Round 1 of the 2016 draft is in the books. Each of the NFC North teams made one selection to try and better their team for 2016 and beyond. Let’s take a look at each teams’ pick.
Chicago Bears Pick 9: Leonard Floyd OLB Georgia
The Bears traded up from pick 11 to pick 9 to nab the talented OLB in Floyd. Chicago gave up their 4th round pick (106) to move up two spots. This was costly but may be worth it for the Bears to add the defensive talent they wanted. McPhee is a stud OLB on one side. The Bears had Lamar Houston and Willie Young on the other OLB spot as solid players. GM Ryan Pace hopes Floyd can more than a solid player and contribute in the OLB pass rush rotation coupled with coverage skills.
Per the OLB draft article:
“Floyd is 6’6 and 244 pounds. He ran 4.6 at the combine with good vertical and broad jump. He has good size and athleticism and can shed blocks well. Floyd could be an edge rusher on the blitz and takes good angles to the QB. The OLB must bulk up some but must win more at the point of attack and must work on his tackling and keep his pads lower.” Floyd is a late Round 1 or Round 2 pick per my draft article.
Detroit Lions Pick 16: Taylor Decker OT Ohio State
The Lions biggest need was offensive tackle and they got a good one with the Decker pick by first year GM Bob Quinn. Decker should start immediately over Michael Ola at right tackle and Taylor has a chance to play left tackle too if he beats out Riley Reiff this season. Reiff is in a contract year (5th year option) and Detroit gets a year to decide if Decker can be the future left tackle. This was a safe pick for Detroit but a good pick.
Per the OT draft article:
“Decker is 6’7 and 310 pounds. Decker has shorter arms than preferred but is a mauling blocker. Decker has solid athleticism but must bend his knees and change directions better. The mauler has good power but average balance. Decker may be solely a good starting right tackle but could play left tackle too. He should be a first round pick.”
Here is a good film breakdown of Decker. Good athleticism, motor and mean streak but needs to work on his footwork. Decker improved a lot from 2014 to 2015 in pass protection.
Minnesota Vikings Pick 23: LaQuan Treadwell WR Ole Miss
The Vikings needed a WR weapon badly and they filled that need on Thursday night. Many considered Treadwell the best WR on the board but he was the 4th WR taken in this draft. Corey Coleman went 15th to the Browns and the Texans (Will Fuller at 21) and Redskins (Josh Doctson at 22) nabbed WRs right before the Vikings pick. The Vikings get a productive big WR that plays faster than his 40 times. Treadwell did have some drop issues that must be monitored but the Vikings improved their WR corp by pairing Treadwell with Stefon Diggs. The Vikings still may lack long speed but Bridgewater can work with possession receivers.
“Treadwell is 6’2 and 220 pound WR from Ole Miss. He was a 3 year starter and had 1,153 yards and 11 TDS in his junior season. Treadwell had a broken leg during the 2014 season and missed 4 games. Treadwell has good size and speed but did not run at the combine. The Ole Miss WR has good hands and runs solid routes. He’s an adequate blocker and can win contested jump balls. Treadwell has good body control and athleticism. Treadwell doesn’t have top end vertical speed and slows down on his breaks. He gets good YAC and wins contested balls. He must learn to beat the press more. Treadwell is considered the top WR in this class and should be a mid-first round pick.”
Here is a breakdown of Treadwell from Ole Miss.
Green Bay Packers Pick 27: Kenny Clark DT UCLA
The Green Bay Packers needed defensive line help and got a large nose tackle to replace BJ Raji in the 1st round. Green Bay stayed put at 27 after Seattle traded with Denver. Seattle nabbed an extra 3rd rounder (94) so Denver could move up to 26 and draft QB Paxton Lynch. Clark was considered by most a day 2 pick and I didn’t have a write up on him in the DT article. But here are some strengths and weaknesses for Clark.
Clark is 6’3 and 314 pounds from UCLA. He had 29 bench reps and has great power and torque. He is good at diagnosing the run and a good bull rush in the passing game. The Bruin can beat double teams and should be a nose tackle in the Packers scheme. Clark is a little undersized for the nose tackle position and has allowed some back side contains problems and broken tackles. Clark is only a bull rusher with little lateral quickness. Clark fills a need but is a bit of a reach at pick 27.
Overall Improvement
Each team improved. The Vikings, Packers and Lions filled major needs. The Bears improved an already strong position by adding an OLB.
Trades
Here is the full list of draft trades
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/25568802/nfl-draft-trade-tracker
The Browns made another big trade moving back from 8 to 15. The Titans wanted OT Jack Conklin at 8 and moved up to get him. The Titans gave up a 3rd round pick and 2nd round pick in 2017. The 49ers made a head scratching move giving up a 4th and 6th round pick to trade back into the 1st round with KC. Kansas City does not have a 1st round pick now but will have two second round picks and an extra 4th and 6th. Seattle got an extra 3rd for the Denver’s desire to add a franchise QB in Paxton Lynch.
Full First Round
http://www.nfl.com/draft/2016/tracker#dt-tabs:dt-by-round
There were some surprises on day 1 of the draft after the QBs went 1 and 2 (Goff and Wentz). Ezekial Elliot went to the Cowboys at 4. Eli Apple at pick 10 to the Giants and Laremy Tunsil falling to 13 were big surprises. Tunsil had a bad twitter photo leak that dropped him to the 3rd tackle taken.
The Raiders taking Safety Karl Joseph and the Falcons nabbing strong safety Keanu Neal at 17 were shockers given the board. The Jets passed on a QB for OLB Darron Lee. Artie Burns to the Steelers was a little reach and Joshua Garnett at 28 for the 49ers was a big reach. Robert Nkemidche had character concerns and went to Arizona (who took Mathieu in the past).
The first round is complete but the draft is far from over. Round 2 and 3 will take place on Friday night starting at 7 PM. There are many good players left including AShawn Robinson, Jarran Reed, Andrew Billings, Kevin Dodd, Emmanuel Ogbah, Connor Cooks, Mackensie Alexander and more. Enjoy day 2 of the draft tonight and study your game tape of the Round 1 picks.