As a sports fan living in Toronto I had two choices last night. 1, Watch the Raptors in hopes that they’ll clinch Game 6, only to move on to eventually meet their demise at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers, or 2, check out the NFL Draft.
One offers little comfort in knowing that even if we do pull out a win, LeBron James and his six-straight finals appearances are waiting in the next round. The the other offers a fountain of optimism in the fulfillment of dreams of young college players accomplishing my, I mean, their lifelong goals.
So let’s talk about the draft.
For the first time in a long time, this was one of the most even first rounds that I’ve seen in quite some time. There were definitely some big winners, but overall no one really made any exceptionally poor choices that will eventually and ultimately ruin their franchises… except one.
WHAT IN THE [email protected]#$ HAPPENED: Chicago Bears
If you’re a Bears fan waking up this morning, you’re probably hoping that last night was a bad dream. That you simply ate some bad sushi and that indigestion caused you to have this nightmare. NO, that really happened. In what was the surprise of the night to everyone, the Bears gave up their second-round, third-round, and a 2018 third-round pick, all to move up just ONE spot and take Mitchell Trubisky.
Now, if Trubisky was THE guy, an Andrew Luck-type player whom it was universally known that this guy was going to be an instant starter and make an impact on your team, then this trade would make all the sense in the world. There is no value one can put on getting a legitimate franchise quarterback, it’s priceless. The NFL is a quarterback league and if you don’t have one, it doesn’t matter how great a team you have. You’re simply not winning. Ask the Houston Texans.
That’s not the case here though, which is why this will be the dumbest move of the draft. First off, Trubisky wasn’t even thought of to be the best quarterback in this draft, let alone the second-overall pick. He started only one of his three years at North Carolina and was thought to be lacking the leadership qualities one needs to play quarterback. Not to mention you had the National Champion, Deshaun Watson out of Clemson sitting in the wings, who’s known for his leadership abilities.
Secondly, the Bears just signed Mike Glennon to a fat contract. That alone was ridiculous enough, as he’s been a career backup over his three years in the NFL, starting 18 games with an S-S-S-Salty, 5-13 record. Now instead of drafting players who can help your newly-signed quarterback, you draft his competition? What’s the best case scenario here: your second-overall pick becomes the starter you think he is, but now you have a $45M backup and can’t afford to surround your starting quarterback with any talent?
Yeah smart move Chicago…
Not Your Same Old Browns
For me, also one of the more surprising moments of the night was the first round the Cleveland Browns had. Notoriously known for drafting overrated quarterbacks and destroying their careers, I thought for sure Cleveland would have pulled a Chicago Bears here and drafted Trubisky.
However they made the smart move to take Myles Garrett, who will have an immediate impact, upgrading that defense instantly. They also continued to build their defense by adding Jabrill Peppers, safety, out of Michigan and added a big target out of Miami, tight end, David Njoku to help Brock Osweiller on offence. It’s also noteworthy that Miami has a long history of producing solid NFL tight ends such as Jeremy Shockey and Greg Olsen.
When you add in the fact that they also grabbed Houston’s first-round pick in next year’s draft during a rebuild, it’s tough to argue that the Cleveland Browns aren’t winning this draft thus far. Maybe the Browns’ front office has finally gotten it together and might actually give their fans something worth watching for seasons to come.
49ers Gold Rush
The only argument for who’s doing better in the draft so far is the San Francisco 49ers. John Lynch was signed as the new GM this off-season with no experience in an NFL front office, but is NOT acting like it. Lynch is looking more like Bill Belichick than Ryan Pace (Chicago Bears GM).
The 49ers drafted the second-best player in this year’s draft, defensive end, Solomon Thomas out of Stanford. Lynch somehow conned Ryan Pace and the Bears into trading them their 3rd-round, 4th-round, & 2018 3rd-round picks to move up one spot ahead of them to select a quarterback the 49ers weren’t even interested in. See how this comes full circle?
Then Lynch was able to trade up and grab Reuben Foster, linebacker, out of Alabama with the last pick of the first round. If not for a shoulder injury, Foster would have gone much higher in this draft, making this the steal of the night for Lynch and the 49ers. When healthy, Reuben Foster will make an immediate impact alongside Thomas.
With all that being said, we still have 6 rounds to go.
Will the Browns and 49ers continue to win big? Can the Bears come back from a devastating first-round blunder? You know what, ignore that last comment. Of course the Bears won’t come back from that. That should be a fire-able offense.
Keep up with all the big winners and losers of each night’s draft over the next two days with me, as I will likely continue to mock the Bears endlessly.
Cheers.
