The NFL Draft 2018 can be filed, day 3 is also closed. The German-American Equanimeous St. Brown has to wait much longer than expected, while the inspiring draft story around Shaquem Griffin comes to a great end. Also: unexpected quarterback picks, a punter run, a big browns risk – and value picks even in the late rounds.
In the end, the question why Equanimeous St. Brown slipped into the sixth round and was selected almost 30 picks later than Moritz Böhringer at the time can only be answered speculatively. Because you can’t justify this draft slide with sporting arguments. Even though St. Brown had to play a lot more physically, he still went to the Green Bay Packers about two laps later than expected.
A theory that remained constant throughout the evening and received more and more food: Teams were put off by St. Brown’s family, especially by his quite extroverted father. He is said to have reminded the NFL franchises of NBA helicopter father LaVar Ball – a situation that no team wanted to get into the house. ESPN had their own single player, who showed how the St. Brown family is doing.
In this scenario, the six-round pick would be nothing more than a low-risk move: if you get along, St. Brown is a steal. If it doesn’t work out, you can easily part with the 207th pick in the draft.
From a purely sporting point of view, St. Brown is a long speed receiver that builds up a remarkable speed during its route. His cuts are good, his movements in the route subtle and efficient, he always breaks away from his opponent. Above all, St. Brown is one thing: a big-play downfield receiver. He navigates well across the middle, was deployed outside and in the slot. If he works on his overall physique and aggressiveness at the catch point, he can become a good NFL receiver.
In any case, the move from a desolate quarterback situation in college to Aaron Rodgers will take him massively further. In addition, it obviously fits into a new receiver leg scheme in Green Bay: with Michael Clark (2 meters), St. Brown (1.98 m), Marquez Valdez-Scantling (1.95 m) and J’Mon Moore and Geronimo Allison (both 1.93 m), the Packers suddenly have a considerable size in the Receiving Corps.
Moore and Valdez-Scantling were also drafted on day 3. When it comes to sporting talent, St. Brown doesn’t have to hide from either. Its good tape in the middle of the field also fits into the packers’ passing scheme. If St. Brown plays more physically aggressive and there are no distractions off the pitch, then he has a real chance of making it into the Packers squad.
A punter, kicker or long snapper in round seven? No problem. At this point in the draft it’s about players who have to fight for their squad position anyway, so why not give a special teamer a chance. But what happened on day 3 of the draft this year went far beyond that.
For the first time since 1982, punters were taken with successive picks. And not at the end of the drag, but in the fifth round! The Packers (J.K. Scott) and Raiders (Johnny Townsend) provided for this historic event. What’s more, they weren’t the first punters of the evening. Seattle had already drafted Michael Dickson with Pick 12 in the fifth round – and even traded up for the ex-Texas punter.
To complete a strange fifth round, the Vikings also chose a kicker. Keyword kicker: Another representative of the kicking guild was drafted, the Dolphins got Jason Sanders in round 7, but the question here is: why? Sanders had a college hit rate of 71.4 percent.
The most inspiring story of this drag has found a magical happy ending. Shaquem Griffin had to wait until round five, but it was worth it: The one-handed pass rusher was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks – where he is now reunited with his twin brother, Cornerback Shaquill Griffin.
The fact that Griffin was only selected in round five can’t even be traced back to his missing hand. Griffin is a player whose ranking at NFL level isn’t that easy.
He’s too light and he doesn’t have the stature to be a 3-Down-Edge-Rusher. Griffin could be used as a hybrid of Strong Safety, Sub-Package-Linebacker, Underneath-Cover-Player and Edge-Rusher – where its explosiveness still comes into its own. In any case he will also help a team with his engine, his kind and his attitude.
You don’t really get smart with what the cowboys did with two trades during the third draft day. Dallas first picked up Tavon Austin from Los Angeles and paid a six-hour pick for it – just to hand Ryan Switzer over to the Raiders a few hours later. In exchange, Dallas defensive lineman receives Jihad Ward.
Austin is supposed to be planned as a running back, but the timing of the two trades suggests a connection. Either way, both are curious decisions, whether viewed individually or in context. The Cowboys had only expelled Switzer last year, the slot receiver had promising college tape and was correspondingly cheap under the rookie contract.
Austin, on the other hand, still has a $3 million cap hit after the drastic pay cut and is a player who has never shown in any offense that he can be more than a gadget player. At best. Sean McVay also found no role for the 27-year-old and used him primarily as a running back for End Arounds and the like.
Antonio Callaway’s sporting talent – a fast, yards-after-catch receiver that can play in a slot and easily separates – is indisputable and would rank among the top three wide receivers in this class. And yet it was surprising that Cleveland chose him with the fifth pick in round four. Because the ex- Florida video out comes with a lot of problems off the pitch.
He missed the entire past season after being suspended for credit card fraud. He was tested positive for marijuana on the Combine, reports of other problems circulating. With its mass of draft picks, Cleveland can afford such risk picks in this respect. But it remains to be seen whether a player like Antonio Callaway in the cabin is the right way for a very young team that wants to make a U-turn.
Page 1: St. Brown’s Opportunities, the Punter Run, Griffin and the Browns Risk
Page 2: Good picks on day 3 – and strange quarterback decisions