When the story of this class is written, it opens with Jasheen Davis at pick No. 240, a reach of 121 spots that the board flatly disagrees with.
Cornelius falling to them is the kind of break a good board is built to catch. The quarterback hole is the one line item this class does not answer. Jalen Pitre gives the group a proven body among the projects.
Stockpiling next year's capital is patient, if unglamorous, asset work.
The kind of weekend a front office frames and hangs on the wall.
Pick-by-Pick
R1.25
· Pick 25
· Tyler Warren
· TE
· rank 14
In pick 25 they get a moveable chess piece at tight end, and a steal at that. A real need, handled.
R2.6
· Pick 38
· Jalon Walker
· LB
· rank 20
Jalon Walker in the 38th pick is a gift, value that borders on unfair. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
R2.26
· Pick 58
· Marcus Mbow
· OT
· rank 51
Good price on Marcus Mbow in the Round 2 slot, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
R3.5
· Pick 69
· Deone Walker
· DT
· rank 67
Deone Walker at slot 69 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
R3.25
· Pick 89
· Isaiah Bond
· WR
· rank 54
They will replay Isaiah Bond at the 89th overall pick for years; that is how good the value is. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
R3.26
· Pick 90
· Dylan Sampson
· RB
· rank 65
A top-tier running back at a bargain, Dylan Sampson in No. 90, plain and simple. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
R3.36
· Pick 100
· Maxwell Hairston
· CB
· rank 77
Maxwell Hairston in the 100th pick is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. A minor itch, scratched.
R4.12
· Pick 113
· Malachi Moore
· S
· rank 95
They barely believed it either: Malachi Moore still on the board at the Round 4 slot. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
R5.6
· Pick 145
· Savion Williams
· WR
· rank 98
Circle this one: Savion Williams at Round 5, Pick 6 is a fall that decides a draft. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
R5.25
· Pick 164
· Ajani Cornelius
· OT
· rank 114
Ajani Cornelius at pick 164 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
R7.1
· Pick 219
· Clay Webb
· OG
· rank 251
Clay Webb in pick No. 219 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. The roster fit checks out.
R7.4
· Pick 222
· Cooper Mays
· C
· rank 307
Cooper Mays at the 222nd overall pick is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
R7.22
· Pick 240
· Jasheen Davis
· DL-EDGE
· rank 361
A wild overpay on Jasheen Davis in slot 240, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.