Category: 2017 NFL Draft

Daily Fantasy: The one Ravens player you need to start in Week 3 on DraftKings

After shredding the Texans offense in Week 2, Ravens star Lamar Jackson is the one Baltimore player you must start in Week 3 on DraftKings.

This week’s edition of Monday Night Football offers Game of the Year potential when the undefeated Baltimore Ravens host the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in a matchup of the past two NFL MVPs.

Both teams are heavy favorites to win the Super Bowl this season and it’ll be on the backs of their quarterbacks. Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes are the two most exciting signal-callers in the NFL and the 2020 matchup marks the third straight season they’ll face off against one another.

Jackson is the one Ravens player you need to start in Week 3 on DraftKings because outside of his all-world rushing ability, the 2020 version is producing historic passing numbers that are on pace to rewrite the NFL’s record books. Last week, Jackson became the first player in league history with at least 45 touchdown passes (45) and fewer than 10 interceptions (9) over his first 600 pass attempts.

In last week’s win over the winless Houston Texans, Jackson went 18 of 24 passing for 204 yards and one passing touchdown. Jackson did his part on the ground as well, carrying 16 times for 54, and amassing 254 total yards of offense.

The Ravens star has worked on his deep-ball accuracy since last season. Jackson has completed 58.3 percent (7 of 12) so far this year, up from the 39.5 percent he completed last season.

Jackson’s a must-play against the Chiefs’ defense because he has just one interception over his last 29 touchdown passes and Kansas City, susceptible to the pass, have also allowed 301 rushing yards so far in two games, while also struggling to create pressure or turnovers.

Former Browns QB coach reveals ex-GM Sashi Brown wanted Trubisky over Mahomes and Watson

It’s the first true confirmation of the long-speculated rumors about Sashi and Trubisky

Buried deep in a first-person recounting of the Buffalo Bills and that team’s ongoing quarterback travails, the Cleveland Browns also catch some flak for their own internal QB decision-making processes.

Tim Graham of The Athletic reported an interview with ex-Bills GM Buddy Nix and former Buffalo QB coach David Lee that broke down several bad decisions made on the QB front in western New York. It gets interesting for the Browns when Lee moves to Cleveland in 2017 as the team’s QB coach under then-head coach Hue Jackson.

Lee goes on the record to blame then-GM Sashi Brown as the reason why the Browns did not land either Patrick Mahomes or Deshaun Watson with their second first-round selection in that draft. After acknowledging that everyone was in lock-step on drafting Myles Garrett No. 1 overall, Lee has this to say about the QB decision in that vaunted 2017 draft,

“Hue and I were in total agreement,” Lee said. “We loved Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson, and we would have been thrilled to death with either.”

Why didn’t the Browns pull the trigger?

“Sashi wanted (Mitchell) Trubisky and to accumulate picks rather than see the player that was right in front of him. When we made that trade with Houston for the 12th pick,” Lee sighed, “I just said, ‘Where am I?’ ”

Talk of Brown preferring Trubisky to Mahomes and Watson dates back to that draft. Lee’s on-the-record citation is the first confirmation from someone inside the organization of that assertion.

Trubisky wound up being the No. 2 overall selection after the Chicago Bears traded up one spot to land the North Carolina QB. The Browns traded the No. 12 overall pick to Houston so the Texans could select Watson, a 2-time Pro Bowler and one of the game’s brightest young stars. The Browns landed Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer in the second round. After leading Cleveland to a winless 2017, he’s now out of the league.

[lawrence-related id=49783]

2017 Saints draft class ranked second-best in hindsight

The New Orleans Saints had a terrific 2017 NFL Draft class, but the Kansas City Chiefs outranked them by picking coveted QB Patrick Mahomes.

[jwplayer 0AysQPXU-ThvAeFxT]

The New Orleans Saints hit a series of home runs in the 2017 NFL Draft, landing instant upgrades at key positions like cornerback (with Marshon Lattimore), offensive tackle (in Ryan Ramczyk), free safety (Marcus Williams), and running back (Alvin Kamara). That sudden influx of young, high-end talent reshaped a roster that had gone 7-9 three years in a row into a squad that’s won 13 games in each of the last two seasons.

However, The Athletic’s Dane Brugler ranked just one other team ahead of them in reflection on that year’s crop of college prospects: the Kansas City Chiefs, who bagged Patrick Mahomes one slot ahead of the Saints. Mahomes, of course, was the player Saints coach Sean Payton famously coveted the most and could have (would have, and maybe should have) transitioned to from Drew Brees.

But let’s not lose sight of the positives here. Brugler had to dig all the way into the sixth round to find a swing-and-a-miss for the Saints in 2017, and that year’s final draft pick, Al-Quadin Muhammad, has earned his spot in the Indianapolis Colts lineup. Muhammad has logged 400-plus snaps in both of the last two years, racking up 13 tackles for loss, 11 quarterback hits, and 3 sacks. The Saints were simply too stacked for him to hang around.

The challenge now, of course, is paying all of these big names now that their rookie contracts are expiring. The Saints bought themselves some time by triggering the fifth-year options for Lattimore and Ramczyk as soon as NFL rules allowed them to, tying them to the team through 2021. But Kamara and Williams should each end up ranking among the top earners at their respective positions. Will the Saints be the ones to pay them?

[vertical-gallery id=35147]

What if the Bears had taken QB Deshaun Watson before the Texans in the 2017 NFL Draft?

Deshaun Watson says Chicago Bears never talked to him during the draft process. What would the Houston Texans have done if Chicago took him in 2017?

Whether one believes Deshaun Watson that the Chicago Bears never talked to him during the draft process, or they did, the fact is the Houston Texans were dealt an opportunity to get out of Quarterback Hell in the 2017 NFL Draft.

The Bears took Mitch Trubisky with the second overall pick out of North Carolina. That left Watson available at 12th overall, though it took giving up their first-rounder in 2017 and 2018 to get the franchise quarterback.

If the Bears had taken Watson, the Texans’ quarterback situation would have been far better than it is now or far worse.

There is no question the Texans were going to be players in the first round. Early in the offseason, Houston traded Brock Osweiler, their starting quarterback from 2016, who they signed to a four-year, $72 million deal, to the Cleveland Browns to offset his salary cap hit and start over. The Texans’ quarterbacks going into the draft were Tom Savage and T.J. Yates — hardly anybody a team could compete with.

If Chicago had taken Watson at No. 2 overall, that would have left Trubisky and Patrick Mahomes on the board. The Kansas City Chiefs ended up jumping the Texans by two picks in a deal with the Buffalo Bills to take Mahomes. Kansas City gave up their first and third from 2017 and a first-rounder from 2018 to get to 10th overall. Maybe with Watson off the board, Houston gives up more and they take Mahomes. Objectively, that would have been better than what the Texans have now, but only because Mahomes earned NFL MVP in 2018 and Super Bowl MVP at the end of the 2019 season.

If Kansas City jumped the Texans and still got Mahomes, then the Texans would have been left with Trubisky. If they didn’t want him in the first round, there was always DeShone Kizer, Davis Webb, C.J. Beathard, Joshua Dobbs, Nathan Peterman, Brad Kaaya, and Chad Kelly. In other words, the pickings were slim to truly upgrade Houston’s quarterback situation.

For the Texans, it is a good thing the Bears decided to make their selection and keep Sid Luckman’s legacy safe.

[vertical-gallery id=49151]

Fifth-year options for NFL Draft class of 2017

Many decisions have been made about fifth-year options for the 2017 NFL Draft first-rounder. Some remain with the deadline May 4.

Busy time for NFL teams and the players they chose in the first round of the 2017 draft. Rookie contracts for NFL draftees are four years long. Contracts for players picked in the first round, however, carry a team option for a fifth year and if a team wishes to use it, the option must be exercised by May 4.

32. Ryan Ramczyk

 Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The Saints picked up the option on offensive lineman Ryan Ramczyk in March. Ramczyk, taken from Wisconsin, has earned recognition on the All-Pro list in both 2018 (on the second team) and 2019 (on the first team).

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7, Page 8, Page 9, Page 10, Page 11, Page 12, Page 13, Page 14, Page 15, Page 16, Page 17, Page 18, Page 19, Page 20, Page 21, Page 22, Page 23, Page 24, Page 25, Page 26, Page 27, Page 28, Page 29, Page 30, Page 31, Page 32

6 quarterbacks who became the No. 1 overall pick after transferring colleges

Joe Burrow becomes the third straight No. 1 overall pick to have transferred schools in college.

The road to the top overall selection doesn’t always go through one college. Joe Burrow becomes the sixth top pick — and third straight — to play quarterback and switch schools.

Troy Aikman at UCLA

USA TODAY Sports

Troy Aikman began his college career at Oklahoma. He was 3-0 as a starter before suffering a leg injury. While Aikman was out, the offense change and he transferred to UCLA.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7, Page 8, Page 9, Page 10, Page 11, Page 12, Page 13, Page 14, Page 15, Page 16

How have teams with the No. 1 overall pick fared the next season?

How have teams with the No. 1 overall pick fared the next season?

NFL Draft: How did teams with the No. 1 overall pick do in their following season?

How have NFL teams done the year after they made the first selection in the NFL Draft?

The first pick in the NFL Draft guarantees a college star … and not much else. A look at how the teams did in the first season after they kicked off the selection process. Did they improve, falter, or run in place?

1967: Baltimore Colts: Bubba Smith

Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

The NFL’s expansion team that would start play in 1967, the New Orleans Saints, swapped the No. 1 pick to Baltimore eight days before the draft. The Saints got backup quarterback Gary Cuozzo and Baltimore landed Michigan State defensive end Bubba Smith. The Colts had gone 9-5 in the 1966 season. They followed with an 11-1-2 mark in ’67, the only loss occurring in the final week of the regular season to the Los Angeles Rams.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7, Page 8, Page 9, Page 10, Page 11, Page 12, Page 13, Page 14, Page 15, Page 16, Page 17, Page 18, Page 19, Page 20, Page 21, Page 22, Page 23, Page 24, Page 25, Page 26, Page 27, Page 28, Page 29, Page 30, Page 31, Page 32, Page 33, Page 34, Page 35, Page 36, Page 37, Page 38, Page 39, Page 40, Page 41, Page 42, Page 43, Page 44, Page 45, Page 46, Page 47, Page 48, Page 49, Page 50, Page 51, Page 52, Page 53, Page 54, Page 55

The last first-round draft pick for all 65 Power Five schools

There’s always a bit of pride when a school sees one of its players selected in the first round of the NFL draft. The school’s social media accounts buzz, recruiting materials get updated and alumni make it a point to track how that player does in …

There’s always a bit of pride when a school sees one of its players selected in the first round of the NFL draft. The school’s social media accounts buzz, recruiting materials get updated and alumni make it a point to track how that player does in the NFL.

But some schools obviously do this more often than others. While places like Alabama and LSU almost always have a player taken in the first round, others school participate only very occasionally. One school from a major conference hasn’t even done had a first-rounder since 1973!

We got a bit curious about the last first-rounder taken from each school. So without further delay, here’s the last player from all 65 Power Five schools to be taken in the first round.

Pittsburgh: Aaron Donald (2014)

(Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports)

Pittsburgh has had 25 total first-rounders. Donald was the last when he was selected 13th overall by the Rams in 2014.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7, Page 8, Page 9, Page 10, Page 11, Page 12, Page 13, Page 14, Page 15, Page 16, Page 17, Page 18, Page 19, Page 20, Page 21, Page 22, Page 23, Page 24, Page 25, Page 26, Page 27, Page 28, Page 29, Page 30, Page 31, Page 32, Page 33, Page 34, Page 35, Page 36, Page 37, Page 38, Page 39, Page 40, Page 41, Page 42, Page 43, Page 44, Page 45, Page 46, Page 47, Page 48, Page 49, Page 50, Page 51, Page 52, Page 53, Page 54, Page 55, Page 56, Page 57, Page 58, Page 59, Page 60, Page 61, Page 62, Page 63, Page 64, Page 65