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With day one in the books, the NFL Draft can really start with a quickness of picks that we didn't see tonight. That said, there was a lot of action and drama (Geno Smith lololololololol). Thus, I am here to provide a basic recap of what happened in the NFC West.
The Cardinals had a sleepy evening, using the number seven overall pick to select Jonathan Cooper, a Guard for North Carolina. In my evaluation of the Cardinals this offseason, I targeted the o-line as an area of intense need for the Cardinals. While I think traditionally this position would not have seen a top-ten pick, the Guard position is becoming more and more important in the NFL. With the run of o-line in the early goings, moreover, this pick looks even better.
The Seahawks drafted an injury-prone, high-potential WR that will cost millions of dollars. Let's all laugh at the Seahawks in the snootiest way possible, even if we think Percy Harvin will be a good player for them. Pretentious group laugh in 3...2...1...
The Rams had a huge night. I mean, they may have drafted busts, but they sure were pretty busy all evening. Initially they traded up to the eighth spot (accruing the 71st spot simultaneously) by giving up the 16th, 46th, 78th, and 222nd picks to the Buffalo Bills. With this pick, they got Tavon Austin, WR from West Virginia. Austin was a guy that the rumor mill tried to staple to the 49ers. While I would have liked Austin on the team, this is much too high for the 49ers. Moreover, Austin comes with quite a few question marks. The potential seems to be there, but his garden-gnome size makes me fear that a safety nailing him in the middle of the field might be devastating.
This wasn't the only Rams trade of the evening. The Rams also traded out of the 22nd pick, giving it up (and a 2015 7th rounder) to the Atlanta Falcons in return for the 30th pick, the 92nd pick and the 198th pick. With the 30th pick, the Rams took Alec Ogletree, LB from Georgia. Ogletree is a good pick for the Rams, even if he isn't a clear superstar (better than Manti Te'o, though...). He is an athletic guy with a slow forty time. From what I understand, and I don't know a ton about this guy having not seen him play, he is less of a traditional sideline-to-sideline tacking ILB, and more of a good coverage guy. I saw a couple of tweets questioning how physical of a player he will be.
MORE DRAFT COVERAGE
- Early 49ers draft grades
- First Round Winners, Losers
- 49ers Pre-Draft Roster
- Prospect Scouting Reports
- Consensus Top-400 big board