The 2020 NFL draft has concluded, and boy was it fun to see sports on TV. I felt like this was one of the few drafts where most teams had a solid draft class. However, every year there are those few teams that butcher the draft completely, and today we will discuss those teams.
Green Bay Packers
The Gren Bay Packers was a very obvious pick. The Packers are in win-now mode. They made it to the NFC Championship last season, and they were one game away from the Super Bowl. Instead of getting help for Aaron Rodgers, or even trying to bolster the defensive line, they elected to go with quarterback Jordan Love. I love this move for the future, but when they’re in win-now mode, the future doesn�t matter. Not to mention, they also traded up for him, which resulted in a loss of capital. Then in the second round, the Packers took running back AJ Dillon. They already have Aaron Jones and Jammal Williams, who both are a solid one-two punch out of the backfield, but adding a third running back into the mix doesn�t make sense, especially when there’s a more significant need elsewhere.
This past season, the Packers had the fourth-most efficient run game, so clearly, an upgrade at running back wasn�t needed. Rodgers clearly needed help at the receiver position as outside of Davante Adams; the Packers receivers were inconsistent. Also, after getting gashed by the run game in the NFC Championship, the Packers didn�t add an immediate impact player at the interior defense position. The Packers never addressed their receiver position in the draft and drafted an edge rusher in the fifth round (first time they drafted a defensive player in the draft). The Packers window for a Super Bowl was getting tighter and tighter and now might’ve been shut completely.
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons selected cornerback AJ Terrell in the first round. When you�re in a division with Michael Thomas, DJ Moore, Mike Evans, and Chris Godwin, you should be worried about the secondary. However, the drop off from CJ Henderson to AJ Terrell is more significant than the drop off from Terrell to Jaylon Johnson, who they could�ve selected in the second round.
The Falcons should�ve drafted the best player available, which was CeeDee Lamb as this would�ve made their offense more potent and would�ve given them an elite receiver to fill in Julio Jones’s shoes once he retires. I do believe the moves of drafting Marlon Davidson and Matt Hennessey were great, but they reached again for a linebacker in Mykal Walker, who some had projected in the 6th or 7th round.
Las Vegas Raiders
The Oakland Raiders reached on almost every pick. I love Rugg’s upside, but the Raiders needed a true number one receiver. I would�ve liked to see them draft either CeeDee Lamb or Jerry Jeudy. Lamb and Jeudy both possess the physical attributes and skills to be true number one receivers, while Ruggs is viewed as more of a deep threat. Then they reached heavily on Damon Arnette, who was projected to go in the third round.
There were corners ranked ahead of him that were selected in the second and third round in the NFL Draft. This was a massive reach. Then, they selected back to back receivers in Lynn Bowden and Bryan Edwards. I love the Edwards pick, but I am skeptical of the Bowden pick. Bowden overall is a very versatile player, but they had glaring needs elsewhere and could�ve gotten a better prospect later on, or even selected Bowden later on.
