Arizona — Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA
If you were looking for the quarterback in this draft who’s most ready to come into the NFL and play from day one, that’d be Josh Rosen. But if you’re looking for the quarterback who’s most likely to turn into “Jay Cutler 2.0” — someone who’s got all the talent in the world, but his teammates end up hating him — that’d also be Josh Rosen.
Rosen is one of those guys who’s not going to spout the company line if things start to go south with his team, and with the terrible state of the Cardinals receiving corp (especially after Larry Fitzgerald retires) and the offensive line in front of Rosen, things could get ugly rather quickly.
Atlanta — Calvin Ridley, WR, Alabama
Another pick that wasn’t necessarily a terrible pick in vacuum, but a bad pick considering the team had other needs that could’ve been addressed. One season removed from a Super Bowl run, taking Calvin Ridley with their first round pick isn’t going to bring the Atlanta Falcons closer to winning the NFC again.
If they were really serious about getting better, Atlanta could’ve used this pick to further bolster the interior of the defensive line, or get another pass rusher to add to its rotation, instead of taking a guy who’ll be fighting for targets with Julio Jones and Mohamed Sanu.
Baltimore — Hayden Hurst, TE, Oklahoma
In fairness to the great Ozzie Newsome, he rectified a rather uninspiring pick in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft by moving up to grab quarterback Lamar Jackson in the same round. However, was Hayden Hurst really the best use of Baltimore’s pick at #25, considering the team’s offensive line still has questions, their wide receivers are still a mediocre group without a true #1 guy, and they have nobody as a long-term answer for life after Terrrell Suggs?
In a draft that was deceptively deep at tight end — Philadelphia might’ve gotten the best tight end in the draft midway through the second round — why burn valuable draft capital on a tight end who’ll already be 25 years old when the regular season starts?