Winner- Lamar Jackson
Lamar Jackson is a rich man, with a new contract of five years worth up to 260 million dollars and 185 million already guaranteed, he should also be a happy man. While not technically during the NFL draft, it was close enough that I’m counting it anyway. This is the largest contract in NFL history, just edging out Jalen Hurts’ 255 million dollar happy day, and is also the second most guarantee money ever given to a quarterback, only behind the notorious Deshaun Watson contract (he can still potentially live up to it, but as of right now, Yikes!) All of this is to say, Lamar’s week started off well. It then continued to get better and better for him as the Ravens went out and signed Odell Beckham Jr and then drafted arguably the most explosive wide receiver in the draft in Zay Flowers. The Ravens, who already had one of the best offensive lines in the league and a strong running game, now have a receiving core that consists of Beckham, Flowers, Rashad Bateman, Devin Duvernay, and Nelson Agholor (who isn’t that good but as WR5 and a depth option isn’t too bad) and tight ends Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely, who could be a breakout candidate himself in year two. The offense suddenly has weapons all over the place, with Lamar Jackson’s explosive ability and a good defense the Ravens are a serious contender. Overall, Lamar Jackson not only got the biggest contract in NFL history but was also gifted two new huge weapons. So yeah he’s a winner.
Loser- NFC East Quarterbacks
The obvious reason is the Eagles selecting who was often called the best prospect in the draft, in defensive tackle Jalen Carter. Then doubling down on the defensive line position to select freaky athletic defensive end Nolan Smith, who ran a 4.39 second 40, just ridiculous speed. Just those guys added to an already strong Eagles front is enough to make Dak Prescott, Daniel Jones, and I’m guessing Sam Howell, all groan. Of course the rest of the division did what could to make Jalen Hurts feel less rosy in his offense. The Cowboys added defensive tackle Mazi Smith to clog the middle and let Micah Parsons go to work. While the Commanders and Giants added cornerbacks Emmanuel Forbes and Deonte Banks respectively. In a division where everyone is a rival with each other, all five first round picks went to the defensive side of the ball. While the Eagles defense definitely looks the scariest on paper, even Jalen Hurts can’t be thrilled other teams are loading up to slow him down. Especially when Philly is loading up on their own defense, it means minimal help to their offense. So all NFC East quarterbacks are losers after the draft, but panic scale is much higher outside of Philadelphia.
Loser- Malik Willis
After the first round of the draft, Malik Willis must have been ecstatic that the Titans didn’t pick a quarterback. “They still believe in me, I’m going to take over for Tannehill and be the QB of the future! They even got me a OT to protect me!” is something he might have thought. The next day he sat down to watch, giddily wondering how else they’ll improve the team around him. Then, to his horror, the Titans traded up to select Will Levis with the second pick of the second round. Now, after only one year in the NFL, he’s already relegated to the third string and will have to beat out another quarterback who was drafted earlier than him, that the Titans traded up for, to even get a shot to play and that is only if veteran quarterback Ryan Tannehill does poorly enough that he gets benched. A huge blow to his NFL chances as well as to the psyche. I’m rooting for the kid, but this is not his best week.
Winner- Jordan Love
The Green Bay Packers had the 13th overall pick and a glaring need for offensive skill positions. Of course they made the most Packers-esk pick they could, selecting workout machine defensive end Lukas Van Ness (the guy’s nickname is literally Hercules). For one day, Love felt what Aaron Rodgers must have felt many times throughout his tenure on the Packers. But if Love was disappointed, it didn’t last long, the next day the Packers were committed to beefing up the offense. In the strongest tight end draft that there has been for years, the Packers selected not one but two of the top tight ends on day two. This should give Love some reliable targets underneath as Christian Watson is burning down the field. With the aforementioned Watson and Romeo Doubs manning the outside receivers, the Packers also needed help in the slot. With an extra second round pick, due to the Aaron Rodgers trade, not only were they able to get a tight end (Luke Musgrave), but they also selected slot receiver Jayden Reed from Michigan State. With three day two picks, the Packers selected three pass catches all in massive positions of need. The Packers also selected two more receivers in the fifth and seventh round respectively. Time will tell whether or not either of the late picks pan out, or how impactful all their early picks are but it is clear the Packers put an emphasis on surrounding Love with more help. That makes him a draft week winner.
Loser- Tyler Allgeier and Cordarrelle Patterson
Tyler Allgeier started seven games as a rookie, but finished the season strong. The final four games were four of his six highest in terms of rushing yards and his four highest in fantasy points. He also finished the year with over 1,000 rushing yards and the most rushing yards for a rookie in Falcons’ franchise history, he probably felt his role was pretty secure. He was wrong. With the eighth overall pick in the draft the Falcons made Bijan Robinson the highest drafted running back since Saquon Barkley (2nd) in 2018. Instantly reducing the roles of Allgeier and Cordarrelle Patterson, who also had a nice season and started 11 games. A team who selects a running back not only in the first round, but in the top 10, they plan on using him, and using him a lot. Which means, unfortunately for Allgeier and Patterson, their usage is going to plummet, which limits the chances of showing their talent, which will affect future paydays. No way around it, these two are clear cut losers of the draft, let’s hope they can make the most of their now very limited opportunities.
Winner- Geno Smith
Geno Smith was arguably the biggest surprise last year, and that led him into getting a new contract with 40 million dollars in guarantees and up to 75 million total. The one catch is the new contract was constructed in a way that made it easy for Seattle to get out of the contract, after only one year. With the Seahawks also owning the 5th overall pick as well as the 20th pick in a draft that had many quality quarterbacks, it was becoming a more and more popular theory that Seattle might draft a quarterback to sit behind him for a year before cutting Geno and moving on. With the fifth pick up next, and Geno sweating like he needs to land a plane of passengers, the Seahawks went with cornerback Devon Witherspoon (not related to Reece Witherspoon despite the uncanny resemblance). That alone makes Geno a winner but the Seahawks second selection gets him on this list. At 20, the Seahawks selected the first and arguably the best wide receiver in the draft, picking Jaxon Smith-Njigba who will fit in perfectly in the slot between DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. With a reaffirmed commitment, shown in selecting a non-quarterback and the Seahawks bolstering the wide receiver group, Geno Smith keeps on winning.
Lets go Geno!!