NFC Draft Picks That I Liked

Instead of team draft grades here are picks that I liked for each NFC team.

Minnesota Vikings
Devante Downs, LB, Californa, seventh round
It's easy to go with a player from Cal. If Downs is recovered from the knee injury that ended his 2017 season in the seventh game he's draft day steal. Prior to the injury he was making plays all over the field and was perhaps the best defensive player in the Pac-12.

Green Bay Packers
James Looney, DL, California, seventh round
Another Cal player! Looney and Downs were the only Cal players drafted so we get them out of the way. I felt that Looney made more plays and played more consistently at Cal than Tyson Alualu. Looney was selected in the seventh round. Alualu was the tenth pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. The Packers found a very good football player in the seventh round.

Detroit Lions
Frank Ragnow, C/G, Arkansas, first round
As the draft evaluation process was drawing to a close Ragnow was becoming my preferred pick for the Vikings. The Lions had to go and wreck my hopes ten picks before the Vikings had a shot.

Chicago Bears
Anthony Miller, WR, Memphis, second round
The Bears had a strong draft. Roquan Smith was one of my favorite players in the draft but I'll go with the gritty receiver from Memphis.

New York Giants
Will Hernandez, G, Texas-El Paso, second round
Saquon Barkley qualifies as a favorite. So does Lorenzo Carter. I'll go with Hernandez. He's another player that I often pictured with the Vikings at times during the long evaluation process.

Philadelphia Eagles
Dallas Goedert, TE, South Dakota State, second round
The Eagles and Goedert were one of the perfect pairings that came out of the draft. The Eagles use their tight ends well and they use them often. And Goedert plays the position. Besides, a player named Dallas playing in Philadelphia is beautiful.

Washington Redskins
Da'Ron Payne, DL, Alabama, first round
I was a little surprised that the Redskins selected Payne after having selected a similar player last year. Payne's former Alabama teammate Jonathan Williams. I enjoyed watching Payne play in college and he was one of the my favorites in this draft.

Dallas Cowboys
Connor Williams, OT, Texas, second round
Williams was another one of my favorites for the Vikings. They needed linemen so I focused  on several of them. If Williams had hit the draft after his 2016 season he might have been a top-10 selection. Injuries caused his play to dip last year. Healthy, Williams makes a terrific Cowboys offensive line even better.

Atlanta Falcons
Foyesade Oluokun, S, Yale
How can you not like a Yale football player that's selected in the NFL Draft?

Carolina Panthers
D.J. Moore, WR, Maryland, first round
Moore was my favorite receiver in the draft. So he's easily my favorite pick of the Panthers.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Vita Vea, DT, Washington, first round
Vea is easy to like. It's a blast to watch a football player as large as Vea move around a football field like he does. He covered kicks fercryinoutloud!

New Orleans Saints
None
I wasn't a fan of the Saints draft simply because they paid way too much to jump up half the first round for Marcus Davenport. Did the Saints see such excellent results from so many rookies last year that they assumed that they had some sort of Midas drafting touch? Did they think that they could do no wrong so they could take a big swing at a raw pass rusher with immense potential? Who knows? I don't. They could be right and Davenport becomes a superstar but I think that they way overspent and the Packers, of all teams, were the beneficiary.

San Francisco 49ers
Fred Warner, LB, BYU, third round
I like versatile football players and Warner is certainly that. I only saw a couple of his games during his college career but I was always impressed. He climbed steadily among my favorites through the process.

Los Angeles Rams
Micah Kiser, LB, Virginia, fifth round
Kiser is a tackling machine. The Rams addressed nearly every unit on their defense this offseason other than linebacker. Kiser could get a shot early.

Arizona Cardinals
Christian Kirk, WR, Texas A&M, second round
D.J. Moore was my favorite receiver in the draft but Kirk wasn't far behind. He might not be big. He might not be fast. But it sure is fun to watch him play football.

Seattle Seahawks
Shaquem Griffin, LB, Central Florida, fifth round
Well, this is an easy choice. Griffin isn't just a great story he's a very talented football player. He showed that in college in leading last year's only undefeated Division I team and winning a conference defensive player of the year award. The NFL's promotion of Griffin's story would feel more genuine if he'd been invited to the Scouting Combine. He shouldn't have had to campaign for a spot in Indianapolis. The NFL was just as guilty as the narrow-minded people throughout Griffin's life that repeatedly told him "no." After he shined at the Combine the league went out of their way to promote him to their benefit. Griffin's a great football player, a great pick, a great story. I just wish that the NFL hadn't taken some of the shine off of it with their sad quest for dollars.