This is the pick they will still be bragging about in July: Cam Hart, the No. 139 name on the board, stolen at the 160th overall pick. No fireworks, but a solid B+.
They will need Johnson to outplay his draft slot in a hurry to justify it. For all the activity, quarterback went untouched, which is hard to explain. A modest surplus at the table, banked quietly.
The future picks help the war chest more than the win-now roster.
In short, they left a little better than they arrived, which is the whole idea.
Pick-by-Pick
R1.22
· Pick 22
· Kool-Aid McKinstry
· CB
· rank 19
In Round 1, Pick 22 they get an island corner at fair value. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
R2.12
· Pick 44
· Tyler Guyton
· OT
· rank 40
A clean, defensible pick in pick No. 44 with a little surplus value in Tyler Guyton. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
R2.18
· Pick 50
· Xavier Legette
· WR
· rank 36
They let Xavier Legette come to them and pounced at pick 50. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
R3.2
· Pick 66
· Junior Colson
· LB
· rank 71
They took Junior Colson at par in the 66th pick, which is nothing to complain about. A minor need, but a need all the same.
R3.27
· Pick 90
· Michael Hall Jr.
· DT
· rank 88
A market-rate interior defensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Michael Hall Jr.. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
R3.34
· Pick 97
· Beau Brade
· S
· rank 111
They paid a round early for Beau Brade in the Round 3 slot, more than the board wanted. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
R3.37
· Pick 100
· Khyree Jackson
· CB
· rank 105
Khyree Jackson at No. 100 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
R4.4
· Pick 104
· Darius Robinson
· DL-EDGE
· rank 121
The board had cheaper options than Darius Robinson at slot 104, and it noticed. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
R4.30
· Pick 130
· Theo Johnson
· TE
· rank 152
Theo Johnson in Round 4, Pick 30 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. A need, and now a little less of one.
R5.11
· Pick 147
· Braelon Allen
· RB
· rank 159
Braelon Allen in the 147th overall pick is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
R5.24
· Pick 160
· Cam Hart
· CB
· rank 139
They robbed the room for Cam Hart here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.