The NFL Draft is over. Thank God. I was so excited headed into that first night. Then the unpleasantness happened. Because somehow I managed to go through the five stages of grief after the Bears selection of Mitch (I won't call him Mitchell, because we are going to be boys) Trubisky. This was not my favorite pick. In fact, I spent the better part of three months ignoring mock drafts that had the Bears taking Trubisky at No. 3. Well that didn't happen. They traded up for him and I wasn't too happy.
Thankfully, it was all captured on Twitter.
I was on full tilt at this point. In fact, I even missed the selection of Corey Davis to the Titans because I was in a sports-induced blackout. But eventually I recovered. And I was very excited for Davis to go to the Titans. They truly need a No. 1 receiver. And while I love Rishard Matthews who played well for Tennessee last year, he's a No. 2 who should benefit from Davis being there. Although I kind of fear Davis will get the Marvin Jones treatment and could let Matthews continue to flourish. But I've still not fully committed to that just yet. I'll have to indulge in further study.
And speaking of further study, I also started to come around on Trubisky, too. In fact, I even started to defend him. Or at least I tried to get people to stop booing our quarterbacks in public.
Let me say this. I was very upset with the selection. But I do kind of get what Pace is going for here. He wants us to at least have hope. It's been a long time since the Bears had some hope at quarterback. I mean, Jay Cutler lasted nearly a decade. I remember the excitement when he first landed with the Bears. And we had some years where it was like, "well, he's a jerk, but he's our jerk." And then last season was just unpleasant. So it's not like it was too long ago. But the Bears do have a quarterback they can groom. So that's fun.
Oh, and don't count on a rookie quarterback to be a sleeper. I even debated putting up some quarterback sleeper. But does Marcus Mariota or Jameis Winston really count at this time? I didn't think so.
So let's do this thing.
Oh, I know. Patriots running backs, amirite? The situation got even murkier once the team went after Mike Gilislee. It would be a foolish endeavor to try to figure out the rotation here in May. So I'm not going to. I'm just going to take a shot at one of the Pats running backs in later rounds, especially since all of them will fall down the draft boards.
Boise State running backs, amirite? Actually, the Broncos have nearly become Running Back U with some modest success of Doug Martin and Jay Ajayi. McNichols joins the former in what looks like a crowded Bucs backfield. But realize, Chuck Sims already has a dedicated role with the team. McNichols is good on all three downs and has the potential to be a lead back. His biggest knock coming into the draft was his lower-leg strength. But should he overcome that, he figures to benefit the most here. And realize the Bucs offense is loaded and could end up being in situations where they need to salt away games at the end, something McNichols could surely do.
He's a tough trucker who has drawn comparisons to former Chargers running back Michael Turner. Sorry, I know he played for the Falcons but he'll always be a Charger to me. But Perine's a bruising running back who could end up taking the gig from my guy, R. Kelley. You just have to read the tea leaves here. I would be willing to make a big gamble for Perine in my leagues. I know; Redskins running backs amirite? But this guy smells of a Freddy Morris-type of breakout this year.
And this bit is getting kind of old, amirite? Fine. That was the last one.
I like Spencer Ware. I invested heavily in Ware last year, and he kind of didn't hold up down the stretch. Injuries are to blame. Andy Reid seems to really love him. But I'm not allowed to believe anything coaches say otherwise I'll be mocked for believing a coaching trope. So when Andy Reid says Ware is "dirty tough." And "He's going to give you an honest down every snap" I guess that means he sucks. Or something. I can't keep up with all of this. I just know the Chiefs are going to have an open competition at running back. I'm going to keep tabs on Kareem Hunt, mostly because the team traded up to get him.
Corey Coleman, WR, Cleveland Browns
The Browns aren't expected to do well this season. Oh sorry, should have thrown in a spoiler alert there. But I do like Coleman headed into the season. Mostly because of the opportunity it presents. If the Browns aren't winning, they are playing from behind and throwing the ball a ton. When looking for prospects, always look for the target monsters.
He's another potential target monster. Quincy Enunwa had a nice season in 2016, but I found myself being more impressed with Anderson. I've been critical of the Jets in the past, but there is some potential at the receiver position. The best thing that could happen for Anderson would be for the Jets to ship off Eric Decker and Matt Forte. Well, they should really move those two for humanitarian reasons. Decker could fulfill his destiny to play for the Patriots. Forte should be sent to a winner. Like Tampa Bay? I know it's not a huge need, and it would nuke McNichols who I just touted earlier. But the fan in me would love to see it.
A brutal injury ended his 2016 season, but he's expected to make a full recovery. And really, I can't explain how much this bummed me out. Matt Harmon was/is the president of his fan club, but I'm clearly the sergeant-at-arms. Lockett figures to start the season as the team's No. 3 receiver, but he has the play-making ability to carve out a much bigger role. I don't expect him to be a guy you can trust every week, but clearly, he could be a spot-starter. Or even a flex option in different types of leagues.
Fuller was on the cusp of a nice rookie season, but then Brock Osweiler happened. Oh man, Fuller got caught in the collateral damage here. Nuk Hopkins gets all the attention for having his season struck down by Osweiler. But Fuller suffered as well. I'm hoping DeShaun Watson becomes the starter, but if not, Tom Savage is still an upgrade.
For the record, I had the Chargers going Christian McCaffrey at No. 7 (which they should have) and some of you lost your (stuffing). But the Chargers still focused on offense, which was probably the wise decision. Williams is an elite-level player. And he would benefit greatly in a shakeup of the depth chart, which is a nice way of saying injuries, though he should find a role on this team regardless. I like this move. Guys like Dontrelle Inman and that Tyrell Williams are nice. But this a legit No. 1 receiver on any other team that will be playing opposite one of the best receiving talents in the game. So I would say he's better off if Keenan Allen plays and could be the best rookie receiver of the bunch.
He outplayed Dwayne Allen who has now been shipped off to New England. Doyle should thrive in his role as the lead tight end in this offense. And let's be honest, everybody loves to yell "The Doyle Rules" every time he catches a touchdown pass, so you also have that going for you.
He's got great upside and is just a prospect at this point. In truth, he's probably going to be better for dynasty drafts. Njoku is a great athlete and pass catcher who I believe can make an impact in fantasy because I love pairing young quarterbacks with young tight ends. I know this has been proven to be more myth than fact (even though it's a yearly talking point), but I like this situation. I might have liked it more had the Browns held on to Gary Barnidge, but I'm willing to take a stab at Njoku in deep leagues. For instance, my 14-team League of Leagues team.
