Southern Draft
By: Kenneth Harrison Jr.
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The 2019 NFL Draft is in the books.
Some teams drafted well and others made some head scratching decisions. I’m going to take a look at the NFC South and rate each teams draft.
Atlanta Falcons: Picks: Boston College OG Chris Lindstrom; Washington OT Kaleb McGary; Ohio State CB Kendall Sheffield; Charleston DE John Cominsky; Pittsburgh RB Qadree Ollison; Washington CB Jordan Miller; Louisiana-Monroe WR Marcus Green
With the 14th pick, guard Chris Lindstrom was selected. The offensive line needs to improve but Lindstrom was rated as a late first round pick at best. Then they traded the second and third round picks to get the 31st pick. The Falcons selected tackle Kaleb McGary.
He was not going to be selected in the first round. If Atlanta wanted him, they could have waited. The trade up value was not good and McGary has issues handling edge-rush speed. The strength of this draft was defense, especially in rounds 2 and 3. Atlanta missed on adding impact players on defense. Grade: C
Carolina Panthers: Picks: Florida State DE Brian Burns; Mississippi OT Greg Little; West Virginia QB Will Grier; Alabama DE Christian Miller; Florida RB Jordan Scarlett; South Carolina OT Dennis Daley; Georgia WR Terry Godwin
Burns was a great pick. He should make an impact rushing the passer immediately and he can develop his game over the next few years.
Daley and Godwin were good value picks in Rounds 6 and 7. They also doubled up on pass rushers by selecting Christian Miller. Grade: B+
New Orleans Saints: Picks: Texas A&M C Erik McCoy; Florida S Chauncey Gardner-Johnson; Rutgers S Saquan Hampton; Notre Dame TE Alize Mack; Idaho LB Kaden Elliss
Erik McCoy was a great pick for the Saints. He has Day 1 talent mixed with intelligence, toughness and competitiveness. New Orleans needs him to protect an aging Drew Brees.
Safety Gardner-Johnson was a good pick as well, addressing a position of need. The first two picks were good but I’m not sold on the rest of the players they selected. Alize Mack was rated as a top recruit going to Notre Dame. He never played like it in college. The Saints need to win now so they don’t have the luxury to develop these players. Grade: C
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Picks: LSU LB Devin White; Central Michigan DB Sean Bunting; Auburn CB Jamel Dean; Kentucky S Mike Edwards; Iowa OLB Anthony Nelson; Utah K Matt Gay; Bowling Green WR Scott Miller; Missouri DT Terry Beckner Jr.
Devin White is a great pick. I expect him to be a Pro Bowler for the next decade. He has great closing speed and athleticism.
Jamal Dean is a questionable pick because of his injury history. He was medically disqualified to play football by Ohio State due to his suffering multiple knee injuries in high school. He sat out 2015, transferring from Columbus to Auburn, which cleared him to play.
Dean suffered yet another knee injury in preseason 2016 camp, which sidelined him for the year.
The Bucs ignored the offensive and defensive lines for some reason. They also drafted a second kicker in four years. Grade: C-
