The 2015 NFL Draft is in the books, and teams will now look toward OTAs, minicamps and training camp to see exactly how each player they selected fits their system.
While it’s too early to start discussing steals or busts, we can still talk about which teams got the most value out of their picks and filled key roster voids. Furthermore, we can check out how the moves may have affected the listed odds to win Super Bowl 50.
We still have over four months until the first NFL game of the 2015 season is set to kick off. But speculation is fun, and there’s no better time than now to take a look at which teams improved their rosters.
New York Jets
The Jets needed a shakeup in their front office and finally got one. After having two general managers that were primarily salary cap experts calling the shots over the past nine years in Mike Tannenbaum and John Idzik, ownership finally went in another direction and hired Mike Maccagnan, who comes from a scouting background.
And judging by the way the Jets approached the draft, it looks like hiring Maccagnan finally has them moving in the right direction.
The Jets selected DE Leonard Williams in the first round with the No. 6 overall pick, and many experts who had the former USC standout as the best player in the draft viewed the pick as a steal. The team then began Day 2 by adding Devin Smith—finally acquiring a vertical threat to stretch opposing defenses.
Gang Green also tried something new—trading down. They did so in the third round with the Texans, and ended up acquiring Houston’s fifth and seventh round picks as a result, as well as WR DeVier Posey. All in all, it was a near-perfect draft for a team that is looking to start fresh operating under a a new regime.
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars were in dire need of skill players on offense, and they used the draft to address that very need. The team selected RB T.J. Yeldon, WR Rashad Greene, WR Neal Sterling and TE Ben Koyack.
Many of the players above are not NFL-ready and will need to be developed, but OLB Dante Fowler, who the team took in the first round, will likely be wreaking havoc on opposing quarterbacks right out of the gate. Fowler was, hands down, the best pure pass rusher in the draft. He’s explosive and uses his hands to blow by offensive linemen and get to the quarterback.
The team also selected DT Michael Bennett in the sixth round, and he could potentially be an absolute steal to anchor the interior defensive line.
Jacksonville used its stable of draft picks to improve on both sides of the ball. CBS Sports’ Dane Brugler delivered some high praise and said the Jags were his favorite draft class of the weekend.
Baltimore Ravens
Ozzie Newsome, once again, showed why he’s one of the best general managers in football. The team wasted no time in attempting to fill the voids left by the departures of WR Torrey Smith and TE Owen Daniels.
In looking for their No. 1 receiver for the future, the Ravens drafted Breshad Perriman in the first round. The 6’3″, 209-pound receiver has the speed to take the top off opposing defenses, and also has the catch radius to haul in nearly everything that comes his way. And even though Perriman accidentally hung up on John Harbaugh during their first phone call, we can assume the team’s head coach won’t hold it against the rookie.
But they didn’t stop there. The Ravens followed the Perriman selection up with a trade that helped them acquire Maxx Williams—the best tight end in the draft—in the second round (pick No. 55).
The two picks that followed—DT Carl Davis and DE/OLB Za’Darius Smith—should help add depth to the team’s defensive line. It’s no wonder why the Ravens field one of the top five defensive fronts nearly every season.
But as far as overall roster building goes, it starts and ends with Newsome. And he, once again, did a great job in addressing the team’s key voids to ensure Baltimore will be a contender once again in 2015.
