The 2014 NFL Draft started tonight and it did not lack for excitement or lack of movement. In this article, I’ll be reviewing the picks for the teams in the NFC East Division. All three of the teams from that division that will be picking tonight selected between picks 12 and 22. The 4th team, the Washington Redskins, do not have a 1st round pick, I’ll get to that later. I’ll be going over who these teams picked and how they fit on the team. After that, I’ll be giving you a preview of their picks for day two, so without further ado, let us get right into the 1st round picks for the NFC East.
New York Giants:
12th overall – WR Odell Beckham 5’11 198 lbs from LSU – This was a bit of a surprising pick from the Giants. He’s a super quick guy who can play both inside and outside. He is a better route runner than Sammy Watkins and played in a pro-style offense. He does, however, have DeSean Jackson type talent.
How he fits in – This is where I scratch my head. The Giants have Victor Cruz, Rueben Randle, Mario Manningham, and Jerrel Jernigan at WR already. They had a bigger need on the o-line and Zack Martin was right there for them. They may have listened to Victor Cruz, who said he wanted a WR in round one.
Dallas Cowboys:
16th overall – OT Zack Martin 6’4 308 lbs from Notre Dame – This was one of the best picked of the 1st round. Martin is the most versatile offensive lineman in the draft and can play any of the five spots on the line. He probably should have been a top 10-12 pick. The Cowboys got a steal here.
How he fits in – Martin, as I just said, is very versatile and can play any spot on the line. The Cowboys already have, 2013 1st round pick, Travis Frederick at Center and, 2011 1st round pick, Tyron Smith holding down the LT spot, Doug Free may slide to Guard or Martin could just go directly to Guard.
Philadelphia Eagles:
22nd overall – OLB Marcus Smith 6’3 251 lbs from Louisville – This in my opinion was 1 of the biggest reaches of the entire 1st round. Marcus Smith is not bad, but he had a late 2nd – early 3rd round grade. With Marquise Lee and Cody Latimer still on the board, I don’t think they got the best value for the pick.
How he fits in – Smith won’t come in and replace Trent Cole or Conner Barwin, so he’ll be used for depth at OLB. This is the reason I didn’t like this pick in round one. They could have filled a much bigger need and upgraded their slot WR, which is non-existent right now. However, the Eagles usually draft well.
Washington Redskins:
No picks – The Colts should have been the 2nd overall pick, however, that pick was part of the, three 1st round picks, package they sent to the St Louis Rams for the 2nd pick two years ago, which netted them their current starting QB, Robert Griffin III. With that pick, the Rams selected Offensive Tackle Greg Robinson.
Tomorrow will be the 2nd and 3rd rounds of the NFL draft. The Washington Redskins will be making their 1st selection of the draft pretty early with the 34th pick, the New York Giants will be picking 43rd, the Dallas Cowboys will be picking 47th, and Philadelphia Eagles will be picking 54th. Check back in after round three for more analysis on the 2nd and 3rd round picks from Day two.
