You could see the war room lean forward. Germie Bernard at No. 121 is the sort of fall that does not happen, except it just did.
Mahlman has a lot of ground to make up just to look fairly priced. They lost the exchange badly enough to drag the whole class down.
The quarterback spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at.
The verdict is a shrug for now, with the swing picks left to write the real ending.
Pick-by-Pick
R2.23
· Pick 55
· Gennings Dunker
· OG
· rank 51
Gennings Dunker at No. 55 nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
R3.12
· Pick 76
· Keylan Rutledge
· OG
· rank 79
Keylan Rutledge at the 76th pick is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
R3.22
· Pick 86
· Davison Igbinosun
· CB
· rank 80
A clean, defensible pick in the Round 3 slot with a little surplus value in Davison Igbinosun. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
R3.35
· Pick 99
· Jake Golday
· OLB
· rank 62
They barely believed it either: Jake Golday still on the board at slot 99. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
R4.20
· Pick 120
· Julian Neal
· CB
· rank 119
By-the-book stuff, Julian Neal at the 120th overall pick squarely in line with his ranking. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
R4.21
· Pick 121
· Germie Bernard
· WR
· rank 63
The board fumbled Germie Bernard all the way to Round 4, Pick 21, and they scooped it up. It fills a real need, too.
R4.23
· Pick 123
· DeMonte Capehart
· DT
· rank 138
DeMonte Capehart in pick No. 123 is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
R4.35
· Pick 135
· Nate Boerkircher
· TE
· rank 163
Nate Boerkircher at pick 135 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
R5.20
· Pick 160
· Beau Stephens
· OG
· rank 160
Beau Stephens in Round 5, Pick 20 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
R6.20
· Pick 201
· VJ Payne
· S
· rank 200
VJ Payne in the 201st overall pick is fair value, right on his grade. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
R7.20
· Pick 236
· Robert Spears-Jennings
· S
· rank 238
No drama and no debate, Robert Spears-Jennings went about where he belonged in No. 236. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
R7.39
· Pick 255
· Riley Mahlman
· OT
· rank 298
Riley Mahlman at slot 255 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. A need, and now a little less of one.