The Picks Are In

Well, most of the picks are in. The order of the first twenty picks in the 2015 NFL Draft are now settled with the end of the regular season. Here they are:

1.   Tampa Bay (2-14)
2.   Tennessee (2-14)
3.   Jacksonville (3-13)
4.   Oakland (3-13)
5.   Washington (3-13)
6.   N.Y. Jets (4-12)
7.   Chicago (5-11)
8.   Atlanta (6-10)
9.   N.Y. Giants (6-10)
10. St. Louis (6-10)
11. Minnesota (7-9)
12. Cleveland (7-9)
13. New Orleans (7-9)
14. Miami (8-8)
15. San Francisco (8-8)
16. Houston (9-7)
17. Kansas City (9-7)
18. San Diego (9-7)
19. San Diego (from Buffalo 9-7)
20. Philadelphia (10-6)

Picks #21-32 will be determined by playoff results.

It wouldn't be too much of a stretch to say that the Tampa Bay will select a quarterback with that first pick. That's mostly due to the quarterbacks that might be available and the Buccaneers dire need for a quarterback. Florida State's Jameis Winston and Oregon's Marcus Mariota have yet to declare for the draft. At least one of them, and probably both, surely will. Talented quarterbacks usually find their way to the top of the draft. Every team needs one and the teams that are at the top of the are usually most in need of one. This draft actually has some teams at the top that might be happy with the quarterback that they have. Tennessee saw some good things in rookie Zach Mettenberger this year so they might tentatively move forward with him. Jacksonville is committed to Blake Bortles. Oakland is comfortable with Derek Carr. Washington has talented but floundering Robert Griffin III. It's possible that the team might give their young quarterback another year. This is Griffin's first healthy offseason as an NFL player. Maybe something will come of it. Many N.Y. Jets fans wanted their team to lose games to get the top pick. They might find some luck on draft day. There's a chance that one of Winston or Mariota could be there at #6. Or, there's Brett Hundley. Or the Jets can keep plugging away with Geno Smith. He closed the season nicely.

The Minnesota Vikings ended up with the 11th pick. The Vikings biggest weakness this season was the offensive line. Some of the line problems were due to injuries. They lost right guard Brandon Fusco early in the season. They lost right tackle Phil Loadholt and left guard Charlie Johnson later in the season. The line has to improve. Getting healthy will help. So will finding a new left guard. That guy could be on the roster (David Yankey), found in free agency or later in the draft. I don't see the Vikings going offensive line with the first pick. Any one of receiver, linebacker, corner, and safety could be the Vikings first round pick. Teddy Bridgewater's college teammate at Louisville Davante Parker would be a nice option at receiver. If the draft was today, I like a big corner to play opposite emerging Xavier Rhodes. Michigan State's Trae Waynes would fill that role. Alabama safety Landon Collins and Mississippi State linebacker are also interesting possibilities.  Fun times. We have damn near five months to talk about it.