Round 1 Roundup: Patriots Have Our Guy, The Falcons Saved the Draft, and What If Games

For as long and drawn out and more often than not anticlimactic as the first round of the draft can be, it never disappoints. After the 32nd pick is announced, I'm always left begging for the night not to end.

Football is just the best. And even though you’ll be left on Saturday night realizing you won’t get to watch your team play meaningful games for four plus months, for this weekend in particular, you feel the hope, the excitement. That this year may be your year.

The Patriots Have Our Guy

We start with the Patriots since the first two picks have been known since February. Don’t get me started about how the Commanders beat the Patriots last year but got to pick before us due to strength of schedule, which doesn’t trump head-to-head matchup in any tiebreaker in any sport ever. We should have Jayden Daniels, or at least have had the option to pick him. But I digress.

I know I’m supposed to be all rah-rah about my new QB, my new guy, the guy who pulls us out of the depths of hell. I know multiple teams other than the Patriots tried pretty aggressively to trade up with us to take him. I know he’s got insane arm talent, the likes Mac Jones could only dream of. I thought I’d be amped up after we took him, but I’m pretty meh about the whole situation.

He’s raw, and from every analyst that knows football way better than I do it seems like he’s not ready to play NFL football yet. Which is fine, if he’s not thrusted in week 1 expected to be the savior, which he would be if he plays. He’s going to the worst situation of any first round QB (excluding Penix, we’ll get to that), with no one to protect him and even less than no one to throw the ball to. Someone on the draft broadcast said only 2 or 3 offensive starters would be starters on any of the other three AFC East teams. Lol. There’s still time in this draft to fill some of these voids, presumably as early as pick 34, but for right now, I’m realizing my excitement for the Patriots likely won’t begin until 2025. I wanted to be excited about this year.

Current prediction/hope: Sit Drake Maye for the year, and develop him into a fucking star. Fix the mechanics, learn from Jacoby, and begin to acquire talent. Play him next year assuming he’s ready, and we’re off to the races.

In a vacuum, Maye being the Patriots QB does have me juiced. The talent is there, and I’ve heard no one question his potential. My concern comes from the Patriots side, cause all signs point to having a stud on our hands if handled correctly. But based on the Mac Jones experiment and our current roster, that’s a big if.

Atlanta Is Still Stupid

Fast forward to 8, where the pick that shook the NFL world took place. The Falcons, who just paid Kirk Cousins $180 million, $100M of that guaranteed, for four years to be their franchise QB to take them over the hump took…a QB?? Yes, Michael Penix Jr, who was projected to be an overdrafted reach in the mid first round.

I’ve tried taking every angle to see a way this makes sense and I just can’t do it. If this was Drake Maye I might understand, a raw 21-year-old not yet primed to play in the league and have him sit a couple years behind Kirk.

Maybe they’re slightly concerned about Kirk’s Achillies recovery. Or his age. The contract they gave him one month ago certainly doesn’t scream concern over either.

Michael Penix turns 24 years old next week. According to this plan, he won’t see the field until he’s 28. 28!! That’s bordering on age discrimination age in office job years. Not only that, but his rookie contract will be up the same time as Kirk’s, and the Falcons will need to decide on his fifth-year option with the potential of never seeing him play a game that matters.

If Kirk had played even one season I could make a case. If Penix just had his first legal drink last fall I could make a case.  If the Falcons didn’t desperately need defensive help and didn’t have their pick of the litter once on the clock I could make a case. If they weren’t in “win-now” mode, which the Cousins signing seemed to indicate, I could make a case.

But none are true. Nothing lines up. So once again I’m left dumbfounded by the Atlanta Falcons.

Bears Went Flashy

I didn’t get the Rome Odunze pick from the Bears. And it has nothing to do with how much I love Rome, I think he’ll be the best WR on this team by the end of his rookie deal. I just didn’t see it as the biggest need for Chicago. I listened to idiotic Bears fans all week talk about linking Caleb and Rome, which I agree sounds great, but they already have two WR1s. I guess three is better than two, but three WRs aren’t on the field every play. Are they just getting rid of 12 and 21 personnel?

Was I imagining the Bears O line being one of their weaknesses last year? I thought I might’ve been, so I looked it up. Different football rankings had Chicago’s line ranked 19th, 22nd, and “Tier 5: The Walking Wounded” last year. They had injuries, but with injuries comes the exposure of lack of depth. In a draft with such top end OL talent, I thought it’d make most sense to go that route.

Maybe they had a big dropoff on their draft board from the two OL taken ahead of them and the third. Maybe they had Rome as a far superior player than whoever they’d take at OL at that spot. Or maybe they aren’t expecting to resign Keenan Allen after his contract expires next year. The pick makes sense if any of those are true. It just seemed very on brand for Chicago fans and the Bears to want another flashy new toy instead of more appropriately rounding out their roster. With no pick until 75, the OL room will likely be joined by a shot in the dark rather than sure thing.

Chargers Choice Is the Biggest What If of The First Round

I was a little surprised LA didn’t take Nabers or Odunze given the mass exodus of weapons they endured this offseason. But they needed OL help, and getting the best OL in the draft to help protect Herbert and build on the run game is never a bad choice.

But let’s play the what if game.

Say they take Nabers. Do the Giants then take McCarthy? JJ was on record thinking he’d end up there, and all signs pointed to NY loving him. I see why they didn’t pass on Leek when he was there for the taking, but maybe they then take JJ.

I wonder what Minnesota would’ve done then. Likely stay put thinking they could get Penix at 11, but then Atlanta takes him. Chicago maybe goes OL instead of Rome. The Jets have Rome on the board and the temptation of giving Rodgers another weapon might overtake their need for OL. Minnesota is left with Bo Nix or no QB. I could go down this rabbit hole forever.

The Chargers and the Giants felt like the turning point in the draft, and instead of flipping the night upside down they made the right decisions. And there’s several other teams behind them that are thankful for those decisions.

Most Fanbases Should Be Happy

Most years there’s a handful of teams in the first round that leave you scratching your head. Whether it’s in the form of a projected reach or taking a position of lesser need, multiple fanbases are often left with the “well I guess they must know what they’re doing” attitude post Thursday. This year doesn’t have that feel outside of Atlanta.

Teams with franchise QB’s surrounded by weapons got protection help. Teams like the Cardinals, Jags, and Panthers that have a QB but need/lost weapons reupped. The Lions and Eagles bolstered their team’s biggest weakness in the secondary, and the Vikings and Rams snagged stud defensive ends to replace longtime stalwarts on their line.

This feels like one of the more satisfactory first rounds I can remember. No matter who you root for, unless you’re a Falcons fan, you should feel better about your team than you did Wednesday.