Monday Morning Draft is back! This is a column that delves into the past weekend’s action from an NFL Draft perspective. As the season goes on, the draft picture and slotting will become more clear, but every Sunday will provide a few hints for next April.
By Charlie Campbell.
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Play like Shizer for Kizer:
Cleveland Browns Cleveland maintained its draft status with an 11-point loss to the Redskins. Washington dropped the Browns to 0-4 on the season, and the Browns are the only winless team in the NFL. Obviously, Cleveland has a huge rebuilding process, and it all starts with finding a future franchise quarterback. Perhaps the Browns won’t blow it like they did last spring when they passed on Carson Wentz, but with a baseball general manager running the Browns, you can’t have any confidence that the franchise has the people in place to get it right.
New Orleans Saints The Saints got fortunate as San Diego committed two fourth-quarter fumbles that set up short fields to blow a lead for the Chargers. New Orleans improved to 1-3, but the Saints easily could be 0-4 right now. The Saints have a lot of holes on their roster, and this could still be a long season for New Orleans.
Chicago Bears The Bears hurt their draft position by beating the Lions on Sunday. Still, there doesn’t seem to be much hope for the Bears to turn it around as the team is lacking talent at a number of positions. Chicago should remain in contention for the No. 1 pick throughout the season. If the Bears land the No. 1-overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, it would be time to release or trade Jay Cutler while starting the rebuilding process with DeShone Kizer.
San Francisco 49ers The 49ers are 1-3, and look like one of the worst teams in the league. San Francisco could be in for a long year with a roster that lacks talent. I think the team’s Week 1 win was more of a product of the Rams being bad.
Tennessee Titans The Titans are 1-3, but I don’t think they will be in true contention for the No. 1-overall pick. Tennessee has had narrow loses to good teams like the Vikings, Raiders and Texans. On a weekly basis, the Titans play tough football, plus they are also a young team. Marcus Mariota should improve as he gains more experience.
Indianapolis Colts The Colts are 1-3 and are lucky that they aren’t 0-4. They easily could have lost their one win over San Diego a week ago. Indianapolis has a serious lack of talent on defense. The roster also has holes on the offensive line with little talent in the backfield. The Colts don’t look anything like the playoff contender they were a few years ago.
Jacksonville Jaguars The Jaguars got a much-needed win over the Colts in London. It was a huge win for the Jacksonville front office and coaching staff. Even though they are 1-3, Jacksonville could be 3-1. In Week 1, they played really tough football against Green Bay and were close to knocking off the Packers while having the officials blow some crucial calls that went against the Jaguars. In Week 3, the Jaguars would have beaten the Ravens if it weren’t for missed kicks from Jason Myers. The Jaguars are still a very young team, and I think they will win enough games this season to avoid being in contention for the No. 1 pick.
Let’s Play Matchmaker:
This section will look at some of the top talent in college football and match those prospects up with teams that have a dire need at the position.
Los Angeles Rams: Corey Davis, WR, Western Michigan 
The Rams have a 3-1 start despite their wide receivers being underwhelming in the first month of the 2017 season. Brian Quick (2-69-2), Kenny Britt (4-82) and Tavon Austin (2-14) don’t challenge defenses, and that has led to Todd Gurley (19-33) having a hard time finding running lanes this season as defenses overload the tackle box. Los Angeles needs to get Jared Goff more weapons in the 2017 NFL Draft. Los Angeles should target receivers who can separate, thus a wideout like Davis would make more sense than USC’s JuJu Smith-Schuster, who would be similar to what they already have in Britt and Quick.
Davis is off to a good start in 2016 with 30 receptions for 467 yards with six touchdowns. The 6-foot-3, 213-pounder is a quick receiver who is an excellent route-runner with a proven ability to get separation. Davis went over 1,400 yards receiving as a sophomore and junior. He would be a great value pick for a team that is without its first-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Adoree’ Jackson, CB, USC 
The Jaguars got their first victory of the season even though Andrew Luck fought the Colts close before getting stopped. T.Y. Hilton and Philip Dorsett caught touchdowns against Jacksonville’s inconsistent secondary. Cornerback Prince Amukamara was only signed to a 1-year contract, and Jalen Ramsey can struggle with smaller speed receivers like Hilton or Dorsett. Adding a fast cover corner to defend against them and the Texans’ speedster Will Fuller would make sense for the Jaguars.
Jackson is a fast play-maker with the skill set to run with receivers. He had a great start to 2016 as he completely shut down Alabama’s Calvin Ridley in the season opener. Jackson has 24 tackles with four passes broken up and an interception on the year. He also has made some big plays on special teams. Taking Jackson in the first round would make sense for Jacksonville.
Atlanta Falcons: Derek Barnett, DE, Tennessee 
Atlanta’s much-maligned pass rush was able to put heat on Cam Newton on Saturday as aging veteran Dwight Freeney has his way with Panthers tackle Mike Remmers. Obviously, Freeney isn’t a long-term starter, and the Falcons other rushers continue to be disappointing, including Vic Beasley. Atlanta has to add more pass-rushers via the 2017 NFL Draft.
The Falcons would be fortunate if they are able to land Barnett in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft. He is a smooth, strong pass-rusher similar to Shaq Lawson. Barnett has 23 tackles with 8.5 for a loss, four sacks, one forced fumble and one pass broken up this year. In comeback wins over Florida and Georgia, he was phenomenal in crunch time to help his teams get the victory. Barnett has been a consistent sack producer as he had 10 sacks in both his freshman and sophomore seasons. Landing Barnett could be a quick upgrade for Atlanta’s edge rusher.
Oakland Raiders: Wayne Gallman, RB, Clemson 
The Raiders improved to 3-1 on the season as once again Derek Carr elevated them to a victory. However, they have really struggled to find a consistent rushing attack this season, and that could be seen again versus Baltimore. Oakland’s leading rusher was DeAndre Washington (5-30), who didn’t do much, while Latavius Murray (8-19) was completely ineffective. The Raiders need to upgrade their backfield talent this offseason.
Gallman could be an excellent value on the second day of the 2017 NFL Draft. The 6-foot, 210-pounder is a strong runner who also has quickness and elusiveness to weave around tacklers in the open field. This season, Gallman has averaged 4.6 yards per carry for 366 yards with four touchdowns. He has seven receptions for 55 yards as well. In the second or third round of the 2017 NFL Draft, Gallman could be an immediate upgrade over Murray.
Chicago Bears: DeShone Kizer, QB, Notre Dame 
The Bears pulled off a surprising win over the Lions to get their first victory of the season. Chicago was able to win with Brian Hoyer at quarterback as its defense played well and Jordan Howard had an excellent game on the ground. Chicago still needs a lot of talent to be capable of competing with Minnesota and Green Bay. Landing the top quarterback would be a great piece for the Bears to build around.
Kizer is the closest thing the 2017 NFL Draft has to a franchise quarterback, so the Bears would be very fortunate if they were able to land him. In 2016, Kizer has completed 63 percent of his passes for 1,567 yards with 14 touchdowns and four interceptions. He also has run for six touchdowns. Kizer has made a lot of accurate throws into tight windows this season while showing field vision to read the field. He has hung tough and thrown in the face of the rush, and he hasn’t allowed his vision to be distorted by the pass rush. The 6-foot-4, 230-pounder has a strong arm with a fastball that he can fire by defenders to beat good coverage, plus had the mobility to make plays with his feet. If the Bears are able to land Kizer, that would be huge toward starting a bright future in Chicago.
New Orleans Saints: Charles Harris, DE, Missouri 
The Saints were fortunate to win in San Diego as fumbles from the Chargers bailed out New Orleans. The Saints continue to allow lots of points and yards through the air. This offseason adding more edge-rushing talent would help New Orleans’ vulnerable pass defense.
Harris is a speed rusher off the edge who would fit well in Dennis Allen’s defense. Thus far in 2016, Harris has 19 tackles and 3.5 sacks. He could be a great fit on the other side from Cam Jordan and would give the Saints another edge rusher to add to the roster with Hau-oli Kikaha coming back from injury. Harris would make sense for the Saints’ first-round pick of the 2017 NFL Draft.
Houston Texans: Mike McGlinchey, OT, Notre Dame The Texans’ offense started fast against the Titans, but the patchwork offensive line stunted their momentum as they allowed Brock Osweiler to be pressured and didn’t open holes consistently for Lamar Miller. The line should get better this season as Pro Bowl left tackle Duane Brown should return from injury any week now. However, Brown is aging and the Texans could use line upgrades this offseason.
Houston may not be picking high enough in the 2017 NFL Draft to get a shot at McGlinchey, but the team might be within range to trade up for him. If the Texans land a talent like McGlinchey, they could start him out at right tackle and kick Derek Newton inside to left guard, where he would be an upgrade over Xavier Su’a-Filo. In time, McGlinchey could be the replacement for Brown as the veteran is on the downside of his career. Houston even could flip Brown and McGlinchey in a year or two to extend Brown’s career at right tackle or even guard. With center Nick Martin coming back next season, McGlinchey would be another Notre Dame addition to upgrade the Texans’ offense.
Team Draft Report:
In this section, we take a deeper look at specific teams and where they stand in regards to the 2017 NFL Draft.
San Francisco 49ers: There is no doubt that Trent Baalke is one of the worst general managers in the NFL, but the only thing that might be worse for the 49ers is their ownership led by Jed York. San Francisco had a rough stretch after the Steve Mariucci and Jeff Garcia playoff teams before Jim Harbaugh arrived. Baalke and the Yorks didn’t like Harbaugh’s winning ways enough to avoid running him out of town. Unsurprisingly, San Francisco has gone into a tailspin since losing one of the best coaches in the NFL. After the rival Cowboys dropped the 49ers to 1-3, San Francisco is clearly on the road to a long season.
Regardless of whether Baalke and/or Chip Kelly get fired, there are still a lot of needs for San Francisco to fill. The most important is finding a new quarterback; Blaine Gabbert isn’t the long-term starter. If the 49ers don’t land the first-overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft, they should look at trading up if the No. 1 pick belongs to a team that already has a quarterback in place. If the 49ers can’t draft DeShone Kizer, they should consider other signal-callers like Miami’s Brad Kaaya or Clemson’s Deshaun Watson, although it remains to be seen if those two grade out as high first-rounders. Ole Miss’ Chad Kelly is an option on Day 2.
Aside from quarterback, San Francisco is in rough straights at the wide receiver position. Right now, there isn’t a wide receiver prospect for the top half of the first round, but there could be a number of quality wide outs for the second day of the 2017 NFL Draft. That group features players like LSU’s Travin Dural, LSU’s Malachi Dupre, Western Michigan’s Corey Davis and USC’s JuJu Smith-Schuster. The 49ers badly need to upgrade their passing offense.
Defensively, the 49ers could use help at cornerback, and this looks like a strong draft class for first-round corners. Alabama’s Marlon Humphrey, USC’s Adoree’ Jackson and Florida’s Jalen Tabor are all candidates to be top-20 selections. Rookie Rashard Robinson has played well this year, but San Francisco could use more young talent corner to go with him. The team has young talent for the defensive line, but looking at some edge rushers could make sense as well.
The first issue for San Francisco to resolve is Baalke’s future and whether he comes back next season. From there, Chip Kelly could be sent packing as well. It is sad to see what has become of the once-proud 49er franchise.
Cincinnati Bengals: Cincinnati got off to a surprising 1-2 start, but picked up much a needed win over the Dolphins on Thursday night. The Bengals entered the season as one of the favorites in the AFC and regarded as a team that had one of the most talented rosters in the NFL. The Bengals do have a lot of talent, but some needs have emerged this season, and those issues might keep the Bengals from making any progress toward winning in the postseason.
The most predictable need entering the season was an edge rusher to pair with Carlos Dunlap. Michael Johnson and Margus Hunt don’t offer pass rush and have combined for .5 sacks after four games this year. Will Clarke has emerged as a solid rusher, but the Bengals could use an upgrade over Johnson or Hunt. The team is one injury to Dunlap away from being very limited in the pass rush. There are a few targets for Cincinnati in the back half of the first round. Prospects like Illinois defensive end Dawuane Smoot, teammate defensive end Carroll Phillips and Alabama edge rusher Tim Williams would all be good targets to consider.
This season, the Bengals have missed Reggie Nelson more than expected after the veteran left in free agency. Luckily, the 2017 NFL Draft looks very deep and talented at safety. In the first round, Cincinnati will probably be picking too low to land Ohio State’s Malik Hooker, LSU’s Jamal Adams or Michigan’s Jabrill Peppers. However, the Bengals could be in position to land some talented safety prospects like Florida’s Marcus Maye, Alabama’s Eddie Jackson, Kansas’ Fish Smithson or Texas A&M’s Justin Evans.
Entering the season, center looked like a possible position to upgrade if Russell Bodine didn’t improve this year. Cincinnati could do better than Bodine and might find an upgrade on the second day of the 2017 NFL Draft with candidates like LSU’s Ethan Pocic or Ohio State’s Pat Elflein.
The Bengals have a few other areas they could upgrade their competition and at least improve their depth. Young right tackle Cedric Ogbuehi has struggled this year, so finding some mid-round tackle depth would be a good idea. Wide receiver Brandon LaFell isn’t a long-term starter to go with A.J. Green and Tyler Boyd, so a third receiver could make sense.
Cincinnati has one of the best scouting departments in the NFL. Another good draft could put the Bengals in position to finally start winning games in January.
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