Trindo's NFL Draft Takeaways - Rds. 1-3

Rojo may still be “The Guy” in Tampa.

Up to this point, we've had 103 picks go to the podium, and my biggest under the radar winner has to be Ronald Jones. It was almost a lock that the Bucs would take a running back in the first 2 days of the draft. they’ve got a new coach in Bruce Arians who brings a high octane, shot taking philosophy, and he generally prefers a bell cow in his backfield as opposed to a committee approach.

Enter Devin White, Sean Bunting and Jamel Dean, the LB, CB, CB combo the Bucs brought in with their first 3 rounds’ picks. This is a significant boost for Ronald Jones II. With some talented backs left on the board there is a possibility they still take one. I see them targeting a WR in their next 2 picks after losing D-Jax and Humphries. It always seems a little off when a team bails on a young player who clearly had some quality traits coming out of college. B.A. Might want to try to unleash some of those traits to add another feather to his Kangol hat.

I’ll be buying Rojo in both Dynasty and Redraft formats, simply based on what he costs in comparison to the potential pay-off.

Eagles stocking up for the future, while bracing for the Wentz deal

With a roster that allows for a BPA approach, Howie Roseman of the Eagles’ brass decided to stock up the offensive cupboards. In trading up for Andre Dillard, seeming to pull of the ol’ jump and snipe of the Texans, the Eagles built depth along the offensive line for this year, while securing an eventual long-term replacement for the aging Jason Peters at LT. I personally think their hope is to keep Lane Johnson over on the right side. Miles Sanders and JJ Arcega-Whiteside look to be future nucleus pieces. Saquon’s replacement at Penn State, Miles Sanders has the versatile skill-set to thrive in Douggy P’s offense while JJ Arcega-Whiteside looks like an eventual Alshon replacement with big upside as a red-zone threat with strong hands and contested catch ability.

In the scope of prepping for a Carson Wentz mega-deal, the Eagles now have flexibility when it comes to their offensive contracts. In an ideal world, Dillard can step into the LT spot next season, clearing Peters’ contract upon his eventual retirement. Sanders should negate the need to re-sign Jordan Howard, regardless of whether he produces or not in 2019. Arcega-Whiteside provides the most breathing room in this area, with Alshon set to collect 14+ million in each of the next 3 years. Getting out of that contract becomes easier in 2020, as the dead cap hit moves to 5.95 M, down from 20.675 M in 2018, and even decreases to a manageable 2.975 M in dead cap if they cut him in 2021. All of this will put added pressure on Wentz to perform given he has a bevy of weapons and will eventually have a massive contract to live up to. With all things considered this was nice work by Roseman in an effort to lengthen Wentz’s peak performance window, and create a path to maintaining a strong core while paying big money to the quarterback position. Now it’s on Wentz and Douggy P to bring those plans to fruition.

Elway has actually built a strong young nucleus.

Whoa! Did “Mr. QB swing-and-a-miss” just pull off a smart QB move in the second round? The Denver Broncos dealt a 4th and 6th round pick to the Bengals in order to draft their next QB of the future, Drew Lock. That’s a great deal for a quarterback who most thought was a sure-fire first round pick, even top 10 for many. It seems Joe Flacco’s “prime” will be short lived in the Mile High city. I give Flacco 2 years tops while the rookie prepares for his shot. Lock brings the arm talent, size, and ability to read the field you would want in a QB1, with accuracy and pocket presence standing as areas to improve.

With his first round trade back – seemingly in response to the Lions selecting TJ Hockenson in the top 10 – Elways received the 20th pick, 52nd, which he used to move up for Lock, and a 2020 3rd. That 20th saw them select Noah Fant, Hockenson’s teammate at Iowa. As essentially a big wideout, Fant should produce in the short term with Flacco, as well as long term with the eventual Lock takeover. This core has an astounding amount of youth with Lock, Fant, Courtland Sutton, Daesean Hamilton, Phillip Lindsay and Royce Freeman. All of which are strong dynasty assets with all but Lock having the potential to put up numbers in 2019 as well.

We’ve heard it before, but this was a great draft for Elway. He probably bought himself a few more years with the ever-faithful Broncos ownership when he selected Lock, but this group looks like it might be able to stick, bringing a bright future for fans of the team and fantasy players alike.

The potential steal of the 2019 NFL draft: Josh Rosen

In trading down with the Saints and subsequently trading that pick to the Arizona Cardinals, the Miami Dolphins may have secured their quarterback of the future. Rosen underwent a hellish rookie season with the Cards, displaying inaccuracy, poor decision making and an overall inability to grasp and take over at the NFL level. Looking deeper into his situation, Rosen had a lot of hurdles to jump within his own team. The O-line he played behind was nothing short of terrible, his offensive weaponry was underwhelming to say the least, and his coaching situation was game over from the start with Mike McCoy failing to adequately steer the ship. He was stuck in the mud before it had even rained.

There was a reason this guy was the #1 QB on many people’s boards in 2018. At UCLA, Rosen was a great pocket presence, with the poise, quick release, and touch that had him touted as “the most pro-ready” of his class. I’m of the belief that he was never given a fair shake to show off those traits in his time in Glendale. With the 62nd pick in the NFL draft the dolphins acquired a quarterback who has a skillet which, if developed properly, could pay dividends. I look for Rosen to be a 1 QB streaming option and superflex contributor as soon as he takes the helm. You’ve got to wonder if the Cardinals overplayed their hand in settling for a late 2nd rounder over what may have been on the table pre-draft. I’m not sure we’ll ever know, but Rosen has an opportunity to out-perform his acquisition cost and flip the narrative on his career.

Travis Seel (@TSeel14) - 2019