The Raiders drafted Amari Cooper here, and that is not a bad pick on the surface. However, the top five of the NFL draft is about drafting quarterbacks and players who can sack the quarterback. With Winston, Mariota, and Hunter off of the board, Frank Clark is the best pass rusher of the bunch here.
Clark had 35 sacks in the same span as Hunter and did an admirable job stepping into a leadership role after Seattle lost vital defensive pieces. Clark was a key in the Seahawks making the playoffs last year.
Clark fell in the draft due to off of the field questions. If the Raiders did not draft Clark for these issues that is completely fine but based on how his NFL career panned out, he would likely have been the right pick.
Washington made the right pick. I know, weird. Still, it is tough to knock the production they got out of Brandon Scherff over his first four seasons. The guard position is proving to be more valuable than recent years. Look at the impact Quenton Nelson has had in Indianapolis.
Scherff has been on a similar route with Washington. He put together a phenomenal rookie year before putting in two elite seasons at guard. Last year’s season was cut short after just eight games. Still, he was the right choice.
Cooper went fourth overall in the real draft and fell two spots after his poor start in Oakland. However, when he was revitalized in Dallas, this season everyone was reminded why he went so high. Cooper was a game changer who leapfrogged the Cowboys into not only a playoff appearance but a win.
The Jets took Leonard Williams here, and while he has been productive, that has fallen off in the past two seasons. It can be argued the Jets defensive scheme changing so often has to do with it, but it would be nice to see young quarterback Sam Darnold throwing to someone like Cooper next year.