The Future Stars of the NFL Are Coming (Part III)

It seems that the Pittsburgh Steelers are preparing for something they didn’t do in eighteen years.

Though maybe the top skill position players would be taken at this stage of the draft, teams with draft picks from number 17 to 24 will have a lot of talents to choose from still. Something terrific is about to take shape in Detroit, while an era might come to an end at the Chargers. The Steelers could do something unusual, while it would be a surprise if the Eagles would not do something similar.

Will Gurley drop this far?
Steelers to pick a cornerback
Awesome D without Suh?

If there is an unorthodox move, an interesting trade or a surprise drop that would obviously rearrange the order. However if most of the teams apply a conservative approach, this scheme could help not just to prepare for the event, but in states where the varying US gambling laws enables players to do so, it can be useful before placing a bet on any possible draft pick.

17. San Diego Chargers

The Chargers front office might not count on Philip Rivers in the future as he doesn’t want to extend his contract, online betting news reports. Rumor has it that he would be traded earlier if the franchise can draft Marcus Mariota. If not, San Diego could pick up a talented running back in the first round to improve the team’s ball controlling ability. They won’t pass on Georgia tailback Todd Gurley if he is available this late, otherwise they could choose Melvin Gordon from Wisconsin.

18. Kansas City Chiefs

It is an excellent opportunity for Andy Reid to strengthen his feeble offensive line. Cameron Erving is the most obvious choice as the Florida State lineman can play anywhere along the O-line, but LSU’s La’el Collins would be a good solution as well if he would drop this far. According to some experts, Reid would draft a defensive lineman instead, like Arik Armstead (Oregon) or Malcolm Brown (Texas).

19. Cleveland Browns (via Buffalo Bills)

The Browns got this selection from the Bills, who traded for their fourth pick overall last year to acquire Sammy Watkins. Now they could use this opportunity to boost either of their lines, but there is an ongoing speculation about a possible trade back as there will be a bunch of useful linemen available later, gambling news report. Either of Brown, Collins or Armstead would make sense if they opted to pick a lineman at 19 indeed, but D. J. Humphries from Florida, Danny Shelton from Washington and Eddie Goldman from Florida State are in contention too.

20. Philadelphia Eagles

As Philly’s roster is filled with quarterbacks and halfbacks, the super creative Chip Kelly will probably look for players with sensitive hands on both sides of the ball in the top rounds. The athletic Connecticut cornerback Byron Jones and Alabama safety Landon Collins are favorites to be chosen, but wide receivers Jaelen Strong (Arizona State), Nelson Agholor (USC), Philipp Dorsett (Miami) and Breshad Perriman (Central Florida) are also possible targets.

21. Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals should take the best available tackle, either defensive or offensive, according to NFL pundits. This would be the talented Randy Gregory if he fell this far after he tested positive for marijuana and lost some weight, but he probably won’t, which will leave the Ohio franchise with a pool of tackle talents: any of Andrus Peat (Stanford), Ereck Flowers (Miami), Malcolm Brown (Texas), T. J. Clemmings (Pittsburgh), Eddie Goldman (Florida State) or Jordan Phillips (Oklahoma) might do for them.

22. Pittsburgh Steelers

It seems that the Steelers would go for a cornerback early in this year’s draft. If you bet on sports in the US, especially on the NFL Draft, you might know that this didn’t happen recently. The last defensive back who they chose in the first round was the freshly retired Troy Polamalu back in 2003, while the last cornerback was Chad Scott, who became Steeler Rookie of the Year in 1997. But they have a significant need the secondary now and the aggressive Kevin Johnson from Wake Forest would fit into the Steelers D perfectly. The other candidates are Washington’s Marcus Peters, Connecticut’s Byron Jones and Utah’s Eric Rowe and maybe even the Alabama safety Landon Collins if they intend to cover Polamalu’s place.

23. Detroit Lions

The Lions usually take the top value available and this could be Wisconsin tailback Melvin Gordon or Todd Gurley of course, if he drops this far because of his injury. If they are not on the table at 23, Detroit might strengthen either of their lines further picking anyone from the pool mentioned when discussing the Bengals above. Texas defensive tackle Malcolm Brown could be their guy, and he, by pairing up with free agent signing Haloti Ngata, could make the Lions fans forget who Ndamukong Suh was.

24. Arizona Cardinals

If the Arizona front office has no specific plans, they should just pick the top player available as any of those might help them. They have actual needs on the defensive side of the ball, so if no skill position blockbuster is unattached this far (like Gurley or Gordon), they shall acquire the best D-man or maybe the best offensive lineman untaken. Some experts go with Florida offensive tackle D.J. Humphries, but corners like Kevin Johnson and Byron Jones are tipped as future Cardinals as well.

The last part of our NFL Draft analysis will cover last seasons’ best achieving teams minus the Seattle Seahawks, who traded their top pick and center Max Unger to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for superstar tight end Jimmy Graham. It will be revealed who might be Super Bowl champion New England Patriots’ top selection as well as the predicted top picks for the Green Bay Packers, the Dallas Cowboys, the Baltimore Ravens and the Denver Broncos.