB, but barring something catastrophic, will never be more than that.
Reg Season Week 1: still 9/30 - Puente played decent in his chances in the preseason, but goes in as our number 3 behind Lowe, who played pretty well. All 3 of our QB's can hurt you with their feet, including Puente, who showed flashes. We're hoping to hold on to him for a few years and maybe bump him up to number 2 for a long run with us as our primary backup.
7.23 - CB Rick Carr - The last DB we took this draft, Carr had a 4th round grade from us, so we thought the value was too great to pass on him in round 7. He has all the athletic ability one needs in a CB, but he is raw and will need time. He'll have plenty of that behind 4 or 5 other guys.
PRE CAMP: 14/29 - This should go up a healthy amount. We're thinking 20/34 ish.
POST CAMP: 18/31 - Not near 20/34.. But he went up significantly in current, so maybe he hits the 40's at some point and makes a decent dime back.
REG SEASON WEEK 1: Still 18/31 Carr didn't see much time in the preseason, and probably won't touch the field
much until next year. He will need to develop some in the offseason for us to give him more of a shot.
7.31 - TE Preston Witt - Another guy we had pegged to go a couple rounds higher at least, Witt also skipped the combine but our scout thinks he can be of value, and if he gets downfield as well as he looks like he can, he'll be an asset indeed. If he is who we think he is, we can leave Lewis at FB.
PRE CAMP: 19/44 - Not sure if this will hold, but we want it to badly. He would be a great 2nd TE.
POST CAMP: Dropped bad enough we already cut him. Our FA TE signings actually were very impressive in camp, so it would have been hard to keep him anyway.
OVERALL PRE CAMP IMPRESSION
Right now, I think this might be one of the most successful classes I have had the privilege of drafting. If it even compares to our class of 2015, we will be set for a loooong time at nearly every position, which will give us some room to maneuver if we need a piece or two. Will update this with ratings when they become available, then we'll see post TC how they all turn out. I'm chomping at the bit to see the results of that.
OVERALL POST CAMP IMPRESSION
We found paydirt with our first 4 picks, but everything after that with the exception of C Anthony Bradley was a crapshoot. I see maybe 6 or 7 players who will be here 5 years from now. We're happiest with Henson, the WR and Gonsales the RB. Henson was a steal in the late 3rd while Gonsales fills a need and gives us our best skill set at RB in about 4 years. Overall, I would give us a C+. The guys we thought were going to explode just didn't, but we got some solid help.
WEEK 1 OUTLOOK: Henson, Gonsales, Lewis and Bradley will see a lot of time on offense, while Matthews and Ramirez spend a lot of time in action in our secondary. We think Gonsales might be a 1500 yard back given his performance in the preseason. He ran the ball 67 times for 289 yards in the preseason and got better every week.
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