NFL Draft: Thoughts from a Cal Football Fan Watching the Draft

The Cal football team isn’t going to have anyone picked in the first round of the draft, but it’s still fun to watch and see guys they’ve played against.

1 – Cleveland Browns: QB Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma)

I’m so glad Cleveland didn’t take Jared Goff back in 2016. Best of luck to Mayfield and congratulations on being taken first overall. Hopefully he isn’t the next headstone in Cleveland’s quarterback graveyard.

2 – New York Giants: RB Saquon Barkley (Penn St.)

So this is the guy that Davis Webb is going to be handing the ball to, right? The Giants’ offense has some legitimate, scary weapons with Odell Beckham, Jr., Sterling Shepard, and Evan Engram, and Barkley should fit in nicely.

3 – New York Jets: QB Sam Darnold (USC)

Our first Pac-12 guy off the board! Congratulations to Darnold, now throw the ball to Chad Hansen, please.

4 – Cleveland Browns: CB Denzel Ward (Ohio St.)

I thought for sure that Chubb would be off the board here. But Cleveland has been making people scratch their heads with draft picks for years, so this pick is right on brand.

5 – Denver Broncos: DE Bradley Chubb (North Carolina St.)

Ah, here’s Chubb. He could very well be next in the long line of dominant defensive linemen to play for Denver. 20 sacks and 44 tackles for loss in his last two season at NC St. Wow.

6 – Indianapolis Colts: G Quenton Nelson (Notre Dame)

ESPN just flashed a graphic saying that Nelson weighed 10 pounds and 10 ounces at birth. That’s a big baby. If he’s anything like Zack Martin, the last Notre Dame guard taken in the first round (though Martin was drafted as a tackle and immediately converted to guard), he’ll have a mighty fine NFL career.

7 – Buffalo Bills: QB Josh Allen (Wyoming)

Allen is a mystifying player. His college stats were nothing to write home about, but the tools are off the charts. Let’s see what kind of NFL player that makes him. It also doesn’t seem those old tweets that resurfaced on Thursday morning did too much damage.

8 – Chicago Bears: OLB Roquan Smith (Georgia)

There was a lot of talk about Smith possibly being the best player in the draft, and he really does look like the kind of guy who could be the next great linebacker in the NFL. He can drop back in coverage, he can tackle, he can hit the hole, and he can cover a ton of ground moving to his right and his left. That all sounds like a pretty good player.

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9 – San Francisco 49ers: T Mike McGlinchey (Notre Dame)

I thought John Lynch and the crew would trade back and accrue as many picks as possible, but they stood pat at number nine and took the second Notre Dame offensive lineman off the board. McGlinchey is a large human being at 6’8” and 310 pounds, and he’ll be tasked with protecting the 49ers’ latest big money investment, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.

10 – Arizona Cardinals: QB Josh Rosen (UCLA)

The Raiders traded their pick to the Cardinals, and the Cardinals picked the Pac-12 golden boy Josh Rosen. I’m disappointed in this pick. The Cardinals could have taken Lamar Jackson, a Louisville Cardinal. That kind of continuity should be just too good to pass up.

11 – Miami Dolphins: S Minkah Fitzpatrick (Alabama)

This kid is special. He’s going to be great in the NFL. Only two players have won the Jim Thorpe Award and the Chuck Bednarik Award in the same season: Charles Woodson and Patrick Peterson.

12 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers: DT Vita Vea (Washington)

As far as Pac-12 players go, I think Vea might be the best one in the draft. He is a massive disruption in the trenches, and the combination of Vea and the defensive linemen already in Tampa Bay (McCoy, Allen, Pierre-Paul, Curry) could make that line one of the best in the league. But mostly, Cal should consider themselves lucky they don’t have to deal with this monster of a man in the Pac-12 anymore.

13 – Washington: DT Da’Ron Payne (Alabama)

He’s a big, powerful defensive lineman in the middle of the trenches, but he caught a touchdown last season out of the offensive backfield. Big man touchdowns are the best thing that can happen in football. That’s why Malik McMorris is my favorite player in college football.

14 – New Orleans Saints: DE Marcus Davenport (Texas-San Antonio)

This is the guy that New Orleans hopes will play on the other side from Cameron Jordan, a Cal alum who was legitimately one of the best defensive players in the NFL last season. Davenport is only the second player ever drafted from the University of Texas-San Antonio, and he’s the 14th overall pick this year. That’s pretty cool.

15 – Oakland Raiders: OT Kolton Miller (UCLA)

Another Pac-12 guy off the board. Cal’s Alex Funches had a great game playing across from Miller in 2017, racking up two sacks in the first half on Josh Rosen. I’m really excited for Funches in 2018, and hopefully he can hear his name called in the draft next season. He’s going to need to bulk up, though. Wait, what were we talking about?

16 – Buffalo Bills: LB Tremaine Edmunds (Virginia Tech)

Nothing personal against any of the players picked so far, but where is Derwin James? How has no one taken him yet? Anyway, Edmunds can learn from 13-year veteran and former Golden Bear Lorenzo Alexander. This kid is 19 years old, which just makes me feel so much more inadequate than usual.

17 – Los Angeles Chargers: S Derwin James (Florida St.)

Whoops, there’s Derwin James. That little outburst was a bit premature, but I’ll leave it for the sake of continuity. James is the 263rd player selected in the draft out of Florida State, and the 46th in the first round. That’s a lot.

18 – Green Bay Packers: CB Jaire Alexander (Louisville)

A Louisville player that isn’t Lamar Jackson? Oh. Well, Jaire Alexander is the second true corner off the board and will probably be great because this is the Packers.

19 – Dallas Cowboys: LB Leighton Vander Esch (Boise St.)

The Cowboys used just about every second of their clock, and then drafted a linebacker. If this kid can live up to the hype (he had 141 tackles last season) and be a solid force alongside Sean Lee and Jaylon Smith, Dallas might have something here. Vander Esch now becomes the third Boise State defender on the Dallas defense, along with Tyrone Crawford and Demarcus Lawrence. Still surprising they didn’t go for a wide receiver, though.

20 – Detroit Lions: C Frank Ragnow (Arkansas)

Ragnow was a workout warrior at the NFL Combine, opening eyes with great performances in his drills. He’s only the fourth offensive lineman taken at this point, which seems a bit light.

21 – Cincinnati Bengals: C Billy Price (Ohio St.)

Oh. As soon as I type that, another lineman is off the board. Cincinnati has a lot of needs but fortifying the offensive line never seems like a bad idea. Price is the 80th first-round pick out of Ohio State, by far the most of any school.

22 – Tennessee Titans: ILB Rashaan Evans (Alabama)

Alabama gets a lot of dudes drafted in the first-round, too. Evans is the third first-rounder from the school this year, and the 61st all-time. That’s good for the fourth-most. It really seems like you can’t go wrong picking an Alabama linebacker, from a talent standpoint.

23 – New England Patriots: OL Isaiah Wynn (Georgia)

He’ll be excellent at his job, because he’s now a New England Patriot. They could have drafted a drunk guy in the stands and they’d turn him into, at worst, a serviceable NFL player because they have some ridiculous voodoo magic going on there.

24 – Carolina Panthers: WR D.J. Moore (Maryland)

Maryland’s football team isn’t very good. D.J. Moore, on the other hand, is very good. While the Terps won four games in 2017, Moore caught 80 passes for 1,033 yards and eight touchdowns en route to being named the Big 10’s Receiver of the Year. He’s also the first receiver off the board this year.

25 – Baltimore Ravens: TE Hayden Hurst (South Carolina)

The draft has really slowed down by this point. We’re closing on in three hours, and teams are wearing down the entire clock. It’s getting pretty boring. Hayden Hurst has long, flowing, red hair and played minor league baseball as a pitcher. The Orioles need some pitching.

26 – Atlanta Falcons: WR Calvin Ridley (Alabama)

After no wideouts in the first 23 picks, that’s two in the last three. Julio Jones is a wide receiver from Alabama. Calvin Ridley is a wide receiver from Alabama. Do with that information what you will.

27 – Seattle Seahawks: RB Rashaad Penny (San Diego St.)

We’ve reached the fourth hour of the draft, and I think they’re playing a Stevie Ray Vaughan song in the background. Seattle missed the playoffs last year for the first time in a while, because the Jared Goff show took over the NFC West. Penny is an ultra-talented running back, but can they block for him?

28 – Pittsburgh Steelers: DB Terrell Edmunds (Virginia Tech)

We’re down to the final five picks. It’s been a long night, but we’re getting close, friends. Ryan Shazier made the announcement of the pick, and he walked to the stage holding only his fiancee’s hand. That was amazing to see. Edmunds is the brother of 16th overall pick Tremaine Edmunds, so a pair of brothers getting picked in the first round in the same year is pretty cool, too.

29 – Jacksonville Jaguars: DT Taven Bryan (Florida)

Jacksonville’s defensive front last season was incredible, and Taven Pryce is another piece of that puzzle. They might have trouble getting all these guys on the field, but that’s a pretty, pretty good problem to have.

30 – Minnesota Vikings: CB Mike Hughes (Central Florida)

It’s been a while since a Pac-12 guy came off the board. Miller was the last one at #15. That’s disappointing.

31 – New England Patriots: RB Sony Michel (Georgia)

See pick #23 above for thoughts on this pick.

32 – Baltimore Ravens: QB Lamar Jackson (Louisville)

The Eagles traded their pick to the Ravens, and the Ravens picked Lamar Jackson. Finally! Jackson is still a bird, going from the Cardinals to the Ravens. Johnny Unitas played for Louisville and then went to Baltimore (Colts), and that turned out okay. They’re two completely different players, but this is a kid I can’t wait to see in the big show.

Next: Trading Down for Miller was Genius

Wow, that’s it. We made it. Only four Pac-12 guys were drafted, which kinda defeats the purpose of this whole post. A Stanford Cardinal wasn’t picked in the first round for the first time since 2014. Oh well. Hopefully tomorrow will be more active for the fellows from the west coast. Thanks for following along!

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