Who were some of the losers of the NFL draft?
It’s been nearly a week since the draft began, and there’s been plenty of time for big sports media to talk through who won, who lost, who made a mistake and who hit it out of the park. Today we’ll play into the post draft hype but hopefully we will look at some individuals or teams that truly did take a fat L after draft weekend that’s others haven’t talked much about.
The first has got to go to the Green Bay Packers. Hours before the draft official began, news broke that MVP quarterback, Aaron Rodgers wants to be traded out of cheesehead nation. Now that more news has come out regarding the issue, it looks as if it is extremely unlikely that Rodgers takes another down as a member of the Packers. He has recently demanded that GM, Brian Gutekunst be fired and that be the only way he would return. The team has been denying any trade offers they’ve received, but its seeming as if they would be wise to start listening. So why did the Packers lose in the draft if its on the home front that they’re having the issues? In the first round the Packers selected, not a wide receiver to try to persuade their quarterback from leaving, but instead a cornerback that was poised to go in the second round. They did eventually select a receiver but its was in the later rounds. The moral of the story here is that if you’re quarterback wants out because he feels like you’re trying to replace him and you’re leaving him out of discussions regarding free agents and draft selections, don’t take a second round corner in the first, that’s a big mistake.
The next loser of the draft has to be Jimmy Garropolo. We knew he would be on this list ever since the niners traded up to the third overall pick, but it must be mentioned. Two years ago Jimmy G led this team to the playoffs and to the Super Bowl where they nearly defeated the Kansas City Chiefs. Now, after a year plagued with injuries, the team is looking like their turning their back on a future with Jimmy and looking down the road, a road paved by Trey Lance. Trey Lance will be successful in the NFL, he’s got raw talent, undeniable skill and perfect capabilities to compete with defenses in the NFL and more specifically his new division. Those are all good and it means that Jim’s time is already nearly up. Best case scenario for him is that he is able to start the entire season, and pray he doesn’t get hurt. Then he will likely be cut or traded, and for his sake hopefully it is a team with a great offense in place who are just a quarterback away from being successful, and not a team where he’ll come in and lead to team to a top three selection in the draft and another quarterback is taken, that would just be heart wrenching.
The last loser of the draft we’ll touch on is defensive players. Let’s start with safeties. The highest-drafted safety was Jevon Holland (taken 36th), and he was still the third player taken by Miami. Only three safeties went in the top two rounds at all. This is the second year in a row that no safety has gone in the first round. The position group as a whole has been gradually devalued, but it will probably bounce back. At least, that’s what these players need to keep telling themselves. More tellingly, defensive tackles fell hard, as well. Christian Barmore was the highest-drafted interior lineman (38th). The first seven players off the board were all players on offense, and only six of the first twenty players were defenders. In short, this year the top of the draft was about scoring points.
To conclude, just like we said Monday, the draft is a great opportunity for all parties involved. The teams get fresh meat and are able to build their team with young blood, and the players selected get to start their careers and live their dreams. In every situation like this there are losers and winners, but we can only hope that there are more winners than losers.