Mar 11, 2023; Metairie, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints common supervisor Mickey Loomis seems to be on at Ochsner Sports activities Efficiency Middle. Necessary Credit score: Stephen Lew-Imagn Pictures Even within the train of including gamers to the roster, some NFL groups are higher than others.
Whether or not they didn’t resolve obtrusive issues on their roster or had been constantly reaching on gamers that aren’t as gifted as others, these 4 groups simply didn’t dwell as much as the potential this draft had.
New Orleans Saints
Whenever you’re the one staff within the league that’s in wage cap hell, you actually must hit in your draft picks to make up for it. Sadly, the Saints whiffed at nearly each flip. Their first choose was serviceable, though a little bit of a attain on Kelvin Banks, however all picks after had been utterly wasted.
The Saints set themselves up for the Brandon Weeden expertise by choosing Tyler Shough in the beginning of the second spherical, an overaged and overrated prospect, then didn’t add picks to assist him till the very newest rounds. It looks like the Saints are content material to throw Shough into the hearth, which tremendously worries me.
New York Giants
Nov 9, 2024; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels quarterback Jaxson Dart (2) passes the ball in the course of the second half in opposition to the Georgia Bulldogs at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Necessary Credit score: Petre Thomas-Imagn Pictures Taking Dart within the first by itself appears ridiculous to me; buying and selling as much as do it obtained me legitimately purple within the face. Dart is an okay quarterback enjoying in essentially the most QB-friendly system this aspect of the choice, and when requested to make a second learn, he usually panics and forces himself into strain.
The Giants have a good offensive line however aren’t operating the offense Dart executed properly, so he could also be studying behind Wilson for longer than anticipated. Past that, I’m not satisfied Alexander can deliver manufacturing to the NFL when he couldn’t do it constantly at Toledo, and whereas Skattebo is tough to deal with, he’s sluggish sufficient the place it may not matter. A lot of low upside right here for a management unit that should save themselves.
Los Angeles Rams
Apr 25, 2024; Detroit, MI, USA; A Los Angeles Rams emblem on the 2024 NFL Draft at Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza. Necessary Credit score: Kirby Lee-Imagn Pictures Possibly I simply don’t vibe with their drafting model despite the fact that McVay appears to make it work, however this yr was even worse than ordinary. The Rams didn’t take a participant I actually appreciated till the fifth spherical, as an alternative including Terrance Ferguson with their first choose, somebody who simply by no means stood out to me at Oregon and was pushed up by testing.
They adopted it up with Josaiah Stewart, an edge rusher who is simply too small, doesn’t have any size and ran a 4.8 40, showcasing restricted burst and explosiveness. Whereas snagging Chris Paul Jr. within the fifth was cool, it isn’t sufficient to headline a bunch that didn’t choose up any true studs in a really deep class.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Nov 17, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers proprietor Artwork Rooney II walks the sector earlier than the sport in opposition to t he Baltimore Ravens at Acrisure Stadium. Necessary Credit score: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Pictures The Steelers simply didn’t resolve the issues I needed them to unravel. They ended the draft with a QB, certain, but it surely was an add within the sixth spherical. I like Will Howard sufficient, however Tom Brady he isn’t. They wanted extra pace within the backfield however added Kaleb Johnson, who’s highly effective and has good imaginative and prescient however lacks that second gear the Steelers have been lacking.
No broad receivers had been added to the rotation, however they picked up one other edge rusher in an already crowded room, in addition to two DTs. I discovered that odd for a staff whose greatest unit is their defensive position. They only aren’t set as much as proceed Mike Tomlin’s streak of win percentages above .500, even when they do handle to reel in Aaron Rodgers after a drama-filled offseason.
