Call it belief, call it a gut call, but Thor Griffith at No. 207 is 67 spots clear of consensus, and that is the headline. Too much went sideways, and the D is the honest tally.
They handed away value on the phones that the picks cannot earn back. The Sanders pick is the one they will point to when this weekend is judged.
A whole weekend of picks and quarterback is somehow still a want. Edge rusher is handled and the depth chart looks a good deal healthier for it.
In short, the board sent warnings, and they will be hoping it was wrong.
Pick-by-Pick
R1.29
· Pick 29
· Benjamin Morrison
· CB
· rank 47
In pick 29 they get an island corner, though the board says they badly overpaid. Exactly the need they had to hit.
R2.4
· Pick 36
· Denzel Burke
· CB
· rank 65
Denzel Burke at Round 2, Pick 4 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
R2.30
· Pick 62
· Donovan Jackson
· OT
· rank 85
Donovan Jackson in pick No. 62 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. The roster fit checks out.
R3.24
· Pick 88
· Jordan Burch
· DE-EDGE
· rank 110
Jordan Burch at the 88th pick is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
R3.30
· Pick 94
· Savion Williams
· WR
· rank 112
Savion Williams in the Round 3 slot is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
R4.7
· Pick 108
· Billy Bowman Jr.
· S
· rank 111
Billy Bowman Jr. in the 108th overall pick is exactly on the number, no argument either way. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
R4.24
· Pick 125
· Danny Stutsman
· LB
· rank 86
Danny Stutsman in Round 4, Pick 24 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
R5.22
· Pick 159
· DeMonte Capehart
· DT
· rank 152
DeMonte Capehart at the 159th overall pick is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
R6.24
· Pick 199
· Raheim Sanders
· RB
· rank 146
The board fumbled Raheim Sanders all the way to slot 199, and they scooped it up. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
R6.32
· Pick 207
· Thor Griffith
· DL
· rank 274
A real head-scratcher, Thor Griffith in pick 207 is miles ahead of his ranking. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
R7.21
· Pick 237
· Jordan Hancock
· S
· rank 191
Taking Jordan Hancock in No. 237 is close to grand larceny; a safety that good had no business lasting this long. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
R7.34
· Pick 250
· Mitchell Evans
· TE
· rank 315
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Mitchell Evans well ahead of where he belonged. A need, and now a little less of one.