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2015 NFL Draft wowed with ‘High Value’ picks

By Dan Salem

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The buzzword of 2015 NFL Draft is high value, as players fell to teams like the Jets and Patriots. Chicago wowed, the draft was strange, and the value debate is blazing. Dan Salem and Todd Salem debate in today’s NFL TD Sports Debate. Two brothers from New York yell, scream and debate the NFL and sports.

TODD:

We have reached the culmination of the 2015 NFL Draft. No one really knows how any team drafted just because even the poorest of selections could pan out in three or four years. I’m looking at you, Carolina!

Nevertheless, a successful draft can be zeroed in on. It’s about finding and selecting value.

For example, there is nothing wrong with Jacksonville selecting Dante Fowler third overall. He was a good fit for what they needed and is a good prospect. There is no value gleaned from that pick though.

Similarly, the television analysts made a point of beefing up the Jaguars’ second-round selection of T.J. Yeldon as a nice sleeper pick. That’s fine. It is wrong, but it’s fine. Yeldon was only a nice pick if a team took him where he was being projected before the draft. By taking him 36th overall, his value was reduced to nothing. He could become a great player, but it was no longer a great pick.

Coincidentally, I loved a few of Jacksonville’s later selections, namely linemen A.J. Cann and Michael Bennett. It is hard for a team to make all good picks. The Jags did pretty well overall in my mind.

What I really love is when a team grabs someone who was universally projected to be gone by the time that pick came along. The Jets grabbing Leonard Williams at six was genius even if they didn’t need him. He’s the best player in the draft! The New England Patriots benefited even more as Malcom Brown fell to them at 32. He was the best player available AND fit a team need.

The same thing goes for Houston grabbing Jaelen Strong in the third round. He was a first round talent and fit a spot the Texans wanted to address: perfect pick.

Apr 30, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Leonard Williams (Southern California) poses for a photo after being selected as the number sixth overall pick to the New York Jets in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

I would congratulate the New York Giants on doing something similar by moving up to take Landon Collins at 33rd overall and landing a good defensive end in Owa Odighizuwa the following round, but the Giants also reached for Ereck Flowers with their first-round selection. We’ll call it even.

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The interesting thing about this season’s draft is that there were a few players who fit the value bill perfectly but it didn’t actually translate. Normally I absolutely love a team who takes a player that began to drop down draft boards just the last week before the draft. That is the player to target because he was originally higher for valid reasons, and in the NFL, the hate normally carries these guys too far down.

Shane Ray would be the perfect example if the Broncos didn’t deal away a starting offensive lineman to move up to get him. Randy Gregory would be a perfect example as well, except the stuff we don’t know about him sounds scarier because of its secrecy. Why can no one explain what is really going on with him? Is it an NFL Royce White situation? Is it something worse?

And then there’s La’el Collins. A first-round offensive lineman before the police called him in for questioning on the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Collins could have turned into the absolute steal of May. Not the case, as he went un-drafted, despite the fact that the police announced he was not a suspect…at this time. Of course, the story could unfold wildly from here and he may never play a down in the league. There’s no value in that.

It was a strange year because of those value players. Making a smart pick late wasn’t as clear as it normally is.

DAN:

The La’el Collins situation blew way out of hand, in my opinion. He should have been chosen in the seventh round at the very least, because he’s got first round talent, as you noted. Going un-drafted was a surprise, plus he’s not eligible to enter the 2016 draft. Collins’ story is one to follow as the season approaches. So is the progress of all this ‘value’ you mentioned.

Value is a fun buzzword, but I’m on your side. Its how to win and lose the draft. I was very impressed with how the New York Jets found tremendous value in the first, second, and fourth rounds. You mentioned Leonard Williams falling to them at sixth overall, but the picks of wide receiver Devin Smith out of Ohio State in round two, and quarterback Bryce Petty out of Baylor in round four, were both great high value selections.

The fun part will be seeing how these value players pan out. Several teams traded up to grab players they coveted, but I failed to see the value in all of those moves. Denver traded up in round one to select linebacker Shane Ray. This move felt odd to me, outside the obvious fact that the Broncos really wanted Ray on their team.

San Diego, on the other hand, was bold in trading up to draft running back Melvin Gordon in round one. I applaud the move, but it thumbed its nose at the entire value debate. Whether or not a running back is worthy of that much value is another thing entirely. Yet the Chargers traded up for Gordon. Here’s hoping Philip Rivers has himself a new Tomlinson.

Draft grades will be pouring out over the next day or so, but if I were to grade the 2015 NFL Draft as a whole, I’d give it a solid A rating.

The city of Chicago was a beautiful site for the festivities. The coverage was fun and full of NFL faces. Add in the new star power of round one’s top two picks, plus the high value found throughout the three days, and this was an excellent draft overall.

Too bad not every team can feel as happy with what it came away with.

Next: NFL Draft 1st round winners and losers

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