It’s hard to argue with the Ravens’ 2015 NFL Draft
After months of speculating where players would end up and which teams would trade up or down to get the players they coveted, the NFL Draft has finally concluded.
The results will ultimately look very different three-to-five years from now, after players have either developed or burned out. For that reason, I don’t like giving out draft grades. However, based on first impressions, there were some teams that did better than others.
Here are some of the winners and losers from the 2015 NFL Draft.
Winners
Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens may have had the best draft of anyone. General manager Ozzie Newsome has proven to be one of the best talent evaluators in the game, and he did not disappoint this year. Wide receiver Breshad Perriman (Central Florida), chosen in the first round (pick #26 overall), instantly replaces Torrey Smith who left in the offseason. TE Maxx Williams (Minnesota) takes over for veteran Owen Daniels, who also departed via free agency.
Perriman is the perfect fit in the Ravens’ offense. He is a deep-threat WR who can stretch the field and outrun the secondary. Joe Flacco should be very excited to add this young WR to the offense.
Williams was considered by many to be a first-round talent. He fell to the Ravens in the second round (pick #55 overall). While rookie TEs don’t generally put up big fantasy numbers in their first year, he should be a good security option for Flacco and have an impact on the entire Ravens’ offense.
The Ravens did one of the best jobs of anyone at not just drafting needs, but adding value at the same time.
Atlanta Falcons
If the Ravens didn’t have the best draft, then the Falcons did. This team was a huge disappointment last season, finishing with a record of 6-10. For a team that is so talented on offense, led by QB Matt Ryan, the Falcons desperately needed to improve their defense. They did exactly that in this draft.
Rather than take arguably the best RB in the draft (Todd Gurley) at #8, the Falcons decided to settle on DE/OLB Vic Beasley (Clemson). Beasley was considered by many to be the best pass rusher in this draft, and the Falcons should be thrilled he fell to them. After addressing the pass rush, the Falcons continued to focus on improving their porous defense, drafting CB Jalen Collins (LSU) in the second round (#42 overall). Collins could instantly become a Week 1 starter for the Falcons.
Passing on a RB in round one ended up being a blessing in disguise for Atlanta. They were able to address their defensive issues with the first two picks and still managed to draft RB Tevin Coleman (Indiana) in the third round (pick #73 overall). The Falcons let veteran RB Steven Jackson leave via free agency in the offseason, so Coleman will be able to compete with Devonta Freeman for the starting job right away. Coleman is a breakaway type of runner who could easily have gone much higher in this year’s draft. The Falcons may have gotten a steal here in round three.
Oakland Raiders
The best thing you can do to improve the growth and development of your young franchise QB is to surround him with talent. That is exactly what the Raiders did by drafting Amari Cooper (Alabama) in the first round (#4 overall). Cooper was widely considered the most NFL-ready WR in this draft. Based on how well rookie WRs did last season in fantasy, look for Cooper and QB Derek Carr to put up big numbers together this season.
Along with Cooper, the Raiders also drafted TE Clive Walford (Miami) in the third round (pick #68 overall). Again, rookie TEs tend not to put up big fantasy numbers. However, the pick should help Carr’s development and allow him to improve upon a successful rookie season.
St. Louis Rams
Rather than start out their draft addressing the team’s most glaring need, offensive line, the Rams decided to draft arguably the best RB to come out of college in years, Todd Gurley (Georgia) in the first round (pick #10 overall). Although they already had Tre Mason and Zac Stacy on the roster entering the draft, head coach Jeff Fisher could not pass on the opportunity to grab the best player on the board at the time. It will remain to be seen what happens to Tre Mason now. Zac Stacy was ultimately traded to the New York Jets.
The Rams already had one of the strongest defenses in the league and now add one of the most promising RB to their team, which should allow them to play the kind of football Jeff Fisher prefers. If Gurley can 1) stay healthy and 2) be ready to go at the start of the season (still recovering from a torn ACL last year), the Rams could be much improved from a year ago.
After taking Gurley, the Rams focused the rest of the draft on the o-line. They drafted three offensive linemen, Rob Havenstein (Wisconsin) in the second round (pick #57 overall), Jamon Brown (Louisville) in the third (pick #72 overall) and Andrew Donnal (Iowa) in the fourth (pick #119 overall). If these OT turn out to be staples for years to come, this will be a much-improved St. Louis team.
Other Notables: Houston Texans and Chicago Bears
Like the Raiders, the Texans and Bears drafted WRs to help their QB. In the case of Houston and Chicago, it was to replace veterans that left through free agency (Andre Johnson) and a trade (Brandon Marshall). The Texans landed WR Jaelen Strong (Arizona State) in the third round (pick #70 overall), while the Bears grabbed Kevin White (West Virginia) in the first round (pick #7 overall).
Losers
Dallas Cowboys
It shocks me that the Cowboys did not draft a RB in this year’s draft. In a class that many thought was the deepest it’s been at the position in years, Dallas instead focused mainly on the defensive side of the ball. Granted, the defense desperately needed as much as help as it could get, but did Jerry Jones and the Dallas organization not learn anything after winning the NFC East last year? The best way to help a bad defense is having a strong running game.
NFL rushing leader DeMarco Murray signed in the same division with the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Cowboys proceeded to let 23 RBs get drafted in 2015 without picking one of them. The Dallas offensive line was one of the best (if not the best) in football last year, but they must really like Darren Mcfadden to not even address the position.
Cleveland Browns
Can someone explain to me what exactly the Browns are doing? They drafted center Cameron Irving (Florida State) in the first round (pick #19 overall) even though they already had Alex Mack, and then they draft RB Duke Johnson (Miami) in the third round (pick #77 overall) despite having Isaiah Crowell and Terrance West on the roster.
Did anyone in their draft room realize that WR Josh Gordon was suspended for the year? Perhaps they could have drafted a WR to help whoever is going to play QB for for this team? Maybe the GM and the rest of the personnel are the ones that should be suspended?
Carolina Panthers
The Panthers reached for OLB Shaq Thompson (Washington) in the first round (pick #25 overall). They did not need to go defense with their first pick as defense is this team’s strength. They could have aligned QB Cam Newton with another WR to pair with last year’s standout rookie WR Kelvin Benjamin.
Going with that logic, they stretched again by selecting WR/TE Devin Funchess (Michigan) in the second round (pick #41 overall). Many analysts have questioned what position Funchess will end up playing in the NFL, as well as his pass-catching ability. There were other WRs on the board at the time of this pick who could have helped the Panthers out more immediately.
Other Notables: Buffalo Bills and Indianapolis Colts
One team (Bills) didn’t spend enough quality picks to help the offense, while the other (Colts) picked a WR in the first round when they already had four really good ones.
AJ Stone is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from AJ, check out his archive and follow him @ajstone18.
