NFC East: First Round Review

Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles had one pick in the first round and it was #2 overall after trading up with the Cleveland Browns.  It seems that the Eagles were targeting a QB all along and by most accounts, they knew and wanted that guy to be Carson Wentz.  And so it was.

#2 - Carson Wentz, QB, North Dakota St. (6'5", 237 lbs.)

I think this is a huge gamble for the Eagles and personally, I don't really like the pick for them (love it from a 'Skins perspective).  First of all, they're gambling with the pick, regardless of circumstance.  Wentz is a guy who's played in like 23 games in his collegiate career and all of them were in the FCS.  That's very little experience and against relatively weak competition.  Sure, he looks the part, but betting on potential with so little experience and against inferior competition is about as risky as it gets.  He reminds me a lot of Alex Smith... and I'm not sure that's what they want at #2 overall.

Secondly, this team has three QBs now!  I mean, what is their plan.  They paid Sam Bradford a lot.  They paid Chase Daniel a lot.  Then they gave up a lot to move up to get yet another QB.  Somebody tell these guys that only one guy plays.  I just can't see the plan and it seems like they've made a big mess of their QB situation now.  Reconsider what they gave up to get this guy: Maxwell and Alonso, their first-round pick next year, two nice picks this year, and a second-rounder in 2018...  Seriously?!  For Carson Wentz and after you spent a small fortune on not one, but two other QBs this off-season?!  Wow.  I have a lot of trouble thinking Wentz is going to live up to that.  Welcome Alex Smith 2.0 to the division and enjoy the QBs tripping all over themselves at the most important position in sport.  The 'Skins are either going to play against a terrible QB twice a year or a rookie twice a year.  I like either scenario.

Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys only pick on Thursday night came at #4 overall.  There was some talk about them possibly trading back or picking any number of players there.  Additionally, there was talk of the Cowboys making an attempt to trade up into the late first round to acquire Paxton Lynch (even talk that they were talking with the 'Skins for #21 to get Lynch).  In the end, it didn't work out and they only got one player.  That player is RB Ezekiel Elliott.

#4 - Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Ohio State (6', 225 lbs.)

Look, there's nothing not to like about Elliott.  Is without a doubt the best RB in this draft and he's pretty damn complete.  Good at everything.  Elite runner.  Great catcher.  Excellent blocker (very important with Mr. Glass at QB).  He'll probably be in the running for the Rookie of the Year award and gets to run behind an elite OL.  He's going to be a great one.

That's the good...  But consider, the Cowboys spent the #4 overall pick on a RB.  For many people, that's way to early for that position.  RBs have short shelf-lives, aren't typically all that expensive (so they're not saving a bunch of money by have a rookie rather than FAs... even though they have both, more on that in a minute), and typically can be found in later rounds.  Again, Elliott is elite.  But is an elite RB that much better than a guy in the second or third round?  And is he good enough to be worth #4 overall?  In my opinion, no, but we'll see.

There's another element to this, though.  The Cowboys have Darren McFadden and Alfred Morris.  That's a damn good duo.  Poor Alfred.  I feel for him.  He doesn't deserve this.   So they spent #4 on another guy at the same spot?  Why?  What are they going to do with three good RBs?  It certainly wasn't a position of need for them and Morris has to be seriously reconsidering going to that team now.  And they passed on Jalen Ramsey!  That's a victory by itself.  Thanks, Jerry.

The Redskins obviously need to work on their run defense and the Cowboys will without a doubt be a very good running team.  It's just that I think they were going to be a good running team before this pick, so I don't know that they're team got that much better here and certainly not as much better as you'd expect from adding a #4 overall pick to a roster.

New York Giants

Reach city over here had one pick, stayed where they were, and reached as far as their little arms could reach for Eli Apple.  I can't help but envision an orchard with little Eli reaching way up to get an apple.  I digress.

#10 - Eli Apple, CB, Ohio State (6'1", 199 lbs.)

So the Giants had an obvious need at CB.  They let Amukamara walk and got Janoris Jenkins for big money.  Still, they needed another guy.  So I'll give them this over the other two teams in our division, at least they picked a guy at a position that makes sense.  The problem is that they picked the wrong guy for that position when there were at least 1-2 other guys better than him at CB available at the time of their pick.  If Apple ends up being a stud, this pick may look very good, but if he's just average or in any way worse than Hargreaves (likely) then it'll confirm that this pick was botched.

Apple's very good in man coverage, but he's terrible inconsistent, can't play zone, and missed nine tackles last season alone.  The Bucs were thankful for the Giants mistake just one pick later when they picked the best CB not named Jalen Ramsey in this draft.  Let's join the Bucs organization in thanking the Giants.

It'll be so fun watching him try to stay with Garcon... or Jackson... or Doctson... or Crowder.  Well, fun for us, at least...

All in all, the rest of our division had a pretty bad night and I think 'Skins fans are feeling pretty good today.