2013 NFL Draft Winners and Losers
The NFL draft brought the excitement of the league back to fans this past weekend and though there were no games to check out, there were still plenty of winners and losers on display. Who made their team instantly stronger and who dropped the ball? Here are our top 3 winners and 2 biggest losers from the 2013 NFL draft:
Winner: Philadelphia Eagles
Chip Kelly definitely made an impression in his first NFL draft, as the Eagles filled some needs and made some nice moves, nabbing steals in the late rounds. Philly filled a huge need (literally) at offensive tackle by drafting Lane Johnson with the fourth overall pick and then grabbed sure-handed tight end Zach Ertz in the second round, before landing a strong defensive tackle in Bennie Logan and then USC QB Matt Barkley in the fourth round. The mix of offensive and defensive players and the quality of players they ended up with makes the Eagles a real draft winner.
Winner: San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers didn’t need to get any better, but they certainly did after nabbing arguably the best safety in the draft in LSU’s Eric Reid. The Niners had 11 picks in all and focused mostly on defense, but they did land possibly the biggest steal of the draft by taking South Carolina running back Marcus Lattimore late in the fourth round. Lattimore is coming off a serious season-ending knee injury, which caused teams to pass on him, but there’s no doubt that his upside is huge if he’s healthy. In fact, I would go as far to say he’s the best back in the draft if he does remain healthy, so the Niners may have secured a worthy successor to Frank Gore and their powerful run game.
Winner: Buffalo Bills
Not a lot of NFL pundits and analysts were enamored with the Bills’ draft because they may not have filled their most pressing needs early, but they won me over with some solid picks. First, they picked up Florida State QB E.J. Manuel, who was the first and possibly best quarterback selected. Then in the second round, they added to their offensive stockpile by picking up USC receiver Robert Woods and in the third, nabbed versatile linebacker from Oregon, Kiko Alonso. Those three players could each have a major impact in their first seasons, so the Bills could have instantly gotten a whole lot better.
Loser: Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs didn’t have the worst draft in the league, but they land on the loser list for underachieving with the first overall pick. They definitely needed a lineman and Eric Fisher wasn’t a bad pick, but I would’ve went with Luke Joeckel, who comes from a much tougher conference – SEC vs. MAC – and is an arguably more accomplished tackle, as a pass protector for Johnny “Football” Manziel. Then after the first round, the rest of Kansas City’s draft was underwhelming, except for the selection of Alabama’s Nico Johnson in the fourth round. For a team that needed a lot of help, the Chiefs didn’t help themselves much.
Loser: Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys continued to prove why Jerry Jones should step down as the team’s GM. They made a number of head-scratching picks that didn’t fill their biggest needs. Though they did fill their interior lineman need in round one by selecting Wisconsin center Travis Frederick, he was graded by experts as a third round pick, so they could have added a defensive player instead. They went with a tight end in the second round, which they didn’t need with pro-bowler Jason Witten and solid backup James Hanna still on the team. They then went back to the offensive line, but drafted a guard out of Southern University, instead of going with one of the many stellar SEC and Big 12 lineman that were available. They also failed to add any defensive players until late in round four. Dallas sure didn’t do itself any favors in the draft this year.
