NFL Draft Nuggets
So you decided to click this link about my nuggets. Well, I have plenty of them, so don’t worry there. I will be looking at some overall draft trends, team needs, a few prospects specifically and more. As for nuggets themselves, I love them unless they get pretentious and start calling themselves wings. Let’s get right to the nugs before I start in on boneless wings again. I bought a 12 piece.
My Nugs:
1st Nug: I think the Jags are going to blow the top pick.
They have Aidan Hutchinson RIGHT THERE. He is easily the best and most productive player in this draft. There are rumblings though, that they want Travon Walker. It’s hard to figure it as smoke either, because the team most likely to trade with them would be the Lions, who would seemingly love to get the local legend Hutchinson. When you have the top pick, don’t get cute. Take the top player. Don’t look for upside or tools. TAKE THE BEST PLAYER.
2nd Nug: If I was drafting just based on the NAME of the prospects, here are my top 10.
Smoke Monday S - This name sounds like a private eye from a film in the 1930’s. Smoke will find anyone by working in the shadows, with a huge per diem for whiskey of course. Plus, all that Smoke, he doesn’t want it… HE HAS IT.
Cameron Dicker K - Speaking of dicks, there once was a man named Dicker. He just so happened to be kicker. He gets the ball off the ground, will go in the 6th round, that’s the story of Dicker the kicker.
Charleston Rambo WR - Definitely a name you would give to a motel if you were an elite athlete, like how Michael Vick was famously Ron Mexico for any stays at the Marriott. Since he is set to go in the later rounds, I’m gonna assume his real name isn’t Randy Moss.
Drake London WR - Definitely a secret agent working deep cover, Drake is an Archer-esque buffon who somehow still always gets his man. Plus, I love ducks.
Sauce Gardner CB- I love the idea of stirring the pot at CB. CBs are just as dramatic as WRs but with an inferiority complex because they couldn’t catch well enough to be wide receivers (except Xavien Howard). Sauce likes to mix it up (I assume)
Skyy Moore WR - I don’t know why they added a y, perhaps to fly? Skyy has a little bit of Starr Syndrome, but overcomes it with a last name that indicates that there might even be MORE y’s on the horizon. Elite WR name.
Chris Paul G - Yep, he’s a real prospect in this draft, and a guard to boot. You can’t make this stuff up
Bam Knight RB - Definitely a stupid action hero movie name, BAM (who should insist his full first name be capitalized) makes for a fantastic running back name. Knight is even perfect. Just a smooth fit all the way.
Ty Fryfogle WR - This name just makes me giggle.
Zion Johnson T - If I told you that Zion Johnson was an enormous offensive tackle you would be like, “yeah, of course”.
3rd Nug - The Jets REALLY want a WR and I predict they get one
They REALLY need help in the secondary, but you don’t get to the bottom of the draft by accident. They have been in on every possible WR available, and it’s clear they want to upgrade the position. Unfortunately, they are terrible, so no one wants to play there. Thankfully, players can’t really say no to being drafted, so here is their big chance.
4th Nug - The Texans will take whoever is most Christian.
Since Jack Easterbrook took over, one thing has been clear, talent comes second in Houston to faith. Not coincidentally, the Texans are terrible. It’s hard to identify who the Texans will pick, but with their evangelical model, I am going to take a guess: Charles Cross. What a perfect hill to die on.
5th Nug - Nobody wants to trade up.
This draft is terrible. I don’t see a single game changing WR, RB, TE, and definitely not a starting QB. Nobody is going to package picks from next year for a player this year, at this point, at least not in the first round. This DOES seem to be a deep draft, so that kind of lateral move could happen, especially in the third or fourth round.
6th Nug - The flightless Falcons take a WR.
Whether it’s the first round or the second, no team needs one more than the Falcons, who have literally no one to play the position next year. I DEFY you to name one of their wide receivers (who isn’t on indefinite suspension). This is going to be the first ground and pound Falcon in bird history.
7th Nug - The Seahawks won’t draft a QB in the first round.
Call it a hunch, but I think they want to get back to being a defensive juggernaut. Their secondary was their calling card, and developing that is Pete Carroll’s strength. I think they take one of the three really good CBs at 9. Maybe even someone… Saucy.
8th Nug - The Philadelphia Eagles DO take a QB
Staying with the bird theme… the Eagles have made it very clear through the years that they value having two QBs who can play right away. I think they surprise a lot of folks and use one of their picks on player to compete with Jalen Hurts in the future. I think they like Hurts, but I also don’t think they are totally sold on him.
9th Nug - Jordan Davis is my favorite prospect in this draft.
I know he won’t go first, but I think so much of what Georgia did last year, as one of the greatest defenses to ever play college ball, relied on Davis to take away the middle of the field. I don’t think you can have a Lewis Cine or Nakobe Dean, if Davis doesn’t require two, or three blockers on every play. I think he will dominate the trenches for YEARS after this draft, and teams will be wondering why he didn’t go in the top 5. The Chargers have to be PRAYING that he falls to them. Look at the above picture. He is unfathomably large (and athletic).
10th Nug - Devin Lloyd is a steal waiting to happen
Lloyd is the perfect versatile linebacker, who can stop the run, and play the pass, for the modern NFL. He has all the tools, but because he is a LB (typically underdrafted) and from a non-SEC school, he will slip down the draft board. He shouldn’t. He will outplay a number of the dud skill position players taken ahead of him. People will be asking why he didn’t go in the top 15.
11th Nug - The Dolphins outsmarted everyone by just getting the hell out of this draft.
Who knows if Tyreek Hill will work out yet or not, but just by avoiding picking a bunch of second and third round prospects in the first round, they are winners. This might be the worst skill position draft since the dreaded 2013 draft that the Dolphins loaded with picks. They UNLOADED those picks for a terrible Dion Jordan. This time, they just skipped it, a strategy other teams can only dream of doing as they try to trade picks from this draft for next year, like the Eagles already did (after getting the Dolphins pick that has minimal value). Remember, you still have to pay players first-round salaries, even if they are second-round good.
12th Nug - WRs will fall.
It’s simply getting too easy for teams to find good receivers. More and more, you are seeing WRs slip, unless they are ultra talents (Ja’marr Chase and Jaylen Waddle are exceptions that prove the rule). A WR pick is a luxury, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the WR’s start to slip like RBs do. There are half a dozen guys with 1st-2nd round grades running a 4.4 40 every year now. Supply is starting to outstrip demand. I’d rather have one of the top 3 CBs this year than any of the WRs. It’s just something to keep an eye on.
Of course I fuckin’ could.