2020 Post Draft Thoughts - Round 3
This is a continuation of my draft notes. These notes provide context for the 2020 NFL draft picks - who was a reach, who was a value, and the scenarios that various teams had when they were making these picks. Hopefully it will provide a handy reference point in future years. Here are the notes for Round 3:
65. Cincinnati Bengals - Logan Wilson, ILB, Wyoming. Cincinnati emphasized that it was prioritizing leadership heading into this year’s draft. A guy who was a team captain three years in a row certainly fits that bill. The fact that he plays the greatest position of need on the team certainly didn’t hurt. Given the lack of other options on the depth chart, Wilson should push for starter’s snaps immediately. A former cornerback, he can play all three linebacker positions, and is equally good against the pass and the run. Bengals coaches were apparently sweating in the second round that he wouldn’t make it to them. They love this kid, and I do too. He was one of my five favorite players heading into this draft.
66. Washington Redskins - Antonio Gibson, WR, Memphis. It is interesting to me that Washington announced him as a receiver, because many suspected he would be playing running back at the NFL level. I suspect that before it’s all said and done, that’s where he’ll wind up playing. They certainly have a huge hole at wide receiver on their depth chart opposite Terry McLaurin, but they also lack pass-catching backs behind Derrius Guice, Adrian Peterson, and Bryce Love.
67. Detroit Lions - Julian Okwara, DE, Notre Dame. The Okwara brothers have been reunited in Detroit (or maybe Julian is just taking his brother Romeo’s roster spot). This is a good get for a team that has struggled on the defensive line. He may be able to push for the starting spot opposite Trey Flowers by the end of 2020.
68. New York Jets - Ashytn Davis, S, California. I was higher on Davis than many of the safeties drafted before him, including Xavier McKinney, Grant Delpit, Kyle Dugger, and Jeremy Chinn. This is a second round talent getting taken in Round 3. I am curious to see whether he gets on the field, though. Was this pick made so that the Jets could trade Jamal Adams, or do they envision him replacing Marcus Maye? He seems to be a better fit at Maye’s free safety spot.
69. Seattle Seahawks - Damien Lewis, G, LSU. The pick makes sense. Lewis was generally viewed as one of the top guards in the draft. Drafting Lewis likely allows them to shift DJ Fluker over to right tackle. Although he’s not been great at right tackle in his career, he’s probably better than their other options for that spot, Cedric Ogbuehi and Jamarco Jones.
70. Miami Dolphins - Brandon Jones, S, Texas. This felt too early for this player. Not sure what Miami was thinking here.
71. Baltimore Ravens - Justin Madubuike, DT, Texas A&M. With a starting defensive line of Calais Campbell, Derek Wolfe, and Brandon Williams, the Ravens understood the need to get younger along that front. Williams is the youngest of the bunch, having been drafted in 2013. Madubuike gives them a talented, if not enignmatic and mercurial, piece for the future.
72. Arizona Cardinals - Josh Jones, LT, Houston. Jones was getting some serious first-round love, so to get the fifth-year senior at this point was a steal. The Cardinals offense would be best-served to flip DJ Humphries to right tackle to replace the underachieving Marcus Gilbert, and install Jones as their left tackle of the future. He was the most dominant offensive player during Senior Bowl week.
73. Jacksonville Jaguars - DaVon Hamilton, DT, Ohio State. The Jaguars did an excellent job in this draft filling their needs. The needed a replacement for Jalen Ramsey and selected CJ Henderson. They needed a replacement for Yannick Ngakoue (he’ll be traded sooner or later) and took K’Lavon Chaisson. They needed a replacement for Marcel Dareus and selected Hamilton. Check, check, check.
74. New Orleans Saints - Zack Baun, LB, Wisconsin. New Orleans caught a falling player. Many thought Baun could go at the end of the first round, but a diluted drug sample at the combine likely caused his free fall. The Saints have one of the most loaded rosters in the league, but their one area of weakness was at linebacker. That unit was significantly bolstered with the selection of Baun.
75. Detroit Lions - Jonah Jackson, G, Ohio State. Like the Seahawks’ selection of Damien Lewis, this pick falls right in line with player value. Jackson was viewed as one of the top 5 guards in this class, and should immediately compete for the Lions’ right guard spot.
76. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Ke’Shawn Vaughn, RB, Vanderbilt. Vaughn was one of the more underrated backs heading into this class, so it’s nice to see him in this landing spot. Ronald Jones has not been anything special through two years, so if Vaughn can earn Tom Brady’s trust in the passing game, he could find his way onto the field early in his career.
77. Denver Broncos - Michael Ojemudia, CB, Iowa. With Cameron Dantzler, Bryce Hall, and Amik Robertson on the board, I wasn’t thrilled with this pick. The position makes sense though. Denver’s corners are getting pretty long in the tooth.
78. Atlanta Falcons - Matt Hennessy, C, Temple. Atlanta may be preparing for life after Alex Mack. This feels like about the right range for Hennessy.
79. New York Jets - Jabari Zuniga, EDGE, Florida. Didn’t the Jets learn their lesson. They spent a third round pick on an EDGE rusher from Florida last year - Jachai Polite - and it cost GM Mike Maccagnan his job. Hopefully Zuniga pans out better than Polite, and at least lasts longer than final cuts in his rookie season.
80. Las Vegas Raiders - Lynn Bowden, WR, Kentucky. Opportunity is there for the taking in Las Vegas, which should have a wide open depth chart. Bowden is a jack-of-all trades player that should help Las Vegas in the return game, on jet sweeps, out of the backfield, and in the passing game. As an added bonus, he’s also the best quarterback on the roster. (Just kidding. Kinda. Derek Carr and Marcus Mariota aren’t good.)
81. Las Vegas Raiders - Bryan Edwards, WR, South Carolina. Love this pick. Edwards is a very underrated player, and likely would have gone a round higher if not for his injury. He’s probably going to be the chains-mover for this offense. This was probably Las Vegas’ best pick of the draft.
82. Dallas Cowboys - Neville Gallimore, DT, Oklahoma. Wow, great work by Dallas. They’re trotting out the aging Gerald McCoy and Dontari Poe at defensive tackle this year, and drafted Trysten Hill in the second round last year for their rotation. Gallimore should give them an ideal replacement for McCoy and Poe down the line.
83. Denver Broncos - Lloyd Cushenberry, C, LSU. Denver comes out of Round 3 with one of the top two centers in the draft. One has to wonder if this selection will push Graham Glasgow to right guard, or if they will try to play Cushenberry there.
84. Los Angeles Rams - Terrell Lewis, EDGE, Alabama. Given the state of the depth chart after the loss of Dante Fowler, Lewis slots in as an immediate starter as an edge rusher for the Rams.
85. Indianapolis Colts - Julian Blackmon, S, Utah. I was somewhat surprised that Blackmon was taken before his more hyped teammate, Terrell Burgess.
86. Buffalo Bills - Zack Moss, RB, Utah. Moss ran slower than people had hoped at the combine, but he still has a three-down skill set. He runs violently, like Chris Ivory or Marion Barber. He and Devin Singletary should form a nice 1-2 punch.
87. New England Patriots - Anfernee Jennings, EDGE, Alabama. Bill Belichick can’t help himself when it comes to taking Alabama players. He just trusts his buddy Nick Saban so much. It feels like he takes at least one Alabama player nearly every year.
88. Cleveland Browns - Jordan Elliott, DT, Missouri. I was considerably lower on Elliott than most others in the draftnik community. I just didn’t understand the appeal. Needless to say, I was thrilled when he went to a division rival of the Bengals.
89. Minnesota Vikings - Cameron Dantzler, CB, Mississippi State. Dantzler is one of those guys who, if he hadn’t run at the combine, likely would have been a second round pick. Running a forty slower than 4.6 just killed his stock. But he’s a tall (6’2”) corner with good ball skills and anticipation, and he may get an opportunity to play in nickel sets this year as one of the outside corners. There’s not much depth chart climbing for him to do in Minnesota.
90. Houston Texans - Jonathan Greenard, EDGE, Florida. This was the pick that saw Bill O’Brien cursing on screen for the virtual draft. Apparently he had a trade worked out with the Lions, who then backed out. No matter. The Texans add a much-needed young rusher for their outside linebacking corps.
91. New England Patriots - Devin Asiasi, TE, UCLA. This is a fairly weak tight end class; but even so, Asiasi was not projected to go on Day 2. Interesting selection by the Hoodie.
92. Baltimore Ravens - Devin Duvernay, WR, Texas. This was an appropriate range for this player. Duvernay was a catch machine in college and projects as an excellent slot receiver in the NFL. He is likely the long-term Willie Snead replacement in Baltimore, with sophomores Hollywood Brown and Miles Boykin projected as the starters on the outside.
93. Tennessee Titans - Darrynton Evans, RB, Appalachian State. The conventional wisdom is that this is a Dion Lewis replacement, whom the Titans cut during the free agency period. One wonders if he will be capable of carrying the load should Derrick Henry miss any time with an injury. Many scouts questioned whether he had the frame to handle three-down duties in the NFL.
94. Green Bay Packers - Josiah Deguara, TE, Cincinnati. Probably the biggest reach of the draft so far. Green Bay easily wins the award for worst draft, selecting Utah State QB Jordan Love in Round 1, Boston College RB AJ Dillon in Round 2, and Deguara in Round 3. Aaron Rodgers should be livid.
95. Denver Broncos - McTelvin Agim, DT, Arkansas. McTelvin “Sosa” Agim is a former five star recruit, so the talent is undeniably there, but he had a rather ho-hum college career. He started out as a defensive end before moving inside for his final season. This is a reasonable gamble for the Broncos, who are devoid of much talent on the defensive front.
96. Kansas City Chiefs - Lucas Niang, RT, TCU. This could be the steal of the draft. Niang was one of my absolute favorite players in this draft class. A pure right tackle, he was generating some first round buzz before suffering a hip injury during his senior season at TCU. Despite having a torn hip flexor, the dude played for several weeks because he wanted to “beat Texas.” He played through the injury until his body just gave out on him. Still, the fact that he played hurt like that tells you that he’s a warrior. He’s excellent in pass protection. The main criticism of him is that he did not get much “push” in the run game. Not that he didn’t maintain his blocks; he did. He just didn’t push the opposing lineman backward. But that’s probably to be expected when you’re playing with a torn hip flexor, wouldn’t you think? This is a fantastic pick for the reigning Super Bowl Champs. He should have gone at least a round higher.
97. Cleveland Browns - Jacob Phillips, LB, LSU. Another player who gets the National Championship bump, Phillips is probably being selected a round or two earlier than he should.
98. Baltimore Ravens - Malik Harrison, LB, Ohio State. Harrison is a thumper, but questions linger regarding his coverage ability. In today’s NFL, if you can’t cover, you can’t stay on the field. Two down linebackers are always available in August. Is this guy just another Brandon Spikes, or can he play man coverage?
99. New York Giants - Matt Peart, LT, UConn. Peart is a very good developmental prospect, with the length you want out of a left tackle. But this seems like a very odd fit, since the Giants used their first round pick in this draft on left tackle Andrew Thomas. Do they plan on shifting Thomas to the right side? Certainly they don’t plan on shifting Peart to the right, do they?
100. Las Vegas Raiders - Tanner Muse, S, Clemson. GM Mike Mayock and HC Mike Gruden continue to make selections that bolster the public’s belief that they only scout players who have been in the college football playoff. The Raiders are quickly becoming Clemson West, having selected a total of five Clemson players over the past two drafts (Clelin Ferrell, Trayvon Mullen, Hunter Renfrow, Tanner Muse, and John Simpson).
101. New England Patriots - Dalton Keene, TE, Virginia Tech. Dalton Keene? Really? The Patriots double-dip on tight ends in Round 3 in a weak tight end class, and completely ignore quarterback. Maybe Bill really does believe in Jarrett Stidham. I have no idea what they are doing. But maybe Belichick doesn’t, either: no team has gone longer without drafting a Pro Bowler.
102. Pittsburgh Steelers - Alex Highsmith, EDGE, Charlotte. Pittsburgh always needs more edge rushers, and Highsmith gives them a nice rotational piece behind TJ Watt and franchise player Bud Dupree.
103. Philadelphia Eagles - Davion Taylor, LB, Colorado. Philadelphia always has a different taste for linebackers than the rest of the NFL. Selecting Taylor was probably a mistake with Appalachian State’s Akeem Davis-Gaither still on the board, but time will tell. Philly certainly had a need for linebackers given the state of their depth chart.
104. Los Angeles Rams - Terrell Burgess, S, Utah. This is a nice depth piece for the Rams, who seem set with their starters in John Johnson and Taylor Rapp. I still wonder what their succession plan is at left tackle, though. Seems they should have given up a later pick to jump up ahead of the Giants to take Matt Peart.
105. New Orleans Saints - Adam Trautman, TE, Dayton. A small school tight end? You ain’t in Kansas anymore, Toto. It speaks to the overall weakness of this tight end class when a QB-turned-TE from Dayton is among the first tight ends chosen.
106. Baltimore Ravens - Tyre Phillips, G, Mississippi State. I religiously read scouting reports on draft-eligible prospects each year, and this player was not on my radar. But with the retirement of Marshal Yanda, the Ravens clearly have a need on their depth chart, so if this is the guy they felt best about, so be it.