While every team came out of the draft with some exciting new pieces there were some teams that did not have an impressive showing by any means. There were three teams that stood out amongst the rest in terms of missing on some major picks.
1. San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers have an already extremely talented roster, so regardless of the draft they had, they will still be contenders in the NFC. Despite this, they reached on a few players.
In the third round, they reached for kicker Jake Moody from Michigan. While Moody was by far the most talented kicker in this class, more times than not, a kicker is never worth a 3rd rounder.
They followed this up by selecting tight end Cameron Latu from Alabama with their second third-round pick. With George Kittle on the roster, it would have been a much better fit for the 49ers to select a tight end that thrived as a blocker. Along with this, he was a non-factor in Alabama’s passing game last season. While he could end up being a hidden gem and will be mentored by Kittle, this seems to be a bad fit.
2. Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons were a team that was very active in free agency, and it is clear that they are doing all that they can to be competitive in a wide-open NFC South division. While their first-round pick Bijan Robinson is an extremely talented player, the Falcons were the wrong team to take him.
The running back position is one of the most replaceable in the league, and Tyler Allgeier, their rookie running back last season, achieved a 1000-yard year. Robinson will likely end up being a premier back in this league, however, the Falcons had much more pressing needs to address at the 8th overall spot.
Their defensive line needs a lot of help and with Jalen Carter on the board at 8, it is very hard to determine why Atlanta went with a running back.
3. Miami Dolphins
The final team that lost the draft was the Miami Dolphins. Their first-round pick was taken away after it came to light that the team’s owner was tampering with Tom Brady and Sean Payton to try to pair the two greats up in Miami. As a result of this, they missed out on a pick that could have really helped their roster in a stacked AFC East division.
With the first pick that the Dolphins had, they used it on a cornerback. This was a very odd move after trading for star corner Jalen Ramsey and already having Xavien Howard on the field. With the recent struggles the team has had in protecting their quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, it would have made much more sense to try to bulk up their offensive line rather than drafting another player in a position they have covered.
The Dolphins did not select an offensive lineman until their final pick in the draft, which once again was a very concerning move. The success of the Dolphins’ season relies on if Tua is able to suit up every game. With the AFC East set to be one of the toughest divisions to win this year, every game will matter and Tagovailoa missing just one game could make the difference between the Dolphins making the postseason.
