The first round ended up being predictable and shocking at the same time. It was obvious that Young and Stroud would be the first two off the board. I was convinced the Panthers would take Stroud because of his size, but they proved me wrong. I think both quarterbacks have the potential to be stars, but the Panthers and Texans have to handle them properly.
The big shock was the Texans trading up for the third pick and taking Will Anderson. I thought the Cardinals would trade the pick, but I thought it would be one of the teams looking for a quarterback. I do not think anyone expected the team who just picked to make that move. The Texans loaded up, and if these players develop as they hope, things could turn around for them quickly.
I feel like a few teams did some reaching. The Bears took Darnell Wright at #10, I had him as the third-best OT. I think the Bears would have been better off taking Peter Skoronski, who is a Chicago native. The Buccaneers probably could have traded up in the second round to get Calijah Kancey. Nothing against him, I just think there were better available players at #19. I will also never understand when teams trade up one spot and then take a player that the previous team probably would have passed on. Did the Eagles really think the Bears would take Jalen Carter? I guess they could, but they need protection for Fields.
The Steelers had a fantastic draft. They traded up to get Broderick Jones. Then they defied expectations by keeping their 32nd pick. I was 100% convinced they would trade that pick to one of the teams looking for a quarterback. Especially after they traded up and would not have a pick between 80 and 240 (I think those were the numbers, right?). But instead, they did the wise thing and drafted Joey Porter Jr. There were no bad picks in their draft. Darnell Washington? Fantastic! The dude is a monster, and if he did not have injury concerns would have been taken much sooner by someone looking for a tight end. He will pair nicely with Pat Freiermuth.
No Penn State players went in the first round, which was surprising, but they did have a fantastic second round with JPJ, Brenton Strange, and Juice Scruggs all being taken. Six total Nittany Lions were selected: Ji’Ayir Brown, Parker Washington, and Sean Clifford. Yeah, Sean Clifford was drafted by the Packers in the fifth round. And there are still Penn State fans out there upset about this. Seems crazy to me. I have said it before, but I think Sean Clifford is the type of solid backup quarterback that hangs around the league for a bunch of years. Not a guy who anyone is clamoring to start, but also not a guy who if he comes into the game, everything falls apart. You need those types of QBs in this league. Oh, and if I remember correctly, he has been big with helping Penn State players get NIL deals. So maybe let him make some NFL money, and continue that work.
Finally, I have to talk about Will Levis. He was talking before the draft that the Panthers were taking him. He caused the gambling markets to drop his odds from +4000 to +400. Then he ends up being the fourth quarterback taken, and in the second round to boot. I was never very high on Levis. I liked him when he was at Penn State, and I rooted for him at Kentucky. But, this idea that he is this big, raw-talented QB, who could end up like Josh Allen seems a little crazy. Allen played in the MWC, he faced weak defenses, he did not have the big-time receivers. So looking at him, it was all about raw ability. Levis plays in the SEC, against the cream of the crop. Oh, and he came from the Big Ten, which is arguably the second-best conference (especially in regard to producing NFL talent). You can look at Will Levis against the best teams in the country, and he did not perform well. I am sorry to say it. He had three 300+ yard games (all non-conference games). Against the SEC? He did not perform all that well. Against Tennessee? 16/27 for 98 yards with three interceptions. Yikes. Not good.
I am not trying to crap all over Levis. I hope he does well. I think Tennessee is a good fit for him. He can learn under Ryan Tannehill, and he walks into a good situation (unless the Titans do something a bit crazy). It sounds like teams found Levis to be extremely cocky. There is a thin line between confidence and cockiness. Sometimes we call it swagger or moxy, and other times we say it is arrogance. Hopefully getting passed over by every team is a humbling experience, and he comes into the season ready to develop all of that talent & potential into skill.
