Best and Worst Picks of Day 1

What a Day 1! Tons of trades, lots of intrigue. The top quarterbacks went off the board, but a lot later than most had expected. Receivers and defensive backs flew off the shelves like hot cakes.

Here is my breakdown of the best and worst picks of the day:


BEST:

1. The Browns making moves like stock brokers.
Say what you want about the way the Browns strangely moved around the board, but they clearly got the two players that they wanted and still netted the Bills' first round pick in 2015 (which we all can assume will be a very high pick). That is a major haul for a team with a lot of needs, but maybe not as many as people think. Brian Hoyer will get every opportunity to start in 2014 and allow Johnny Manziel to develop. This team is looking for a quicker turn around than most expect.

2. In two years, the Vikings added five first round players.
They netted an extra pick to move down one spot with their first pick pick to still land the only remaining elite pass rusher in this draft, Anthony Barr (that's pretty sad considering it was only the ninth pick). Then at the end of the night, they took the Seahawks' pick and the last pick of the night to steal Teddy Bridgewater away from the Texans, who most likely would have taken him with the first pick tomorrow night. In a passing league, they added a guy to hit the quarterback and a franchise caliber quarterback only one year after adding a receiver, a corner, and a pass rushing defensive tackle. That's a lot of firepower.

3. Despite a loaded roster, the Bengals still land possibly the best corner in the draft.
Darqueze Denard might not have the timed speed that a lot of coaches require out of their corners, but the guy is an absolute beast. He has great technique and is more physical than any corner that we have seen in recent history. Despite his ceiling not being as high as some of these other corners, he is the most ready to start for a team day one. While these other corners might take time to get atop their game, Denard is ready to help this Bengals team make a push into the playoffs, aka hopefully finally winning a playoff game.

4. Brandin Cooks adds the extra piece that the Saints need to take their offense to the next level.
Jimmy Graham is in a contract dispute. Darren Sproles and Lance Moore are gone. And Marques Colston is coming off one of the worst seasons of his career. For the first time in the Drew Brees era, there are a lot of questions on the offensive side of the ball for the Saints. Cooks is a small, shifty receiver and is the perfect compliment to Graham and Colston, who use their length to get open. Cooks should be in the running for rookie of the year by the end of 2014.


WORST:

1. The pick of Ja'Wuan James reeks of desperation at finding an offensive tackle.
The Dolphins were in a tough spot with all the elite tackles off the board by the time of their pick came around, but instead of taking the best player available, they seemingly reached for a need. This is how the lesser teams in the NFL stay in the bottom half of the league.

2. The Eagles needed defensive help, but who is Marcus Smith?
I don't like doing losers when it comes to the draft because there is so much football left to be played before any of these picks can even remotely be judged, but Chip Kelley better know something about this guy that others don't. Smith looks like a solid outside linebacker for the Eagles, but he might have to start his career only playing passing downs since he is a bit of a liability against the run. The Eagles offense masked just how bad this defense was last year and it needs a lot of help. It is hard to believe that there was not a player on the board that could play three downs for this defense.

3. Bill Belichick loves his University of Florida players.
The Patriots passed on Marqise Lee and higher rated defensive players in order to draft an undersized defensive tackle who has had ACL surgery in both his knees (Dominique Easley). I know as well as anyone that Belichick often makes the rest of the league look like fools, but the Patriots have certainly missed on their share of first and second round picks. It is hard to imagine that Tom Brady is happy with his core of receivers and his lone injury prone tight end right now. Passing on a talent like Lee, who fits what they do on offense extremely well, seems like a bit of a mystery to me.