In my opinion rule #1 should be "Get your guys." They're your guys for a reason, everything else comes second.
1/27 - Rashaad Penny RB - It felt too early at the time, and I would have liked to have traded back for another day 2 pick potentially. At the end of the day his ceiling is high and he was clearly our guy. Additionally a couple others wanted him as well (I heard Pats at 31, Browns at 33) so he might not have been there had we traded back, losing us 'Our Guy' attempting to maximize value. Rule #1.
3/79 - Rasheem Green DE - Oh man.. Day 2 was as bad as watching the second 2017 Rams game. Just staring at all this insane value and these projected first rounders drop to mid to even late second... Anyway, Rasheem wasn't my favorite on the board but he definitely has a high ceiling. Green can play DT and DE and he's a powerful rusher. All of his flaws are technique based. I don't expect more than average to above average production from his snaps in year one, but 2019 and 2020 his technique should grow and he should become a monster.
4/120 - Will Dissly TE - We had to grab Dissly or Schultz. Schultz has amazing technique and consistency blocking, and drops literally nothing in the short passing game. Won't make giant explosive plays, but does his job near perfectly. Dissly is a behemoth of a man (Nearly as big as Rasheem Green). Totally unfair in the run blocking game. He has a lot less reliability than Dalton Schultz but he can make gigantic plays in the passing game, and completely humiliate defenders in protection. Given we have TE Ed Dickson and Nick Vannett, I like going with Dissly's high ceiling over Schultz' high floor. Maybe the pick was a little too early, but see rule #1.
5/141 - Shaquem Griffin LB - Nothing but drive, determination, and energy. Speed rushing the edge makes him a beast blitzer. Makes huge plays on the ball. Punishes mistakes. Becomes greater the more is on the line. I love this for more than it's 'feel good' story; this is a legit amazing pick. Likely won't see him much (except special teams) early on in the year. As he shows his ceiling on the snaps he gets, his volume will increase.
5/146 - Tre Flowers S - Already listed as a CB everywhere, he's a clear candidate for conversion from safety. 4.45 40, 33 7/8" arms, 6 foot 3, 202 lbs. Wonderful measurements to produce a high ceiling. I haven't seen any tape on him, but it sounds like he sucks at tackling and is questionable in run support. This is fine if he's a CB and tackling is the deficiency I trust the Hox to fix the most. Lots of analysts had him pegged as a great late round sleeper. I'm excited!
5/149 - Michael Dickson P - Another one that felt too early at the time, and some players like Okoronkwo and Time Settle were still on the board. The pick did start a run on Punter so maybe I'm wrong. Anyway, see rule #1 about that. As far as Dickson himself, he's an absolute monster punter. Punting is an underrated aspect of the game as a lot of these low scoring games are field position battles. It makes a giant statement to be able to say "We're going to win 95% of positional battles for the next 7 years by default." Low scoring games are won by punters and kickers. Defenses have more room for error with the longer fields. I think this is a great player to add to the roster for the next long while, and probably the correct decision.
5/168 - Jamarco Jones OT - I don't know much about Jamarco. Talk suggests that he's a sleeper and a wonderful pick. Critiques of him show he has a lot of little technical issues. Awful combine dropped him below even his projected round 3-4 NFL grade. Should be a nice project for Solari. Seems like there's not a lot of massive issues technique wise, just a lot of here and there. Others on the board I wanted, but rule #1.
6/186 - Jacob Martin DE - I don't know much of anything about Martin. Reading his interviews, he has a chip on his shoulder. He's ready to come in and embarrass players to show everyone who he really is. I like the attitude. We would go on to pick up Poona Ford right after the draft so I'm cool with grabbing a guy with something to prove.
7/220 - Alex McGough QB - John Schneider mentioned he thinks Baker Mayfield was the only player in the draft better at making something happen off script. That's neat. I dunno how worried we really are that we'll wake up to find Russ isn't the answer, but it's nice to keep him honest. Depending on the size of Schotty's role in developing QBs, we could end up grooming up a nice high ceiling backup/trade bait.
TL/DR: We prioritized high ceilings over high floors. This is my favorite way to draft. It's how you pick 9 guys and end up with 5 pro bowlers that make everyone say "..Who the heck is that??" I'm confident we always got our guys.
Good work Dustin! I just put my thoughts up on the main page.
One note: There was so much CB potential at the bottom of the draft yet we passed on nearly all of it. Additionally, it doesn't look like we've signed a CB as an UDFA yet. I think we're comfortable enough to say corner probably only has one realistically competable(?) spot. Tre Flowers seems to have great potential to be developed into a good CB and Iron Mike, who spent last year on the practice squad, will likely have an opportunity to work his way into the mix.