Fox Sports ran a fun little column yesterday. They selected the best draft pick over the last five years for each of the 32 NFL teams. It's definitely draft season. Here are those selections as well as the Flea Flicker selections.
Minnesota Vikings
Fox Sports: Xavier Rhodes, CB, Florida State (2013)
Flea Flicker: Harrison Smith, S, Notre Dame (2012)
Rhodes joined the league's elite corners in 2016 so there's really no argument with the choice. Smith has been among the league's elite safeties for a couple of years now. And his best years are ahead of him. DE Danielle Hunter will soon join this discussion.
Chicago Bears
Fox Sports: Alshon Jeffery, WR, South Carolina (2012)
Flea Flicker: Kyle Long, G, Oregon (2013)
It's tough to say this after Long missed much of the 2016 season to injury but he's the pick simply because Jeffery can't seem to stay on the field for any extended length of time.
Detroit Lions
Fox Sports: Ezekiel Ansah, DE, BYU (2013)
Flea Flicker: Ezekiel Ansah, DE, BYU (2013)
Easy choice. Last year was a rough one for Ansah but he's a beast.
Green Bay Packers
Fox Sports: Ha Ha Clinton Dix, S, Alabama (2014)
Flea Flicker: Mike Daniels. DE, Iowa (2012)
It's pretty much a tossup. Dix or Daniels is a fine choice. Daniels can be so disruptive.
New York Giants
Fox Sports; Odell Beckham Jr., WR, LSU (2014)
Flea Flicker: Odell Beckham Jr., WR, LSU (2014)
Not much to explain here.
Washington Redskins
Fox Sports: Kirk Cousins, QB, Michigan State (2012)
Flea Flicker: Brandon Scherff, G, Iowa (2015)
It's a stretch to go with a quarterback that the team doesn't seem convinced is the long-term answer. Scherff has quickly emerged as one of the top guards in the league.
Philadelphia Eagles
Fox Sports: Fletcher Cox, DT, Mississippi State (2012)
Flea Flicker: Fletcher Cox, DT, Mississippi State (2012)
Cox is a one-man wrecking-crew on the defensive line.
Dallas Cowboys
Fox Sports: Dak Prescott, QB, Mississippi State (2016)
Flea Flicker: Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Ohio State (2016)
The quarterback always gets the love. Elliott's presence in the Cowboys backfield does far more for Prescott than Prescott does for Elliott. No matter how anyone looks at it the 2016 draft was dynamite for the Cowboys.
Atlanta Falcons
Fox Sports: Devonta Freeman, RB, Florida State (2014)
Flea Flicker: Vic Beasley, DE, Clemson (2015)
The Falcons offer up a few options. Freeman is a great choice. Tevin Coleman, the rookie linebackers Deion Jones and De'Vondre Campbell, rookie safety Keanu Neal. Super Bowl star Grady Jarrett. I'll go with the player that stormed to the top of the sack charts last year in Beasley.
Carolina Panthers
Fox Sports: Luke Kuechly, LB, Boston College (2012)
Flea Flicker: Luke Kuechly, LB, Boston College (2012)
Kuechly is the league's standard at middle linebacker. Plus, Cam Newton is just outside the five-year window for this fun exercise.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Fox Sports: Jameis Winston, QB, Florida State (2015)
Flea Flicker: Jameis Winston, QB, Florida State (2015)
Winston sure looks the part. The rest of the team just has to catch up with him.
New Orleans Saints
Fox Sports: Michael Thomas, WR, Ohio State (2016)
Flea Flicker: Brandin Cooks, WR, Oregon State (2014)
Thomas is sure getting a lot of early love. The Saints have a nice young duo of pass catchers. They are probably the most talented wideouts that Drew Brees has ever had.
Los Angeles Rams
Fox Sports: Aaron Donald, DT, Pittsburgh (2014)
Flea Flicker: Aaron Donald, DT, Pittsburgh (2014)
Yep.
Arizona Cardinals
Fox Sports: David Johnson, RB, Northern Arizona (2015)
Flea Flicker: David Johnson, RB, Northern Arizona (2015)
Johnson can do it all. An unbelievable football player.
Seattle Seahawks
Fox Sports: Russell Wilson, QB, Wisconsin (2012)
Flea Flicker: Russell Wilson, QB, Wisconsin (2012)
Wilson quickly made a very talented football team an annual Super Bowl contender.
San Francisco 49ers
Fox Sports: Carlos Hyde, RB, Ohio State (2014)
Flea Flicker: Carlos Hyde, RB, Ohio State (2014)
Hyde just has to stay on the field. He has the talent to be elite. He just has to stay healthy.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Fox Sports: Le'Veon Bell, RB, Michigan State (2013)
Flea Flicker: Le'Veon Bell, RB, Michigan State (2013)
Bell was arguably the best player in the league over the last quarter of the season.
Cleveland Browns
Fox Sports: Emmanuel Ogbah, DE, Oklahoma State (2016)
Flea Flicker: Emmanuel Ogbah, DE, Oklahoma State (2016)
The Browns don't have much to show from their last five drafts.
Cincinnati Bengals
Fox Sports: Tyler Eifert, TE, Notre Dame (2013)
Flea Flicker: Tyler Eifert, TE, Notre Dame (2013)
There are some games in which opponents simply can't cover Eifert.
Baltimore Ravens
Fox Sports: C.J. Mosley, LB, Alabama (2014)
Flea Flicker: C.J. Mosley, LB, Alabama (2014)
Mosley's in the middle of a brand new, tough Ravens defense.
New England Patriots
Fox Sports: Jimmy Goroppolo, QB, Eastern Illinois (2014)
Flea Flicker: Dont'a Hightower, LB, Alabama (2012)
I just can't go with a backup quarterback as the Patriots best pick. Besides, Hightower is a terrific football player.
New York Jets
Fox Sports: Leonard Williams, DE, USC (2015)
Flea Flicker: Leonard Williams, DE, USC (2015)
Sheldon Richardson, Muhammad Wilkerson, Williams. It's a struggle to get all of them on the field in the positions for which they are best suited. The most lest optimistic talking heads might say that their best position is the same position. Williams may end up being the only one left standing in New York.
Buffalo Bills
Fox Sports: Stephon Gilmore, CB, South Carolina (2012)
Flea Flciker: Stephon Gilmore, CB, South Carolina (2012)
This honor might go to Sammy Watkins if he could play a complete season. Gilmore has earned this nod.
Miami Dolphins
Fox Sports: Jay Ajayi, RB, Boise State (2015)
Flea Flicker: Jay Ajayi, RB, Boise State (2015)
Once Ajayi got out of the Dolphins doghouse he was a dominant runner.
Jackosnville Jaguars
Fox Sports: Allen Robinson, WR, Penn State (2014)
Flea Flicker: Jalen Ramsey, CB. Florida State (2016)
This time last year I would have agreed with the selection of Robinson. Not this year. If Ramsey can cut down on the stupid penalties he could become one of the best defensive players in the league.
Tennessee Titans
Fox Sports: Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon (2015)
Flea Flicker: Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon (2015)
Next.
Indianapolis Colts
Fox Sports: Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford (2012)
Flea Flicker: Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford (2012)
Nuff said.
Houston Texans
Fox Sports: DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Clemson (2013)
Flea Flicker: Jadeveon Clowney, DE, South Carolina (2014)
Clowney was finally healthy long enough to start looking like the player that he was drafted to be. His future is frighteningly bright.
Kansas City Chiefs
Fox Sports: Marcus Peters, CB, Washington (2015)
Flea Flicker: Marcus Peters, CB, Washington (2015)
It took about half of his rookie season for the rest of the league to notice Peters, His gambling ways sometimes get the better of him but he's always a big play waiting to happen.
Denver Broncos
Fox Sports: Derek Wolf, DE, Cincinnati (2012)
Flea Flicker: Derek Wolf, DE, Cincinnati (2012)
Wolf has been an impact player for an excellent defense for a few years.
Oakland Raiders
Fox Sports: Derek Carr, QB, Fresno State (2014)
Flea Flicker: Khalil Mack, DE, Buffalo, (2014)
Again, the quarterback gets the love. Carr is one of the bright young passers in the league. Mack is already one of the best defensive players in the league. And he has a Defensive Player of the Year award to show for it.
Los Angeles Chargers
Fox Sports: Joey Bosa, DE, Ohio State (2016)
Flea Flicker: Joey Bosa, DE, Ohio State (2016)
It's going to take while to get used to "Los Angeles Chargers." It only took Bosa a fistful of games to become one of the league's best pass rushers. As soon as he got on the field it looked like he'd been in the league five years.
Fun stuff Fox.
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