2022 Comprehensive Draft Thread

[DWinzit]

3 minutes ago, KDawg said:

I wasn’t aware of any injury stuff. That stinks.

Yeah great interview, great person, really good skill set....injury bug city

 

I an not going to post my favorite player for today because i am frustrated....so far the team has not listened to me 

4 minutes ago, Est.1974 said:

I think that is very early May. I’ll test my memory that it is something like 3rd May. Not far away anyway. We need to throw serious cash at him...

 

1 minute ago, CommDownMan said:

 

I was thinking May 2nd but am not sure either.  I think 1st week of May either way.   

I would have the honey badger and his agent on speed dial for 1201 AM on Sunday morning

 

 

[Ball Security]

46 minutes ago, KDawg said:

Lots of options today.

 

Rasheed Walker

 

Perrion Winfrey

 

Jalyn Armour-Davis (I’d love to see the board melt down with another Bama player)

 

I think Jojo Domann is still out there

 

Damone Clark (out for 2022 but worth it soon value wise)

 

Brandon Smith

 

Sam Howell/Carson Strong
 

D’Marco Jackson

 

Tayler Hawkins

 

Marquise Hayes

 

Jalen Wydermyer (could be the steal of the draft… or the worst draft pick of all time)

 

Coby Bryant
 

Maybe Darrian Beavers? (I couldn’t follow at some points last night. Was trying to accomplish life and missed picks and can’t be bothered to look)

 

Matt Araiza (won’t take a punter but it’s a sin to not mention The Punt God)

 

Jamaree Salyer

 

Tariq Woolen (can’t tackle worth a **** but good coverage guy)

 

Darrius Kinnard

I like Walker, Kinnard, Jackson, Bryant, Strong, Woolen, Max Mitchell, D’Angelo Malone, Bellinger.

[DWinzit]

I sure was disappointed when the 2 safeties Joseph and Cross went off the board just before the Robinson selection

[Warhead36]

6 hours ago, wilco_holland said:

My feeling of the draft. Let me try to explain it right.

 

I hate the way we draft. I don't hate the players themselves but get feeling we had a list of position+play style and reached to fill does positions. I can not believe that these guys where the highest rated on the draft board. So we reached. 

 

Second thing I see is we take solid players who can play now. They won't become a star but will make an impact early. 

 

So to summarize. We take a win now, contribute now, short term approach (because they believe we are close and Ron is on a hot seat). I don't like that. Short term gains will kill you in the long run in the NFL. 

In general I agree with this. I dont really have an issue with who we drafted, but I think our process sucks. And we do a poor job of asset management and valuation. 

[JamesMadisonSkins]

Pretty meh about this draft. Like who we’ve gotten. Don’t like the value and who was available otherwise. 
 

Can’t believe we haven’t addressed S/LB yet we spent a 2nd on a DT. I know Payne likely walks but the asset management at DT leading to that pick is borderline criminal at this point. 
 

Oh and Perion Winfrey is still there. 
 

Just not a fan on Ron’s drafts. Whether the Gibson reach, Jamin reach, and the 1st and 2nd this year. Sucks. 

[KDawg]

7 minutes ago, Ball Security said:

I like Walker, Kinnard, Jackson, Bryant, Strong, Woolen, Max Mitchell, D’Angelo Malone, Bellinger.

I find the lack of love for Brandon Smith to be disheartening. 

[CommDownMan]

12 minutes ago, DWinzit said:

I would have the honey badger and his agent on speed dial for 1201 AM on Sunday morning

 

https://nfltraderumors.co/top-2022-nfl-free-agents-list/

 

There are certainly some options remaining not through the draft.   But we can take that to the FA thread later.   Plus at least a few guys will shake free after teams cut a few players.   

 

After all the talk of quality throughout, I'm hoping there is a solid bit of undrafted signings this year.   I think with covid restrictions we limited bodies, but I'd like to see a stronger push there this year too. 

[KDawg]

1 minute ago, JamesMadisonSkins said:

Pretty meh about this draft. Like who we’ve gotten. Don’t like the value and who was available otherwise. 
 

Can’t believe we haven’t addressed S/LB yet we spent a 2nd on a DT. I know Payne likely walks but the asset management at DT leading to that pick is borderline criminal at this point. 
 

Oh and Perion Winfrey is still there. 
 

Just not a fan on Ron’s drafts. Whether the Gibson reach, Jamin reach, and the 1st and 2nd this year. Sucks. 

Something is up with Winfrey. 
 

I think we all get caught up in whos on the board sometimes. These guys are sliding for a reason. Now… does that mean those reasons are all justified and these dudes are definite busts? Of course not. I think Winfrey is going to be awesome. 
 

But speaking only for me… I can’t get worked up on passing on a guy who has fallen more than a full round from their value. We’re missing something. That said, I still think whatever it is Winfrey will over come.

 

I’m still a fan of getting Damone Clark in the building despite him missing this whole year.

 

Round 4 is the spot for a QB with two rapid fire picks if they are going to pull the trigger. I’m not sure I would. But… this is the time for it asset/value wise. 

[Panninho]

Does anyone have an opinion about Dane Belton and Tycen Anderson? They are pretty high on PFF's remaining players list. Both play safety, so fit a need, and have tested well. I don't really know them, so would appreciate some insights. Today, I'd like us to take a shot at Brandon Smith. After going high floor, low(er) ceiling the first couple of rounds, I would like it if they took a gamble on an athletic freak like Smith. We also need a LB, so...

 

S Dane Belton, Iowa (PFF Big Board Rank: 112)

Belton is a young, ascending ball hawk on the back end. Filling the slot for Iowa last year, he nabbed five picks and broke up eight more passes.

 

S Tycen Anderson, Toledo (PFF Big Board Rank: 113)

Anderson is one of the best all-around athletes in this year's safety class. While not a particularly instinctive player, he can fill a number of roles and not look out of place.

 

[KDawg]

I think Brandon Smith is my #1 want today.

 

Tycen is more of a hybrid in my opinion. I don’t see him contributing right away. Decent skill set and tackler. But for what’s left I can see why he’s high on the board.

[Ball Security]

16 minutes ago, KDawg said:

I find the lack of love for Brandon Smith to be disheartening. 

Didn’t look at him so no real opinion from me.

[Koolblue13]

1 hour ago, Skinsinparadise said:

 

I just looked at my board, he and Bryant are my highest ranked corners left.

Mathis and Bryant are the two CBs that I'd like to see as well. Wooden is intregiging as well.

 

MCKinnley would be a nice safety or BN guy. Belton too. Beavers at LBer.

 

Not a ton of Oline outside of Kinnard.

 

Still some exciting WRs and RBs out there, but I think that ship has sailed.

 

The TEs that are gonna go today are really exciting.

 

[actorguy1]

JP Finlay pod:

 

Believes Rivera's strategy is to draft high floor, polished seniors who can step in and contribute right away instead of being developed into a contributor.

[Chump Bailey]

Any of these I'd like in round 4

 

Max Mitchell

Khalil Shakir

Brandon Smith

Verone McKinley

Zach Tom

Michael Clemons

Akayleb Evans

[Koolblue13]

12 minutes ago, KDawg said:

I think Brandon Smith is my #1 want today.

 

Tycen is more of a hybrid in my opinion. I don’t see him contributing right away. Decent skill set and tackler. But for what’s left I can see why he’s high on the board.

For safety, McKinnley would be my choice.

[Panninho]

11 minutes ago, KDawg said:

I think Brandon Smith is my #1 want today.

 

Tycen is more of a hybrid in my opinion. I don’t see him contributing right away. Decent skill set and tackler. But for what’s left I can see why he’s high on the board.

I agree re:Smith. Hope we also draft some O-line depth at some point, still feels thin.

[OtisDriftwood25]

My guess is they have a Buffalo nickel player they know is going to go later like Kamren Curl was. 
 

 

[KDawg]

Not sure how well I’ll be following today. I hate day 3 with a passion. Not for the players but the coverage sucks because it’s so fast paced. 

[zCommander]

43 minutes ago, DWinzit said:

I sure was disappointed when the 2 safeties Joseph and Cross went off the board just before the Robinson selection

 

A safety is not an impact player from day 1. Robinson is with 1000+ yards in the pros as well.

[Voice_of_Reason]

So I think I figured out why I get less worked up about "value" and "reaches" and "draft process" than others.  

 

While I have been "brand loyal" to Mel for 30 years, I also understand it's his opinion that he's forming with incomplete information, and in a vacuum. Same with all of the draft prognosticators.  And there are more of them now that there ever have been.

 

But I don't really believe in "reaches." I don't really believe in "Value picks."  Players fall for a reason, and if you pick a player who is falling, there is obviously a red flag out there which has caused the fall.  Sometimes that works out, and you get a gem later than the prognosticators thought he would go, and sometimes it's a complete bust because the reason the player fell is actually legitimate.

 

The team does all of their evaluations and then picks the guys who they think are going to help them the best short/long term.  And if that doesn't line up to the mocks/big boards, so what?  

 

 

I also don't think you REALLY know the full plan until the beginning of training camp.  There are clearly guys they are targeting in FA after the draft, but they are waiting until the draft plays out.  

 

I also don't have man crushes on players because I don't actually watch a lot of college football, and don't do any prep.  I just am interested to see who is picked when.  

 

So, the net of it is the Commanders got what seems like a really good WR, not their first choice (Ron confirmed in the Friday presser London was their #1 prospect at WR), but one they had rated highly.

 

They got a DT, which I'm fine with (I'm going to write about that a little later) and a RB who seems to compliment what they have in Gibson and McKissic.  

 

Were there other players they could have gotten?  Yeah.  And are they drafting more for "need" than maybe BPA? I guess. It doesn't really bother me much.  

 

The other thing I always keep in the back of my mind is ~50% of the first round picks don't live up to expectations.  Every year there are "can't miss prospects" who miss wildly.  Every single team, even the teams who draft really well, has huge busts all over the draft.

 

Now, there are things you can do which are just plain stupid: Drafting a guy with degenerative knees even though your medical people told you not to?  (We do not say his name, but you know who he is.) That's stupid.  Trading back just for the sake of trading back?  That's stupid. Drafting guys with injury history because they are falling and you think you can get good value, assuming they will be healthy?  that's stupid.  (Bruce/Vinny, I'm looking at YOU.)

 

I haven't seen that type of stupidity from Ron and company.

 

The one truly bad pick was Jamin Davis last year.  And it wasn't because it was a reach. They placed a bet that Davis' physical tools and mental makeup would allow him to basically switch positions.  He also had very limited experience and tape, so it was a big risk.  I think you can fault the pick there.  

 

At least to my knowledge, I don't think that's true with any of this year's picks.  

 

[BatteredFanSyndrome]

The fact that every year folks get in their feelings over draft selections, claiming how bad of a reach X player was or that we drafted for need vs. BPA or insert any other criticism here and it all amounts to squat by the time the next draft comes along is not lost on me.

 

We’ve been heralded by the media in the past for a “great draft”.  We’ve applauded drafts before only to not watch the draft class come to fruition down the road.

 

Just some food for thought as folks get bent out of shape about how dumb Ron and the FO are.  It just might be worth revisiting your own hot takes over the years and how things eventually panned out.

[cakmoney61]

I don't know the college players beyond the first round like several here do, but regardless this draft has left me shaking my head.  The first round is about getting a possible gamechanger if the opportunity presents itself.  Washington had that opportunity when Williams and Hamilton were on the board at #11 where great talent collided with great need.  They ended up getting neither.

 

Hoping one of them would be there at pick #16 was a gamble and they came up snake eyes, in essence, for two 4th-round picks. Pick #98 is really the second pick of the fourth round.

 

They leave me wondering if they know the holes on their own team and if they understand that the goal is to get the BPA if the pick meets a need or not.  At least that should be the goal in the first three or four rounds.

 

I just read Voice of Reason and BatteredFanSyndrome's posts after I made my post and I agree with them.  I am simply stating my opinion.  Williams and Hamilton may turn out to be JAG or worse.  

Edited April 30, 2022 by cakmoney61
Added a short paragraph.

[KDawg]

6 minutes ago, Voice_of_Reason said:

So I think I figured out why I get less worked up about "value" and "reaches" and "draft process" than others.  

 

While I have been "brand loyal" to Mel for 30 years, I also understand it's his opinion that he's forming with incomplete information, and in a vacuum. Same with all of the draft prognosticators.  And there are more of them now that there ever have been.

 

But I don't really believe in "reaches." I don't really believe in "Value picks."  Players fall for a reason, and if you pick a player who is falling, there is obviously a red flag out there which has caused the fall.  Sometimes that works out, and you get a gem later than the prognosticators thought he would go, and sometimes it's a complete bust because the reason the player fell is actually legitimate.

 

The team does all of their evaluations and then picks the guys who they think are going to help them the best short/long term.  And if that doesn't line up to the mocks/big boards, so what?  

 

 

I also don't think you REALLY know the full plan until the beginning of training camp.  There are clearly guys they are targeting in FA after the draft, but they are waiting until the draft plays out.  

 

I also don't have man crushes on players because I don't actually watch a lot of college football, and don't do any prep.  I just am interested to see who is picked when.  

 

So, the net of it is the Commanders got what seems like a really good WR, not their first choice (Ron confirmed in the Friday presser London was their #1 prospect at WR), but one they had rated highly.

 

They got a DT, which I'm fine with (I'm going to write about that a little later) and a RB who seems to compliment what they have in Gibson and McKissic.  

 

Were there other players they could have gotten?  Yeah.  And are they drafting more for "need" than maybe BPA? I guess. It doesn't really bother me much.  

 

The other thing I always keep in the back of my mind is ~50% of the first round picks don't live up to expectations.  Every year there are "can't miss prospects" who miss wildly.  Every single team, even the teams who draft really well, has huge busts all over the draft.

 

Now, there are things you can do which are just plain stupid: Drafting a guy with degenerative knees even though your medical people told you not to?  (We do not say his name, but you know who he is.) That's stupid.  Trading back just for the sake of trading back?  That's stupid. Drafting guys with injury history because they are falling and you think you can get good value, assuming they will be healthy?  that's stupid.  (Bruce/Vinny, I'm looking at YOU.)

 

I haven't seen that type of stupidity from Ron and company.

 

The one truly bad pick was Jamin Davis last year.  And it wasn't because it was a reach. They placed a bet that Davis' physical tools and mental makeup would allow him to basically switch positions.  He also had very limited experience and tape, so it was a big risk.  I think you can fault the pick there.  

 

At least to my knowledge, I don't think that's true with any of this year's picks.  

 

I’m somewhat in between. I believe in reaches. They exist. Drafting a guy at #10 who was likely a UDFA is a major reach. I don’t believe a guy going 5-10 picks before slotted is a reach. Or within a round if you can’t get back in it and you love the guy is a reach. But 30-35 picks ahead of where they likely go is a reach. Now, the issue there is how do you know?

 

In our case, our own draft pick told us (Mathis saying third/fourth round is where he thought he’d be going).

 

But, I am far less married to it than many. Since I started coaching and then subsequently started deep diving on the drafts, I acknowledge the existence of a reach but I don’t let it sour my whole experience. I try to look at the individual player we drafted more than what we could have missed on… because what we could have had may not be as good as what we got ultimately. 
 

I get why people get frustrated by it. But to me it’s a mild frustration. If these dudes pan out, who cares?

 

With Mathis I’m a touch conflicted. I like the player more than most seem to (50 overall ranked player for me). But the fact Baltimore took the better 1-tech 30 slots later does sour me on the decision to take him where they did… but just a bit.

 

Its more compounded by letting the entire DT rotation walk and not extending Payne. But, I was pretty upset when the news came out… I took a step back. Mathis and then signing another DT, or drafting one, can bring the DL right back to strength. Wouldn’t be surprised to see Winfrey drafted first by us in the 4th if he’s on the board.

 

Oddly, television has made me more patient. Specifically the MCU. You watch one of these things and at the end of the movie you think, “that was dumb. Why…?” And then 3 movies later you see why and that movie you watched before is now a classic. The Batman is an example of a movie I left with questions but patience is a virtue.

 

I don’t think we do great with asset management but I do think that Rivera has done a masterful job in taking what amounts to a cruise ship that was split in half and, to use my MCU analogy, he’s holding it together with webbing like Spider-Man. 
 

This franchise is a mess and he’s doing what he can. I don’t think he’s a masterful personnel guy. Never have. But… he’s doing better than almost everyone else under Snyder, imo.

 

I think we drafted 3 good players. That’s what matters most. 
 

But I also understand the negativity. The franchise has been a ****show for 30 years under Snyder. 
 

I just wish people weren’t so… sorry to use a meta word here… toxic about it. 

[Voice_of_Reason]

10 minutes ago, BatteredFanSyndrome said:

The fact that every year folks get in their feelings over draft selections, claiming how bad of a reach X player was or that we drafted for need vs. BPA or insert any other criticism here and it all amounts to squat by the time the next draft comes along is not lost on me.

 

We’ve been heralded by the media in the past for a “great draft”.  We’ve applauded drafts before only to not watch the draft class come to fruition down the road.

 

Just some food for thought as folks get bent out of shape about how dumb Ron and the FO are.  It just might be worth revisiting your own hot takes over the years and how things eventually panned out.

Literally every team has booms and busts.  
 

At the end of the day, they have to live with their selections.  
 

People here crushed the Gibson pick.  And the Jon Allen pick.  

[seantaylor=god]

I’m going to choose to be an optimist. I’m going to manifest the team’s success by saying-You have to be good before you can be great, and we absolutely got better.

In particular, we have a really fun slot WR, number two weapon and returner who should grow into a role quickly.

 

We have a starting DT with almost no chance of bust factor (every Alabama DT taken in last 5 years has hit as an average starter, albeit not GameChanger),

 

We have at minimum a ball control short yardage bully back who doesn’t fumble and gets first downs (but has almost no explosive long runs). He’s a perfect complement to what we have and was a solid pick.
 

Any angst about pulling so exclusively from Alabama is misplaced because most NFL players are 4-5 star HS recruits and tons of those guys go to blue blood programs.

 

I will say this whole draft smacks of a lack of confidence in your ability to mine gems, or potentially, inability to find consensus with all of our decision makers for guys with some sort of question mark. That leads to lots of solid but unspectacular picks. If you have multiple decision makers there is more of a chance a one of those guys finds faults with a player, leading to safer(not necessarily better)picks. Almost like trying to pick a movie at blockbuster with 4 people vs one lol.

Edited April 30, 2022 by seantaylor=god