![Roger Goodell at the 2009 draft. [image source: Marianne O'Leary- Wikimedia Commons]](https://staticr1.blastingcdn.com/media/photogallery/2020/4/26/660x290/b_502x220x82/roger-goodell-at-the-2009-draft-image-source-marianne-oleary-wikimedia-commons_2449671.jpg "Roger Goodell at the 2009 draft. [image source: Marianne O'Leary- Wikimedia Commons]")
The 2020 NFL draft was different than the others as it took place virtually with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell calling the picks from his basement. Regardless, the draft as a whole was a success as NFL raised $100 million for COVID-19, and the draft had a viewership of 55 million.
The draft is a crucial part of team building in the NFL as it provides the opportunity for teams to select players to bolster their future. Having a lot of picks, especially for a rebuilding team, is helpful as it provides a quicker path to contention. Regardless of how many picks you have, whether you're the Saints in the 2020 draft with four picks or the Vikings in the 2020 draft with 15, it's important to get players that front offices feel like will contribute now and/or in the future.
Here are teams and players that did well and got lucky in the draft and others that did poorly.
Winners
Detroit Lions
GM Bob Quinn and head coach Matt Patricia needed players that were going to help them this year.
If the Lions don't make the playoffs in the upcoming season, they won't be apart of the organization anymore. They did very well in the draft as the first three guys they selected, Jeff Okudah, D'Andre Swift, and Julian Okwara, should all make impacts in the 2020 season and beyond. They also beefed up their O-Line by drafting Jonah Jackson and Logan Stenberg, in which Stenberg did not allow a sack this past season at Kentucky.
Days leading up to the draft, they attempted to shop their third overall pick to move down a few spots as a team like the Chargers, Dolphins, or Jaguars was looking to move up to get a QB, but the Lions were unable to do so.
Being unable to do so failed to land them additional picks to add to their prospect cupboard. Also, in the fifth round, they took another running back in Jason Huntley. While he is a very athletic and fast player as well as a good special teams guy, they already took a running back in Swift, arguably the best running back in this year's draft class and could have used that fifth-round selection to draft a defensive tackle or edge rusher.
Huntley may be more of a luxury on the Lions than a need as the Lions have a lot of depth at the running back position and have a solid special teams player in Jamal Agnew.
This draft could possibly push the Lions into the wild card conversation but even if they don't make the playoffs, with a successful draft, Bob Quinn may be able to get a job with another team if the Lions dismiss him.
Regardless of what happens with Quinn and Patricia after the upcoming season, not many Lions fans are complaining about this draft.
Dallas Cowboys
Somehow, Ceedee Lamb was available to be selected when the Cowboys were picking at 17, and even though the Cowboys weren't in need of a WR, he was the best player available and was too hard to pass upon. The Cowboys taking Lamb also prevented their division rival Eagles from taking him who were up to four picks after. The Cowboys also selected Trevon Diggs, Neville Gallimore, and Tyler Biadasz, who fell into their lap and couldn't resist passing upon. From the players mentioned, all were expected to be drafted earlier than they were selected, and the Cowboys struck gold.
Tua Tagovailoa
Tagovailoa was expected to be a top 10 pick going into the draft but many teams were concerned about his injuries and his health. Some people thought that there was a chance that Tagovailoa would fall out of the top 10 and could even fall out of the first round completely. There were even teams that took him off their draft boards due to his lengthy injury history. Luckily for him, though, he was selected fifth overall by the Dolphins and will get a big contract and signing bonus. That's also without mentioning that he should be a solid franchise quarterback for an eventual solid Dolphins team if he can stay healthy.
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jags had two first-round picks, and they did well on both of them selecting CB C.J.
Henderson ninth overall and DE K'Lavon Chaisson with the twentieth overall pick. Henderson can lighten the blow of losing star CB Jalen Ramsey last season, and Chaisson can be an immediate replacement for Yannick Ngaouke, who has publicly spat with the Jaguars front office as he wants out of Jacksonville. In the second round, they took Lavishka Shenault Jr who, if the Jaguars trainers can work with him and understand his potential and limits, can potentially be a steal. In the fourth round, they took Ben Bartch, who's known for his Gatorade smoothie that includes grits and scrambled eggs that helped him gain 75 pounds to convert from a TE to an OT. While he may need to gain a little weight to be a successful OT, he will be one of the most athletic offensive tackles on the field that can rush back to protect the QB if a player gets by the line.
In total, the Jaguars took 12 players that will help their future prospects of being an eventual competitive team and staying that way.
Denver Broncos
With their first pick being the fifteenth overall selection, they took WR Jerry Jeudy and then subsequently took WR K.J. Hamler in the next round with pick 46. If QB Drew Lock can take steps forward, the Broncos will have a very solid offense with an RB combination of Melvin Gordon, Phillip Lindsay, and Royce Freeman and a WR combo of Courtland Sutton, Jeudy, and Hamler. Last year, the Broncos had Sutton and Emmanuel Sanders as their primary receivers until he was traded to the 49ers but Jeudy could provide similar production compared to what Sanders brought to the Broncos last year.
While they already have a starting TE in Noah Fant, they bolstered their TE depth by selecting Albert Okwuegbunam in the fourth round and could be useful on some plays if the Broncos want to play some downs with 2 TE. Okwuegbunam is getting compared to Mark Andrews, who didn't make the biggest impact in his first year but is considered the go-to receiver currently on the Ravens. The Broncos' future is heading in the right direction.
Losers
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders held two first-round picks, with them being the twelfth and nineteenth overall picks. Widely expected to take a WR with the twelfth pick, they did so selecting Henry Ruggs III, who was viewed as the third-best WR available but was the first WR taken.
If they were set on taking Ruggs III over Lamb and Jeudy, they could have traded back with a team like the Falcons who were looking to move up and held the sixteenth overall selection while grabbing extra picks. At 19, they selected CB Damon Arnette, which many mock drafts didn't even have Arnette going in the first round. If they were set on taking Arnette over any other available players, many teams would have happily traded with the Raiders to move up to 19 in exchange for additional draft picks. There were better players on the board when the Raiders were up but they decided not to take them.
Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles were in need of a playmaker at the WR position, and they were lucky because the 2020 WR class in the draft was the deepest it's ever been.
Before and during the draft, they attempted to trade up in order to secure one of the draft's top WR in Lamb, Jeudy, or Ruggs III but couldn't get a deal done to move up. Instead, Lamb found himself playing in the same division as the Cowboys selected him. They did land a WR in Jalen Reagor, but he wasn't even viewed as the best WR available when the Eagles were up as Justin Jefferson could have been taken who was selected with the next pick by the Vikings. At the height of 5'11, he may struggle on close catches against cornerbacks who usually stand 6'2+. In the second round, they surprised everyone by selecting Jalen Hurts, who's a QB, a position that was not of a need for the Eagles. While Wentz is injury-prone, he's still under contract for five more years and is owed a lot of money.
Green Bay Packers
The Packers literally flunked this draft. They took Jordan Love in the first round, a quarterback when their own star QB Aaron Rodgers is under contract for another four years and is producing at a high level. What the Packers really needed was weapons to compliment Davante Adams, whether it be a WR or TE. What they did in the second round was take an RB in A.J. Dillon when they already have a strong RB duo in Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams. The Packer's strongest positions last season were QB and RB, and they took players that play those positions with their first two picks.
New England Patriots
The Patriots dynasty is over, and it's time to start fresh. It should have started with this year's draft, but the Patriots came out of the draft looking like they had no clue what they were doing.
One of the reasons why Brady departed for Tampa Bay is because of the lack of offensive weapons that the Patriots have. The Patriots held the twenty-third overall pick but traded back with the Chargers to land additional picks. They could have taken Love or a C in Cesar Ruiz due to current Patriots C David Andrews's health but, for some reason, decided to give up their first-round pick. Even with the departure of members of the Patriots' top-ranked defense from last season, the Pats D was still solid, and it was expected that Belichick and co would pick up a few defensive players, but what the Patriots really needed was a QB and multiple WR. The Patriots drafted no QB or WR and instead selected two TE and multiple O-Linemen.
The conclusion of the draft gave the Patriots more questions than they had heading into the draft.
Players that slipped
Every year some players get drafted but were expected to be off the board much earlier than anticipated. This year was no exception. Before college football season started, Grant Delpit was a highly regarded prospect in which lots of people had him going in the first round. Injuries and inconsistent play brought down his value, but he still got drafted fairly high as he was taken with pick 44 by the Browns. QB Jake Fromm was once viewed as an eventual future QB for a team in need of a signal-caller but slipped down to the fifth round. He was taken by the Bills, where he will settle into a backup role behind Josh Allen. Two defensive players in EDGE A.J. Epenesa and LB Zack Baun were expected by some to go late first-round or early-second round, but both were selected a little later as Epenesa was taken with pick 54 and Baun getting drafted 20 picks later in the third round. C Tyler Biadasz was expected to be a mid-third-round pick but didn't hear his name called until the last pick of the fourth round. Other players that slipped down draft boards are Xavier McKinney, Trevon Diggs, Zack Moss, among others.
Dolphins jersey maker
The Dolphins had three first-round picks. With two of those picks, they selected their expectant future franchise quarterback in Tua Tagavailoa and CB Noah Igbinoghene. I struggled to spell or pronounce Tagavailoa until I spelled it out and practiced typing it in. Now I can do it off the top of my head, but it took me a while to get it like that. I still have absolutely no clue how to spell Igbinoghene, nor do I know how it's pronounced. While Dolphins fans will welcome them with open arms as they're expected to be a big part of their future, people who make Dolphins jerseys are ought to be annoyed with having to spell their names on jerseys over and over again. Good luck to whoever has to do this.
