Everyone loves to think that their team drafted well, and the prospect of new players fresh out of college feels exciting as a fan. Unfortunately, not every team does well on draft night, including these 3 franchises.

Philadelphia Eagles:

I think the trade up for Philly to get WR Devonta Smith was a great move, but outside of that the Eagles had a very sub-par draft in which they seemed reluctant to draft players they needed. Not reaching for guys just to fill a need in a certain spot, but there was legitimate talent they passed on to instead draft players they didn’t necessarily need.

Landon Dickerson 37th overall was a pick that didn’t feel right to me. Are they looking to replace Jason Kelce with a guy who has barely been healthy the past 3 or 4 years in the 2nd round? They could have looked towards any other offensive line prospect to add depth, but they have picked one of the most questionable guys available in terms of his long-term sustainability.

Then, in the 3rd round, they take a defensive tackle in Milton Williams. A good athlete with some ability…but then again they still haven’t addressed their secondary or their LB situation (probably the worst LB group in the NFL).

Eventually they spent some later picks on DBs, but you would have liked to seem them address this issue earlier on instead of grabbing depth picks with 2 of their first 3 selections. On top of that, they waited until the 7th round to take a LB… if I were an Eagles fan, I would not be amused.

Cincinnati Bengals:

I’m sure there are plenty of Bengals fans who love the Ja’Marr Chase pick, but man did they mess that up. When you have a young, franchise worthy QB in Joe Burrow, you NEED to protect him, especially after he was one of the most hit QBs in the NFL and tore up his knee during the season. The Bengals had an opportunity to take OT Penei Sewell, who I see as an immediate, elite player on the offensive front who would have greatly helped Burrow stay upright. They made a mistake passing on him.

Later on, they did address the offensive line in the 2nd, 4th, and 6th rounds, but they got significantly worse talent than if they addressed the need earlier on.

The Bengals also attempted to add some edge depth (Joseph Ossai and Cam Sample), but they flopped with the Ossai pick. Usually, when you take guys who are more of a project, they at least fit your scheme. I see Ossai as a pure 3-4 pass rusher, but the Bengals seem like they want him to be a 4-3 hand in the dirt type of guy. On tape, he struggles against the run in terms of edge defense, and is a good rusher when he’s stood up. This pick may be a huge reach, but Ossai does have upside if they can find a way to make him comfortable.

Lastly, they took a kicker in the 5th round. Drafting a kicker before the 7th round, especially as a rebuilding team, is a big no-no to me.

Las Vegas Raiders:

Well to start, the Raiders way over drafted Alabama center Alex Leatherwood. He was typically ranked in the 60’s on many popular analyst’s big boards and the Raiders took him 17th overall, with more refined prospects like Tevin Jenkins or Christian Darrisaw on the board still.

Then, to make matters worse, they used 3 of their next 6 selections on the safety position. Taking Trevon Moehrig in the 2nd round was a great pick, but spending a mid 3rd rounder on Divine Deablo (a guy who has switched positions several times and very inexperienced) and then a 4th on Tyree Gillespie (a special teams player and average run defender who shows no skills as a zone/man to man coverage player) seem super ill advised.

During the Gruden and Mayock era, the Raiders have had some very shaky draft picks and reached a ton. Some guys have panned out, but most seem like busts. This draft class seems very set on the bust path.

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