The NFL draft is weird.
I had heard from a scout that Arizona’s Scooby Wright might not be picked until the fifth or sixth round. That seemed plausible. What actually happened bordered on ridiculous.
Wright lasted until the 250th selection. He was three picks away from being Mr. Irrelevant. He was four picks away from going undrafted.
The player who in 2014 won the Nagurski, Lombardi and Bednarik awards – who ranked in the top five in the nation in tackles (163), tackles for losses (29), sacks (14) and forced fumbles (six) while playing in the Pac-12 – almost didn’t get drafted.
Was Wright’s combine workout that off-putting? Were his injuries suffered in 2015 that worrisome?
Look, I get it: He’s kinda undersized, he’s not overly athletic and he doesn’t necessarily fit the mold of the modern-day inside linebacker. But if you’re telling me there were 249 players in the 2016 NFL draft with greater potential than Wright, well, I’m just not buying it.
Consider: The 145 players drafted Saturday in Rounds 4-7 included three punters and a long snapper. The Detroit Lions took the snapper, Baylor’s Jimmy Landes, with their second sixth-round pick. With all due respect to Landes, could he possibly be that much better than whomever the Lions might have signed off the street?
Like I said, the NFL draft is weird.
In the end, Wright landed in a good spot. The Cleveland Browns are in the midst of a total rebuild (again). They parted ways with veteran inside linebacker and leading tackler Karlos Dansby earlier in the offseason. They replaced him with former Jet Demario Davis. He and 2014 third-round pick Christian Kirksey are the projected starters at inside ’backer. There’s room on the roster for Wright.
Cleveland’s front office, which includes former MLB exec Paul DePodesta, is taking a different approach to team-building. The Browns wisely traded down in the first round – twice – to stockpile picks, which is the best and only way to improve the odds in the 50/50 world of drafting.
I criticized Cleveland’s selection of USC quarterback Cody Kessler in the third round. I covered Kessler extensively, and he just isn’t worthy of that high a pick. The Browns made up for it by grabbing Wright in the seventh. Better late than never.
Based on a variety of things I had heard and read, it wasn’t that surprising that Arizona safety Will Parks got taken ahead of Wright. Great pro-day workout. Great character guy. Scheme versatility. Value pick.
Parks’ new employer is the opposite of Wright’s in just about every way. The Broncos just won the Super Bowl. (The Browns have yet to appear in one.) They’re in a position where they could move up in the draft (a brilliant, relatively inexpensive trade late in the first round for QB Paxton Lynch). And they have a front office that’s beyond trustworthy.
John Elway is good at this. Period. Sure, he’s made some mistakes along the way (Montee Ball in the second round in ’13, for example), but show me the general manager who hasn’t.
Elway and his staff have displayed a knack for finding gems in the later rounds. In his first draft, in 2011, Denver took tight end Julius Thomas in the fourth round. He became a touchdown machine before signing a big free-agent contract with Jacksonville.
In 2012, the Broncos took Malik Jackson in the fifth round and Danny Trevathan in the sixth. Both became important starters for a dominant defense before also leaving via free agency.
And let’s not forget cornerback Chris Harris Jr., who signed with the Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2011 and has since become a two-time second-team All-Pro.
My point is this: If Elway and his staff like you, there’s a pretty good chance you’re very good at football.
Elway gave his blessing to Parks via Twitter on Saturday:
We've taken Will Parks, a safety from Arizona, in the 6th rd. He's a versatile player with really good instincts. Glad he's a Bronco.
— John Elway (@johnelway) April 30, 2016
In John I trust.
Finally, really quick thumbnails on the five Wildcats who signed as undrafted free agents:
RB Jared Baker, Cardinals: Baker can fly. Arizona is pretty deep at RB. Practice squad maybe?
DL Reggie Gilbert, Packers: I didn’t picture Gilbert in a 3-4 defense. But Green Bay turned Mike Neal (6-3, 262) into an OLB, so maybe that’s the idea here.
WR Cayleb Jones, Eagles: Opportunities abound in Philadelphia, which has a totally rebuilt receiving corps and a new coaching staff.
OL Lene Maiava, Seahawks: A scout told me Maiava would have a chance as a guard. Seattle needs OL help just about everywhere.
WR David Richards, Falcons: None of the projected backups to starters Julio Jones and Mohamad Sanu is as big as Richards (6-4, 213).
