Kiper, Berman, McShay Highlight Bengals, Bills, Lions as Best Drafts So Far

The Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, and Detroit Lions. Three teams that have not seen much success over the past decade were chosen as having among the best drafts by Todd McShay, Mel Kiper Jr., anc Chris Berman on ESPN’s post day two coverage.

The biggest surprise here is that it was not Chris Berman who was tooting the Bills horns.

Let’s break it down.

Kiper mentioned the Bengals as the best draft talking about how the Bengals added a dynamic play maker and a QB of the future as well as Dontay Moch to their defense.

Verdict: I disagree.

I’m not in love with the Bengals draft as this point. I can’t hate on taking A.J. Green. It’s a good pick, good value they don’t have a ton at WR now (not bad, but not dynamic like Green is). Green is arguably the best player in the draft and one of the best wr prospects that has come into the draft in a few years. Also adding Green gave the Bengals a chance to try and convince Carson Palmer to come back to the team.

In the second round the Bengals chose Andy Dalton the QB out of TCU, which is not a terrible pick, but it’s not a great pick here. It ends Carson Palmer in Cincinnati and Dalton’s not a great QB prospect.

Dontay Moch is a talented player, but I’ve thought of him as a 34 OLB. As someone who follows the Giants closely, I know how difficult the transition can be from college defensive end to 43 OLB. The Giants have not been able to accomplish this effectively in many tries. I don’t mind the player, but I don’t love the pick.

The Bengals could redeem themselves, but not my favorite draft so far and I’ve liked some of the things the Bengals have done in the draft recently.

McShay said that he wasn’ t going to choose a team that had a ton of picks and was going to mention a team that stood pat to make their picks, he chose the Bills.

Let’s break it down.

The first pick was a good pick. I wrote about this earlier today, but the Bills have had so many draft busts the past decade they had to take a safe player here. Dareus is a versatile defensive linemen who can play in the 43 or 34 the Bills bounce back and forth between. He is less likely to bust than a player like Robert Quinn, and is a good pick.

The second round pick was O.K. Aaron Williams is a decent addition for the Bills. They could upgrade their secondary. But the problem is Im’ not in love with the player, I like the though process, but the player I’m not sold on yet especailly if he’s going to move to safety. The Bills are devoid of a pass rusher and I think they could have really consider going with an OLB here to rush the passer as there were good ones available. Brooks Reed, Akeem Ayers, and others. Understand the logic behind the pick and Williams would have been the best player available on some people’s big boards so not a bad pick.

The third pick I would have loved in the 4th round, I like in the 3rd round. Sheppard is a great fit to play next to Poz as an ILB in the 34 defense, but his value is a bit questionable there with a player like Martez Wilson still available.

Verdict: The Bills have taken players who can improve their defense and help the Bills improve their terrible run defense. The Bills need to be more competitive and make the playoffs more than they need to win the Superbowl. all in all I like what the Bills have been doing here, even if it’s not great value (not bad value either though). Their defense should be improved.

Berman mentioned the Lions like this “what a crazy draft we’re talking about the Bills, Bengals, and the Lions as having the best drafts”

You can’t argue with what the Lions are doing here, unless you believe they Must take a cornerback in the draft.

LOVE the first round pick. Easy call. Fairley next to Suh could be devestating for other teams.

In the second round the Lions take a pair of players with some concerns though. LeShoure is a one year wonder who might have durability issues in the N.F.L. because of his running style and Titus Young has some diva in him (not a surprise for a Wide receiver), but is very explosive. At that point I would have gone Brandon Harris who I had rated very highly, but Young is good value.

Still the talent here is tremendous, the issue could be the Lions are taking players with some concerns…boom or busts prospects in a way.

Verdict: I like the draft. Love the first round pick, like the Titus Young pick, like the Leshoure pick as well. But this draft has much more “bust potential” than people are talking about right now. Young has is issues, Fairley has is issues as well, and LeShoure also was not productive for a long period of time. Fairley was also a “one year wonder”.

Like the draft and Suh and Fairley combination and Best and LeShoure pairing is alluring, but it’s a bit risky draft.

Home/NFL Draft