Some picks age like wine; John Emery Jr. at slot 246 will need to, sitting 97 spots clear of his grade. Solid and sensible more than spectacular: a B-.
Getting Walker where they did is the sort of value that quietly makes a class. A whole weekend of picks and quarterback is somehow still a want.
On the needs board they went 7 of 8, with edge rusher the one that mattered most.
In short, they left a little better than they arrived, which is the whole idea.
Pick-by-Pick
R1.25
· Pick 25
· Brock Bowers
· TE
· rank 6
In No. 25 they get a mismatch in the passing game, and a steal at that.
R2.9
· Pick 41
· Jackson Powers-Johnson
· C
· rank 51
A premium they did not need to pay, Jackson Powers-Johnson a notch or two before his time. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
R2.25
· Pick 57
· Calen Bullock
· S
· rank 47
Calen Bullock slipping to pick No. 57 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
R3.25
· Pick 88
· Devontez Walker
· WR
· rank 46
They will replay Devontez Walker at slot 88 for years; that is how good the value is. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
R3.28
· Pick 91
· McKinnley Jackson
· DL
· rank 88
Good price on McKinnley Jackson in Round 3, Pick 28, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
R4.25
· Pick 125
· Darius Robinson
· DL-EDGE
· rank 121
A tidy little value on Darius Robinson in the 125th overall pick, a step better than break-even. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
R4.35
· Pick 135
· Cedric Gray
· LB
· rank 135
Cedric Gray at slot 135 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
R6.28
· Pick 203
· Isaiah Davis
· RB
· rank 183
They robbed the room for Isaiah Davis here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
R6.42
· Pick 217
· Christian Jones
· OT
· rank 197
A offensive lineman of that caliber at the 217th overall pick is the definition of value, full stop. The roster fit checks out.
R6.44
· Pick 219
· Dwight McGlothern
· CB
· rank 257
They talked themselves into Dwight McGlothern at pick No. 219, and the board did not agree. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
R7.26
· Pick 246
· John Emery Jr.
· RB
· rank 343
John Emery Jr. in No. 246 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.