It is the swing that defines the weekend: Will Shipley in the 92nd overall pick, a good 37 spots before the room expected him. Good, not great, and the B- says as much.
They will answer for taking safety early while edge rusher, quarterback and other spots went begging. Landing Ali that late papers over a lot of smaller sins. They punted on edge rusher, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest.
Bottom line, more hits than misses and a roster nudged the right way.
Pick-by-Pick
R1.25
· Pick 25
· Kamren Kinchens
· S
· rank 25
No edge and no loss on Kamren Kinchens in the Round 1 slot; it is a wash and a sensible one. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
R2.9
· Pick 41
· Devontez Walker
· WR
· rank 48
Devontez Walker at slot 41 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. It fills a real need, too.
R2.25
· Pick 57
· Javon Bullard
· S
· rank 66
They bypassed pressing needs at edge rusher, quarterback and other spots to take Javon Bullard, a safety that was not the priority.
R3.25
· Pick 88
· Cooper Beebe
· OG
· rank 78
A tidy bit of business in the 88th pick, where Cooper Beebe graded well above the range. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
R3.29
· Pick 92
· Will Shipley
· RB
· rank 129
Will Shipley in pick 92 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
R4.25
· Pick 125
· Jarrian Jones
· CB
· rank 121
Jarrian Jones in No. 125 is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
R4.35
· Pick 135
· Cedric Gray
· LB
· rank 131
Cedric Gray in the Round 4 slot lands just on the right side of the ledger. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
R6.28
· Pick 203
· Rasheen Ali
· RB
· rank 188
Rasheen Ali is a better player than pick 203 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
R6.42
· Pick 217
· Zion Logue
· DL
· rank 241
Zion Logue at pick No. 217 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
R6.44
· Pick 219
· Walter Rouse
· OT
· rank 248
Walter Rouse in the 219th pick is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
R7.26
· Pick 246
· Dwight McGlothern
· CB
· rank 249
By-the-book stuff, Dwight McGlothern at slot 246 squarely in line with his ranking. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.