NFL draft: best fits between draft prospects and teams
We're just a few days away from the NFL Scouting Combine (February 27th - March 1st) - the perfect time to take a look at some of the prospects I think would match very well with certain teams.
Now, this may be because of certain needs, scheme fits, or just the type of players teams are looking for. Since the overall first and second picks seem to be set in stone pretty much, unless somebody shakes things up completely by trading up until then, we are starting with the team selecting at number three and work our way down the board, taking stops where I see a certain fit. Obviously this still heavily depends on what’s going to happen in free agency and the positions that will be filled up to that point, but for now these prospect-team pairings would make a lot of sense.
Detroit Lions – Jeffrey Okudah, CB, Ohio State
With the Darius Slay news this is an even more obvious connection, but even before those came out I had the talented Buckeye corner next to this team. The Lions play more man-coverage than any other defense in the league. Okudah is as good a corner prospect as we have seen since Jalen Ramsey His combination of size and speed is off the charts and he has the play to back it up. Even if they keep Slay on the roster, he is starting to enter the twilight of his career. Assuming them trading away Matthew Stafford was just noise, since he was playing at a near-elite level before getting hurt last season, this should be a slam-dunk pick. The only question is if Detroit will actually select the Ohio State DB at number three, since that pick might be extremely valuable if all the quarterbacks outside of Joe Burrow were available when they are on the clock.
With the Giants being at four, who already drafted a corner in the first round last year, as well as the Dolphins and Chargers seemingly being locked in at the QB position, both of them could be candidates to make a deal with. The biggest threat for the Okudah sweepstakes should be Carolina at seven, so Detroit could potentially pick up that 26th pick from Miami or a player to build around if L.A. offers it to them. Either way, I could easily see them getting their best fit and another very good players, as long as nobody jumps ahead to two and they keep their leverage. Even though Chase Young would be a pretty nice consolation prize if the quarterbacks go one and two.