The value of the weekend has a name and a slot: Sheridan Jones, Round 7, Pick 25, roughly 26 picks past where he belonged.
Leaving quarterback unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall. The cost of the Morgan reach is exactly the players who went right after him. The roster is better shaped than it was, with edge rusher chief among the fixes.
Building through the lines is a philosophy, and they stuck to it.
Add it up and it is a good, unfussy class.
Pick-by-Pick
R1.25
· Pick 25
· Jordan Morgan
· OT
· rank 37
In the Round 1 slot they get an anchor for the offensive line, though they paid up to get him.
R2.9
· Pick 41
· Chris Braswell
· LB-EDGE
· rank 44
No edge and no loss on Chris Braswell in the 41st overall pick; it is a wash and a sensible one. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
R2.26
· Pick 58
· DJ James
· CB
· rank 53
Nothing to complain about; DJ James went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
R3.25
· Pick 88
· Max Melton
· CB
· rank 76
They let Max Melton come to them and pounced at the 88th pick. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
R3.28
· Pick 91
· Renardo Green
· S
· rank 78
Value with a capital V on Renardo Green in pick No. 91, a genuine coup. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
R4.26
· Pick 126
· Blake Fisher
· OT
· rank 118
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Blake Fisher at No. 126 is the proof. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
R5.33
· Pick 169
· Sione Vaki
· S
· rank 158
Sione Vaki at Round 5, Pick 33 is money in the bank, a safety taken below his worth. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
R6.27
· Pick 202
· Jaylan Ford
· LB
· rank 205
Jaylan Ford in slot 202 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
R6.44
· Pick 219
· Nathaniel Watson
· LB
· rank 212
A clean, defensible pick in slot 219 with a little surplus value in Nathaniel Watson. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
R7.25
· Pick 245
· Sheridan Jones
· CB
· rank 219
They barely believed it either: Sheridan Jones still on the board at the 245th pick. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
R7.35
· Pick 255
· Nathan Thomas
· OT
· rank 229
Circle this one: Nathan Thomas at pick 255 is a fall that decides a draft. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.